////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ////// \\\\\\ ////// GUITAR HERO II \\\\\\ ////// \\\\\\ ////// Expert Difficulty FAQ \\\\\\ ////// \\\\\\ ////// Written By: Infil \\\\\\ ////// E-mail: infil12 (at) hotmail (dot) com \\\\\\ ////// Version: 1.1 \\\\\\ ////// Date Started: January 8, 2007 \\\\\\ ////// Last Updated: January 16, 2007 \\\\\\ ////// \\\\\\ ////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ This FAQ is protected under international Copyright laws. For the full statement, please see the "Legal Stuff" section at the bottom of this document. Before e-mailing me, please read the section entitled "Contact Me" near the bottom of the FAQ. +=============================================================================+ + Table of Contents + +=============================================================================+ - Version History - Introduction - Notes on Notation and Terminology - Notes on Musical Terms - Explanation of the Game Engine - General - Star Power - Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs - Strumming - Important Fingerings - Hand Placement - Miscellaneous Tips - Songs to Practice - Songs - Opening Licks - Amp-Warmers - String-Snappers - Thrash and Burn - Return of the Shred - Relentless Riffs - Furious Fretwork - Face-Melters - Bonus Tracks - Contact Me - Legal Stuff - Credits and Thanks +=============================================================================+ + Version History + +=============================================================================+ Version 1.1 (January 16, 2007) - Introduced the "Songs to Practice" section for those who want to spend some time on certain key techniques. Also made stubs for each song, but provided key information for each, including BPM information, time signatures, 4- and 5-star cutoff marks, and length of each song. I guarantee you'll learn something new by just reading the stubs alone. Did you know Misirlou is 20 bpm faster for the first 15 seconds of the song, for instance? And, the first substantial update to my FAQ! Rich, complete strategies for Them Bones, Carry Me Home, Psychobilly Freakout, and YYZ. More on the way in the next update. Since 3 of these 4 songs are fairly tough, I talked a lot more in depth about them. Most of the songs in the easier tiers won't have this much text with them. Also a new tip was sent in by email, and a correction was made to the SP section below. Version 1.0 (January 10, 2007): - First version of the FAQ. Much is missing, like the entire Song section, but will be filled in over time. I just wanted to state my intention of completing this FAQ by starting it and providing some solid basic strategies. +=============================================================================+ + Introduction + +=============================================================================+ Welcome to my Guitar Hero II FAQ. The intention of this FAQ is to provide tips to players aspiring to take their play of GH2 to the next level. Included in this FAQ (eventually!) are good star power routes to help a player get 5 stars on each song on Expert, as well as general play strategies that have helped me achieve this goal. I will also talk about how to handle the fingerings for certain hard sections of each song. While this FAQ is largely geared at Expert play, many of the tips, tricks and techniques I discuss can be applied on other difficulties as well, so there's something for everybody in here. I hope this is helpful, and if you have a strategy you feel is important that is not covered here, see the Contact Me section and let me know about it. I'll include it in a future release and give you credit! I should clarify that this FAQ will not talk about squeezing, a very advanced technique used to get a few extra points out of hold notes, or other similar techniques. Advanced players who are interested in competing for top scores on Score Hero already know about this, and it is completely useless for everyone else. +=============================================================================+ + Notes on Notation and Terminology + +=============================================================================+ This FAQ will make use of some abbreviations and terms to simplify the text. - GRYBO - Green, Red, Yellow, Blue, Orange (the fret buttons) - 2345 - Your fingers. 2 is index, 3 is middle, 4 is ring, and 5 is pinky. Used to talk about how to finger certain tough sections. - Square brackets will be used to encase chords; for example, [YO] is a Yellow- Orange chord. - Round brackets will imply no strumming for a particular note. For example, 3(4) implies you take the first note with your middle finger, strum it, and then hammer-on the next note with your ring finger. - HOPO - Hammer-ons and pull-offs. The term "HOPO" will be used to discuss a sequence of notes where either technique (possibly both) can be used. - SP - Star Power. - FC - Full combo. Playing a sequence of notes (or the entire song) without missing a note. - Alt-strum - Strumming up and down, instead of just down or just up. +=============================================================================+ + Notes on Musical Terms + +=============================================================================+ Since I will be talking in musical terms for some of the strategies, here is a very brief overview of what each term means. - Quarter (4th) Note - A note that is placed on the beat to the music. - Eighth (8th) Note - A note that is placed exactly halfway in-between two beats. Playing two evenly spaced notes per beat is an eighth note "run". - Sixteenth (16th) Note - A note that is placed exactly one quarter or three quarters of the way between two beats. Playing four evenly spaced notes per beat is a sixteenth note "run". - Thirty-Second (32nd) Note - A note that is placed ... well, you get the picture from above. Playing eight evenly spaced notes per beat is a thirty- second note "run". These are used very minimally in the game, but they are used. - Triplets - Notes that are placed exactly one third or two thirds of the way between two beats. Playing three evenly spaced notes per beat is a triplet "run". Note that there are also more condensed triplets, such as 24th notes, that break up each half-beat into three notes. - Measure - A collection of beats (or quarter notes); typically 4, but not always. In Guitar Hero, the beginning of a new measure is marked by a thick white horizontal line on the fret board. - BPM - The number of beats (or quarter notes) that are in one minute. Used to quantify the speed of a song. - Time Signature (i.e., Meter) - The time signature is composed of two numbers, but for Guitar Hero 2, the second number is always 4 (meaning a quarter note is a beat). The first number is more important, and it indicates the number of beats in a measure. Most songs are 4/4 time, meaning there are 4 quarter notes in a measure. However, some songs have strange measures, usually detectable by players as an arrhythmic feel. Notice how the beginning to Them Bones feels kind of... offbeat? That's because it's in 7/4 time; there are 7 beats in a measure. See why this is important in the Star Power section below. +=============================================================================+ + Explanation of the Game Engine + +=============================================================================+ In order to master Guitar Hero II, it is very important to know how the system works. A simple knowledge of the system can increase your score alone, and will start to help you nail the hard sections. General ======= Each note in Guitar Hero II is worth 50 points towards your score. Chords containing two notes are, thus, worth 100 points and chords containing three notes are worth 150 points. Hold notes are worth 25 points per beat of the song, multiplied by the number of notes in the chord. It should be noted that even though chords are worth more points, they still only contribute one note to your multiplier increase. Notes that are played in succession without missing (or without strumming where there was no note) add to your multiplier. Initially, your multiplier will be at 1x. For every 10 notes you play in a row, your multiplier will increase by 1, and each note played during that combo will be multiplied by this number before being added to your total score. The maximum multiplier, without using star power, is 4x. If you play a wrong note, or play a note that isn't on the fret board, you will break your combo string. Dropping a hold note will not break your combo. Therefore, if you need to lift off a hold note early to get in position to play a hard section, do so. Star Power ========== This is the key to getting high scores in this game, and smart star power use can mean the difference between a 3-star score and a 5-star score. In fact, it's entirely possible to boost your current score up to 5-stars without playing any better than you currently are! If you can really understand how the system works, you can greatly increase your score. Above your health meter on the right side is your star power meter. It always starts out empty. Occasionally when playing a song, you will see a sequence of notes shaped like stars coming at you. If you play the entire sequence without missing a note, you will capture the star power and add it to your meter. If you break your combo during the sequence, the stars will vanish and go back to regular notes, and you will miss the star power boost. Each capture fills exactly 1/4 of your star power meter, so playing more than 4 star power sections without using it is wasteful. You can not activate star power unless your meter is at least 1/2 full. You will see "Star Power Ready!" flash on the screen, and the fret board shake a little bit when you are able to use it. To activate star power, tilt the guitar vertically while playing, or press select, whichever is favorable to you. Personally, I tilt the guitar because taking my hand off the strummer to press select, or attempting to press select with my wrist, is inaccurate. However, if you're playing a section with hammer-ons or pull-offs, it may be easier to press select. Once star power has been activated, it cannot be deactivated until it is fully drained. If you use the whammy bar during a hold note in the star power sequence, you will get an additional boost proportional to the speed of the song (time signature does not matter). You will gain 3.33% of your SP meter for each beat of the song. Therefore, you need 7.5 beats to fill 1/4 of your meter, and 15 beats to fill 1/2 of your meter. For quick hold notes, it is not worth the boost at the risk of your combo (except on certain songs, such as Tattooed Love Boys), but for long hold notes, use that whammy bar to gain some extra star power. It is also worth noting that as long as you move the whammy bar (and keep the hold note trail colored blue), you are gaining the maximum amount of SP from the hold. More movement in the whammy bar is not necessary (thanks to Mikael S. H. for the correction). When you choose to use your star power, it will deplete at a very set rate; exactly two measures of the song per 1/4 of your meter. That is, if you have a full meter, you will last with star power exactly 8 measures of the song. For some songs, this is exploitable. If the meter of the song contains more than 4 beats, then you will get a seemingly longer star power during those sections. For example, Them Bones is largely played in 7/4 time, except the brief chorus which reverts back to 4/4. Thus, it is much more beneficial to use the star power during the 7/4 sections, as you will get 56 beats of the song out of a full star power, as opposed to just 