Rocksmith sight reading

[Hippy22]

Do people sight read when learning songs on rocksmith ?  I am asking because if you put difficulty to 100% it gives you the full song, but it requires more memory and learning parts  slowed down over and over, a lot of people would say that is a great  way to learn but am i missing out  learning to sight read within  rocksmiths note highway with the use of DD, I am comparing it with the same thing you would do for piano if you were learning to sight read it is generally less notes  and slow speed and then you get better at reading  you move up a level,   So the thing that is confusing me is are we learning to get better at sight reading in rocksmith or are we learning to play guitar because these  are two separate things to learn,  So people using 100% difficulty are not learning to sight read but more memory and people using DD mode will be or should be better at reading from rocksmith.  

[Shroud]

Excellent question...

I mostly play bass with Rocksmith, have played for about half a year now, and nowadays I pretty much always start by setting difficulty at 100% and sight read everything at first try. Then obviously, sometimes there's a song which is too difficult for me to play because I can't really follow up what's in the screen (this is especially true for songs with lots of empty string notes, which confuse me immensely when they mix up with fretted notes). When this happens, I use the riff repeater to practice separate sections, slowed down for example to 50% until I understand which notes to play, then gradually increase the speed up to 100%.

With the guitar, typically I just can't sight read at all because there's too many strings, too many notes, chords and solos... Unlike with bass, I do not accept the idea of playing less notes than the full score, with the exceptions of (1) removing non-essential notes from chords and (2) cut corners in sloppy or improvised solos. So the only way for me is again to slow down the tempo, but I then actually prefer to learn a song at no tempo, meaning without following a specific timing, be it background track or metronome. I just like keeping the transcription open in front of me and learn different sections at my own pace, then when I feel ready I jump to play on top of the record. In brief, I very rarely use Rocksmith with guitar at all, because it doesn't really suit my learning habits.

And by the way, I've been overall playing guitar for 30 years, and bass for 6 month. That probably explains the huge difference for me between the two.

[HanabiCraft]

Ok, so...hear me out. 

I've only been practicing for a week with the game, but the dumb arcade games help a LOT with things like muscle memory for where the frets are, and which string is which. If all you're doing is Learn a Song, you're doing yourself a disservice. Play some of the arcade games as a warmup. They're frustrating ar first, but boy howdy, when you start getting a streak with that little pink cowboy without looking at the strings... chef's kiss.

[Shroud]

3 hours ago, HanabiCraft said:

Ok, so...hear me out. 

I've only been practicing for a week with the game, but the dumb arcade games help a LOT with things like muscle memory for where the frets are, and which string is which. If all you're doing is Learn a Song, you're doing yourself a disservice. Play some of the arcade games as a warmup. They're frustrating ar first, but boy howdy, when you start getting a streak with that little pink cowboy without looking at the strings... chef's kiss.

Interesting suggestion... I have never even tried the arcade games! I must take a look.

[Mythologue]

Learning to read RS most likely. I've found most recently that it helps to play guitar outside of RS alongside the game itself, otherwise you're probably going to struggle with, for example, tabs or just generally playing the guitar without having something in front of you (it helps to learn triads, thirds, fifths, sevenths, etc.) Having said that, RS will aid with certain things like manoeuvring the fretboard, finger positioning, and other advanced techniques like harmonics and mutes. Although I imagine it's sensible practice to read theory and learn sheet as well. 

[ScottWolfe]

Well I have had the game for years and always had a guitar. I never got serious and really got into it. Now I am 62 and retired so I have time to learn. I will recommend the arcade games also, especially the scale games, string skip and ducks redux. Also it may get a little boring but after a lot of playing around in and out of Rocksmith (a lot of learn a song and riff repeater) I just started doing the lessons in Rocksmith. I started at the top and plan to do every one to 100% I am really looking foreward to getting a little better and playing around with session mode.

I have had a lot of people tell me over the years that Rocksmith is just a game and you will not learn anything. I beg to differ! I look at  Rocksmith as a very good learning tool. The biggest thing that Rocksmith taught me was that there is a whole lot more to learn outside of Rocksmith. I also have a subscription to Guitar Tricks and frequent Justingutiar.

[Shroud]

19 hours ago, ScottWolfe said:

I have had a lot of people tell me over the years that Rocksmith is just a game and you will not learn anything. I beg to differ! I look at  Rocksmith as a very good learning tool. The biggest thing that Rocksmith taught me was that there is a whole lot more to learn outside of Rocksmith. 

