A Hopefully Helpful Guide To "Six" (Expert)

[Karmae]

Opening Thoughts
Like many of you probably observe, there are numerous topics a week, sometimes a day, about our beloved "Six" on Expert. "How to 5 star Six", "Six, help please", "One more song to 5 star!!", are all variations of titles you're probably familar with. Obviously, none of the techniques I state in this guide are set in stone or are the absolute best way of going about the song. If you feel you can play through a passage in a different manner, by all means, go for it. If you think a different path for SP will fit your skill level for the song, try it out. It could prove to net you more points. I created this as a reference to help congregate the best ways to trudge through the various tough portions of "Six". Comments and suggestions are always welcome, since there are players much more proficient at playing it than I am. I just would like to share my input along with some common answers and advice for the song. Reminder, I won't go into completely optimal paths and such. I targeted this guide towards people looking to five star, or possibly six star the song. :-)

Before I break apart the song into its sections, I'll get the obvious out of the way. Learn how to decently alternate strum. It's one of the most popular replies to all the "Help me with Six" threads. Many portions of the song require it, so it would be in your best interest to just sit down and tackle it. It doesn't have to be "Six" that you're practicing it on. First try songs that are moderately fast, and change notes/chords frequently. Start alternate strumming at a slow speed and gradually increase. Working on alternate strumming these songs WILL help out in the long run. Here's a quick link to FoxNtd's nice Misirlou 5 Star Expert Guide. He goes into a bit more details about alternate strumming technique than I do.

Below is a quick link to the Upperbound chart for "Six" on Expert. I'll be referring to certain measures throughout the guide, so it'll help to have it open and handy. Also, I've listed the star cut-offs for your convenience.

"Six" (Expert) Upperbound SP Chart

Star Cut-Offs
5 Stars: 254,845
6 Stars: 327,658
7 Stars: 400,471

_____________________________

Intro



Whether you downstrum the double chords or not, you're literally forced to alternate strum the single notes. Personally, after playing sections with fast consecutive single notes, followed by chords, it usually feels more comfortable, to me, if I down strum the first chord after the fast single notes. In my case, my strumming would look like this for the first measure: (D DUDUD U D U) I'm sure some people may start the single notes after the initial first chord with an upstrum, thus they would end the first measure with a downstrum.

While alternate strumming, practice your transition between the chords especially. I know the at the end of the second measure is usually where people mess up, including myself. I've heard that some people down strum those chords and alternate strum the fast single notes. Whichever works. I find it easier to just alternate strum the entire section. Pick your preference.



Many people down strum this, many people alternate strum it. Do whatever works for you, just make sure you hit it. :-P You want to have star power for Verse 1, and your best chances of this is probably this SP phrase and the phrase right at the beginning Verse 1.



Yeah, yummy alternate strumming madness. Count out each of the 16th notes in their groups of four. Naturally, starting on a downstrum it's (DUDU) for the each group of 16th notes. Bring it into practice and put it on Slowest or Slower and count in you head/out loud. "1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2... etc" They are all even 16th notes, (16 notes for each measure) so it's one constant rhythm, no herky-jerky rhythm. Find the speed of it and stick with it. Yes, it's fast. Keep practicing to maintain your endurance during these passages. You WILL get better at it. When I first sat down to try and five star this song, my arm got very tired, very fast. Remember not to tense up your strumming arm too much, it'll get tired pretty darn quickly. Try to keep you arm as relaxed as possible while while remaining at the correct strumming speed. Some people find it easier to strum this section while holding their controller almost upright. Just be careful if you do this. If you manage to hit the SP phrase in the fast strumming, your SP may accidently activate leaving you without SP for the chords in Verse 1, if that's where you were looking to deploy it.

However, if you are able to consistently hit the SP phrase in the middle of this, nice, if not, just make sure you grab the phrase in the beginning of Verse 1. If you do in fact get the SP phrase in this section, it's up to you where you think it would be best to use it. If you can keep x4 multiplier throughout the fun in the Intro, then go for the activation right after the second phrase. This is also where the Upperbound SP chart states to deploy star power. If you're more confident that you can keep a longer combo in Verse 1, save it up with the other two for when you get there. Coming out of the Intro, I continue to alternate strum the slower 8th notes SP phrase. If hitting this SP phrase means sacrificing some of the fast orange notes at the end of measure 25, to focus on the beginning of the SP phrase, it's worth it.

Verse 1



Here we go. Of course, use fingers 1,2 for the green/red chords. Make sure you keep your second finger down for both chords when they're in groups of two. One common mistake is looking ahead too soon and seeing the fast single triplets approaching and wanting to release your second finger off the red to prepare for those green triplets to early. Even though it's coming at you fast, be sure that you do hit both chords before releasing.

The portion at the end uses your pinky to hit the single orange and blue notes, and then fingers 2,3 to hit the red/yellow double chord in between. Another way to go about, instead of having your pinky jump to the orange note, is to shift your fretting hand up at the blue note, using your 4th finger to hit the blue note, then comfortably hitting the red/yellow chord with fingers 1,2; followed by your pinky for the orange note.