32 if it was used during the 4/4 section. If you don't understand what I just said, don't worry, it's not a big deal. But for those musicians out there, exploit this! I will make specific notes about which songs have important time signature differences in the Songs section below. So, what does star power do? In addition to making every note the same color (perhaps this was intended to make it more difficult, even though it's not really the case), the song will get a weird echo thing happening, and some fake audience will clap to the beat of the song (personally, I find this very annoying). But most importantly, your multiplier will be multiplied by 2, which means the possible multipliers are 2x, 4x, 6x, and 8x. Additionally, notes that are played will greatly increase your health, and missed notes will not hurt you as much. Sometimes, it is necessary to save your star power for that tough solo, because it is difficult to fail when it is active. Just remember to not activate it until your health is in the red! Since you get a temporary boost of your multiplier, using it in sections of the song that have massive points (typically signified by many chords) is the best way to use it. For some songs, such as Psychobilly Freakout and Killing in the Name, there are very distinct sections where a 8x multiplier can net you a vast percentage of the 5-star score. Finding a good "star power path" through the song is important, because when your star power is active, you cannot collect any star powers that are strewn along the track. Thus, it becomes a game of playing the star power sections, and choosing when to save your 1/2 meter and perhaps get more star power boosts, or using it during a section of the song with many notes. This, more than playing the song 100%, is what getting 5-stars in a song is largely about. Of course, playing the song properly doesn't hurt either. :) Oh yeah, one final thing; the star power pattern on any given song is fixed (hence why a good route is even possible to find). It doesn't matter what difficulty you're playing on. The same sections of the song will contain star power boosts. This is different from past Harmonix games, such as Amplitude, where the score doubler powerup was randomized at the start of each song. Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs ======================== In this FAQ, this technique will be jointly referred to as HOPOs, even if there is only one of the two techniques in the sequence of notes. This is where the game starts to get fun. If you're a Hard player looking to advance to Expert, you will need to sit down and learn this technique. Play some songs you can confidently pass and try to play the harder sections with HOPOs. Hammer-ons and pull-offs, while briefly explained in the tutorial (not NEARLY in-depth enough, in my opinion), plays a very large role in complicated note sequences. Without learning it, you won't be able to get too far in the harder songs. It is much akin to crossovers in Dance Dance Revolution; sure, you can pass a tough song like Rhythm and Police without crossovers, but... should you get into a bad habit like that? It is inelegant, not much fun, and way harder on your legs than it needs to be. What exactly are HOPOs? I like the tutorial's explanation of it. Suppose the 5 frets on your controller are all on the same string on your guitar. When you strum a note, pretend you are creating the vibration on the string needed to play the note. However, at any time while the string is vibrating, you can change where you are pinching the string between your finger and the neck to create a different length, which will create a different note. The string is still vibrating, so the new note will be played. In GH2, this means that you can play long sequences of notes, only strumming once! Hammer-ons imply playing higher notes in sequence (since you are "hammering on" more fingers), where pull-offs imply you are playing lower notes in sequence (since you are "pulling off" the string). While HOPOs are generally for very fast sequences of notes, they aren't always. It is very important to look at the notes in the game and tell which are HOPO- able. In the middle of each note, there is a white circle. If there is a solid black ring at the base of this circle, you MUST strum this note for it to be played. Examples of this are the intro to Sweet Child o' Mine and the main chorus in Beast and the Harlot. Both sections contain many notes in sequence, but they all have that black circle. Therefore, they must all be strummed. If there is no black ring (that is, the circle is entirely white), this note CAN be played with a HOPO if you have already strummed on a previous note and have not broken your combo. The ending to Laid to Rest is a good example of this. Every note is HOPO-able, which means you need only strum the one black note at the very beginning, and then you can just finger the appropriate frets the rest of the way without ever strumming again (if you can hit all of them). If you break your combo, you will need to strum once again to re-vibrate the string, as it were. Laid to Rest is a great example because it is possible to play for well over 30 seconds without strumming! Always be on the lookout for that white circle, and use it to your advantage. I should note that just because you CAN HOPO a note doesn't necessarily mean that you HAVE to, or even should. There is nothing wrong with taking an easy section of HOPO-able notes and strumming each one. In fact, it is often advantageous to occasionally strum, say, every quarter note in a long sequence of HOPO notes, such as the one at the ending to Laid to Rest. This way, if you miss a note in the sequence, your next strum will get you back on track. If you take your hand away from the strummer and miss a note in the HOPO sequence, you will miss several notes trying to get back on track. The HOPOs in Guitar Hero 2 are incredibly generous. They are much more generous than Guitar Hero 1, and way beyond what should be possible on a normal guitar. But that's part of the fun. In GH2, you can actually lift your fingers right off the frets before playing the next note in the HOPO sequence. In theory, any HOPO sequence could be played with one finger, where you press each fret button individually and lift it off before pressing the next one. You don't need to keep all the old fret buttons down, or pre-press the fret buttons and lift off (though this does work as well; see the fingering section below). I was quite surprised when I found out about this, and it makes doing HOPOs lots of fun and feel very solid. The game only cares about whether the fret pressed in the HOPO matches the current note to be played. It doesn't care about what has come before it, or what other frets are being held down. In essence, when playing HOPO sequences, just play like you normally would, except don't strum. You will save energy in your strumming hand, and it always feels very good to nail a long HOPO sequence. But you always need to be on the lookout for those black-circled notes to indicate where you NEED to start strumming again! As a final note, chords are never HOPO-able, but you can HOPO a single note from a strummed chord if the single note is white. This is a great way to handle sections of songs, like the introduction to Woman, which have lots of chords and then a fast sequence of single notes interspersed. Try it; you don't need to strum any of those notes at all, just the chords! Check the song sections below. I will talk about key HOPO sequences in each song and how to handle them. But if you aren't using HOPOs for easier stuff now, go find a song you're confident in and practice them. Look for those white notes, and try playing them without strumming. Strumming ========= Because the strum bar can be activated by pressing down or pulling up, strumming is an important technique to practice. Quite often, most beginner players will do nothing but press the strum bar down to strum a note. This works fine for most everything on Easy, Normal, and Hard. In fact, it even works for most stuff on Expert. And there is nothing wrong with this technique; it is even largely preferable for most Expert sections. For example, the introduction to Sweet Child o' Mine can (and perhaps, should) be played by fingering the appropriate frets and pressing the strum bar lightly down with your thumb for each note (see the above section - these are not HOPO- able notes!). Don't lift your hand, or hit the strum bar especially hard. Just press it down nice and evenly, keeping your thumb always on the strum bar. As a general rule of thumb on any song, when in doubt, strum only down. Personally, I find when you strum both down and up for easy sections, it becomes more difficult to stay on beat, and fingerings on the frets become more difficult. I find it easier to strum only in one direction. Then, I can put my right hand on autopilot in a sense, and just focus on the frets. However, many, many key situations on Expert will force you to strum both down and up, in rhythm, and it is another key skill that is mandatory for good Expert play. This type of situation is almost always encountered when fast chords or repeated notes come into play, or especially fast solos are played. It can also be used if your strumming hand is getting tired from pressing only down for a long sequence of notes (for example, Madhouse is a tiring song if you strum only in one direction, even though the chords aren't very fast). This is where a good hardware decision from the people at Red Octane will benefit you. The strum bar clicks when it is pressed in either direction. This means that it is easy to keep the beat when strumming in both directions. Lightly grab the strum bar between your thumb and index finger and move it gently in both directions. Get a feel for the beat of the song (perhaps tap your foot or something), then move it until the clicking you hear is in beat with the song. Many songs have good practice sections for this technique, so check out each song below (some examples include Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart, Killing in the Name, and the dreaded Misirlou). But this is really a practice thing, and it's similar to the HOPO technique. Play a song you're confident with, and try to strum down and up occasionally. Where you would normally just strum down, try changing to down and up. Start small, and work your way up. This is a skill you need to develop to succeed on the more difficult GH2 songs. I find it usually isn't too difficult to do once you've got the beat of the song down. Your wrist will more or less move by itself to the beat. Important Fingerings ==================== Proper hand position and the location of your fingers on the fret button is as important a skill as any in Guitar Hero 2. Learning what the game will accept as input for various notes, and how to map certain note patterns immediately to hand movement is essential to top play. The first important point to note is that, for single notes, the game only requires that the note is the highest-most fret pressed down. That is, if you have to play an orange note, you can have any (or all) of the other frets pressed down and the game will still accept the note. This is similar to how a normal guitar works, since only the highest-most point on the string being pinched to the neck sets the length of the string; the lower part of the strong does not become part of the equation. Note that this only works for single notes. With chords, you need to have exactly (and only) the frets corresponding to the chord pressed down. This can be very helpful in GH2. Consider playing a sequence of notes, toggling GRGRGRGR. The best way to play