As someone who had years of guitar trainings under different teachers, and then decades of self-study, but has otherwise learned bass almost entirely from RockSmith (obviously however, with plenty of synergies from already knowing the guitar...) I can say RockSmith is a very good tool that does something of its own which other forms of practice do not provide. Similarly, RockSmith doesn't provide other benefits which you can learn only by doing something else... Someone saying "you will not learn anything" is just as stupid as saying that you will not learn anything by having a teacher, by watching youtube instructional videos, by doing exercise books and so on: they are all useful for something, and the art of learning an instrument is about balancing your different methods in order to move closer to your goals.

As I already mentioned, RockSmith didn't work for me with the guitar, not sure if it's because I am already at an intermediate level, because I am too comfortable with my established study habits, or because it doesn't match with my current goals... but it definitely seems to work very well for me to get to a usable level of skills with the bass! Still, I won't rely solely on RockSmith  

[Sniper Reload3d]

7 hours ago, Shroud said:

I won't rely solely on RockSmith

I have held off on saying something on a couple of these threads for not going to be able to say this eloquently enough.

First and most importantly EVERYONE learns differently and has different natural levels of what and how fast they can learn.

If someone can be self taught, that is learn the guitar by themself without formal lessons;

Eddie Van Halen

Jimi Hendrix

Eric Clapton

B.B. King

John Frusciante

Prince, the list goes on, as well as those that self taught themself(ves) Piano, or any instrument;

There is no reason one can not use Rocksmith to learn to play Guitar /Bass. A huge problem is that Rocksmith touted and hyped itself not as a just a game, but "The Fastest Way To Learn Guitar". Another problem is the feed back the game gives you. Solely a "Miss" does not explain why or what was wrong with what was played. That is one aspect of having an instructor. Just one aspect. I have seen many a twitch streamer / youtuber playing along that has zero concept of rhythm or timing. Something tabs lack over sheet music.

The players listed above and any other self taught undoubtedly once they learned they absorbed much more from being around other musicians. They also have something that most of us do not have, drive to and talent to figure stuff out by ear. I was in the military for many years, and such an environment does not provide ample time to pick up the instrument and practice, especially when you are in the field for 30 days, or deployed. When I was a youth, I lacked the drive and focus to apply myself.

Having the game with with goals in mind as Shroud has said, applying yourself, there is no reason why someone can not use this game as a tool to learn the instrument.

Other stuff will have to be brought in from outside, having the drive and motivation to self taught music theory and adding to what the game provides as a platform a foundation to actually practice.

This does not mean that this can replicate what a living teach can provide with feed back and correction with a good instructors wealth of knowledge or provide what is lacking in a student's repository.

People today have something that those listed above do not when they were learning. The wealth of knowledge (which actually can be very overwhelming to try and sift through) which is available on the webs / the information super highway is astounding. Those before us could not go to youtube and find an instructor breaking down Snow - Hey Ho.

A good living breathing instructor can and does provide a student with direction.

Each has a merit on its own, and how the individual uses either will determine the value of the methods used. A student that doesn't pick up the instrument it matters not what learning is provided.

In regards to HIppy22's original question, learning vs sight reading, I have personally found mindlessly playing along with the song does not, is not conducive to building mental memory as well as it does muscle memory.

Actually memorizing the song is a mental effort, does not matter if you use riff repeater, or using master mode, you have to make an ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT of using memory skills to memorize a song. This does not mean you can not use the game for with it in riff repeater mode or master mode. They are great tools for doing so. Repeated play throughs are said to be the building blocks, but You actually have to engage your memory skills to do so.

 

[BusterKnott]

On 12/7/2022 at 11:01 AM, ScottWolfe said:

 

"I have had a lot of people tell me over the years that Rocksmith is just a game and you will not learn anything. I beg to differ! I look at  Rocksmith as a very good learning tool. The biggest thing that Rocksmith taught me was that there is a whole lot more to learn outside of Rocksmith. I also have a subscription to Guitar Tricks and frequent Justingutiar."

I agree...

Rocksmith is great for helping an aspiring musician to learn and master the mechanics of playing guitar and/or bass. Rocksmith is able to this by making practice fun something that books, videos, tapes or CD's generally fail to do for most students.

Where Rocksmith falls short is the fact that it does not teach music theory nor does it teach sight reading, tablature, or even how to play chord charts. 

I consider Rocksmith to be a VERY useful adjunct to becoming a proficient musician but all by itself its utility is limited...

On the other hand by playing Rocksmith daily for the last eight years I improved to the point I was able to get a regular gig with a local band so there is that to consider!