This passage is essentially identical to the first part of Verse 1, just higher on the fretboard. You use the same fingering as the previous green/red section, just shift your fingers up on the frets. If you don't shift, you're forced to work with fingering 2,3 on the red/yellow chords, proceeded by a jump with your pinky to hit the orange again. So it's better to keep everything constant and just shift your fretting hand up at the beginning of the red/yellow chords, negating the jump to reach the orange. This portion may seem easier since there isn't a fast jump at the end of the chords, so if you saved star power for Verse 1, this is potentially the best time to activate. The green/red chord sections and the red/yellow chord sections repeat themselves once each, with only a small difference of the orange hold at the end of second red/yellow section:


Chorus 1



Like the beginning of Verse 1, Chorus 1 starts out with a SP phrase. Let me stress a point that many people make about Six. The Choruses are your lifeline to getting the five or six stars on the song. Take time out, and learn to play them. End of story. With that out of the way, the green/red rhythm shouldn't be too difficult to get down. Just remember to hold your 2nd finger on that red for all the chords before releasing to hit the triplet.

The main fault is the transitions. You just need to practice getting your 2, 3, 4 fingers used to the switch. And hey, it's good practice for the beginning of "Carry Me Home" as well. :-) The yellow note can stay held down with your 3rd finger, while your 4th and 2nd finger go back and forth to make the two chords.

I know when I'm having trouble with a chord section, I will practice fretting and strumming the section while I'm not actually playing the game. You want these Choruses to become almost natural to you. Unplug your controller from your console, watch some TV, read something online, something that doesn't require your hands. :-P While you do whatever you decided to do, have your guitar in-hand. Go back and forth between the alternating chords. After a bit, add the green/red chord rhythm into the fray to complete the riff. Sooner than you think, you'll be quite proficient at the Chorus.

Verse 2a
This is exactly like Verse 1. The one thing that may trip up people is that it comes right out of the Chorus. I know it feels kind of akward when I play it because it seems like there are a few added green/red chords. In reality though, it's simply just the same old ending green/red chords of the Chorus next to more green/red chords at the beginning of the Verse. Below I show measure 50, which is the last measure of the Chorus, and measure 51, which is the first measure of Verse 2a.

(50) (51)

Here's a quick video I made of Verse 2a on Full Speed of my hands. Hopefully it helps if you're having trouble figuring out how the rhythm of the strumming sounds: Verse 2a Hands (Full Speed)

Verse 2b



No triplets in this section, so no mandatory alternate strumming needed. Down strum this if you like or continue to alternate strum it, if that's your cup of tea. However again, make sure you hit the SP phrase. Standard fingering applies, since there isn't any jump to orange. Verse 2b does the same thing that Verse 1 did. Meaning, in the second portion of Verse 2b the notes are identical, just entirely shifting up a fret on the fretboard. Shift fingers 1,2 for the red/yellow chords and use the same fingering as you did in the previous part. Keep in mind, you can just hold down the green notes in the first part and the red notes in the second portion. Meaning, it essentially can be strummed like this:



Chorus 2
This part is the same as Chorus 1 until the end when they throw in a different arrangement of single notes for a SP phrase.



I play this phrase starting with my 2nd finger and then jumping my 4th to hit the orange note, followed by jumping back down to hit the green with my 1st finger. Coming out of the green/red chords, you can shift you 1st finger up one fret so that you don't have to jump to the orange with your pinky. This SP should be one of the easier ones to get, but if you miss it, or if you missed the one at the beginning of Verse 2b, then you'll want to save it up with the next two phrases. Though, if you successfully hit the two phrases, activate SP immediately after the second SP phrase, or relatively soon after. Waiting too long will overwrite the start of the next SP phrase in the beginning of measure 81.

Bridge A



After hitting the easy SP phrase at the end of Chorus 2, things settle down for a little while in Bridge A. If you're uncomfortable doing the hammer-ons in this section, you can down strum/alternate strum it. However, I reccomend just sitting down and learning the hammer-on/pull-off way. It's not overly difficult and is a nice breather for your strumming hand/arm if you can do it with the hammer-on/pull-offs.



Same thing applies for this part. I used to alternate strum Bridge A before I learned the hammer-on/pull-off way. Bring it into practice and slow it down. You want to be able to do this section perfectly, or damn well close to it. FCing both Bridges and into the Solo helps a lot when going for five stars. For fingering, 4th finger starting on blue, with corresponding descending fingers, until you have to jump to the orange note. After that, it's your choice if you decide to keep your pinky on the orange and then slide at the end, hitting the green note with your 1st finger, or move your pinky down to the blue right after the orange note, nullifying the slide to the green. There really aren't any different ways of doing it.



These double chords shouldn't be too hard after what you've been through so far. I down strum all these chords perfectly fine, however, alternate strumming is a safer route because of the very fast changing yellow/blue chord played right after the second to last red/yellow chord. It's definitely down strummable though, so do what feels most comfortable. The second and third part of Bridge A repeats itself. Same notes, same fingering.

Bridge B



This section isn't very hard. The are hammer-ons/pull-offs, so you really only have for worry about strumming the green/red chords, which are easily down strummable. Standard fingering applies, since there are no orange notes until the hold at the end of measure 97. So the SP phrase should be no problem to get. I assume most of us have problems with the Guitar Solo, so if that's the case, activating your SP on the first green note in measure 98 is a decent choice. Having the green/red chords in measure 100 under SP equals some nice points too. If you have two SP phrases saved up, your SP will last until about the first green of measure 102. Also, taking into account that you have three phrases saved up, that should last into the beginning of the Guitar Solo.