this series of notes is to keep the G button pressed down at all times, and simply lift your middle finger up and down on the R button (strumming will depend on the HOPO nature of the notes, but if the sequence is quick, it will be a HOPO and you will only have to strum the first note). Having the G button pressed down when playing an R note is acceptable, and this method of input is fast, much more accurate, and easier on the hands (and also exactly how a person playing a real guitar would play such a sequence). As another example, consider a sequence that starts on R and toggles the same way; RGRGRGRGR. Rather than starting by pressing only R down, and then needing to switch to G, instead start with both buttons pressed down to play the first R, and lift off to play the next G. Then, continue as before. As one final example, consider the first main guitar riff in Beast and the Harlot, which looks as follows: RRRRY RRRRB RRRRO RRRRB RRRRY, and repeat. There is never a need to lift your finger off the R button! Use your index finger to hold down R, strum up and down in beat with the notes, and use your other three fingers to quickly press down other notes when they come up. If you can recognize these types of situations as they happen, you will save yourself many unnecessary misses due to confused fingers. Another example of this technique allows you to handle certain chord sections with more grace. Consider the sequence O[YO]O[YO]O[YO]..., where the notes in square brackets are chords. If this is a fast sequence, lifting off Y to press the single O note is difficult. But, based on our previous discussion, because O is higher than Y on the fret board, lifting off Y is not necessary at all! Keep both buttons pressed down for the entire sequence, and strum the sequence as the notes come up. Freebird has a few sections like this, as do a few other songs, and once you realize that you don't need to lift off that bottom note at all, the sections become trivial to play. Note that this technique does not work if the sequence is Y[YO]Y[YO]Y[YO]..., since you will need to lift off the O note to play the single Y notes. Even so, this technique is extremely useful in the situations where it is applicable, and will make certain seemingly difficult sections very easy. +=============================================================================+ + Hand Placement + +=============================================================================+ One of the big leaps from Medium to Hard is the introduction of the Orange fret. The Hard difficulty uses it sparingly, gently breaking you in to having to shift your fingers. On Expert, though, movement across the fret board is relentless, and it is very punishing if you don't know where your fingers are located, or can't handle fast sequences of GRYBO or OBYRG. Everyone will have their opinion as to how you place your hands and how you take certain difficult runs, but since this is my FAQ, I'm going to share with you what I believe is the best way. When I'm playing, I firmly root my fingers in what I call "second position", which is index finger on the RED fret, and pinky on the ORANGE fret. I only deviate from this position when I have to play a G note, in which case I will slide my index finger up to hit this note and then, if the sequence goes on without more G notes, I will slide it back down to second position. The reasoning for this is simple. Your index finger is far more dexterous than your pinky is, so if there must be some sliding anyway, why not make your primary finger do the tough work? Consider playing the GRYBO scale quickly. I place my index finger on the G note, strum, and then quickly slide it to the R fret and use my other fingers to play the remaining notes. A song such as Less Talk More Rokk is the perfect practice song for this technique. Similarly, playing the reverse scale of OBYRG, I will start with my pinky on Orange, play the four notes up to the R fret, and then slide my hand up along the neck of the guitar slightly to hit the G fret with my index finger. I find that if you play firmly rooted in second position, you will find sequences involving the O fret much easier to play, and you will not be caught by surprise and have to move your pinky. It will already be in place. Now, there are some songs that have long sequences of G notes (Freya's first main riff comes to mind), and for these long sequences, I will move my hand up to first position and keep it there for a while. But when I sense that it is safe, I will find a spot where the notes allow me to and I will move back to second position. Also, don't hesitate to fix your fingering during a long hold note! If you're in first position, playing a long [RY] chord for instance, slide your fingers down quickly while keeping the buttons pressed. Use hold notes as a chance to get your bearings and adjust your hand placement. On a few songs, I will even slide all the way down to third position (that is, index finger on the Y fret). For tough solos or quick notes that involve YBO in some fashion, I find it's better to use my primary fingers to play these if it's safe afterwards to return to second position. YYZ is perhaps the best example of this, so see that song for more information. But in seeing people play, some people will force themselves to use their pinky on the O fret, even for really tough solos that don't involve G or R in any way. Why do this to yourself? Go ahead and slide down a bit! Even if you miss one or two notes readjusting your hands afterwards (which will go away with practice, by the way), you will probably hit many more notes overall and have a better score as a result. +=============================================================================+ + Miscellaneous Tips + +=============================================================================+ Here is where I will outline various tips that come to mind that don't belong in any section, but I feel are important to read and follow. Many of these are situational, and are not hard and fast rules, but they are solid rules of thumb that will improve your scores over the long run. - Use the Hyper Speed code (on the main menu, enter OBOYOBOY). This will increase the scroll rate universally and make note clusters like solos much easier to read. Because the scroll rate is universal in GH2, the BPM of the song will not affect the relative scroll rate, so use it for all songs, both fast and slow. It will also help you tell if you are strumming early or late much easier (you will be able to tell if the notes are falling behind the stationary frets at the bottom). All music games benefit from a faster method of scrolling, and Guitar Hero is no exception. I firmly believe using this mode will alone improve your scores! - Don't miss those easy one or two note SP boosts. They usually come at the end of a solo where you're likely to be strumming and fretting like mad. If you're already messing up the solo, stop a few notes before the SP boost and make sure to nail them. You'd much rather have the 2x boost to your multiplier for several measures instead of maybe getting 100 more points for hitting two more notes in the solo, wouldn't you? - It seems like strumming a note and missing it is more costly to your health than just letting the note pass by (if, say, you missed it during a HOPO). - Don't be afraid to use your ring finger to press the Orange fret (and therefore your index finger to press the Yellow fret). Sliding that far down is not going to kill you, but NOT sliding that far down for some tricky YBO solos might! - It is often easier to lock your fingers in place and slide up and down the neck to catch tricky chord sections than it is to attempt alternating fingers. See the Killing in the Name and Psychobilly Freakout sections. - If your strumming hand is getting tired from pressing in one direction, let it rest by strumming both up and down for a while. In addition, try to HOPO more sections you may otherwise have strummed. It's good practice anyway. - Don't feel that because a HOPO is there, it must be HOPO'd. If you're on a good run in a song and don't feel comfortable, don't take a chance. Expend some energy and strum the notes to be sure! - Don't miss the opportunity for free star power on those long SP hold notes. On many notes, you can build your SP all the way up to the top of the meter. If you're wondering when to stop whammying because your bar is full, take a look around your SP meter. Energy will be radiating from it if it's being charged. Once that stops, you know it's full. - If you're missing a long sequence of repeated notes or chords and you just don't know why, more often than not you are going too fast. Slow down. - Never play in the Blackout Bar (the default venue if you select Career Mode after beating all 8 tiers). There is a weird glitch with the game that causes the fret board and the camera to shake a bit when you miss a note. It is very distracting and has actually given me a headache at times. Play in one of the earlier venues. - Are you missing pull-offs more often than you are missing hammer-ons? Perhaps you are not lifting off the higher frets fast enough. Hammer-ons are easier because you are simply pressing down notes in beat with the music. With pull- offs, you have to make sure that you not only press down the new fret, but lift off the old one beforehand. There may be a slight period of overlap where you have both frets held down, which the game will interpret as a miss, which will cause you to miss the entire pull-off sequence. - Pyro Maniac says: Don't grab the guitar really hard with your fretting hand. I used to grip the guitar as hard as I could when playing difficult sections due to the fact that I would get too excited. After getting half way through expert I had to consciously keep myself from doing that because it hurt my playing ability a lot. It also made my thumb get sore quite easily. The end of the guitar should rest in your fretting hand and not be vice gripped in place. +=============================================================================+ + Songs to Practice + +=============================================================================+ So, you're stuck on a certain song and you want to practice a certain skill. Here is a very non-exhaustive list of some good songs to practice certain techniques. Each skill is important in its own right, and practice is really the only way to get better at these. If you're struggling, try playing another song to see if it helps you improve! And don't forget about Practice mode. Being able to practice only a particular section (and slowing it down) really helps. Tough/Plentiful Chords - Psychobilly Freakout, Stop, Trogdor, Collide, John the Fisherman, Killing in the Name (noise section, chorus), Gemini, Freya, Them Bones, Monkey Wrench Easy/Rhythmic Up-and-Down Strumming - Monkey Wrench, Madhouse, Who Was In My Room Last Night?, Hangar 18 (intro), Killing in the Name (break, guitar solo), X-Stream, Surrender, Strutter, Bad Reputation (intro, verse 2) Fast Up-and-Down Strumming - Beast and the Harlot, Misirlou, Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart (verse 1 and 2 riff), Freya (main riff), Rock This Town, Carry Me Home (verse 1 and 2 riff), Arterial Black (intro), The Light That Blinds (intro), Thunderhorse (intro), Tattooed Love Boys, Hangar 18 (outro) Easy HOPOs - Carry On Wayward Song (main riff 1 [a very good one to start with!], swing riff 1, gtr riff 1), Killing in the Name (intro, verse, brief 7- note solo in verse 2), Jessica, Thunderhorse (intro), Institutionalized (verse 2b), Cherry Pie, Hangar 18 (guitar solo 3a, big riff 1, bigger riff) Hard/Long HOPOs - Woman (second half of song), Carry