Are you actually reading the chart?

[Atelophobia]

As a long time beginner having trouble to put my fingers correctly and plucking the right string I have another problem in RS: Reading the chart quick enough. I know there's riff repeater but I ask myself whether you pros read the charts or play most of it by ear (if not memorized anyway). In other words: Can Chart Reading be trained like playing guitar itself?

[Gryphonboy]

I am almost always reading the chart. I play so many random songs that I've never heard or played before that being able to read the chart is very important.

[firekorn]

Dynamic difficulty helps a lot to get better at playing and reading at the same time but as it took you time to read letters, reading tab in RS takes time and practice that's why DD is a good friend as it shows a lighter chart that let you find your way around the fretboard.

[Atelophobia]

Thanks! So I ll keep on practising. And for people who aim for a band there's even another hurdle: fully memorizing the song... no wait a full set of songs

[firekorn]

Well it's the same thing, there's no secret either. Work and work and repeting the same thing will get you there but it's a long process and surely won't happen over night.

 

Master mode in RS can force you to work a more on your memory and not only rely on the reading but for something to stuck in the long term, working it again and again over multiple days/weeks is the only way to get there.

[Atelophobia]

I ll keep in Training ;)

[avsrick]

oh yeah, reading the chart is all i can do and it does get easier. reading the chart is like a video game. you just get better at it. my problem is when i have to move my hand up and down the neck  :)  Since I can only play by reading the chart, looking down to make sure i am on the right fret is a challenge. but the more i play the better I am getting at finding that spot with out looking too. which makes me giddy.

[Mostly Rancid]

I ll keep in Training ;)

It does get easier with practice. I would suggest playing songs of all different styles even songs that dont interest you to broaden your skills.

[RedCrowBleeding]

Concentrating souly on the screen gets easy pretty fast

(bear in mind a lot musicians rely on sheet music)

 

But rather than DD throwing lots of incorrect notes and timing which gets annoying when you accidentally memorise them

 

Resort to riff repeater and turn the speed down to 50% then play through and gradually increase the speed over multiple play throughs

[HeadHeartLungs]

I definitely read the chart. In fact I had to turn off Pro mode or whatever it's called because I play too many random CDLC that I'd come back to a song with an invisible note chart and I'd have forgotten what to play :o

 

I'm still a total noob myself but I can say that the ability to read the chart and play along does come with practice.

[SchaerMann]

Played off and on for years now, and the chart is simple enough to pick up. Takes a bit of time, but not much. I admit, I do things a bit differently; if I'm playing a song the first couple of times, I look at the on-screen chart at the beginning, just to orient on the fretboard, then it's straight over to eyes closed and play. Once I've done that a few times, I go over to watching the chart, just to reaffirm and polish up on the "official" version. What I end up playing is viable and sounds good in relation to the song, but it's not the way it's been charted 90% of the time.

 

I will note that I'm primarily a bassist, and I don't tend to do that if I'm playing guitar, as I'm not familiar enough with the chords and shifts yet (and there is a comfort thing at play as well).

 

Point is, you'll pick up the chart quick enough, but don't limit yourself to it and what's on the screen. Session mode is a great tool for just going in and practicing chord strings or odd, funky riffs that you wouldn't necessarily be comfortable trying while in song mode. Helps you learn note placement on the fretboard and solidify you knowledge of the chord placements you've already begun to learn as well.

 

Welcome to one of the most rewarding, and most frustrating, skill sets/hobbies out there, BTW.

[Daikano]

I played guitar hero and rock band on the xbox before RS came out, and although they are different games, the principle is the same.  If you've never played a game like that with a note highway, it takes time to get used to reading it in real time.  

[adyscoot]

A ton of practice does help. I like to choose 1 song to learn, get the basics through riff repeater then before I have memorized it I search a couple of sites for the TAB to find a consensus on the correct one then compare that to the CDLC one if they match great I play and build up my knowledge using RS if not I use the correct TAB away from RS build up my muscle memory and play along to the original recording.

My goal is to be able to play songs in a live environment away from the crutch of RS but if you are only playing for fun then plenty of practice and the note highway does get easier

[TomSawyer2112]

I remember my first step with RS two years ago were very annoying.

But I rapidly noticed I was used to read tabs on Guitar Pro, where the fat E string is displayed on the lower string. Same goes for PlayAlong.

I can't see a good reason to play RS with the red string on top. Why learn two inverted ways ?

Confusion certified with inversed powerchords. :lol:

I'm absolutely unable to play the game this way,

Thankfully there is the option to flip the strings to conform to the recognized music format of displaying a tab.

 

Memorization is still the better way. Once you memorized a song, It's very easy to play it again in RS even after several month. To memorize I play very slowly short sectors, so I have time to visualize them on my guitar and play the notes before they actually come. Playing them directly twice adds to the effect of learning. 

