Rock Band Tips

Calibrate is key! If you don't calibrate Rock Band, you won't have an optimum experience and you'll be frustrated.


Article: Rock Band / Guitar Hero: Is it helping or hurting?

Rock Band Gifts Find all your favorite Rock Band gear here: drumsticks, books, decals, ear buds, and more.

Getting a group of friends together to play is great fun. You can host a “Rock Band” party at your house and invite everyone. You can also have friendly mini competitions to see who the best player is for bragging rights.

For drummers... concering the drums in Rock Band... spend some money on a small metronome (this is an electronic time-keeping device). It will help perfect your overall time and you'll see that it starts to improve your overall perforance on RB.

If you're having difficulty playing Rock Band, you can change your settings so that you don't get booted off stage for failing a song. This will help you get used to playing an entire song without fear of failing and can help you get coordinated with the game play of Rock Band.

If you find yourself having a hard time with a particular song or even just a certain part of a song, be sure to check out the pratice mode where you can go over the part as much as you need to in order to get it down. The practice mode is very helpful especially when you encounter tougher songs.

For Drums, try exercises that run down all the drums at one time. This will help you be able to move quickly from drum to drum as the song switches up. Try playing all of the pads from left to right as if you were playing a tom fill. Run down from pad to pad playing 16th notes and, for a tougher challenge, try it backwards!

If you hit a rough patch in a song and start to miss several notes in a row, the best thing to do is look ahead to the notes coming up and find a spot where you can pick the song back up. It's much better than trying to struggle to get back on rhythm with the notes in the immediate part you are having difficulty with as it can be tough to get back in the groove of the song.

Don't hurt your throat trying to reach notes that you can't hit. You can sing in a lower key if the note is too high. Even if the song is in a higher key than you can sing, you can hit the pitch in a key that is comfortable for you.

When singing its not always as important to get the words right. The vocals work off of timing and pitch, so if you don't know the words you can hum or just make up your own as long as its in time and in the right pitch for the song.

If you are having a tough time adjusting to playing the "hard" skill level on guitar, try playing the bass at the level. The bass parts are made up mostly just notes where the guitar parts have chords which can be harder to play. Hard also includes the fifth button which can be tough to incorporate at first. Playing bass lets you learn how to move up and down the neck of the guitar without having to learn the new chords at the same time. Once you master playing all five notes, you can then move on to the guitar and start adding in the chords rather trying to do both at the same time.

If you're playing in a group with players who have less experience or are playing a tougher skill level, be sure to save your overdrive power as it can bring them back in the game if they get booted out for a bad performance. If one of your members is out for too long, you will fail your song.

If you don't have enough friends to complete the band or are all by yourself and still want to play as a full band, try giving the online mode a shot and play with gamers all over the world.

You can hold down the buttons on the guitar / bass as you seen them approach... it's the strumming that actually plays the note. So, if you have time before the notes need to be played, you can get your fingers in place and then strum. This is really helpful if there is a section with several different chords that require you to place your fingers in different positions.

Choosing the right manager is an important part of the game while playing the tour mode. Some managers can help you gain fans faster while others will get you more money at your gigs. Some can even do both. So decided which you want to focus on, the money or the fans and then pick a manager who can get that for you. Also pay attention to location as some managers are tied to a certain location. You can also "call" your manager and they will provide tips on what you should do next.

Tips for playing the drums on Rock Band: To play fast, quick drum strokes, flick the stick down utilizing only the middle, ring, and pinky fingers. To play bigger, longer strokes, use the muscles in your forearm to move your wrist. This should help alleviate some of the arm fatigue that can occur when playing drums.

When playing guitar, the easiest way to strum is by doing all down strums. However, you will need to learn to be able to strum upward as well especially as you move into more difficult songs and skill levels. There are some sections where notes are very close together and strumming both upward and downward is the best way to play them. Also, strumming both ways will lessen the fatigue on your arm.

You can earn different trophies or acheivements based on your performance in the game. Some come from the number of fans you earn (like reaching One Million Fans), others come from the way you play the songs like earning All Gold Stars, while others come from things such as buying one of every item in the game's "store". The trophies don't mean anything for the game itself but they are cool to show off to your friends that you achieved certain tasks in the game.

When looking for new songs to purchase, most songs will be included in some sort of themed pack either by genre or artist. However, you do not have to buy the entire pack. Most of the time the songs are also available as single downloads. You will save money if you buy the entire pack but if there's only one song you want, just buy it separately.

If you want to take your drumming experience to the next level for Rock Band, then you have to get the premium Rock Band Drumset! The Ion Drum Rocker is built by the engineers at Alesis so it delivers the most realistic drumming experience available to any drum gamer, regardless of game system. It is fully adjustable so you can move and set-up your drums and two included cymbals however you want. The Ion Drum Rocker can also be converted into an electronic drumset by just adding an Alesis drum brain. So if you’re serious about drumming on Rock Band, the Ion Drum Rocker is the only way to go.

When playing drums on Easy and Medium, it is most natural to use Heel-down technique as this provides the drummer with a better feeling of control. However, it takes a lot of practice to keep using the Heel-down technique when player faster or more notes without tiring or hurting your shin muscles.

So for Hard and Expert, it is suggested that the drummer use a Heel-up technique because the bass drum notes will come faster and occur more often. The Heel-up technique means that your heel is raised up while the ball of your foot remains planted on the pedal. So basically, you will "bounce" your foot to play the notes. This will relieve some of the strain on your muscles and allow you to play faster and longer.

The best tip is remember its a game and just have fun! There's plenty of options and skill levels that can make the game fit to your style of playing. So tailor the settings to yourself and just rock out!

Playing a song that you don't even know can be an interesting challenge that sharpens your skill.

Many players find using a headset to be the way to go when singing vocals.

While the Les Paul and xplorer guitars from Guitar Hero 2 and 3 work with Rock Band, the Rock Band Strat does not work with Guitar Hero.

When singing with Xbox live, if you hold down the right bumper on the controller or tape it down, others can hear you sing!

EA has a nice warranty on the hardware in case any of your "instruments" break. With a credit card number, they can send you a replacement. As long as you ship the broken part back in the box they sent you, there is no charge (assuming you are still under warranty).

If you go into overdrive right before a band member would be kicked out, you can help them stay alive!

Supposedly, it helps to keep the drum pedal pressed down until you need to use it.

Drums too difficult? Try unlocking the songs and practicing just one limb at a time.

If playing the drum pedal is uncomfortable, try this: put a book under the heel section of the pedal.

You might want to try using an actual guitar pick when you play! Some find it less tiring for their hands.

Try moving your hand up the fretboard and resting your index finger on the red button for passages with higher notes.

If you want a more authentic rock vocalist experience, grab a basic microphone stand from a pawn shop, craigslist, or music store. It frees you up a bit - you could play guitar, tie bandanas on it like Steven Tyler, or do tricks with it like James Brown!

To make sure your drums are working, do a fast "roll" on each and make sure the hits are registering.

Just like pro musicians do, when you are in a problem spot, "play through it". Don't try to pick up the notes you've missed, just start fresh and never look back!

When playing the drums, keep a loose grip instead of a "death grip" in order to allow the stocks to bounce freely on the drums.

Have a series of alternating notes to play? Keep the button closest to the headstock (top) of the guitar held and press the button for the higher note when needed. You can do this because it mimics the mechanics of playing a string on a real guitar.

Experiment with the different sounds available when in overdrive, such as chorus and wah-wah.

Remember that the microphone wont work all by itself - there must be another instrument plugged in.

For more rapid bass drumming, try keeping your heel off of the ground, as many pro drummers do.