Me Home (intro), Thunderhorse (end), Laid To Rest, Less Talk More Rokk, Hangar 18 (most solos, but specifically guitar solo 1b), Gemini, YYZ Getting Used to the Orange Fret - Shout at the Devil, Sweet Child o' Mine (gtr hook), Killing in the Name (intro, verse riff), Message in a Bottle (intro), Carry On Wayward Son (main riff 1, swing riff 2, verse 1, verse 2), Surrender, Cherry Pie (from intro to verse 2) +=============================================================================+ + Songs + +=============================================================================+ This is the real meat of the guide, so it will take me a while to get all the way through the 64 songs. Be patient while I get to them! I will try to tackle the more troublesome songs first. Please do not send me any contributions songs that have no strategies just yet. Please wait until it is more developed before providing strategies. I will be happy to accept them at that time. Also, one note about the star power paths I will be providing. For some songs, getting 5-stars is not too difficult as long as you don't sit on your star power and you don't use it when there are literally no notes. For those songs, I will be providing just a brief overview of when might be good places to use it, but they are not hard and fast rules by any means. For songs that are more difficult, I will provide more specific places to use your SP. However, this largely depends on you getting enough SP boosts throughout the song. As such, it is difficult to cover all cases if you miss a key SP boost. In most cases, it's not too important if you get off-sync with my strategies and have to start improvising. But for songs where you just can't seem to get 5-stars, I recommend trying to follow my path more exactly and making sure you have SP at the key junctures in the song. One last word on this. If you simply can't play a certain section well (that is, your multiplayer always stays at 1x), it may be better to find an easier part of the song, where you can stay at 4x for a while, and use your SP there. It will be worth more points to you, but may make the 5* score tougher to accomplish until you practice the parts my path recommends. I guess what I'm saying here is; if you use the SP in a place I recommend, but can't get above 1x multiplier, that part must have 4 times the notes than an easier part where you can keep a 4x combo for it to be a more beneficial SP passage. If you don't think this is the case, find a part of the song you can combo and use it there. At your current skill level, you will get a higher score. Once you practice more, though, my path will become worth considerably more points! Notes about BPM: Since the songs are performed by real musicians, the BPM wavers a lot (anywhere from 5 to 10 BPM one way or the other). I will make sure to note key points where it affects the play of the song, but this is more like an average BPM, and it's usually not a big deal. For songs like Institutionalized and Misirlou, though, the fluctuations are large enough that they can start to mess you up. Notes about star cutoffs: Getting 4 stars or 5 stars on a song has everything to do with your score and nothing to do with anything else (percentage of notes hit, SP phrases captured, average multiplier, etc). The numbers listed in this FAQ are either exact, or within just a few points, indicated by a +/- differential. Alright, I think that about covers it. Onto the songs. $================================$ $ Opening Licks $ $================================$ Song: Shout at the Devil Artist: Motley Crue (cover) BPM: 95 bpm Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 82,530 5-star cutoff: 115,542 Total Notes: 518 Song Length: 3:28 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Mother Artist: Danzig (cover) BPM: 145 bpm Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 104,232 5-star cutoff: 145,925 Total Notes: 625 Song Length: 3:32 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Surrender Artist: Cheap Trick (cover) BPM: 135 bpm Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 132,102 l5-star cutoff: 184,943 Total Notes: 834 Song Length: 4:22 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Woman Artist: Wolfmother (cover) BPM: 150 bpm Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 101,342 5-star cutoff: 141,879 Total Notes: 641 Song Length: 2:50 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight Artist: Spinal Tap (cover) BPM: 182 bpm Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 89,816 5-star cutoff: 125,743 Total Notes: 524 Song Length: 2:37 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! $================================$ $ Amp-Warmers $ $================================$ Song: Strutter Artist: Kiss (cover) BPM: 130 bpm Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 118,664 5-star cutoff: 166,130 Total Notes: 668 Song Length: 3:19 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Heart-Shaped Box Artist: Nirvana (cover) BPM: 100 bpm (slows to 83 bpm at the end) Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 136,267 (+/- 4) 5-star cutoff: 190,750 (+/- 100) Total Notes: 850 Song Length: 5:04 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Message in a Bottle Artist: The Police (cover) BPM: 150 bpm Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 131,334 5-star cutoff: 183,868 Total Notes: 977 Song Length: 5:04 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: You Really Got Me Artist: Van Halen (cover) BPM: 138 bpm Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 68,944 5-star cutoff: 96,522 Total Notes: 486 Song Length: 2:40 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Carry On Wayward Son Artist: Kansas (cover) BPM: 125 bpm Time Signature: 4/4, 6/4 (one bar in a solo) 4-star cutoff: 115,740 5-star cutoff: 162,036 Total Notes: 965 Song Length: 5:21 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! $================================$ $ String-Snappers $ $================================$ Song: Monkey Wrench Artist: Foo Fighters (cover) BPM: 174 bpm Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 206,830 5-star cutoff: 289,562 Total Notes: 1036 Song Length: 3:56 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Them Bones Artist: Alice in Chains (cover) BPM: 166 bpm Time Signature: 7/4, 4/4 4-star cutoff: 110,316 5-star cutoff: 154,443 Total Notes: 543 Song Length: 2:44 Difficulty to Pass: 2/10 Difficulty to 5-star: 2/10 Random Song Anecdotes: A great song done with a solid cover. One of my favorites in the game. The guitar solo at the end was not in the original recording. This song is good for practicing chords, and has a solo that encourages playing in third position. Key Pattern Discussion: - Opening Chord Sequence: This is a pattern that you must practice if you cannot play it every time. The song is more or less composed entirely of this progression. I used to play this section rooted in second position, but I've since switched to using my pinky for the blue fret. I recommend staying in first position and using 4 fingers to play this. I also recommend strumming only down for this part, so you can focus on your fretting hand. - Chorus: When the singer says "I feel so alone...", there is a few [RB] chords, followed by [GY]YB, which then segues into a [BO] chord. Take the RB in second position, the GY in first, and play the YB with 34, setting yourself up for [BO]. Classic play rooted in second position. - Guitar Solo a: The beginning of this should be played with 2 constantly pressing down R, and then some finger sliding to hit the G notes afterwards. This also contains a key star power you need to collect. - Guitar solo c: Starts in 4/4 time and moves back to 7/4 time. A key solo YBOBYBOBY... solo that I highly recommend sliding up to third position for. The notes in the solo are 16th notes. Play as a HOPO by "drumming" your fingers up and down quickly. You will then have to 2-slide back down to R afterwards, but they are only eighth notes so it will be easy. - Ending: All sixteenth notes with no break. Strum up and down to nail the repeating notes, and continue strumming up and down to hit the HOPOs. Stopping in the middle may break your combo unless you're very good with HOPOs. This should be played rooted in second position. Notes on Passing: This song is quite easy to pass if you can consistently play the chord progression. If you can't, you will need to sit down with it in training. Save star power for Guitar Solo c if you feel uncomfortable. The Ending shouldn't have enough notes to kill you if you go into it with full health. Notes on 5-starring: An easy 5-star song because of the myriad of chords and the 7/4 time, which prolongs your star power significantly. Earn your first two SP boosts, then wait two measures until the massive chord section starts. Use it at the start of this section. Next, earn three SP boosts (two will come in quick succession in Guitar Solo a), then immediately use it after the third boost has been captured. This will set you up nicely for hitting Guitar Solo c (and will also save you if you can't play that section well). If you used your SP early, you will earn another SP boost right after Guitar Solo c. Earn another later in the song and use immediately. Get 2 boosts, use a few beats later. Get 3 boosts, use immediately. Get 2 boosts, use immediately. You needn't play the solos well. Just nail all the chords at 8x and there will be no problem with this song. Notes on the Co-op Chart: A very easy bass track with no chords and only the occasional G-to-O stretch. Easy to full combo. Since the song is cool, though, it's still an entertaining track to play. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Search and Destroy Artist: Iggy Pop and the Stooges (cover) BPM: 152 bpm Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 138,800 (+/- 1200) 5-star cutoff: 197,380 (+/- 120) Total Notes: 858 Song Length: 3:43 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Tattooed Love Boys Artist: The Pretenders (cover) BPM: 242 bpm Time Signature: 4/4, 7/4 (some weird parts during verse 1, 2, 3) 4-star cutoff: 128,470 (+/- 200) 5-star cutoff: 180,150 (+/- 120) Total Notes: 819 Song Length: 3:02 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: War Pigs Artist: Black Sabbath (cover) BPM: 88 bpm (115 bpm for the intro) Time Signature: 4/4, 6/4 (for the intro) 4-star cutoff: 155,100 (+/- 900) 5-star cutoff: 217,350 (+/- 250) Total Notes: 1117 Song Length: 7:36 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! $================================$ $ Thrash and Burn $ $================================$ Song: Cherry Pie Artist: Warrant (cover) BPM: 88 bpm Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 72,918 5-star cutoff: 102,086 Total Notes: 444 Song Length: 3:19 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Who Was In My Room Last Night? Artist: The Butthole Surfers (cover) BPM: 181 bpm (170 bpm during some key dips in the main guitar riff) Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 144,878 5-star cutoff: 202,830 Total Notes: 868 Song Length: 3:19 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Girlfriend Artist: Matthew Sweet (cover) BPM: 122 bpm Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 98,278 5-star cutoff: 137,590 Total Notes: 691 Song Length: 3:46 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Can't You Hear Me Knockin' Artist: The Rolling Stones (cover) BPM: 153 bpm Time Signature: 4/4 4-star cutoff: 118,164 5-star cutoff: 165,430 Total Notes: 737 Song Length: 4:29 Difficulty to Pass: N/A Difficulty to 5-star: N/A ... coming soon! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Song: Sweet Child o' Mine
Artist: Guns N' Roses (cover)