 

Of course It depends on the song : Memorizing Magic Wands"Black Magic" takes 5-10 minutes, but try memorizing the 950 notes of "The Patrolman"  :P

[Mad_Duck]

Thanks! So I ll keep on practising. And for people who aim for a band there's even another hurdle: fully memorizing the song... no wait a full set of songs

 

You can always go all Nickelback, and just play the same song with different lyrics thirty times.  :D

[ikwtif]

I think this is actually one of my main gripes with RockSmith. No feature to actually see the whole tabs ingame (still think riffrepeater is useless, or anyway, not a good fleshed out feature, specially if you use it on less than normal speed to learn something), or a way to see the chord progression, or even the key a song is in. For a "game" that profiles itself to teach, there are more than enough features that could have been made way better for that in my opinion.

 

But to actually answer the question, I'm nearing 200 hours ingame and I can read the chart fine unless there's a complicated solo. Of if the rythm/fingering is complicated and it's a fast song, it might take me a bit to actually figure it out. Or well, adjust to the fast chord changes. Wich has more to do with me being slow in them instead of not able to read it. Most trouble I have is defenitly with solo's tough.

[bustakun]

Remembering songs is a no brainer, my songs that are over 100% were done usi.g Master Mode and Ive played them in the 100s of times.

 

Ive played guitar decades, well tinkered, rs has taken what little Ive learned on my own and rocket launched it to a level I had not acheived in decades of playing. I cannot speed read the charts due to age and slower reflexes. My nephew who is 17 reads the charts, he cranks the diffity to 100 and attacks songs he can play and score 80% or better on his first playthrough. Amazes me. I usually do riff repeater and if I need more help I'll slow the riff to 85% speed, this way you are forced to accurately reproduce the notes displayed before progressing to the next speed level as well as more note difficulty. The momorization will naturally be there through wrote practice over and over again.

 

Keep at it its well worth it. As far as bands go give rs a month or 2 for at least a solid hour a day and you should be at a point where you could hang with a band for a set or two.

 

Practice the lessons as well. They will give you a solid foundation in the techniques used as well as help you to learn what the chart notations mean.

[jhespada]

Yes - I read the charts unless it is a rhythm path that I know well. 

 

The key to figuring out how to play difficult riffs is to figure out the proper hand positions that will allow you to pick the notes efficiently and accurately. So, for those riffs that seem difficult, I recommend going into riff repeater, slowing down the section to a speed that allows you to pick out the proper hand position (RS hand positions arent always the best) and practice it until you can feel comfortable at 100% speed.

 

I am a fan of this method rather than using dynamic difficulty as it throws off my timing.

[LemmunTV]

Most of the time, it really is important to read the chart. Reading the charts fast enough to play along with them is a matter of learning what you're playing and practicing. I used to have problems with it but it eventually turns into reading the colors and their positions; it's just a matter of moving your fingers fast enough. Try using the lessons and minigames to help figure out the neck of your guitar so you don't have to look at it as you play, that might help.

[LemmunTV]

Most of the time, it really is important to read the chart. Reading the charts fast enough to play along with them is a matter of learning what you're playing and practicing. I used to have problems with it but it eventually turns into reading the colors and their positions; it's just a matter of moving your fingers fast enough. Try using the lessons and minigames to help figure out the neck of your guitar so you don't have to look at it as you play, that might help.

[LemmunTV]

Most of the time, it really is important to read the chart. Reading the charts fast enough to play along with them is a matter of learning what you're playing and practicing. I used to have problems with it but it eventually turns into reading the colors and their positions; it's just a matter of moving your fingers fast enough. Try using the lessons and minigames to help figure out the neck of your guitar so you don't have to look at it as you play, that might help.

[BusterKnott]

As a long time beginner having trouble to put my fingers correctly and plucking the right string I have another problem in RS: Reading the chart quick enough. I know there's riff repeater but I ask myself whether you pros read the charts or play most of it by ear (if not memorized anyway). In other words: Can Chart Reading be trained like playing guitar itself?

I have no short term memory whatsoever so I have to read every note on the chart every time I play. I literally cannot memorize a single note!

 

Regarding finger placement and correct string choice if you practice often enough you'll get this. In time muscle memory will assure you get it right. After years of playing I almost never have to look at the fretboard unless I am above the 15th fret.

[Rcrai]

Join the championship you will pick up on sight reading quickly. 

[slim4192]

just wait til you play with DD and hit master mode on the game....the notes on the highway disappear..that kinda makes u feel like ur finally getting somewhere..but by then u don't really need the notes to look at...but still gives me a tingling inside

[Elvenmonk]

I will use the repeater and go at it for a hour until I have memorized it, daily. Then play it without looking and keep going. Then move on to the next part after I 90-100% it without looking reliably  from a cold start and add in the previous part here and there so I don't forget.

But I will play the song like a normal rhythm game the first few times I play it to see if A the song is fun the play and B to see if I am ready to play it yet. Letting DD be the judge of everything. Originally I did just this way and was learning songs by playing them whole non-stop. However, I have found using the RR to be the best way for me. Then combining everything all at once and just work on the switching and such live.