Old 01-29-2012, 04:27 AM   #1
MracY
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Default Getting faster fingers.

After playing this game for a while, I've found my arrow reading ability to have become ridiculously good.

The thing is, my hands and dexterity aren't keeping up. My sightread in FMO and FGO songs is excellent, but my fingers are so slow that I can barely get a VC FC!

From experience, I know that just keeping on playing will make my fingers a bit faster, but with diminishing returns. There usually are some exercises and activities outside the game that can increase your skill in single areas of the game immensely, and techniques you can use to get better immediately.

I'm sure others have had this problem as well. Is there anything specific you recommend me to do, other than doing some stretches and grip exercises? I'm already ambidextrous and an adept in pen spinning and juggling, and already
warm up my fingers and hands before playing.

If you are pretty good yourself, got this way by 'just keeping on playing' and you are not in the top ~10 despite wanting to be, you should probably look for things like this to get better too.


I know there was another topic about this somewhere, but that one was just filled with 'JUST PLAY MORE LULZ' and random jokes. I also dislike bringing up old topics, so I created a new one to have a clean sheet on which people can put their tips.
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Old 01-29-2012, 04:45 AM   #2
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

foreplay ;D... no it's not that easy...play more, had to say the truth.

Also drink your milk
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Old 01-29-2012, 05:26 AM   #3
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

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foreplay ;D... no it's not that easy...play more, had to say the truth.

Also drink your milk
I think I've read somewhere that milk is pretty unhealthy, relative to other drinks. It apparantly has something in it that binds stomach acid, and the calcium in it apparantly doesn't get absorbed much by the body at all, although that's a pretty one-sided description.
I know there's a correlation between the nervous system, muscle function and diet, but I don't think drinking milk will have any serious effect on making your fingers move faster.

Taking a holistic view when trying to become better at certain activities is always better. Playing more is a sure way to get better, but carrying over parts of the activities to other parts of your life is always best. Why are swimmers usually good at gymnastics? Because swimming is ridiculously stimulating for your muscles. Therefore, a gymnast might do well to take up swimming.
Being able to know how to train properly is the core to every skill. 99% of perspiration is useless without 1% of inspiration!


Anyway, I'll try and ask a nearby fitness instructor about the best way to train your fingers and lower arm, and post the results here. I might as well try my best to ask around about drinking milk, although I know you were just kidding with that one.

Last edited by MracY; 01-29-2012 at 05:37 AM..
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Old 01-29-2012, 05:29 AM   #4
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

Make sure to play every day, and to play songs that are hard for you to do well on.
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Old 01-29-2012, 05:40 AM   #5
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

^^This. Playing songs you find difficult helps you to improve quite a bit.
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Old 01-29-2012, 05:44 AM   #6
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

If you want faster fingers download stepmania, download hard songs packs and play them until they are easy, even after that play them on rates, and play every single day until you feel like you're going to get carpel tunnel. It's the best way.
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Old 01-29-2012, 06:29 AM   #7
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

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If you want faster fingers download stepmania, download hard songs packs and play them until they are easy, even after that play them on rates, and play every single day until you feel like you're going to get carpel tunnel. It's the best way.
I see. Stepmania's arrows are usually closer and allow for more timing diversity. It should be better for practice than FFR at least.
What judge level do you recommend I play on? It would be ideal if I could increase my accuracy at the same time, but I guess I shouldn't be greedy.

Although doing this still doesn't specifically target an increase of speed. I wish I could just get a list of training activities one can do to increase the amount of quick twitch muscle in their fingers.

Now that I think about it, I should probably get a keyboard with flat keys, or even one of those laser beam keyboards. That should increase my speed and stamina, although I'd prefer to train my speed nevertheless.

Last edited by MracY; 01-29-2012 at 06:36 AM..
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Old 01-29-2012, 06:39 AM   #8
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

Judge 4 is what everyone uses; if you're good enough aim to increase your Marvelous Attack (MA) and reduce greats and worse

If you play files just outside of your comfort zone and always try to put effort into hitting every arrow (without mashing), I guarantee you will improve your speed.

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Old 01-29-2012, 09:06 AM   #9
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

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Originally Posted by icontrolyourworld View Post
Judge 4 is what everyone uses; if you're good enough aim to increase your Marvelous Attack (MA) and reduce greats and worse

If you play files just outside of your comfort zone and always try to put effort into hitting every arrow (without mashing), I guarantee you will improve your speed.
Awesome, although that's all common sense if your aim is to get better. This is just me playing another rythm game. It's not the kind of direct finger speed training I was looking for.
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Old 01-29-2012, 11:57 AM   #10
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

I always say that after you find a difficulty fairly easy increase the difficulty by one and hammer that away until you jump to the next one. It's a slow but steady way to get speed and accuracy.
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Old 01-29-2012, 01:05 PM   #11
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

Play stupidly difficult songs on stepmania

Now all the FGO/FMOs will feel slow to you. Grats!
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Old 01-29-2012, 01:20 PM   #12
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

My reccomendation: Play on Judge 6 or higher on SM then go back to FFR.