BPM: 126 bpm (100 bpm during the ending)
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 127,674
5-star cutoff: 178,744
Total Notes: 998
Song Length: 5:57

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


$================================$
$ Return of the Shred            $
$================================$

Song: Killing in the Name
Artist: Rage Against the Machine (cover)

BPM: 85 bpm (122 bpm from the beginning until "verse riff")
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 201,000 (+/- 1000)
5-star cutoff: 280,000 (+/- 500)
Total Notes: 1319
Song Length: 5:17

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: John the Fisherman
Artist: Primus (original recording)

BPM: 115 bpm
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 84,138
5-star cutoff: 117,794
Total Notes: 420
Song Length: 3:39

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Freya
Artist: The Sword (cover)

BPM: 92 bpm
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 177,340
5-star cutoff: 248,276
Total Notes: 1191
Song Length: 4:57

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Bad Reputation
Artist: Thin Lizzy (cover)

BPM: 126 bpm
Time Signature: 4/4, 5/4 (during some parts of chorus 1, 2)

4-star cutoff: 93,130
5-star cutoff: 130,382
Total Notes: 793
Song Length: 3:15

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Last Child
Artist: Aerosmith (cover)

BPM: 90 bpm (68 bpm at the start)
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 96,100 (+/- 600)
5-star cutoff: 134,500 (+/- 400)
Total Notes: 812
Song Length: 4:22

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


$================================$
$ Relentless Riffs               $
$================================$

Song: Crazy on You
Artist: Heart (cover)

BPM: 131 bpm (90 bpm during the slowdown in the intro)
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 161,884
5-star cutoff: 226,638
Total Notes: 1082
Song Length: 4:53

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart
Artist: Stone Temple Pilots (cover)

