Wooow, some of the scales are bananas. Harmonic Minor and Phyrigian Dominant are a couple I hadn't even heard of before trying Scale Runner out. <br />
Well. Busting me out of my A Minor Pentatonic comfort zone is a good thing, I guess. Any recommendations for which scales go well with each key? :P
I haven't played much of scale runner, but does it eventually move you up and down the neck and the various positions of the scale? Or does it always say in the base? If so, you've seen the scales, well at least parts. The major scale has 7 notes, pentatonic removes 2 of these to cut it down to 5.
Not sure which of these images will help you visualize it better
Right here is the whole C major scale. Look at the 5th fret, you can see the minor pentatonic shape. Look at fret 8. Do you see the major pentatonic shape? So the minor shape comes before the major. So if you wanted to play in A major, you played the pentatonic shape on the 2nd fret (It'd be Gb minor) Once you learn the shapes, it's just applying them to the positions. If you know all 5 of the pentatonic, you're not far from the full scale, and you'll be able to tell by ear by what sounds good and what doesn't sound good as well.
One other things about scales, so you have your first position, C major, it's on 8 of the E string. Now, you know to turn it into C minor. Simply play the minor scale. Which is the 6th position of the major Scale. It is also known as the 6 mode, or the Aeolian mode. This may sound confusing. But what this means is, all those fancy names and complicated looking scales? They are just the major scale, with a different position of the scale, or mode, being played on the root. Again, look at the major and minor. The major is the first mode. Minor is the 6th. (theres 7 in the full major scale, 5 shapes in the pentatonic)
That's the shape you'd play at the 10th fret in the major scale. Now, if you were to play that shape starting at 8, the root (C), and made that your first position, you'd now be playing in C major 2nd mode, or C Major Dorian mode. (I might have the terms slightly wrong) but it'd be the dorian mode of C major. It's just moving that shape, it's all it is. Once youlearn it up and down the neck, it's just a matter of positioning it where you want it.
Hopefully I didn't et any of the pictures mixed up, and this helped.
Edit ok the pictures are all messed up. That's not c major in there at the end. Grrr I had them all I thought.
Ok finally found something in this game that annoys me to no end, is stupid, and has no place in this game. So, I hadn't paid too much attention when selecting songs, that I haven't been picking rhythm, lead, or combo arrangements. Never really thought of it. Today, I wanted to play something chordy, thought about oasis but didn't feel like retuning as I just wanted to play a song then go into session mode. Disarm sounds good. I used to know it on guitar for the most part.
Whats this X next to %? Ummm, why isn't it letting me play it? The path I have selected under my path makes it unselectable? Because I am set to lead on my path, and this is a 100% rhythm song with no lead, I have to go in to my path, change it, to be able to play the arrangement? It's not much work to do, but that is fucking stupid and has no place what so ever in the game. Maybe a little prompt if you feel need be "Hey dude, your trying to totally be a rocking lead guitarist with string burning solo's! chords are for wimps. You sure you want to wuss up and play this selection?" but to say I can't play it unless I change my path? I really have no clue why this is in the game, nor why you have to see which arrangements are available/choose them (I assume it's this way)
Is it that big a deal to change your path and play the song? No. Should I have to? Definately not. It's a stupid restriction in the game for no reason as far as I'm concerned
It's stopped me a few times as I'm trying to stay on the Rhythm path as best as I can. But yeah I really don't understand their implementation of the two styles as the Rhythm doesn't really teach you strumming any better than Lead does.
Scale runner will move you up and down the neck as you take exits on the freeway. When you reach the top or bottom note of the scale in your position, it'll give you an option to play a higher/lower note and your hand position will shift accordingly.
Ok finally found something in this game that annoys me to no end, is stupid, and has no place in this game. So, I hadn't paid too much attention when selecting songs, that I haven't been picking rhythm, lead, or combo arrangements. Never really thought of it. Today, I wanted to play something chordy, thought about oasis but didn't feel like retuning as I just wanted to play a song then go into session mode. Disarm sounds good. I used to know it on guitar for the most part.
Whats this X next to %? Ummm, why isn't it letting me play it? The path I have selected under my path makes it unselectable? Because I am set to lead on my path, and this is a 100% rhythm song with no lead, I have to go in to my path, change it, to be able to play the arrangement? It's not much work to do, but that is fucking stupid and has no place what so ever in the game. Maybe a little prompt if you feel need be "Hey dude, your trying to totally be a rocking lead guitarist with string burning solo's! chords are for wimps. You sure you want to wuss up and play this selection?" but to say I can't play it unless I change my path? I really have no clue why this is in the game, nor why you have to see which arrangements are available/choose them (I assume it's this way)
Is it that big a deal to change your path and play the song? No. Should I have to? Definately not. It's a stupid restriction in the game for no reason as far as I'm concerned
/rant
Its what, 3 button presses to switch and be back to the song? I mean, not that it wouldn't be better as a note "This song has no lead. Play anyway?" but 3 button presses doesn't seem like it should earn that much hate. :P
Origin for Dragon Age: Inquisition Shenanigans: Inksplat776
Ok finally found something in this game that annoys me to no end, is stupid, and has no place in this game. So, I hadn't paid too much attention when selecting songs, that I haven't been picking rhythm, lead, or combo arrangements. Never really thought of it. Today, I wanted to play something chordy, thought about oasis but didn't feel like retuning as I just wanted to play a song then go into session mode. Disarm sounds good. I used to know it on guitar for the most part.
