[gnr61]

its ok, kommi wasn't on so i couldn't mute the channel and thus couldn't talk much anyway. here are my lecture notes turned into complete sentences

Definition of hands
-In spread-style file making (what we are doing), using the term "hands" is a bit of an obvious misnomer as it refers to the ITG-style pad steps that require you to use your hands to hit notes because your feet are otherwise occupied. Unfortunately, it is convenient and it has kind of stuck over the years, so I will continue to call them such except in specific references to triples or quads.
-The term "hands" refers to 3 or more simultaneously hit notes and more rarely jumps/triples hit while holding a freeze.

First step in learning to use hands
-DONT be afraid to use hands. FFR-steppers especially. While it is possible to overuse hands (depending on their musical context), we play spread. Hands are quite often the best possible way to represent something in the music, whether simply adhering to whatever layering theory you are currently using or choosing to apply them for climactic purposes.

When hands are appropriate (layering)
-The simplest description of when to use hands when layering is obviously when three or more sounds (that you are currently following or would otherwise intend to follow) coincide simultaneously. Using triples for this purpose is generally acceptable and is the most common application of hands in spread stepping. If it just pains and pains and pains you to think that there may be a consistency and/or layering error in your simfile, or even if you just want to maintain the best technical representation of your song that you can, layering theory is usually a fair bet to be successful at placing hands.

When hands are appropriate (climax theory)
-Another approach to placing hands is in climax theory. Quite simply, climax theory (in this particular use of the phrase) describes the placement of jumps, triples, and quads on accented notes. In doing this, there does NOT necessarily have to be three sounds occurring at once; in fact, its pretty much acceptable to place hands on especially intense drum hits (PSH sounds in dnb, for instance, see: crow's ghost) or melody notes whether or not they are technically layered in with 2+ other sounds. If you are the kind of stepper who only likes to leave 1.0x when absolutely necessary and is more interested in the "feel" of the file rather than what dondon would think, this kind of application suits you well. Note that this and layering theory are not mutually exclusive, it is usually best to find a balance of using both while stepping.

When hands are appropriate (chords)
-It is also acceptable to place triples or quads on chords in the music played by one instrument. If you are following a piano or guitar and you feel like you know what you are doing when it comes to picking out chords, feel free to place hands where appropriate even if they don't necessarily fit according to your layering (see: Puppet's Demolizione).

When hands are INappropriate (layering)
-When following several instruments that coincide in a way that would form hands if you stick with layering theory, it is always best to have some notion of climax theory rolling in the back of your mind. Pretty much I just mean if you are layering something gay like a hi-hat or other quieter percussion, it is not always best to make them hands. A jump including a note in the lead and a snare shouldn't feel much different from one including a note in the lead, a snare, and a hi-hat; adding an extra note to the jump is too abrasive and even feels inconsistent.

Keysounding hands
-An older technique of hand placement involves placing hands on specific (usually percussive) tones regardless of intensity or layering presence, usually on cymbal crashes. See: Puppet's OTAKUSPEEDVIBE.

Triples aesthetic (brief note, ver subjective)
-The more spread out/symmetrical hands, [124] and [134] typically are nicer looking by themselves than [123] and [234] hands and fit best in most situations; exceptions obviously occur often when the others are required for purposes of flow or specific pitch representation (or in larger chains of hands where you need variation). If you play through most of my DCP files you will find that a significant majority of the triples I use are [124] and [134], though you probably wouldn't even notice while playing because they just work well on that subconscious level.

Quads (super brief overview)
-Quads are significantly different from triples despite being only one note larger because they require you to press all 4 inputs at once--leaving no room for relevance in terms of pitch and disallowing them from being worked into any kind of stream pattern without forming jacks. This alone makes quads difficult to implement successfully using the straight layering method, and I typically advocate using them only for climactic purposes. The more sparsely you use them, the more climactic impact they will have by the way.

Quads defy typical layering to positive effect
-Konono no nanatsu no oiwaini, m29
-Thunderclap, m30

Quads follow typical layering to negative effect
-Drove through ghosts to get here, m64+ (not necessarily a negative effect, its just a more experimental approach that i find damaging to the flow but some others enjoy)
-Open Your Mind, m31+