BPM: 106 bpm
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 127,810
5-star cutoff: 178,934
Total Notes: 721
Song Length: 3:02

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Rock This Town
Artist: Stray Cats (cover)

BPM: 202 bpm
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 155,900 (+/- 1200)
5-star cutoff: 217,700 (+/- 200)
Total Notes: 1115
Song Length: 3:26

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Jessica
Artist: The Allman Brothers Band (cover)

BPM: 105 bpm
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 139,566
5-star cutoff: 195,393
Total Notes: 1210
Song Length: 6:01

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Stop
Artist: Jane's Addiction (original recording)

BPM: 123 bpm
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 136,500 (+/- 1000)
5-star cutoff: 190,700 (+/- 200)
Total Notes: 774
Song Length: 4:01

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


$================================$
$ Furious Fretwork               $
$================================$

Song: Madhouse
Artist: Anthrax (cover)

BPM: 164 bpm
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 181,052
5-star cutoff: 253,473
Total Notes: 1053
Song Length: 4:10

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Carry Me Home
Artist: The Living End (cover)

BPM: 135 bpm
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 153,100 (+/- 600)
5-star cutoff: 213,750 (+/- 150)
Total Notes: 1013
Song Length: 3:14

Difficulty to Pass: 8/10
Difficulty to 5-star: 8/10

Random Song Anecdotes: This is *the* standout track in Guitar Hero 2 as far as
I'm concerned. A very fun song to play, with an easy solo to make you feel like
a man, but a difficult chord sequence to bring you back down. Probably my
favorite track in the entire game.

Key Pattern Discussion:
- Opening Riff: When you first see this section on Hard or Expert, you will
probably fall flat on your face and fail. But at 135 bpm with sixteenth notes,
this section is fairly straightforward to HOPO. They will throw in some
repeated notes at you that you will have to strum, but just strum the last two
when you see them. Play rooted in second position, and make the necessary
slides with 2 to G... there will be a few of them. But this is way easier than
sliding 5 down to O in this riff, trust me. This sequence will end with the
following pattern: YRGBYROBRBYGY---, which I recommend you finger as:
3224325425424 (note the quick pinky slide UP to B there). If that confuses you,
though, playing it in second position will be fine, you will just have to do 2
index slides up to G.

- That Chord Sequence: You know the one I'm talking about. It goes
BR[RY][YB][RY] and happens a million times in the song. Note that there are
only 5 strums here. When playing this song originally, I thought there were 6,
so I strummed the first B note way early and would always miss. There IS a good
way to handle this sequence, though. Play in second position, obviously, since
there is no G. Hold down both R and B with 2 and 4 respectively. Strum the B
note down, then lift off 4 and strum the R note up. Then, hold down Y with 3,
and do a quick "2-4-2 switch", strumming three times up and down quickly. Try
this; put your middle and index finger of your left hand on a desk. Then, lift
off your index finger and put down your ring finger (keeping your middle down
the whole time). Can you switch back and forth like this in rapid succession?
That's the pattern you need to do here. These are 16th notes, so you don't need
to strum any faster than you would for the GGGGGG section that comes a few
seconds after this. I think if you start with both B and R held down, you will
increase your success rate on this chord sequence.

- Verse 1a and 1b: Tons of up-and-down strumming. The BPM seems to be very
solid here, so there shouldn't be a problem nailing these if you're good at
alternate strumming. It's lots of points at 4x.

- Crazy solo in Verse 2: It's really fast. Try HOPOing it. Missing at least one
note in here is more or less a given, and hitting this is not required for a
good score. Just make sure to pick up that 2-note SP boost at the end. It's
very important!

- Chorus: Keep G down the whole time, playing in first position. The GYGGB
sequence is a 5-note 16th note run. Alt-strum it.

- Guitar Solo b - A fun HOPO. A good practice, too, if you can't do HOPOs well.
Play the last bit of it (the chords) in second position, and do the GRYBGRYBO--
-- run in second position as well (it will require two slides of G). Playing it
in first position would require a tough pinky slide otherwise. The two index
slides aren't too bad, plus it's more fun.

- Guitar Solo c - The Y[RY]Y[RY] sequence can be played by holding down both R
and Y, but the B[BO]B[BO] requires a lift off orange. The ending run to this
solo is composed of TRIPLETS. HOPO them a bit slower.


Notes on Passing: If you can get past the intro and into the verse, you should
be able to pass this song no problem. But getting that far is a bit trickly.
There are a few short SP boosts at the beginning which most players will miss
because they are desperately trying to hit the intro riff. If you just can't
get past it like that, try slowing down and nailing those two SP boosts on a
single BYRG HOPO. Then, use your SP right away to get yourself back in
reasonable shape. When the main verse comes with the string of G notes, you
should be able to boost your health back up slowly. Use SP when you get it if
you're concerned about health, as not much in the rest of the song should kill
you.

Notes on 5-starring: The SP for this song is layed out in a very nice way to
get 5 stars. Even if you miss a few key ones, you should be able to maximize
your score by using SP in certain key spots. I've gotten 5 stars on this song
missing that tough chord sequence almost every time, and making a lot of stupid
mental mistakes, but I got one or two key SPs and used them properly.

Start out by collecting both SPs from the intro run if you can. If you miss
both, it's okay, but it's more points if you either of them. The next SP boost
will be an easy 2 chord sequence, and the next one will be on the first long
sequence of G notes. Get as many of these as you can and then use it
*immediately* after the end of the last SP boost. You should be able to get
some nice points with 8x on this sequence of many repeating notes. Your SP
should run out just when another one comes along. Collect this next boost, the
2-note boost at the end of the crazy solo in verse 2, and the SP boost that
happens during the long 3-chord note sequence (if you miss this one, it's okay).
Either way, you should have a usable boost here; use it immediately on the
[YBO] 3-chords. You have to use it BEFORE the first [YBO] chord. If you use it
late, you will miss an important boost later.

Your next two boosts come on an easy 4-chord sequence and then on an important
HOPO right before the next verse starts. Grab these two and use it as soon as
the long string of G notes starts again (just a few beats later).

Following that, you should get two quick boosts in succession; one on a
sequence of 4 chords (easy to hit), and on a BO, BO pulloff (whammy that note!).
Use this boost sometime before the [YBO] chords again (as close to it as
possible, preferably, but make sure you use it before the first chord). This
will run out just when another SP comes on a long O note, then on a long [BO]
note. It's possible to get 1/2 meter from this if you whammy a lot! Just make
sure to strum that [BO] chord. Save this until your next SP boost on a massive
section of [RY] chords, and then use it immediately on the main chorus part
next. And to be nice, the game will throw in two more SP boosts for you at the
end of the song, so grab them and use it right away before the song ends!

I wrote a lot for this one, but people have told me they struggle 5-starring
this song. If you execute this path to the letter, as long as you 8x a few of
the easy parts and the long sequence of repeating notes at the beginning, it
will be an easy 5-star for you. Even if you miss a few boosts, following this
path as closely as you can will give you a great shot at it!

Notes on the Co-op Chart: A pretty easy bass track, especially considering what
the lead guitar has to play. You'll find nothing in here that guitar doesn't
have to deal with on a much more difficult scale. The parts in "chorus" are
easy to HOPO.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Laid to Rest
Artist: Lamb of God (cover)

BPM: 138 bpm
Time Signature: 4/4 (really 6/8, but in the game it is 4/4 with constant
triplets)

4-star cutoff: 156,692
5-star cutoff: 219,369
Total Notes: 1268
Song Length: 3:53

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Psychobilly Freakout
Artist: Reverend Horton Heat (cover)

BPM: 159 bpm (135 bpm during "ending")
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 118,800 (+/- 500)
5-star cutoff: 166,168 (+/- 18)
Total Notes: 717
Song Length: 2:43

Difficulty to Pass: 8/10
Difficulty to 5-star: 9/10

Random Song Anecdotes: I'll tell you what it is! It's some kind of a Texas
Psychobilly Freakout, that's what it is!

