# Damn you, Guitar Hero! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 18, 2007, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577 "2007-04-18T03:50:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/1 "2007-04-18T03:50:50Z")
For this I took decades of piano lessons? Seriously? I was minding my own business in Best Buy. I wasn’t even going _near_ the video games (I was feeding our late blooming Buffy addiction, if you want to know the truth.) But I wandered down the wrong aisle, and I saw the box (Guitar Hero 2, actually), and I thought, hey, that might be fun. The guys seem to like hanging out and playing it - why don’t I get one of my own? I mean, I won’t be any good at it - I suck at video games, but this sounds like the kind of thing I might enjoy anyway. It’s six hours later. My left hand is in _agony_. I’ve beat it on Easy and am working through Medium. I’m finding the addition of the pinky finger strangely joyful. I’ve gotten an Encore. I bought a flame paint job for my guitar. The last thing I need is another time suck in my life! I already have a job, a house with a garden, golf, tennis, and enough books to keep an army occupied until the heat death of the universe! I’m not anywhere near done with **Bully**! I laid **Psychonauts** down a few months ago because i got frustrated with some dumb jumping puzzle and I gotta get back to that! What am I going to _do_?! I don’t even _know_ most of these songs! ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/2 "2007-04-18T04:22:29Z")
What are you going to do? ROCK AN ROLL! ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/3 "2007-04-18T08:37:04Z")
play until your fingers bleed ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/4 "2007-04-18T10:38:08Z")
I was excited to find an interactive game that I could beat my 10 year old campers at. Stupid DDR just made me look like an oaf. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/5 "2007-04-18T10:52:24Z")
Cool, I just discovered some Frets on Fire videos on YouTube. Apparently you can download songpacks from various websites in order to have more song. (Don’t know if they are virus free or not though, so be careful.) [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPeICHvsgB4) song, “Tell Me Baby” by Red Hot Chili Peppers looks amazing! 😃 ETA: the person who posted that video gives a couple of websites to look into for song packs, btw. ETA2: My question is, why don’t they have six strings? 😕 Too many fingers, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/6 "2007-04-18T10:59:27Z")
Ah, apparently Frets On Fire isn’t Guitar Hero? 😕 A lot of the videos label it as such. Hmmm. :o Well, the game looks fun, in any case. ETA: [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_437GhcgZE) video compares the two games. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/7 "2007-04-18T12:40:32Z")
Okay, the only stringed instrument I’ve ever played is violin as a kindergartener. There has got to be a way to hold my left hand so I can reach all the fret keys without living in agony, right? Am I doing something wrong? (And am I supposed to have a sixth finger when I get to the level with the last key, or do I just move the pinky?) ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/8 "2007-04-18T15:05:55Z")
If it were me, I’d be playing it like a piano or typewriter. That might be more comfortable. Can you experiement and see if that is possible? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/9 "2007-04-18T15:19:24Z")
[QUOTE=Zabali\_Clawbane] If it were me, I’d be playing it like a piano or typewriter. That might be more comfortable. [/QUOTE] Yeah, and you might be a complete lamewad for doing so. 😛 Seriously, have you ever seen a guitar player rock out with the guitar on their lap? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/10 "2007-04-18T15:22:27Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] Yeah, and you might be a complete lamewad for doing so. 😛 Seriously, have you ever seen a guitar player rock out with the guitar on their lap? [/QUOTE] Sure. Jeff Healey. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/11 "2007-04-18T15:23:29Z")
And Charro. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/12 "2007-04-18T16:19:39Z")
The X-Box 360 Guitar Hero controller works with XP without drivers and can be used for Frets On Fire. ---
**Author:** ![Skipper\_Too](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Skipper\_Too](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skipper_Too)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/13 "2007-04-18T17:38:59Z")
IF anyone has Guitar Hero for the Xbox 360, be very careful downloading the update released last weekend, I have heard of it "bricking’ some systems. The update was to fix an issue with the whammy bar not working on some units. After loading the update some users have report getting the red ring of Death, only solution is to send the complete unit in to Microsoft for repair/replacement. I have also fallen into the Guitar hero trap and have had a lot of fun since I got mine two weeks ago for my 360. I tend to have the tunes stuck in my head for awhile after words, and now when I listen to radio in the car start thinking wow that would be a fun tune to play on Guitar Hero! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/14 "2007-04-18T17:50:01Z")
I love guitar hero, but I suck at it. I’ve beaten almost everything on medium with 5 stars, but I can’t beat a single song on hard. Something about being required to move my hand on the neck screws with me. ---
**Author:** ![Alistair\_McCello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58956e/32.png) [@Alistair\_McCello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alistair_McCello)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/15 "2007-04-18T17:54:30Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > There has got to be a way to hold my left hand so I can reach all the fret keys without living in agony, right? Am I doing something wrong? (And am I supposed to have a sixth finger when I get to the level with the last key, or do I just move the pinky?) I find that moving my pinky that much is what causes me agony, at first I could not beat a single song on hard for that reason (that and I am not all that dexterous with my pinky). The way I manage it is by having my fingers on the last four frets and using my index finger to handle both red and green. No more agony! I have gotten so used to this configuration that I play songs on medium with only three fingers (and songs on easy with only two). ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/16 "2007-04-18T18:13:34Z")
I’ve 5-starred almost all of the songs on hard, and 5-starred about 3/4 of the songs on expert (I can’t beat ‘Jordan’ on expert, though - my last remaining song). For playing the fifth note, you should learn to do it two different ways - Different songs call for different fifth-button techniques. The first is to stretch your pinky to hit the fifth note. Use this in songs where you’ve got fast notes on the first four buttons, and the occasional single note up on the fifth button. This will prevent your hand from getting out of position while playing the fast notes. The other technique is to shift your entire hand, like you would to move around the frets on a real guitar. Use this technique when you’ve got fast combinations that involve the fifth button. Also, when you have a series of ascending notes that go all the way to the fifth button, you can play the slide with each finger, then when you need to play the fifth note just leave the 4th button depressed and slide your whole hand up to hit the fifth note. When moving your whole hand up to the fifth button, keep your wrist and fingers locked and use your elbow to shift your hand position. If you keep your wrist straight, all your fingers stay in the same relative position so when you move back again they naturally fall on the buttons they were originally on. If you try to move your hand by shifting your wrist and/or your fingers, you’ll find yourself getting all mixed up when you move your hand back again. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/17 "2007-04-20T17:16:44Z")
Heh, maybe you should be glad they don’t have songs that use methods like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xPGqWt3L7A) in there? (Or do they?) ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/18 "2007-04-20T17:29:04Z")
I’ve put GHII down for awhile now. I’ve got 5 stars on all easy and med. I’m stuck on Carry Me Home on Hard. I don’t see how anyone could five star that mother! I did get 79% through it once, but now it just frustrates me. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/19 "2007-04-20T17:57:09Z")
Can you guys tell me how exactly you “strum” back and forth? I’m trying to acquire the technique before it gets _really_ hard, as opposed to just strumming “down”, but most ways I try to do it don’t feel comfortable. Right now I’m holding the strummer thing between my thumb and forefinger and moving it up and down, which feels okay, but I was wondering if there was a better option that one of you use. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2007, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577/20 "2007-04-20T22:27:38Z")
[QUOTE=Zabali\_Clawbane] Heh, maybe you should be glad they don’t have songs that use methods like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xPGqWt3L7A) in there? (Or do they?) [/QUOTE] Or [this](http://www.hrwiki.org/images/1/12/hardest_chord_ever.png) method- although _Trogdor!_ is a downloadable song. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-you-guitar-hero/400577.md?page=2)