This part shouldn't be troublesome at all. They are simple hammer-on/pull-offs. Just keep the green held while fretting the changing note. This is easily down strummable if you're still wary about continuous hammer-ons.

Guitar Solo

(103) (104) (105)

I split the solo up into its designated measures, to help clarify it a bit. There isn't much to say here except practice it over and over. I, personally, still have trouble with measure 105. Measures 103 and 104 are easier than they look. Practice the jump from the green to the blue note with your 3rd/4th finger. If you can consistently get measures 103 and 104, you might want to try activating late in Bridge B to get both these two measures under SP. Keep in mind, measure 105 is indeed faster fretting than the prior two measures. If you are able to hit the entire solo, more power to you. If not, then after the ascending scales in measure 105, just focus on the last descending scale, or even just focus on the start of the SP phrase. This single phrase gives you SP activation, so it'll immensly helps if you hit it and whammy out the orange hold for the activation and maximum star power.

Thanks to Shashakiro, here's the pull-off fingering for the Guitar Solo.

The green note in between the ascending and descending scales can prove to be much easier to hit using this way. Also, since he slides his index finger up to the red at the beginning of this measure, it may make the tiny trill less difficult to hit since you're fretting it with your 1st and 2nd fingers. Shashakiro wrote:

"Use pulloffs, they make this solo MUCH easier to hit. This is how I finger it (1{} means hold that fret with your index finger for the duration of the brackets)"

___
11{23_2_2}1{234_234_432_432_2}

Chorus 3



Chorus 3 mimics Chorus 2. Even the progressive streak of single notes (measure 113 -114) is repeated again. Don't activate right after you get that single SP from the solo though, since you probably won't be at a x4 multiplier after the Guitar Solo, and because if you did, you might get some of those single notes at the end of measure 113. It's a little better if you save it for post measure 114, to get a couple more chords under star power. Being able to FC this ending Chorus under SP can generate 23k+ points alone, so again, it's one thing that should be top priority to practice.



They finish out Chorus 3 with a simple alteration of single notes, going back and forth from green. At the end of measure 122 it seems to get a tiny bit faster, just be careful. Down strum this if you wish, or continue your alternate strumming and prepare yourself for the Outro.

Outro



If you compare this to the fast strumming part in the Intro, it is indeed slightly different, however the same techniques apply. Keep your alternate strumming steady speed. Remember to count the groups of 16th notes in your head/out loud if it helps. As for the SP phrases thrown into it, it's really hit or miss. If you manage to grab both of them, nicely done, activate soon after and try to keep that mulitplier alive. However, I know a lot of us, including myself, have a hard time keeping a combo during the Intro and Outro. I usually bring the Intro/Outro into Practice mode a couple times before playing the song in Career Mode, just to get used to the note changes during the fast alternate strumming. It's just something you have to practice and get fairly good at. Keeping a multiplier during these sections, even if it's only for a few seconds can give your that small boost of 2k to 20k+ points, to push you over that five stars, or even six stars cut-off, whichever your goal is.

Star Power
Throughout the guide I mentioned where to deploy your star power. Below I thought I'd re-list the activations in order of importance. (to me, at least) Your path will probably change on the fly, since sometimes you'll miss a phrase, but here are the places I activate.

Chorus 3 (1 phrase)
I personally put this as most important because of the fact that the Chorus is under SP three times throughout the song, and this certain activation is gained by only one SP phrase. Hitting this will and keeping your combo through SP will greatly help hitting that 5/6 star marker.

Chorus 2 (2 phrases)
There isn't a higher priority in doing well in Six than to be able to comfortably do the Choruses. This can't be stressed enough by myself and others.

Bridge 2 (2 -3 phrases)
You may have 3 phrases if you missed one of the phrases in Verse 2b or Chorus 2. This can be a bad thing or a good thing. If you're having trouble with the Verses, a possible option for you is to save up four phrases, since the upcoming Bridges are relatively easier. If you do decide to save for the Bridges, activate accordingly. If you have a full bar saved up, activate as fast as possible after the forth phrase to try and get those green/red chords under SP. If you have three phrases saved up, I usually activate on the first green note in measure 98, which will last a little ways into the Guitar Solo. If you have two phrases, then my preference would be activating at the beginning of measure 100 to again, get the green/red chords under SP.

Verse 1 (2 -3 phrases)
Very nice if you can full combo this part under SP. You can grab well over 20k if you have two phrases of SP saved up and you hit it entirely, even more if you can managed to hit the SP in the fast strumming Intro.

Intro & Outro
If you save SP for the Verse, then the Intro activation is out of the equation. As for the Outro, getting the two phrases of SP here is random for me. It's an extra bonus if you can grab the two phrases in the Outro. Fire off SP while keeping your multiplier soon after. I manage to get 5 stars constantly without this activation. Not that I'm trying to say to discard it from practice time, because you can gain a hefty handful of points if you're able to even moderately combo the Intro and Outro.

Point Checks
I, personally, have just three point checks during the song, to see how well I'm doing, and if I think I'll make my goal, or if it's better to just try again. Remember, these are just my personal estimations from playing "Six". These are only approximate ranges I made for myself to help me gauge how well I was doing.

Orange Note Hold Before Chorus 1
If you're around 50k - 75k+ here, you're doing alright for 5 stars. If you are shooting for six stars, it's best to be in the range of 100k - 120k or higher. For you crazy kids going for seven stars, being around 150k+ is your goal.