Key Pattern Discussion:
- Opening riff: Play in second position and HOPO. Shoot your index up to hit
the stray G note at the end of each little riff. Don't go too fast; they're
16th notes but the BPM isn't raging high.

- Verse 1: Well, either you can read this or you can't. Heh. If you want to hit
all the notes, going into training (and playing with Hyper Speed) will help.
Most of this verse needs to be alt-strummed. There will be many 7 or 8-note
16th note runs, and if you can get the intro, you should have no problems
getting them. Just distinguish where the phrase starts and where it ends,
otherwise you'll likely ending your combo just strumming past the end of the
sequence. Verse 1 only contains one SP boost, and it's hard to hit, so just do
your best here.

- Chorus: Ahh yes, the [RB][YO] chord section. Don't even bother trying to get
it by alternating between 24 and 35, you won't succeed. Press your thumb up
against the back of the neck of the guitar, lock your 2 and 4 fingers in place
on the [RB] chord, and rapidly slide them back and forth between [RB] and [YO],
strumming down and only down. If you want 5 stars on this song, you MUST be
able to hit this entire passage consistently. Go into practice and slow it down,
practicing with the sliding technique, and slowly work your way up if you have
trouble.

- Verse 2: Not as hard as verse 1. Most of it is obvious how it is to be played,
and it has only one HOPO at the very beginning (OBYRBYRGG...). This HOPO ends
with two Gs, which requires a strum on the last beat.

- Guitar Solo 2a: This one can be played in third position, keeping 3 down on Y
the entire time. I don't have a problem with this section, and usually get both
star powers (and almost always at least 1). It just works the way the track
sounds. Sixteenth note alt-strumming is nothing new to you on this song at this
point.

- Guitar Solo 2b: A fun fast HOPO section which should be played firmly in
second position. If you're unable to move your fingers that fast, just aim for
half the notes. It's not necessary to keep your combo here.

- Guitar Solo 2c: The ending sections of chords is another 16th note strumming
section, lifting off O precisely every quarter note. Think of it as a HOPO with
a blue note on every quarter note, and orange notes every other part of it (to
get your fingering right). Then just 16th note strum as you have been doing.
Can you see how important alt-strumming is on this song?

- Guitar Solo 2d: Strum only down for this part. Double-tap the strum bar for
the quick 16th notes in succession.

- Ending: These are sixteenth notes, but the song has slowed down a bit (see
the BPM section above). I usually find I tend to strum too slow here to start,
and then I speed up way too fast. Watch where the notes are overlapping at the
bottom and adjust your strumming accordingly (if you see the notes falling way
past the markers at the bottom, you know you're strumming too slow, for
instance).

Notes on Passing: There's no getting around it, you will have to learn how get
past the chords in "chorus". Go into practice and slow it down. Work on sliding
your hands (maybe play Killing in the Name or Who Was In My Room which have
similar parts). Follow my advice in the above section. Otherwise, if you're
looking to scrape by with a pass, randomly alt-strumming and fingering the
solos should get you through it. Use SP, of course, if you're about to fail.
There are a few easy pickups in this song (the end of every chorus has a boost
for you).

Notes on 5-starring: If you know where to use SP, 5-starring this song is not
as difficult of a task as you may be led to believe. The Ending is your key
here. Getting into the ending with a 4x combo and a full SP meter means you can
get at least 40,000 points out of the ending 10 seconds alone, even if you
break your combo a few times during the chords (which is roughly 1/4 of the 5-
star score!). If you can only get a few boosts out of the song, make sure you
save it for the ending. If you're a bit more confident, follow this path below.

Nail the first 3-chord SP boost (whammy it a bit). I will assume you will miss
the next SP boost in Verse 1. But you should hit the [RO] chords right before
the tricky sliding chords in the chorus, and then you should also nail the
quarter notes chords at the end of the chorus (and whammy the note until you
get full SP). Hopefully you played the sliding chords at 4x and didn't break
your combo! Use it as soon as the good Reverend finishes saying "... freakout!",
but BEFORE the drums start. Since you won't be strumming, press the SELECT
button to activate your SP here to ensure your accuracy. If you're going to be
off, you must be early. If the drums play before you activate it, you should
restart. If you had full SP, it will extend into a section with massive chords
(which you should be able to hit at least at 6x, because the parts before it
are pretty easy), and it will also run out right before an easy pickup.

Grab this easy pickup, and the next one on the [RO] chords a few measures later,
and use it immediately for the sliding chords section. If you can nail this one
at 8x, you're well on your way (just think, you'll be hitting 56 notes, each
worth 200 points at an 8x multiplier... this is over 12,000 points towards your
score in just four measures!). You'll now have a long hold note, followed by a
part that sounds like the intro.

Now, play the song to the end, saving all your SP boosts until the Ending. You
have 5 chances to get at least 2 SP boosts (and one of them is an easy 3 noter).
If you nail 4 of the 5, you're in great shape, but you need at least 2. Use it
as soon as the masses of chords start at the Ending, and the more SP you have
accrued, the longer it will last in that section. This is where you will pick
up the bulk of your points, so if you're going into this part with 125,000
points, you can still easily pick up the 5-star score.

Notes on the Co-op Chart: Not a trivial bass chart, but it's not even close to
the same league as guitar. You will mostly be doing one rhythm over and over
again, and if you figure out the best way to handle that rhythm (either through
HOPOs, alt-strumming, or double down-tapping the strum bar for 16th notes), you
will have no problems with this. The tricky slide chords guitar has to deal
with is reduced to alternating R and B on the eighth note for bass. Bass
players always have it easy, eh?


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: YYZ
Artist: Rush (cover)

BPM: 142 bpm (205 bpm during the intro and outro, 125 during "break", 71 bpm
during the long note in "guitar solo d")
Time Signature: 4/4, 5/4 (during intro and outro)

4-star cutoff: 113,280 (+/- 40)
5-star cutoff: 158,450 (+/- 60)
Total Notes: 954
Song Length: 4:23

Difficulty to Pass: 4/10
Difficulty to 5-star: 5/10

Random Song Anecdotes: Rush is Canadian, and I'm Canadian, so a little shout-
out there. The intro is listed as 5/4 time, but it's really 10/8 time (a very
bizarre time signature). The intro guitar riff that sounds so strange is YYZ
being played in morse code (-.--/-.--/--..). YYZ is the airport code for the
Pearson Airport in Toronto, and Rush has said that seeing YYZ on their luggage
brought happiness to them after a long road trip, because they were finally
home. This instrumental is one of Rush's more famous tunes.

Key Pattern Discussion:

- Break: A fun HOPO which should be easy to hit starts it off. Slide from G to
R with 2 for the first note. It ends with an easy SP boost. The next part of
break that starts with two O notes is a full 30 bpm SLOWER than the part before
it. Slow down for this one!

- Verse: The key sequence to YYZ is all throughout the different verses.
BBYBYRR G----, BBYBYRG R--Y--G. Then, this pattern gets shifted one fret
upwards so it starts on O instead of B. Play these parts as full HOPOs, in
second position (take B with 4 at all times), with a slight twist. For the
first sequence, double-tap down on the strum bar TWICE on the first two notes,
and TWICE on the last two notes (easy pattern to get used to). For the second
sequence, you only need to double-tap the strum bar twice on the first two
notes (but you can do it on the last two notes if you want to stay consistent).
Then, for the next part, use the SAME fingering, which means you need to slide
up to third position. Take O with 4 and repeat. If you slide up, I guarantee
you will miss fewer notes trying to do the same pattern with your pinky. You've
already learned it starting on 4... why change now?