Whats this X next to %? Ummm, why isn't it letting me play it? The path I have selected under my path makes it unselectable? Because I am set to lead on my path, and this is a 100% rhythm song with no lead, I have to go in to my path, change it, to be able to play the arrangement? It's not much work to do, but that is fucking stupid and has no place what so ever in the game. Maybe a little prompt if you feel need be "Hey dude, your trying to totally be a rocking lead guitarist with string burning solo's! chords are for wimps. You sure you want to wuss up and play this selection?" but to say I can't play it unless I change my path? I really have no clue why this is in the game, nor why you have to see which arrangements are available/choose them (I assume it's this way)
Is it that big a deal to change your path and play the song? No. Should I have to? Definately not. It's a stupid restriction in the game for no reason as far as I'm concerned
/rant
Its what, 3 button presses to switch and be back to the song? I mean, not that it wouldn't be better as a note "This song has no lead. Play anyway?" but 3 button presses doesn't seem like it should earn that much hate. :P
Like I said it's not that hard to do, and I was having fun with the rant hence the /rant at the end, but I really do question why it's there. I really don't understand it, and it dumbfounded me. Then I wasn't sure should I switch my path, am I going to lose progress, etc... I shouldn't even consider these things. I just wonder why it was put in. Odd design choice to me.
I think its the fact that a large amount of people are going to want to play Lead and nothing else. This is saving that majority a few button presses, at the cost of the back-and-forthers.
And if you look at it that way, it makes perfect sense. You're annoyed at having to click to change. Other people would be annoyed at thinking they could play lead on a song only to be told that no, there is no lead, and then have to back out.
In the end, someone has to press a few extra buttons.
Origin for Dragon Age: Inquisition Shenanigans: Inksplat776
I think its the fact that a large amount of people are going to want to play Lead and nothing else. This is saving that majority a few button presses, at the cost of the back-and-forthers.
And if you look at it that way, it makes perfect sense. You're annoyed at having to click to change. Other people would be annoyed at thinking they could play lead on a song only to be told that no, there is no lead, and then have to back out.
In the end, someone has to press a few extra buttons.
I get that they're trying something different here than rocksmith. This is more of a teaching tool bottom up with a game on top, where rocksmith was more of a game with teaching tools built in. But I did like that they didn't really hide the various arrangements I guess? I didn't even realise it did this, and mainly just wonder why you can't play songs when you're in a certain path. Just makes no sense to me.
Scale runner will move you up and down the neck as you take exits on the freeway. When you reach the top or bottom note of the scale in your position, it'll give you an option to play a higher/lower note and your hand position will shift accordingly.
I like scale runner, I don't like that it ends after one crash I guess. Maybe a way to build lives, or a freeplay mode. I get bored at times until it speeds up and just screw around. I've never seen the off ramps heh. I've only played it a few times, but I've usually crashed early screwing off on the guitar or it not recognizing the note. *edit* I haven't put a lot of time into it but it seemed finicky. I never did get very far, and I was just doing the a minor pent in its base position, something I know. I'll play around with it tomorrow and give it a real go. I spend way to much time in session mode lol
I wonder if there's a way to track time spent in this game? I got the 5 day in a row achievement just by playing it cause I wanted to.
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Dark Raven XLaugh hard, run fast,be kindRegistered Userregular
I'm playing Scale Runner in Rocksmith 1, it does not move around the fretboard at all. But! It's also by far the hardest Guitarcade song imo - it fails to register hits frustratingly often. Also the related cheevo is for hitting 50,000,000 in it. I average 2,500,000 per scale.
In that same vein, I'm calling bullshit on Go With The Flow! It drops my note streak at the end of the chorus every time :I
I wish guitarcade had a "fail and immediately restart without having to exit out, look at scores and reenter" mode. I'm trying to just use it to practice and some of the arcade thematics stuff just really slows me down.
I wish guitarcade had a "fail and immediately restart without having to exit out, look at scores and reenter" mode. I'm trying to just use it to practice and some of the arcade thematics stuff just really slows me down.
Though I do recognize why they do it that way. There's a teaching thing that says, when you make a mistake you should take a little bit to recompose yourself, think what you did wrong, how to do it right and then go back to it. I think though the break is to long for my taste in the games. Especially Scale runner, when you're just barely starting, and for some reason it doesn't register a string and boom, you did 4 notes and now are waiting for it to restart.
it's a one mistake and over game in the new one? in RS1 it's just a time limit and you respawn when you fly off because the game decided to not register your high e.
I must say, when you add up every complaint from every person in this thread, it's just a few tiny nitpicks. They really did a great job with the game.