Entering Bridge A
If you have in the ballpark of 125k+, your in decent shape for five stars. Anything below this maybe prove difficult to grab the five stars with. As for six stars, having 160k - 190k is the general area you're shooting for. The range for seven stars is around 210k - 230k.

Single SP Phrase At The End of The Guitar Solo
Lastly, if you're around 200k after the end of the Guitar Solo, you're in very good shape for five stars. (Seeing how you still have the single activation from solo.) This far into the song, it's probably just worth it to finish the song regardless. Who knows, you may combo a lot of the Outro and be okay. As for six stars, 260k+ is about where you want to be at. If you've breached into the domain of around 300k - 320k, you have a nice shot lined up for you for seven stars. I envy you!

Closing Words
Well, I hope the breakdown of the song helped a little bit. I struggled with this song for awhile seeing how it was my second to last song to acquire five stars. I saw that there isn't a stickied guide for Six, and thought it might be nice to try and get one out there. Like I mentioned in the beginning, I'm open to all suggestions, changes, or mistakes that I might have made. I'm sure there are some things I missed or some techniques that may work better in some parts for certain people. Good luck on "Six"! :-)
_________________

My gaming blog, Cats of Thondor
A Hopefully Helpful Guide To "Six" (Expert)
Current Goal: Rock Band 2 Career

[Karmae]

Opening Thoughts
Like many of you probably observe, there are numerous topics a week, sometimes a day, about our beloved "Six" on Expert. "How to 5 star Six", "Six, help please", "One more song to 5 star!!", are all variations of titles you're probably familar with. Obviously, none of the techniques I state in this guide are set in stone or are the absolute best way of going about the song. If you feel you can play through a passage in a different manner, by all means, go for it. If you think a different path for SP will fit your skill level for the song, try it out. It could prove to net you more points. I created this as a reference to help congregate the best ways to trudge through the various tough portions of "Six". Comments and suggestions are always welcome, since there are players much more proficient at playing it than I am. I just would like to share my input along with some common answers and advice for the song. Reminder, I won't go into completely optimal paths and such. I targeted this guide towards people looking to five star, or possibly six star the song. :-)

Before I break apart the song into its sections, I'll get the obvious out of the way. Learn how to decently alternate strum. It's one of the most popular replies to all the "Help me with Six" threads. Many portions of the song require it, so it would be in your best interest to just sit down and tackle it. It doesn't have to be "Six" that you're practicing it on. First try songs that are moderately fast, and change notes/chords frequently. Start alternate strumming at a slow speed and gradually increase. Working on alternate strumming these songs WILL help out in the long run. Here's a quick link to FoxNtd's nice Misirlou 5 Star Expert Guide. He goes into a bit more details about alternate strumming technique than I do.

Below is a quick link to the Upperbound chart for "Six" on Expert. I'll be referring to certain measures throughout the guide, so it'll help to have it open and handy. Also, I've listed the star cut-offs for your convenience.

"Six" (Expert) Upperbound SP Chart

Star Cut-Offs
5 Stars: 254,845
6 Stars: 327,658
7 Stars: 400,471

_____________________________

Intro



Whether you downstrum the double chords or not, you're literally forced to alternate strum the single notes. Personally, after playing sections with fast consecutive single notes, followed by chords, it usually feels more comfortable, to me, if I down strum the first chord after the fast single notes. In my case, my strumming would look like this for the first measure: (D DUDUD U D U) I'm sure some people may start the single notes after the initial first chord with an upstrum, thus they would end the first measure with a downstrum.

While alternate strumming, practice your transition between the chords especially. I know the at the end of the second measure is usually where people mess up, including myself. I've heard that some people down strum those chords and alternate strum the fast single notes. Whichever works. I find it easier to just alternate strum the entire section. Pick your preference.



Many people down strum this, many people alternate strum it. Do whatever works for you, just make sure you hit it. :-P You want to have star power for Verse 1, and your best chances of this is probably this SP phrase and the phrase right at the beginning Verse 1.



Yeah, yummy alternate strumming madness. Count out each of the 16th notes in their groups of four. Naturally, starting on a downstrum it's (DUDU) for the each group of 16th notes. Bring it into practice and put it on Slowest or Slower and count in you head/out loud. "1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2... etc" They are all even 16th notes, (16 notes for each measure) so it's one constant rhythm, no herky-jerky rhythm. Find the speed of it and stick with it. Yes, it's fast. Keep practicing to maintain your endurance during these passages. You WILL get better at it. When I first sat down to try and five star this song, my arm got very tired, very fast. Remember not to tense up your strumming arm too much, it'll get tired pretty darn quickly. Try to keep you arm as relaxed as possible while while remaining at the correct strumming speed. Some people find it easier to strum this section while holding their controller almost upright. Just be careful if you do this. If you manage to hit the SP phrase in the fast strumming, your SP may accidently activate leaving you without SP for the chords in Verse 1, if that's where you were looking to deploy it.

However, if you are able to consistently hit the SP phrase in the middle of this, nice, if not, just make sure you grab the phrase in the beginning of Verse 1. If you do in fact get the SP phrase in this section, it's up to you where you think it would be best to use it. If you can keep x4 multiplier throughout the fun in the Intro, then go for the activation right after the second phrase. This is also where the Upperbound SP chart states to deploy star power. If you're more confident that you can keep a longer combo in Verse 1, save it up with the other two for when you get there. Coming out of the Intro, I continue to alternate strum the slower 8th notes SP phrase. If hitting this SP phrase means sacrificing some of the fast orange notes at the end of measure 25, to focus on the beginning of the SP phrase, it's worth it.

