Alternate Strumming 101

**DrewG** · Joined: 02 Aug 2006 Posts: 255

I'll be honest. I've hit a wall in this game. I also think that the fact that alternate strumming is almsot essential for some songs in the game is complete bullshit. It's simply too hard.

I can't 5 star Ace of Spades on Hard.
I can't 4 star Cowboys from Hell on Hard.
I can't 4 star Bark At the Moon on Hard.
I can't 4 star The Breaking Wheel on hard.

I can barely finish with 70% notes hit these songs on Expert.

I think it's time I just bared down and tried to do it.

I've practiced on the most simple songs possible. Songs on Medium, and the easier songs on Hard. I cannot do it at all. All I hear is the sound of a missing string or an extra strum. I feel like I am multitasking. I feel like it'd be easier to try to cook 2 hamburgers while playing then it is to play with alternate strumming.

I just attempted Bark at The Moon on Hard with alternate strumming and almost immediately failed. Therefore I switched to all downstrum and passed the song with 3 stars. Great.

The question is, how the fuck do I learned this stupid technique? If I can't get it right I'm just going t give up on these songs. And it's annoying because when Guitar Hero II comes out I feel like alt strumming is going to be even more of a necessity.

Can anyone help me out here?

(P.S.: I can't get hammer on's and pull off's right either...I think their placement in the game is an awful flaw and a stupid idea.)

**popemobile** · Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Posts: 3879

Um, learn alt strumming, it seriously isn't that hard if you just practice

Pick any song and alt atrum it no matter how slow, if I were you I stick to learning BATM and CFH alt strumming

**DrewG** · Joined: 02 Aug 2006 Posts: 255

...

Did you not just read the thread?

**JHetfield0816** · Joined: 10 Apr 2006 Posts: 2230 Location: New Jersey

Yeah, don't try to learn alternate strumming by starting with CFH or BATM. Try playing songs like Killer Queen, I Love Rock N' Roll, Hey, etc. with alternate strumming so that you can get a feel for it. A good way to think about alternate strumming (at least for me), is do not let the strum bar return to the middle. Keep it either in the up or down position after you play a note, so that you're well prepared for the next one. And in terms of holding the strum bar, other people might hold it differently, but I pinch it (in a relaxed way) with my thumb on top and my index and middle fingers on the bottom. I really don't think the concept of alternate strumming is bullshit, because on a real guitar, you can't just downstrum all the time, or otherwise you wouldn't be able to play some faster passages. Additionally, in GH, if you get good enough at alternate strumming HO and PO become less of a necessity.
_________________

"well I guess it's better than reapers and thingys"- Riyunoa

"The resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you fight in life can only build a strong character." - Arnold

**afirocks27** · Joined: 20 Aug 2006 Posts: 37 Location: Owensboro Ky

Its pretty much an essential technique for actually playing guitar so it SHOULD be needed to be used in this game, im glad it does. Alternate strumming came easy for me because i do play guitar.

I just dont see how people make it out to be this impossible feat, ive always alternated with regular guitar too no problem even when i had just started out.

Like the other guy said just do it with easier songs first, until you can do it without even thinking about it. It should just become natural.

**DrewG** · Joined: 02 Aug 2006 Posts: 255

I feel my main problem may be letting the strum bar just return to the middle.

**rabies** · Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 2:05 am Post subject:

my suggestion has always been to try to learn it on a easier song where it just cranks out chords...like I wanna be sedated. If you can get the hang of alt strumming, then its just a matter of increasing speed for the harder songs like batm and cbh.

**Mecksifun** · Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 2:22 am Post subject:

yea i learned to alt strum on i wanna be sedated cause the rythem is easy on dat song, just keep practicin and you;'ll get it

_________________

i enjoy long strollers in the park, candel lit dinners and ROCKING OUT

**JHetfield0816** · Joined: 10 Apr 2006 Posts: 2230 Location: New Jersey

**popemobile** · Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Posts: 3879

**tommy2000** · Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 12:45 pm Post subject:

I guess there's a big difference btween alternate strumming some song parts (Cochise intro, Higher Ground YYYRRR in verse) which i can do easily and comfortably, and learning to alternate strum everything. Guess i better knuckle down...

**eachann** · Joined: 09 May 2006 Posts: 1340 Location: Michigan

I had a hard time with this too, and I hit the wall in the exact same spot as you. I actually went back to medium and started over from scratch ... I did ILRR - BATM medium forcing myself to use alternate strumming and then I went into hard and went from ILRR... now alternate strumming is second nature.

That got me past ace of spades which I had a hell of a time with... but I still can't 5* Frankenstein, TF, BATM, or CFH on hard. I'm very very close to 5 starring Frankenstein but the other 3 i'm not even close. I also haven't 5 starred decontrol or the breaking wheel, but I am not even worrying about those until I get through the licensed stuff.

**MetalMadness** · Joined: 11 May 2006 Posts: 1095

I've been working on alt strumming too. Start easy - take a song like Spanish Castle magic - medium. You can down strum most of it. But do the 3 quick notes alt. Learn down, up, down. Then go to a song with 4 quick notes. Then go to 5 - I think callout on medium has 5. One very important part of it is that you have to know how many notes you will playing so you can figure out where to start and stop. Take CBFH - Hard. The opening riff has 15 notes, so you know you have to end where you start. For example, if you start with a down strum, you have to end with a down strum. Just keep practicing and it will come. I hope this helps.
_________________

**Azuarc** · Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Posts: 1389 Location: Philadelphia

Alternate strumming comes much easier than forcing yourself to downstrum everything. There are a few select places where I will strum one way, but generally speaking, it's really easier overall to alt strum.

DrewG, are you in any way a musician? Did you take piano lessons when you were little, or anything? If you're familiar with counting out a rhythm (1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and...) it isn't that hard to convince yourself to strum up on the downbeat and down on the offbeat. Can you get by with doing both going down? Yeah, you're going to have to when you hit sixteenth rhythms. (1-e-and-ah-2-e-and-ah....Ace of Spaces rhythm is 1 and-ah-2-e-and 3 and-ah e-and.)

My recommendation is to go back and play Sedated on normal. Strum all those notes one way. Those are the downbeats. Once you do that, turn the machine off for a second or sit out in the menu, and just grab the strum bar between your thumb and first finger and move it up and down like you're using a paintbrush or a pencil. Don't let go of it. Don't clench down and yank. Your finger pulls it towards you, your thumb pushes it away. Back and forth, back and forth...once you've done that for a minute, go back and play Sedated again -- on hard. All the new notes should be up-strummed.

It's important to emphasize, if you play the SG the way a real guitarist plays, you will always be strumming the downbeat one way and the offbeat the other. You can do a true alternation (i.e. down-up-down-up-down pause up-down-up-down-up,) but it will probably throw you off. I know it throws me off. When you do Sedated on hard, whichever direction is your primary direction will always be the direction you start with. So in those sections where one note is missing, skip your weak direction.

Hopefully you can use that idea and carry it over into other songs. I'd advise playing through the songs one at a time doing that, and maybe on hard before trying expert.

**Brandvold** · Joined: 16 Aug 2006 Posts: 87 Location: Asker, Norway