EDIT
Session mode goodness. Came across this, guy is pretty good and it sounds really cool. He plays along with the band really well.
So, what's a good way to get the hang of picking upward? Cause boy do I flub it terribly. Should I just practice the picking Technique Game while trying to pick alternatively on each bandit?
On another note, Gone Whailin is a fantastic rip of Jetpack Joyride and its ilk. The challenge aspect is the best thing they borrowed, having them emphasize specific tasks instead of scores, with your level boosting your score modifier.
Also, I have a bad habit of letting my finger linger on a fret after hitting a note if there isn't another note immediately after it, turning it into a sustain when it isn't supposed to be. I sort of wish the game would ding me for that. :P
Origin for Dragon Age: Inquisition Shenanigans: Inksplat776
Way I learned to alternate pick was to start on the first fret and pick 1,2,3,4,5 using down up down up, switch to next string and repeat till you've done all 6 then come back in reverse 654321. When back to the start shift down a fret and keep going till you're at the 12th, then work back up. Also I practiced my pentatonic scales doing alt picking till it feels weird to pick all downs now.
Way I learned to alternate pick was to start on the first fret and pick 1,2,3,4,5 using down up down up, switch to next string and repeat till you've done all 6 then come back in reverse 654321. When back to the start shift down a fret and keep going till you're at the 12th, then work back up. Also I practiced my pentatonic scales doing alt picking till it feels weird to pick all downs now.
Scales are probably the best way, that and just being conscious of it and making sure you practice alternating. (And alternating doesn't always make sense. Disarm is pretty much all downstrums although it'd be easier to play with both. You can tell with the feel of the strums)
Also, if you really want to add some pressure and mental gymnastics, how to alternate pick
Alternate picking. Picking down up down up instead of all downstrums. Less movement and less fatigure, more economy of motion for each strum. You can play faster and more accurately. However, you shouldn't always go down up down up down up. In the pentatonic scale, you would technically want to go down down down.
This sounds wrong right?
Well, if you're going from the low E(6th string) to the A (5th string) you'll want to down strum on the E, before the A, as it's easier/makes more sense to complete 2 downward motions instead of an up, moving your pick down to the next string, and downstrumming. Lets throw another wrinkle in. Lets say your playing 5, and then 8 on the Low E, followed by the 5th fret of the A, before going to the 8th fret of the Low E and finishing on the 5th fret (first 3 places of pentatonic scale)
The actual pick motion would be
down, down, up, up, down.
Again, you want to down strum before moving to a string below you, and you'd want to do an upstrum if you were going to then move to a string above it. Get what I'm saying?
It all comes down to economy of motion, (and I believe is a core princable of sweep picking, which I've never learned), and I still don't have it down at all. It's something you'll eventually get muscle memory of and do without noticing if you practice
Man I really hate Missions I don't wanna do. I've had the "Play 20 minutes in Session modes focusing on Chord Tones" now for a week or more, and was hoping it would just go away if I don't ever touch Session Mode again. It's not Go away! I know I should just ignore it, but it is there... annoying me...
If I don't feel like sessioning (you are going to pretty much always have a mission to play in session mode), I'll flip on the Xbox and go into session mode then change the TV over to netflix or something, and just noodle while I netflix. Hop back over later and tada mission complete.
I know some people love Session, but for me, it's like throwing me in over my head where I can barely keep my head above water... hence it's not fun for me. Sure, I know how to hit the nicely colored lights to stay in the "Chord Tone", but I can't make much out of that so it's about as fun as playing a scale. I guess what would be more interesting for me, is a way to know what Chords to play. And I think I have something strange set somewhere in there, as the color "chord tones" keep changing as it does changes, and I noticed on that link from above that the guy doing his thing didn't have the colors change once on him.
I know some people love Session, but for me, it's like throwing me in over my head where I can barely keep my head above water... hence it's not fun for me. Sure, I know how to hit the nicely colored lights to stay in the "Chord Tone", but I can't make much out of that so it's about as fun as playing a scale. I guess what would be more interesting for me, is a way to know what Chords to play. And I think I have something strange set somewhere in there, as the color "chord tones" keep changing as it does changes, and I noticed on that link from above that the guy doing his thing didn't have the colors change once on him.
In complexity I believe, change it all the way to the right. This will change the root key you are playing in, and the scale on the fret board. It also tells you what key you are changing to. For most cases play the major chord. Also, if you watch the fretboard and have it zoomed out, you'll see chord shapes highlight. For example you'll see the shape for the D chord highlight up and down the neck. (The actual shape you make with your fingers is what I'm talking about. There really are only a handful of shapes you need to learn, then you just slide them up and down the neck to play a particular chord)
Also, weren't you the one giving me a hard time about complaing about the 3 buttons I had to press to play Disarm?
Didn't some of the DLC from the first one become free after a long time? I heard something about the Megadeath pack being free but I thought it was for purchase when it first came out.