Verse 1



Here we go. Of course, use fingers 1,2 for the green/red chords. Make sure you keep your second finger down for both chords when they're in groups of two. One common mistake is looking ahead too soon and seeing the fast single triplets approaching and wanting to release your second finger off the red to prepare for those green triplets to early. Even though it's coming at you fast, be sure that you do hit both chords before releasing.

The portion at the end uses your pinky to hit the single orange and blue notes, and then fingers 2,3 to hit the red/yellow double chord in between. Another way to go about, instead of having your pinky jump to the orange note, is to shift your fretting hand up at the blue note, using your 4th finger to hit the blue note, then comfortably hitting the red/yellow chord with fingers 1,2; followed by your pinky for the orange note.



This passage is essentially identical to the first part of Verse 1, just higher on the fretboard. You use the same fingering as the previous green/red section, just shift your fingers up on the frets. If you don't shift, you're forced to work with fingering 2,3 on the red/yellow chords, proceeded by a jump with your pinky to hit the orange again. So it's better to keep everything constant and just shift your fretting hand up at the beginning of the red/yellow chords, negating the jump to reach the orange. This portion may seem easier since there isn't a fast jump at the end of the chords, so if you saved star power for Verse 1, this is potentially the best time to activate. The green/red chord sections and the red/yellow chord sections repeat themselves once each, with only a small difference of the orange hold at the end of second red/yellow section:


Chorus 1



Like the beginning of Verse 1, Chorus 1 starts out with a SP phrase. Let me stress a point that many people make about Six. The Choruses are your lifeline to getting the five or six stars on the song. Take time out, and learn to play them. End of story. With that out of the way, the green/red rhythm shouldn't be too difficult to get down. Just remember to hold your 2nd finger on that red for all the chords before releasing to hit the triplet.

The main fault is the transitions. You just need to practice getting your 2, 3, 4 fingers used to the switch. And hey, it's good practice for the beginning of "Carry Me Home" as well. :-) The yellow note can stay held down with your 3rd finger, while your 4th and 2nd finger go back and forth to make the two chords.

I know when I'm having trouble with a chord section, I will practice fretting and strumming the section while I'm not actually playing the game. You want these Choruses to become almost natural to you. Unplug your controller from your console, watch some TV, read something online, something that doesn't require your hands. :-P While you do whatever you decided to do, have your guitar in-hand. Go back and forth between the alternating chords. After a bit, add the green/red chord rhythm into the fray to complete the riff. Sooner than you think, you'll be quite proficient at the Chorus.

Verse 2a
This is exactly like Verse 1. The one thing that may trip up people is that it comes right out of the Chorus. I know it feels kind of akward when I play it because it seems like there are a few added green/red chords. In reality though, it's simply just the same old ending green/red chords of the Chorus next to more green/red chords at the beginning of the Verse. Below I show measure 50, which is the last measure of the Chorus, and measure 51, which is the first measure of Verse 2a.

(50) (51)

Here's a quick video I made of Verse 2a on Full Speed of my hands. Hopefully it helps if you're having trouble figuring out how the rhythm of the strumming sounds: Verse 2a Hands (Full Speed)

Verse 2b



No triplets in this section, so no mandatory alternate strumming needed. Down strum this if you like or continue to alternate strum it, if that's your cup of tea. However again, make sure you hit the SP phrase. Standard fingering applies, since there isn't any jump to orange. Verse 2b does the same thing that Verse 1 did. Meaning, in the second portion of Verse 2b the notes are identical, just entirely shifting up a fret on the fretboard. Shift fingers 1,2 for the red/yellow chords and use the same fingering as you did in the previous part. Keep in mind, you can just hold down the green notes in the first part and the red notes in the second portion. Meaning, it essentially can be strummed like this:



Chorus 2
This part is the same as Chorus 1 until the end when they throw in a different arrangement of single notes for a SP phrase.



I play this phrase starting with my 2nd finger and then jumping my 4th to hit the orange note, followed by jumping back down to hit the green with my 1st finger. Coming out of the green/red chords, you can shift you 1st finger up one fret so that you don't have to jump to the orange with your pinky. This SP should be one of the easier ones to get, but if you miss it, or if you missed the one at the beginning of Verse 2b, then you'll want to save it up with the next two phrases. Though, if you successfully hit the two phrases, activate SP immediately after the second SP phrase, or relatively soon after. Waiting too long will overwrite the start of the next SP phrase in the beginning of measure 81.

Bridge A



After hitting the easy SP phrase at the end of Chorus 2, things settle down for a little while in Bridge A. If you're uncomfortable doing the hammer-ons in this section, you can down strum/alternate strum it. However, I reccomend just sitting down and learning the hammer-on/pull-off way. It's not overly difficult and is a nice breather for your strumming hand/arm if you can do it with the hammer-on/pull-offs.