- Chorus: Starts easy. Alt-strum the GGGGY---- part. Many people struggle with
the quick guitar riff here, but again... this is easier in third position. It
goes R Y B OBYBO ... R Y B OBYBOBO. Play both R and Y with 2, and hit B and O
with 3 and 4 respectively. This becomes a significantly easier HOPO in this
position.

- Bass solo 1: You will have to make a jump from third position to first
position to play the first [GY] chord. You have half a beat to do it, which
should be enough time to whip your hand up there.

- Drum solo 2: Alt-strum this entire part. Play the [GY] chords in first
position, and slide up to second position for [RB]. Don't try to switch fingers
on a sixteenth note like that. It's much easier to slide. I find this part to
be a bit early, in terms of the synching. I usually have to stay a bit ahead of
the beat to hit them all. That might just be me, though.

- Guitar solo a: It starts with a OBG sixteenth note HOPO. Take it 542,
shooting your hand up to G as quick as you can.

- Guitar solo b: Here, I recommend playing the intro GRYGRB in first position,
ending with 5 on B. You will have to slide 5 to hit the next O note, but it is
easy.

- Guitar solo c: Play the ending HOPO rooted in second position. Once you slide
up to G, stay there and play GYR with 243.

- Guitar solo d: Alt-strum the first 10 or so notes. The solo before the long
freeze note IS comboable, trust me. You'll have to do lots of switching between
first and second position, however you slice it. I think it tricks people
because it starts alternating between 245, then it moves to 235, then back to
245, then back to 235, then to 234 to finish it off. You'll have to watch
carefully to see a tricky sequence of GYBYGRBR, which needs to be taken
24542353 (which is a similar muscle exercise as the Carry Me Home chord
sequence). If you can't play this part, make SURE you hit that last B with the
SP and whammy it until you get full SP. This solo can be entirely missed and 5-
stars still easily achieved, so don't worry about it too much.

Notes on Passing: A pretty easy song to pass, probably the easiest in the tier
despite it being the boss song. You'll have to make sure you can get the main
riff in the verse at least once every 3 tries or so. It's a good HOPO practice
if you're struggling. Take it in training and slow it down. I firmly believe
this song is easier if you play the main parts mostly in third position. You
will not have to involve your pinky nearly as much.

Notes on 5-starring: This song is harder to 5-star than Madhouse, but not by
much. It's pretty easy to do it without using any SP at all, actually. There
are only a few good parts to use SP, and since the song is composed mostly of
the main riff and scant solos, either you can play this song for massive points,
or SP won't help you much (a 2x multiplier instead of 1x during those parts).

I recommend getting the first 3 SP boosts (all easy), then using it right at
the beginning of the first verse. Try to keep 8x as long as you can, and if
you're good at the main riff, you should be able to keep it until SP wears out.
Your next SP should be used in Drum solo 2, and if you can get that entire
chord section at 8x, it's a large boost to your score. Your next SP meter can
be filled up entirely by the long B note at the end of guitar solo d by
whammying it, so do that and use it at the start of the next verse. You'll end
up picking up 1 more SP phrase that will fill your meter 1/4 of the way, but
you won't be able to use it. This may not be the most optimal path, but
consistent play of the main riff at 8x should be more than enough for 5 stars.

Notes on the Co-op Chart: This bass track is considerably harder than the
guitar. The main riff is harder as it throws in another double-strum part, and
during the easy guitar parts of the chorus, the bass will be going hardcore on
some sixteenth note runs. If you like this song and like how the note chart is
structured, play the bass for more of the same, but slightly harder. This is
one of the most fun co-op songs to play, because both players get solos and
very interesting harmonies.


$================================$
$ Face-Melters                   $
$================================$

Song: Beast and the Harlot
Artist: Avenged Sevenfold (cover)

BPM: 155 bpm
Time Signature: 4/4, 3/4 (during "intro a", and outro)

4-star cutoff: 201,200 (+/- 600)
5-star cutoff: 281,950 (+/- 50)
Total Notes: 1683
Song Length: 5:45

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Institutionalized
Artist: Suicidal Tendencies (cover)

BPM: 135 bpm with wild fluctuations (up to 185 bpm during "verse 1f", "verse
2e", "verse 3f", 180 bpm in first third and last third of "chorus 1", "chorus
2", "chorus 3", 210 bpm in middle third of the three choruses)
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 172,950
5-star cutoff: 242,130
Total Notes: 1133
Song Length: 3:52

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Misirlou
Artist: Dick Dale (cover)

BPM: 100 bpm (120 bpm in all of "gtr intro", 77 bpm in "ending" after the
string of 3-note chords)
Time Signature: 4/4, 2/4 in a few scattered bars, 3/4 in one bar in "gtr intro"

4-star cutoff: 143,750 (+/- 150)
5-star cutoff: 201,220 (+/- 40)
Total Notes: 1222
Song Length: 2:42

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Hangar 18
Artist: Megadeth (cover)

BPM: 160 bpm from beginning to end of "gtr solo 2b" (112 bpm from "gtr solo 3a"
to end of "big riff 2", 130 bpm from "bigger riff" to the end)
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 205,500 (+/- 400)
5-star cutoff: 288,700 (+/- 600)
Total Notes: 1698
Song Length: 5:14

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Song: Freebird
Artist: Lynyrd Skynyrd (cover)

BPM: 155 bpm (58 bpm during the slow first half)
Time Signature: 4/4

4-star cutoff: 244,600 (+/- 1200)
5-star cutoff: 340,800 (+/- 600)
Total Notes: 1982
Song Length: 9:24

Difficulty to Pass: N/A
Difficulty to 5-star: N/A

... coming soon!


$================================$
$ Bonus Tracks                   $
$================================$


... coming soon!



+=============================================================================+
+    Contact Me                                                               +
+=============================================================================+


There are a few guidelines I'd like you to adhere to if you'd like a response.

1. Include "Guitar Hero" somewhere in the subject line. As with most people, I
get crazy amounts of junk mail. I won't be wading through it to try and find
actual mail that isn't easily identifiable. Don't forget this!

2. Offer praise or constructive criticism. I don't mind criticism, but I will
simply delete e-mails which intentionally insult me. This includes "I'm better
than you" mails.

3. Make your e-mail easy to understand with good grammar and spelling.
Deciphering cryptic e-mails will probably not be worth it.

4. Find any kind of error or misrepresentation anywhere in my FAQ which needs
fixing.

5. Contribute a worthwhile strategy to my FAQ. If I like it, it'll find its way
into the next update, and I'll give you credit.

And that's pretty much it! The address is infil12 (at) hotmail (dot) com. You
can expect a response anywhere from a few hours to a few days, depending on my
schedule.



+=============================================================================+
+    Legal Stuff                                                              +
+=============================================================================+


This FAQ is copyrighted by me, Infil. I authorize GameFAQs.com as the only site
able to post this FAQ. If you find it mooched anywhere else, please notify me
and I will contact the parties in question. You cannot copy this FAQ, in whole
or in part, at all. If you really want to post this FAQ on your website or use
any information, all I ask is you e-mail me and wait for my answer. I could
very well grant permission, but you won't know if you don't ask.



+=============================================================================+
+    Credits and Thanks                                                       +
+=============================================================================+


I have a few people to thank:

CJayC - For creating one of the most useful resources on the internet.

Score Hero - A great website at www.scorehero.com. Top people compete for high
scores and discuss strategies. I took some information from the page, including
note counts and 4- and 5-star thresholds. They also have some note charts in
their forums. Yes, I have a Score Hero account, but the information is likely
not up-to-date, and most of the songs listed are my first tries and, therefore,
low. There are a couple good scores, though, to show that I'm a capable player.

Other Contributors - Pyro Maniac, Mikael S. H.





Thanks for reading. Rock on!

~ Infil