I know some people love Session, but for me, it's like throwing me in over my head where I can barely keep my head above water... hence it's not fun for me. Sure, I know how to hit the nicely colored lights to stay in the "Chord Tone", but I can't make much out of that so it's about as fun as playing a scale. I guess what would be more interesting for me, is a way to know what Chords to play. And I think I have something strange set somewhere in there, as the color "chord tones" keep changing as it does changes, and I noticed on that link from above that the guy doing his thing didn't have the colors change once on him.
In complexity I believe, change it all the way to the right. This will change the root key you are playing in, and the scale on the fret board. It also tells you what key you are changing to. For most cases play the major chord. Also, if you watch the fretboard and have it zoomed out, you'll see chord shapes highlight. For example you'll see the shape for the D chord highlight up and down the neck. (The actual shape you make with your fingers is what I'm talking about. There really are only a handful of shapes you need to learn, then you just slide them up and down the neck to play a particular chord)
Also, weren't you the one giving me a hard time about complaing about the 3 buttons I had to press to play Disarm?
For Disarm I sorta agree'd about how they have it separated... I'll check out Session mode again, as I've never seen the chord shapes appear only the Scale on the fretboard.
You can form the chord shapes by putting together the chord tone notes.
For example, if you're playing in A and the game shows you that (low E) 577655 (high e) are all chord tones, then the current chord is the root A chord. If, instead, it was showing x57775, then the current chord would be D.
Didn't some of the DLC from the first one become free after a long time? I heard something about the Megadeath pack being free but I thought it was for purchase when it first came out.
That was someone being silly and not realizing they were looking at a preview video of the DLC, which was free. The DLC has never been free, and I've never caught it on sale either. They aren't going to be pushing many units of this game, their main hope of turning a profit is people buying songs at 3$ a pop.
Oh I get that, basically, though I was hoping that it would show me other options of chords on the neck.
I'm not sure what you're looking for exactly, so maybe me and dehumanized are wrong when saying this, but the chord shapes will highlight up. The obvious example are the bar chords he pointed out. Again, look for your basic open d shape. Now look at your scale, you'll see that shape in a few points on the fretboard. It won't necessarily be a D, it could be an A depending on where you're playing it. When the band switched to the chor and it sounds good the tones will highlight on the fretboard. You can play those individual notes, or play them together and make a chord out of it.
I think we're either missing what you're looking for or you're misunderstanding what I'm saying. Not sure.
Didn't some of the DLC from the first one become free after a long time? I heard something about the Megadeath pack being free but I thought it was for purchase when it first came out.
That was someone being silly and not realizing they were looking at a preview video of the DLC, which was free. The DLC has never been free, and I've never caught it on sale either. They aren't going to be pushing many units of this game, their main hope of turning a profit is people buying songs at 3$ a pop.
That was me. I had gone into the store And they had the megadeath pack and a couple of others listed for free. Turns out they released downloadable videos for a couple of the packs, not all, an they read like they're the song pack.
Also, sale songs typically get reduced by a $1 from what I've noticed from $3 to $2. Not sure how often they do sales.
I'll just have to fool around in it more with an open mind. Thanks though.
Like I said, it's possible I'm misunderstanding what you're looking for. A couple questions real quick
How long have you been playing?
What basic chords do you know? (Not looking for 7ths, dim, etc... what open chords do you know, and do you know the basic barre chord formations?)
Have you ever looked at the CAGED system?
This video is pretty basic and explains caged. Remember how I was talking about moving shapes? Caged is taking the basic open chord shapes, using your Index to barre a fret to emulate the "nut" (When you play an open string you are technically fretting the nut you could say). Now, you can take away your index finger as well, and just hit the notes your fingers are fretting (Don't hit any opens) to hit chords easier. Now, the easiest ones to recognize on the fretboard in game, and to do on the guitar and sound good are your 2 basic barre chords, the D shape, and the F shape (Which is a barre chord without a barre if you play it the open way. YOu can get some cool sounding chords just playing the almost C shape with no open in between and sliding it up and down) If you look at the scale on the neck up the whole guitar, you'll see these shapes. And in game, you'll see them highlight up when they can be played and sound good. You should see the chord formations at different parts of the neck.
Is any of this what you need and help?
edit 2. Also, I don't understand fully everything I post. I understand the basic concepts of much of it, and know it's good stuff though. Don't want anybody thinking I'm some master guitar theorist, heh. Also, I do not mind helping, or tracking down info. I learn something usually in the process
I've been playing mostly OFF and a little on, for over 20+ years. I know all my open chords, barre chord shapes, the CAGED system, etc... It's just that it wasn't really clicking for me, which has been my main stumbling block for learning the guitar. What comes easily, and naturally for some people on guitar, I struggle with. Sure I can program in many different languages and pick up on that stuff easy, but for some reason the damn Guitar makes me lose my shit.