Same thing applies for this part. I used to alternate strum Bridge A before I learned the hammer-on/pull-off way. Bring it into practice and slow it down. You want to be able to do this section perfectly, or damn well close to it. FCing both Bridges and into the Solo helps a lot when going for five stars. For fingering, 4th finger starting on blue, with corresponding descending fingers, until you have to jump to the orange note. After that, it's your choice if you decide to keep your pinky on the orange and then slide at the end, hitting the green note with your 1st finger, or move your pinky down to the blue right after the orange note, nullifying the slide to the green. There really aren't any different ways of doing it.



These double chords shouldn't be too hard after what you've been through so far. I down strum all these chords perfectly fine, however, alternate strumming is a safer route because of the very fast changing yellow/blue chord played right after the second to last red/yellow chord. It's definitely down strummable though, so do what feels most comfortable. The second and third part of Bridge A repeats itself. Same notes, same fingering.

Bridge B



This section isn't very hard. The are hammer-ons/pull-offs, so you really only have for worry about strumming the green/red chords, which are easily down strummable. Standard fingering applies, since there are no orange notes until the hold at the end of measure 97. So the SP phrase should be no problem to get. I assume most of us have problems with the Guitar Solo, so if that's the case, activating your SP on the first green note in measure 98 is a decent choice. Having the green/red chords in measure 100 under SP equals some nice points too. If you have two SP phrases saved up, your SP will last until about the first green of measure 102. Also, taking into account that you have three phrases saved up, that should last into the beginning of the Guitar Solo.



This part shouldn't be troublesome at all. They are simple hammer-on/pull-offs. Just keep the green held while fretting the changing note. This is easily down strummable if you're still wary about continuous hammer-ons.

Guitar Solo

(103) (104) (105)

I split the solo up into its designated measures, to help clarify it a bit. There isn't much to say here except practice it over and over. I, personally, still have trouble with measure 105. Measures 103 and 104 are easier than they look. Practice the jump from the green to the blue note with your 3rd/4th finger. If you can consistently get measures 103 and 104, you might want to try activating late in Bridge B to get both these two measures under SP. Keep in mind, measure 105 is indeed faster fretting than the prior two measures. If you are able to hit the entire solo, more power to you. If not, then after the ascending scales in measure 105, just focus on the last descending scale, or even just focus on the start of the SP phrase. This single phrase gives you SP activation, so it'll immensly helps if you hit it and whammy out the orange hold for the activation and maximum star power.

Thanks to Shashakiro, here's the pull-off fingering for the Guitar Solo.

The green note in between the ascending and descending scales can prove to be much easier to hit using this way. Also, since he slides his index finger up to the red at the beginning of this measure, it may make the tiny trill less difficult to hit since you're fretting it with your 1st and 2nd fingers. Shashakiro wrote:

"Use pulloffs, they make this solo MUCH easier to hit. This is how I finger it (1{} means hold that fret with your index finger for the duration of the brackets)"

___
11{23_2_2}1{234_234_432_432_2}

Chorus 3



Chorus 3 mimics Chorus 2. Even the progressive streak of single notes (measure 113 -114) is repeated again. Don't activate right after you get that single SP from the solo though, since you probably won't be at a x4 multiplier after the Guitar Solo, and because if you did, you might get some of those single notes at the end of measure 113. It's a little better if you save it for post measure 114, to get a couple more chords under star power. Being able to FC this ending Chorus under SP can generate 23k+ points alone, so again, it's one thing that should be top priority to practice.



They finish out Chorus 3 with a simple alteration of single notes, going back and forth from green. At the end of measure 122 it seems to get a tiny bit faster, just be careful. Down strum this if you wish, or continue your alternate strumming and prepare yourself for the Outro.

Outro



If you compare this to the fast strumming part in the Intro, it is indeed slightly different, however the same techniques apply. Keep your alternate strumming steady speed. Remember to count the groups of 16th notes in your head/out loud if it helps. As for the SP phrases thrown into it, it's really hit or miss. If you manage to grab both of them, nicely done, activate soon after and try to keep that mulitplier alive. However, I know a lot of us, including myself, have a hard time keeping a combo during the Intro and Outro. I usually bring the Intro/Outro into Practice mode a couple times before playing the song in Career Mode, just to get used to the note changes during the fast alternate strumming. It's just something you have to practice and get fairly good at. Keeping a multiplier during these sections, even if it's only for a few seconds can give your that small boost of 2k to 20k+ points, to push you over that five stars, or even six stars cut-off, whichever your goal is.

Star Power
Throughout the guide I mentioned where to deploy your star power. Below I thought I'd re-list the activations in order of importance. (to me, at least) Your path will probably change on the fly, since sometimes you'll miss a phrase, but here are the places I activate.

Chorus 3 (1 phrase)
I personally put this as most important because of the fact that the Chorus is under SP three times throughout the song, and this certain activation is gained by only one SP phrase. Hitting this will and keeping your combo through SP will greatly help hitting that 5/6 star marker.

Chorus 2 (2 phrases)
There isn't a higher priority in doing well in Six than to be able to comfortably do the Choruses. This can't be stressed enough by myself and others.

Bridge 2 (2 -3 phrases)
You may have 3 phrases if you missed one of the phrases in Verse 2b or Chorus 2. This can be a bad thing or a good thing. If you're having trouble with the Verses, a possible option for you is to save up four phrases, since the upcoming Bridges are relatively easier. If you do decide to save for the Bridges, activate accordingly. If you have a full bar saved up, activate as fast as possible after the forth phrase to try and get those green/red chords under SP. If you have three phrases saved up, I usually activate on the first green note in measure 98, which will last a little ways into the Guitar Solo. If you have two phrases, then my preference would be activating at the beginning of measure 100 to again, get the green/red chords under SP.

