Jason Hasselkus

So you’re playing Guitar Hero and you’re looking at this little plastic guitar and you realize that you have finally met your match. There are five buttons on this thing and you really only have four fingers to play it with, your thumb is pretty much useless in this game, besides keeping the guitar steady. So how are you going to reach that orange button in Hard and Expert levels? Ted Lange, Guitar Hero II’s associate producer says: “I find it easier to shift your pointer finger back to the green button than to shift your pinky finger to the orange one.” So the best thing to do is shift your hand down so that you start with your index finger on the red button. For some with real guitar experience, they will be familiar with this technique as typically their hands need to move up and down the fret board as the songs get more challenging. I had to try out this technique and I can tell you that it really does work, but you do have to teach yourself all over again on how to play the songs.
Most of the time, players find it difficult to use their pinky finger. Taking this technique a little bit further, will allow you to play songs with minimal pinky usage. Here’s how it works. Remember that they yellow button has a ridge in it that is there so that you can always find your way back to the middle key. If you are feeling the ridge with your ring finger, you’re now in the “1st” position. If you’re hitting it with your middle finger, you’re in the “2nd” position. And if your index finder is hitting the ridge, then your obviously in the “3rd” position. If you really want to try out this technique, go to Expert level and try it out on “Surrender”.