I think what I was trying to say about Session Mode for me is this: When playing Em Pentatonic I have the notes for that scale shown on the fret board starting on the 12th fret. As I'm noodle around on those notes, they often will fill in full(colored) and sometimes they'll be just outlined(uncolored). I understand that it's saying that these notes at this time during what's happening will sound better. I can play around with that and it's all fine, but since I have issues coming up with anything resembling a melody, I also would like to throw in a few chords maybe instead. At that point, I'm not sure what Chord I should be playing, and I'd prefer to play an Open chord if possible to help me work on my chord speed switching. I suppose if paid closer attention to the actual note names of the colored notes, I'd know which root note to play and then go Oh, that's an A, so I can play an open A chord.. but sadly I am not proficient enough to do that right yet. Does that make sense? And I'm assuming from what you two have said, and not fired up the game to try and make sure, is that when the notes are colored in, I could make a chord using those notes at that position and they'd sound right?
Yep. You might end up with an odd phrasing of the chord (like, say, only playing the third and fifth and missing the root), but you will make some permutation of the current chord that the backing band is accompanying you with.
That was me. I had gone into the store And they had the megadeath pack and a couple of others listed for free. Turns out they released downloadable videos for a couple of the packs, not all, an they read like they're the song pack.
Also, sale songs typically get reduced by a $1 from what I've noticed from $3 to $2. Not sure how often they do sales.
I hate it when they do that, it's happened to me before. I think with RB?
I think sales on DLC will definitely vary by system; I wouldn't expect them on 360 for example. You might get lucky during a steam sale for PC, but I wouldn't hold out hope.
I've been playing mostly OFF and a little on, for over 20+ years. I know all my open chords, barre chord shapes, the CAGED system, etc... It's just that it wasn't really clicking for me, which has been my main stumbling block for learning the guitar. What comes easily, and naturally for some people on guitar, I struggle with. Sure I can program in many different languages and pick up on that stuff easy, but for some reason the damn Guitar makes me lose my shit.
I think what I was trying to say about Session Mode for me is this: When playing Em Pentatonic I have the notes for that scale shown on the fret board starting on the 12th fret. As I'm noodle around on those notes, they often will fill in full(colored) and sometimes they'll be just outlined(uncolored). I understand that it's saying that these notes at this time during what's happening will sound better. I can play around with that and it's all fine, but since I have issues coming up with anything resembling a melody, I also would like to throw in a few chords maybe instead. At that point, I'm not sure what Chord I should be playing, and I'd prefer to play an Open chord if possible to help me work on my chord speed switching. I suppose if paid closer attention to the actual note names of the colored notes, I'd know which root note to play and then go Oh, that's an A, so I can play an open A chord.. but sadly I am not proficient enough to do that right yet. Does that make sense? And I'm assuming from what you two have said, and not fired up the game to try and make sure, is that when the notes are colored in, I could make a chord using those notes at that position and they'd sound right?
@Banzai5150
I think I understand what you're saying and the answer is yes, pretty much. If you look for the patterns you'll start to see the familiar shapes. Don't forget one thing though, you're using the pentatonic so that's only 5 of the 7 notes in each scale (Although I've never really looked to see if chords use any of the notes that are not in the pent scale. The 2 notes were dropped for a reason. For the most part, they don't sound good lol. They add color, and I've used them screwing around, but they're definately not safe notes) But I've done it both looking for chords (I normally for look the the D shape like I mentioned and a few others) and trying to figure out what they're switching to also. I tell you what though, playing around with it session mode will definately improve your ear. I've never been good at playing by ear, never understood it. I am starting to. The other day I found myself playing the little theme that plays for jungle runners.
One thing I haven't really done is when zooming the fretboard out, and looking around the nut of the guitar to see if opened chords highlight up.
Also, I know what you mean by how some things don't click. The scales never did at all really for me. I got a book of nothing but exercices. The grimm guide to scales or something. 200 pages of pretty much just exercises to run through. But it had something in it that clicked for me. Let me find two pictures real quick and show you what did it for me
Here is one common way its shown
And here is the box that they usually show with it
here it is in F don't forget the opens
Now for whatever reason, I always had a hard time understanding how the scale slid up the neck. Even when I learned the various positions of the pentatonic. I just didn't get it. It wasn't until this book presenting the scale like this
If you'll notice in that picture, it slowly slides into the next box as it goes up the strings. And when you get to the high E, you can go 5/6/8/10/12/13 to totally finish the scale even higher. Everything clicks for everyone differently, but for some reason, when I saw it like this and started practicing it like this, it clicked for me. And now I understand moving up the fretboard and moving to the different shapes, along with a bit more theory behind scales. All because it was presented ot me in a different way.
Thanks, I do get that part though.. I was in Band in middle and high school though I was learning Bass Clef, so learning Treble is just a bit diff. I think my main stumbling point is not knowing the notes of the fret board by sight, so when I see 12th fret, 5th string, I'm like, hang on, lemme think.
I think I'll stick with my typical excuse - I'm a very Left Brain type of person, so whenever doing anything Right Brain I have issues. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Thanks, I do get that part though.. I was in Band in middle and high school though I was learning Bass Clef, so learning Treble is just a bit diff. I think my main stumbling point is not knowing the notes of the fret board by sight, so when I see 12th fret, 5th string, I'm like, hang on, lemme think.