Verse 1 (2 -3 phrases)
Very nice if you can full combo this part under SP. You can grab well over 20k if you have two phrases of SP saved up and you hit it entirely, even more if you can managed to hit the SP in the fast strumming Intro.

Intro & Outro
If you save SP for the Verse, then the Intro activation is out of the equation. As for the Outro, getting the two phrases of SP here is random for me. It's an extra bonus if you can grab the two phrases in the Outro. Fire off SP while keeping your multiplier soon after. I manage to get 5 stars constantly without this activation. Not that I'm trying to say to discard it from practice time, because you can gain a hefty handful of points if you're able to even moderately combo the Intro and Outro.

Point Checks
I, personally, have just three point checks during the song, to see how well I'm doing, and if I think I'll make my goal, or if it's better to just try again. Remember, these are just my personal estimations from playing "Six". These are only approximate ranges I made for myself to help me gauge how well I was doing.

Orange Note Hold Before Chorus 1
If you're around 50k - 75k+ here, you're doing alright for 5 stars. If you are shooting for six stars, it's best to be in the range of 100k - 120k or higher. For you crazy kids going for seven stars, being around 150k+ is your goal.

Entering Bridge A
If you have in the ballpark of 125k+, your in decent shape for five stars. Anything below this maybe prove difficult to grab the five stars with. As for six stars, having 160k - 190k is the general area you're shooting for. The range for seven stars is around 210k - 230k.

Single SP Phrase At The End of The Guitar Solo
Lastly, if you're around 200k after the end of the Guitar Solo, you're in very good shape for five stars. (Seeing how you still have the single activation from solo.) This far into the song, it's probably just worth it to finish the song regardless. Who knows, you may combo a lot of the Outro and be okay. As for six stars, 260k+ is about where you want to be at. If you've breached into the domain of around 300k - 320k, you have a nice shot lined up for you for seven stars. I envy you!

Closing Words
Well, I hope the breakdown of the song helped a little bit. I struggled with this song for awhile seeing how it was my second to last song to acquire five stars. I saw that there isn't a stickied guide for Six, and thought it might be nice to try and get one out there. Like I mentioned in the beginning, I'm open to all suggestions, changes, or mistakes that I might have made. I'm sure there are some things I missed or some techniques that may work better in some parts for certain people. Good luck on "Six"! :-)
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My gaming blog, Cats of Thondor
A Hopefully Helpful Guide To "Six" (Expert)
Current Goal: Rock Band 2 Career

[psychomonkey62]

THANK YOU!

This is the last 5* I need......

[psychomonkey62]

THANK YOU!

This is the last 5* I need......

[neekoh]

Haven't read it through yet, but it's probably the six thread the numerous people can be directed to in their need for help. Excellent community favor.
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|

FretFinger | FretIconAnim

[neekoh]

Haven't read it through yet, but it's probably the six thread the numerous people can be directed to in their need for help. Excellent community favor.
_________________

|

FretFinger | FretIconAnim

[Slayer17]

Very, very nice guide. I'll definitely be checking back at this every now and then. Thanks dude.
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[Slayer17]

Very, very nice guide. I'll definitely be checking back at this every now and then. Thanks dude.
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[FoxNtd]

Good work on the Six guide, and yeah all the strumming work done on Six and Misirlou go hand in hand. I recently added in my guide that working on Six can help with Misirlou since you have to work harder to nail Six's intro and outro.

Although you covered it very well, I just want to mention that if you can't basically FC the chorus section, go to practice mode until you can get it. I'm working on 6* right now so I need to FC those verses too to get a lot more points by not breaking combo. To learn the verse, that hard part is that B RY O piece between chords and gallops. Take it on a slower speed and FC it a few times before raising the speed, until you're on full speed and you can still hit it. It feels hard to teach the fingers to hit that short section between the core chunks of the verses.

The other thing I want to mention is Verse 2b, when it shifts up a fret. You have to be really careful here:

It's very easy to *plink* on the G note or the first RY chord so be sure you strum the G then slide up and jam down on the R and Y frets right away and hopefully you won't miss it. Maybe it's just me, but this is the one part of Verse 2b that gets me sometimes.

Again Karmae, a guide well done!

[FoxNtd]

Good work on the Six guide, and yeah all the strumming work done on Six and Misirlou go hand in hand. I recently added in my guide that working on Six can help with Misirlou since you have to work harder to nail Six's intro and outro.

Although you covered it very well, I just want to mention that if you can't basically FC the chorus section, go to practice mode until you can get it. I'm working on 6* right now so I need to FC those verses too to get a lot more points by not breaking combo. To learn the verse, that hard part is that B RY O piece between chords and gallops. Take it on a slower speed and FC it a few times before raising the speed, until you're on full speed and you can still hit it. It feels hard to teach the fingers to hit that short section between the core chunks of the verses.

The other thing I want to mention is Verse 2b, when it shifts up a fret. You have to be really careful here:

It's very easy to *plink* on the G note or the first RY chord so be sure you strum the G then slide up and jam down on the R and Y frets right away and hopefully you won't miss it. Maybe it's just me, but this is the one part of Verse 2b that gets me sometimes.

