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by Ben Silverman
WATCH ROCK BAND VIDEOS
So now that you've converted your living room into a legitimate practice pad, it's time to pick an instrument and rock out. But whether you're a tone-def wailer or a world-class shredder, you'll need a primer course in the tools of Rock Band's trade.
Bass
Basics: If the whole idea of playing fake instruments to real music is new to you, skip the guitar and go straight to the bass. Bass lines hold the band together and set the rhythm, so they're often much, much simpler and therefore easier to play than those noodly guitar riffs. Newbies, start here.
Advanced tips: Even masters of the four-stringed beast will have to get technical from time to time, so make sure you know how to do a hammer-on. But for the most part, even the most advanced bass line in the game isn't as crazy as the guitar.
Guitar
Basics: Since there's a pretty good chance that you've played Guitar Hero, many of you will feel right at home with the six-stringed standby. Though Rock Band's Stratocaster looks more realistic and sports a few new bells and whistles, the core gameplay should be instantly familiar: Simply press the corresponding button and strum whenever a colored note reaches the bottom of the screen.
Advanced tips: That will work on Easy and Medium settings, but once you get to Hard, you'll need to learn the advanced techniques of hammer-ons and pull-offs. Also, keep in mind that only the fret button closest to the strum bar counts, meaning you don't have to let go of the green or red frets every time you need to hit blue or orange. That comes in handy when you're working on a blistering solo. And if you're feeling like a serious metal god, feel free to use those five tiny frets at the very top of the neck during any solo. It's all hammer-ons, so you won't need to strum at all, Mr. Van Halen.
Vocals
Basics: Since time immemorial, people have sung. That's really all you have to do to be a decent frontman in Rock Band, though skintight leather pants and an overblown ego wouldn't hurt. Keep an eye on the lyrics and tone bar at the top of the screen and make adjustments if you're getting too pitchy.
Advanced tips: We don't doubt that your amazing vibrato leaves Freddie Mercury in the dust, but if you're having a hard time getting good scores, consider tweaking the volume in the options menu so that you can better hear the original vocalist. It helps to sing along. And while your Stevie Wonder freestyle soul act is a big hit at the local Karaoke bar, Rock Band's vocal analyzer prefers steady, strong vocalists who don't deviate from the actual track. Keep it simple and save those vocal gymnastics for the solo sections.
Drums
Basics: As gaming's first true drum-kit simulator, Rock Band's drums will likely be the big star in your ragtag living room band. The core gameplay is identical to playing guitar or bass, but with sticks and drum pads instead of frets and strum bars. Each of the colored drum pads corresponds to an onscreen colored note, while the bass drum pedal is represented by a fat orange bar. Even if you're a seasoned skin-slapper, start on Easy or Medium until you get used to the location of each colored drum. When you start upping the difficulty, you'll need to know exactly where 'green' is without taking your eyes off the screen.
Advanced tips: Familiar with a real kit? Then think of yellow as the hi-hat, red as the snare drum, blue as a tom-tom and green as a crash cymbal. It varies a bit, but most songs follow that pattern. Still, Rock Band drummers screw up by not hitting the bass drum pedal at the right time. One useful tip is to keep your heel on the floor at all times rather than let your foot hover right above the pedal. Your consistency and timing will increase dramatically. And don't be turned off by the fact that you can't nail the tougher songs; unlike guitar and bass, if you can play drums on Hard or Expert, you can pretty much play drums for real.
Posted: 15 Nov 2007