I'm pretty fortunate in that I played Violin for a year, but didn't learn anything but basic rhythm, then played flute. So I've always played in, you know, the right clef. That other thing is all wonky.
While it is totally useful to learn all the notes, I know I don't and many guitarist don't. Even if you don't learn all the notes, you still have an advantage haven taken band understanding more of how the notes work, and move between one another. The big thing is learning certain key notes, and always knowing where your root is in a scale. I picture Key notes as certain parts on the fretboard to be able to know where you are. All the notes of the open strings, 5th fret, stuff like that. It makes it easier to find where you are at if you get lost, and refind the root. If you know where every C is on the fretboard, you'll be able to find an F fairly quickly.
The other thing is knowing where the root is in any individual pattern. It's always a safe note to hit, and it's a good way to be able to find yourself back home, again if you get lost somewhere on the fretboard.
I think this is a reason they seem to really stress learning the C major scale, and knowing the notes. You don't have to worry about any flats or sharps, but if you know where all the notes are in that scale, you can find any note on the guitar by moving a half step in either direction.
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I haven't played much of scale runner, but does it eventually move you up and down the neck and the various positions of the scale? Or does it always say in the base? If so, you've seen the scales, well at least parts. The major scale has 7 notes, pentatonic removes 2 of these to cut it down to 5.
Not sure which of these images will help you visualize it better
Right here is the whole C major scale. Look at the 5th fret, you can see the minor pentatonic shape. Look at fret 8. Do you see the major pentatonic shape? So the minor shape comes before the major. So if you wanted to play in A major, you played the pentatonic shape on the 2nd fret (It'd be Gb minor) Once you learn the shapes, it's just applying them to the positions. If you know all 5 of the pentatonic, you're not far from the full scale, and you'll be able to tell by ear by what sounds good and what doesn't sound good as well.
One other things about scales, so you have your first position, C major, it's on 8 of the E string. Now, you know to turn it into C minor. Simply play the minor scale. Which is the 6th position of the major Scale. It is also known as the 6 mode, or the Aeolian mode. This may sound confusing. But what this means is, all those fancy names and complicated looking scales? They are just the major scale, with a different position of the scale, or mode, being played on the root. Again, look at the major and minor. The major is the first mode. Minor is the 6th. (theres 7 in the full major scale, 5 shapes in the pentatonic)
Now lets look at the 2nd position.
* EDIT WRONG PICTURE. I SUCK Maybe this will explain it all better http://endofthegame.net/2011/07/28/modesmajorscale/ *edit
That's the shape you'd play at the 10th fret in the major scale. Now, if you were to play that shape starting at 8, the root (C), and made that your first position, you'd now be playing in C major 2nd mode, or C Major Dorian mode. (I might have the terms slightly wrong) but it'd be the dorian mode of C major. It's just moving that shape, it's all it is. Once youlearn it up and down the neck, it's just a matter of positioning it where you want it.
Hopefully I didn't et any of the pictures mixed up, and this helped.
Edit ok the pictures are all messed up. That's not c major in there at the end. Grrr I had them all I thought.
Whats this X next to %? Ummm, why isn't it letting me play it? The path I have selected under my path makes it unselectable? Because I am set to lead on my path, and this is a 100% rhythm song with no lead, I have to go in to my path, change it, to be able to play the arrangement? It's not much work to do, but that is fucking stupid and has no place what so ever in the game. Maybe a little prompt if you feel need be "Hey dude, your trying to totally be a rocking lead guitarist with string burning solo's! chords are for wimps. You sure you want to wuss up and play this selection?" but to say I can't play it unless I change my path? I really have no clue why this is in the game, nor why you have to see which arrangements are available/choose them (I assume it's this way)
Is it that big a deal to change your path and play the song? No. Should I have to? Definately not. It's a stupid restriction in the game for no reason as far as I'm concerned
/rant
Its what, 3 button presses to switch and be back to the song? I mean, not that it wouldn't be better as a note "This song has no lead. Play anyway?" but 3 button presses doesn't seem like it should earn that much hate. :P
Like I said it's not that hard to do, and I was having fun with the rant hence the /rant at the end, but I really do question why it's there. I really don't understand it, and it dumbfounded me. Then I wasn't sure should I switch my path, am I going to lose progress, etc... I shouldn't even consider these things. I just wonder why it was put in. Odd design choice to me.
And if you look at it that way, it makes perfect sense. You're annoyed at having to click to change. Other people would be annoyed at thinking they could play lead on a song only to be told that no, there is no lead, and then have to back out.
In the end, someone has to press a few extra buttons.
I get that they're trying something different here than rocksmith. This is more of a teaching tool bottom up with a game on top, where rocksmith was more of a game with teaching tools built in. But I did like that they didn't really hide the various arrangements I guess? I didn't even realise it did this, and mainly just wonder why you can't play songs when you're in a certain path. Just makes no sense to me.