Again Karmae, a guide well done!

[Karmae]

[Karmae]

[Light]

Wow, Very nice guide. I still have quite a few songs to 5 star before I tackle this, but I'm sure this will come in handy when that time comes. Thanks in Advance.
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[Light]

Wow, Very nice guide. I still have quite a few songs to 5 star before I tackle this, but I'm sure this will come in handy when that time comes. Thanks in Advance.
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Recent Accomplishments
--------------------------------
Guitar Hero 2 Log!
Guitar Hero 80s Log!
Jordan Passed!
John the Fisherman FC =\
Heart Shaped Box FC LOL

[Shashakiro]

Advice for the solo's harder part:

Use pulloffs, they make this solo MUCH easier to hit. This is how I finger it (1{} means hold that fret with your index finger for the duration of the brackets):

___
11{23_2_2}1{234_234_432_432_2}

make it from a solo I could only barely fluke to something I hit like half the time now...definitely the best way to play this solo IMO.
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[Shashakiro]

Advice for the solo's harder part:

Use pulloffs, they make this solo MUCH easier to hit. This is how I finger it (1{} means hold that fret with your index finger for the duration of the brackets):

___
11{23_2_2}1{234_234_432_432_2}

make it from a solo I could only barely fluke to something I hit like half the time now...definitely the best way to play this solo IMO.
_________________

Total banners earned: 35. Above are links to accomp thread.

[Karmae]

Thanks for the advice Shashakiro. I added what you stated to the Guitar Solo portion of the guide. :-)
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A Hopefully Helpful Guide To "Six" (Expert)
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[Karmae]

Thanks for the advice Shashakiro. I added what you stated to the Guitar Solo portion of the guide. :-)
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My gaming blog, Cats of Thondor
A Hopefully Helpful Guide To "Six" (Expert)
Current Goal: Rock Band 2 Career

[mehungy392]

Nice guide. It helped me improve my score.

One little thing:

It might be a good idea to add in some different strumming patterns, particularly for the verses and choruses. For example:

For verses I do this:

D D D U D D D D U D D D D D

For choruses I do this:

D D D D D D D D D D D D D U D D D

Or if my arm is too tired:
D U D U D U D U D D D D D U D D D

There are lots of other ways to do those
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[mehungy392]

Nice guide. It helped me improve my score.

One little thing:

It might be a good idea to add in some different strumming patterns, particularly for the verses and choruses. For example:

For verses I do this:

D D D U D D D D U D D D D D

For choruses I do this:

D D D D D D D D D D D D D U D D D

Or if my arm is too tired:
D U D U D U D U D D D D D U D D D

There are lots of other ways to do those
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[Metallika]

I totally agree with the statement that the choruses are the lifeline to getting 5*.

i always find it helpful to at least get the SP phrases even if its mixed within hard parts

also i'd like to add to mehungy392's comment that alt-strumming (absolutely no 2 or more downstrums in a row for chords) throughout the entire verse and chorus even when you're not tired also works out for some people (like me).


D U D U D U D U D U

and repeat the Up Down process. the same thing for the chorus

this can be confusing at first but it is a lot less tiring and it can be just as good only if you practice
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[Metallika]

I totally agree with the statement that the choruses are the lifeline to getting 5*.

i always find it helpful to at least get the SP phrases even if its mixed within hard parts

also i'd like to add to mehungy392's comment that alt-strumming (absolutely no 2 or more downstrums in a row for chords) throughout the entire verse and chorus even when you're not tired also works out for some people (like me).


D U D U D U D U D U

and repeat the Up Down process. the same thing for the chorus

this can be confusing at first but it is a lot less tiring and it can be just as good only if you practice
_________________

My goals:

Beat Jordan before GH III comes out [x]
Beat TtFaF [x]
El Jefe [x]
21mil [X] k now what... 22 mil?
5* all songs [ ] (TtFaF 4*, TWIE 4.9*)
40 FCs [ ] (36)
Get xbox Live [X]

[schism]

For the choruses, I do


D D D D D D D D D U D U DUD D U

And I go into second position as well for the chord switches, because it's easier than training your pinky.

[schism]

For the choruses, I do


D D D D D D D D D U D U DUD D U

And I go into second position as well for the chord switches, because it's easier than training your pinky.

[Karmae]

[Karmae]

[mrkuo]

For I shift right and use 12-23-12 fingerings. Using 23-34-23 doesn't seem to work for me. Perhaps you can include this as alternative in your guide.
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[mrkuo]

For I shift right and use 12-23-12 fingerings. Using 23-34-23 doesn't seem to work for me. Perhaps you can include this as alternative in your guide.
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[Jowhannez]

Wouldn't it be better to type small d&u's?

On topic:

I play the verses like Schism aswell(, also, this is how i do it using the letters/signs in my guides):


3 2 3 1 1 3 2 3 1 1 1 1 111
4 3 4 2 2 4 3 4 2 2 2 2
d d d d d d d d d d d d dud
o o o o o o o o o o o o ooo
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[Jowhannez]

Wouldn't it be better to type small d&u's?

On topic:

I play the verses like Schism aswell(, also, this is how i do it using the letters/signs in my guides):


3 2 3 1 1 3 2 3 1 1 1 1 111
4 3 4 2 2 4 3 4 2 2 2 2
d d d d d d d d d d d d dud
o o o o o o o o o o o o ooo
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