I like scale runner, I don't like that it ends after one crash I guess. Maybe a way to build lives, or a freeplay mode. I get bored at times until it speeds up and just screw around. I've never seen the off ramps heh. I've only played it a few times, but I've usually crashed early screwing off on the guitar or it not recognizing the note. *edit* I haven't put a lot of time into it but it seemed finicky. I never did get very far, and I was just doing the a minor pent in its base position, something I know. I'll play around with it tomorrow and give it a real go. I spend way to much time in session mode lol
I wonder if there's a way to track time spent in this game? I got the 5 day in a row achievement just by playing it cause I wanted to.
In that same vein, I'm calling bullshit on Go With The Flow! It drops my note streak at the end of the chorus every time :I
Though I do recognize why they do it that way. There's a teaching thing that says, when you make a mistake you should take a little bit to recompose yourself, think what you did wrong, how to do it right and then go back to it. I think though the break is to long for my taste in the games. Especially Scale runner, when you're just barely starting, and for some reason it doesn't register a string and boom, you did 4 notes and now are waiting for it to restart.
EDIT
Session mode goodness. Came across this, guy is pretty good and it sounds really cool. He plays along with the band really well.
On another note, Gone Whailin is a fantastic rip of Jetpack Joyride and its ilk. The challenge aspect is the best thing they borrowed, having them emphasize specific tasks instead of scores, with your level boosting your score modifier.
Also, I have a bad habit of letting my finger linger on a fret after hitting a note if there isn't another note immediately after it, turning it into a sustain when it isn't supposed to be. I sort of wish the game would ding me for that. :P
Scales are probably the best way, that and just being conscious of it and making sure you practice alternating. (And alternating doesn't always make sense. Disarm is pretty much all downstrums although it'd be easier to play with both. You can tell with the feel of the strums)
Also, if you really want to add some pressure and mental gymnastics, how to alternate pick
Alternate picking. Picking down up down up instead of all downstrums. Less movement and less fatigure, more economy of motion for each strum. You can play faster and more accurately. However, you shouldn't always go down up down up down up. In the pentatonic scale, you would technically want to go down down down.
This sounds wrong right?
Well, if you're going from the low E(6th string) to the A (5th string) you'll want to down strum on the E, before the A, as it's easier/makes more sense to complete 2 downward motions instead of an up, moving your pick down to the next string, and downstrumming. Lets throw another wrinkle in. Lets say your playing 5, and then 8 on the Low E, followed by the 5th fret of the A, before going to the 8th fret of the Low E and finishing on the 5th fret (first 3 places of pentatonic scale)
The actual pick motion would be
down, down, up, up, down.
Again, you want to down strum before moving to a string below you, and you'd want to do an upstrum if you were going to then move to a string above it. Get what I'm saying?
It all comes down to economy of motion, (and I believe is a core princable of sweep picking, which I've never learned), and I still don't have it down at all. It's something you'll eventually get muscle memory of and do without noticing if you practice
In complexity I believe, change it all the way to the right. This will change the root key you are playing in, and the scale on the fret board. It also tells you what key you are changing to. For most cases play the major chord. Also, if you watch the fretboard and have it zoomed out, you'll see chord shapes highlight. For example you'll see the shape for the D chord highlight up and down the neck. (The actual shape you make with your fingers is what I'm talking about. There really are only a handful of shapes you need to learn, then you just slide them up and down the neck to play a particular chord)
Also, weren't you the one giving me a hard time about complaing about the 3 buttons I had to press to play Disarm?
Also, how often did Rocksmith and it's DLC go on sale? In general what did the prices get down to?
PSN: Hellcore- Steam MWO: Hellcore
For Disarm I sorta agree'd about how they have it separated... I'll check out Session mode again, as I've never seen the chord shapes appear only the Scale on the fretboard.
For example, if you're playing in A and the game shows you that (low E) 577655 (high e) are all chord tones, then the current chord is the root A chord. If, instead, it was showing x57775, then the current chord would be D.
I'm not sure what you're looking for exactly, so maybe me and dehumanized are wrong when saying this, but the chord shapes will highlight up. The obvious example are the bar chords he pointed out. Again, look for your basic open d shape. Now look at your scale, you'll see that shape in a few points on the fretboard. It won't necessarily be a D, it could be an A depending on where you're playing it. When the band switched to the chor and it sounds good the tones will highlight on the fretboard. You can play those individual notes, or play them together and make a chord out of it.
I think we're either missing what you're looking for or you're misunderstanding what I'm saying. Not sure.
That was me. I had gone into the store And they had the megadeath pack and a couple of others listed for free. Turns out they released downloadable videos for a couple of the packs, not all, an they read like they're the song pack.
Also, sale songs typically get reduced by a $1 from what I've noticed from $3 to $2. Not sure how often they do sales.
Like I said, it's possible I'm misunderstanding what you're looking for. A couple questions real quick
How long have you been playing?
What basic chords do you know? (Not looking for 7ths, dim, etc... what open chords do you know, and do you know the basic barre chord formations?)
Have you ever looked at the CAGED system?
*EDIT* @Banzai5150
This video is pretty basic and explains caged. Remember how I was talking about moving shapes? Caged is taking the basic open chord shapes, using your Index to barre a fret to emulate the "nut" (When you play an open string you are technically fretting the nut you could say). Now, you can take away your index finger as well, and just hit the notes your fingers are fretting (Don't hit any opens) to hit chords easier. Now, the easiest ones to recognize on the fretboard in game, and to do on the guitar and sound good are your 2 basic barre chords, the D shape, and the F shape (Which is a barre chord without a barre if you play it the open way. YOu can get some cool sounding chords just playing the almost C shape with no open in between and sliding it up and down) If you look at the scale on the neck up the whole guitar, you'll see these shapes. And in game, you'll see them highlight up when they can be played and sound good. You should see the chord formations at different parts of the neck.
Is any of this what you need and help?
edit 2. Also, I don't understand fully everything I post. I understand the basic concepts of much of it, and know it's good stuff though. Don't want anybody thinking I'm some master guitar theorist, heh. Also, I do not mind helping, or tracking down info. I learn something usually in the process
I think what I was trying to say about Session Mode for me is this: When playing Em Pentatonic I have the notes for that scale shown on the fret board starting on the 12th fret. As I'm noodle around on those notes, they often will fill in full(colored) and sometimes they'll be just outlined(uncolored). I understand that it's saying that these notes at this time during what's happening will sound better. I can play around with that and it's all fine, but since I have issues coming up with anything resembling a melody, I also would like to throw in a few chords maybe instead. At that point, I'm not sure what Chord I should be playing, and I'd prefer to play an Open chord if possible to help me work on my chord speed switching. I suppose if paid closer attention to the actual note names of the colored notes, I'd know which root note to play and then go Oh, that's an A, so I can play an open A chord.. but sadly I am not proficient enough to do that right yet. Does that make sense? And I'm assuming from what you two have said, and not fired up the game to try and make sure, is that when the notes are colored in, I could make a chord using those notes at that position and they'd sound right?
I hate it when they do that, it's happened to me before. I think with RB?
I think sales on DLC will definitely vary by system; I wouldn't expect them on 360 for example. You might get lucky during a steam sale for PC, but I wouldn't hold out hope.
I think I understand what you're saying and the answer is yes, pretty much. If you look for the patterns you'll start to see the familiar shapes. Don't forget one thing though, you're using the pentatonic so that's only 5 of the 7 notes in each scale (Although I've never really looked to see if chords use any of the notes that are not in the pent scale. The 2 notes were dropped for a reason. For the most part, they don't sound good lol. They add color, and I've used them screwing around, but they're definately not safe notes) But I've done it both looking for chords (I normally for look the the D shape like I mentioned and a few others) and trying to figure out what they're switching to also. I tell you what though, playing around with it session mode will definately improve your ear. I've never been good at playing by ear, never understood it. I am starting to. The other day I found myself playing the little theme that plays for jungle runners.
One thing I haven't really done is when zooming the fretboard out, and looking around the nut of the guitar to see if opened chords highlight up.
Also, I know what you mean by how some things don't click. The scales never did at all really for me. I got a book of nothing but exercices. The grimm guide to scales or something. 200 pages of pretty much just exercises to run through. But it had something in it that clicked for me. Let me find two pictures real quick and show you what did it for me
Here is one common way its shown
And here is the box that they usually show with it
here it is in F don't forget the opens
Now for whatever reason, I always had a hard time understanding how the scale slid up the neck. Even when I learned the various positions of the pentatonic. I just didn't get it. It wasn't until this book presenting the scale like this
If you'll notice in that picture, it slowly slides into the next box as it goes up the strings. And when you get to the high E, you can go 5/6/8/10/12/13 to totally finish the scale even higher. Everything clicks for everyone differently, but for some reason, when I saw it like this and started practicing it like this, it clicked for me. And now I understand moving up the fretboard and moving to the different shapes, along with a bit more theory behind scales. All because it was presented ot me in a different way.
I'm pretty fortunate in that I played Violin for a year, but didn't learn anything but basic rhythm, then played flute. So I've always played in, you know, the right clef. That other thing is all wonky.
While it is totally useful to learn all the notes, I know I don't and many guitarist don't. Even if you don't learn all the notes, you still have an advantage haven taken band understanding more of how the notes work, and move between one another. The big thing is learning certain key notes, and always knowing where your root is in a scale. I picture Key notes as certain parts on the fretboard to be able to know where you are. All the notes of the open strings, 5th fret, stuff like that. It makes it easier to find where you are at if you get lost, and refind the root. If you know where every C is on the fretboard, you'll be able to find an F fairly quickly.
The other thing is knowing where the root is in any individual pattern. It's always a safe note to hit, and it's a good way to be able to find yourself back home, again if you get lost somewhere on the fretboard.
I think this is a reason they seem to really stress learning the C major scale, and knowing the notes. You don't have to worry about any flats or sharps, but if you know where all the notes are in that scale, you can find any note on the guitar by moving a half step in either direction.