Before, my best AAAs (minus 2 fluke 9s) were all 4s and below. Now, I have [Oni] and a small chunk of 10 AAAs.
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Old 01-29-2012, 08:00 PM   #13
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

Needs more SM.

SM improves you more gooder.
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Old 01-30-2012, 02:14 AM   #14
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

Sigh. I wish I could ask this same question in the Critical Thinking subforum. It seems I'm only getting 1 type of answer here.
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Old 01-30-2012, 02:19 AM   #15
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

It actually has a lot to do with tension and your wrist. Chances are you're physically restraining yourself from playing faster because you aren't loosening up. A lot of players have found that keeping your fingers sorta hanging upwards (arc your hands up a bit) is a good way to hit keys with your wrists in a position to react at any given moment. Refrain from using other muscles and just make sure it's the fingers and wrist that does the work. Avoid straight fingers - curvature helps. Loosen up.

WRISTS

That's the best advice I can give you. It helps if you understand it from a physical aspect.

Some serious players use stuff like finger weights but don't bother with that. It's all in the wrists.

Last edited by bmah; 01-30-2012 at 02:22 AM..
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Old 01-30-2012, 02:28 AM   #16
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

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Originally Posted by MracY View Post
Sigh. I wish I could ask this same question in the Critical Thinking subforum. It seems I'm only getting 1 type of answer here.
What type of answer do you want? You have 1.4b score over four years, I'm sure that has something to do with you not having fast fingers.
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Old 01-30-2012, 07:36 AM   #17
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

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Originally Posted by Anaru View Post
Play stupidly difficult songs on stepmania
I did that all the time and it didn't help me much.

What I actually suggest is to go on the isolation engine and play Eclipse (Solar) 32nd Midsection and when it becomes easy to read and play, start playing FMOs(11s).
If that doesn't work, play Stepmania on Judge 4 and just play until you become really awesome. That's kinda what I did for a few years. But it shouldn't take as long as it did with me. (I kept trying to quit.)
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Old 01-30-2012, 07:59 AM   #18
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

I'll actually go against what everyone is suggesting. Don't play stuff too far out of your league, and above all else, don't whore it. That can cause some serious wrist/hand concerns that may be permanent, depending on the strain. Unless your body is used to the strain, it'll be a bit overwhelming and counterproductive.

I mean, play difficult files, but don't, say, whore Guillaume Tell (Oni) if you can't even move fast enough for Flight of the Bumblebee. I suggest songs that are just a bit too fast for you. Try songs just one step up, and work from there. You could also play FFR when you're not actually playing it. Sitting at work or school, try tapping your fingers on your desk. It may seem silly, but it goes a long way. :3

You could also pick up an instrument, such as a guitar. That would help tremendously with finger speed, plus it would be fun in the process. Last, I will suggest playing on a semi-regular basis. With only 1.4 billion in 4 years, I assume you don't play too often. DDR simulation games are similar to instruments in the sense that if you slack off and don't practice, it'll show, and the road will take even longer.

Taking about an hour each day to practice some VC's may be an optimal choice. If you don't want to spend that type of dedication to a video game, spend an hour practicing an instrument as stated above. You can read the notes easily as you stated, so there's no need to practice that aspect. Have fun with it! n.n
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Old 01-30-2012, 08:45 AM   #19
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

Masturbate
Stepmania

Pay attention to details, such as how you are sitting, the position of your hands (whether they're resting on the desk/laptop, or keeping them up) and don't tense your fingers up, although they tense naturally.
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Old 01-30-2012, 10:37 AM   #20
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Default Re: Getting faster fingers.

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Originally Posted by bmah View Post
It actually has a lot to do with tension and your wrist. Chances are you're physically restraining yourself from playing faster because you aren't loosening up. A lot of players have found that keeping your fingers sorta hanging upwards (arc your hands up a bit) is a good way to hit keys with your wrists in a position to react at any given moment. Refrain from using other muscles and just make sure it's the fingers and wrist that does the work. Avoid straight fingers - curvature helps. Loosen up.
WRISTS

That's the best advice I can give you. It helps if you understand it from a physical aspect.

Some serious players use stuff like finger weights but don't bother with that. It's all in the wrists.
This is the most awe-inspiring advice ever. I just tried it a bit, and it's like I just used a cheat code on my fingers. I automatically tense up after a while, though, but I'll practice not to.

I always tense up every muscle in my arm / hand to warm up, though. I'm wondering if warming up in a different way would increase my speed further. I think I've read some scientific journal that said something to that effect, but my memory's hazy. I'll do that from now on. Thanks for this masterful tip.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyth The Raccoon View Post
You could also pick up an instrument, such as a guitar. That would help tremendously with finger speed, plus it would be fun in the process. Last, I will suggest playing on a semi-regular basis. With only 1.4 billion in 4 years, I assume you don't play too often. DDR simulation games are similar to instruments in the sense that if you slack off and don't practice, it'll show, and the road will take even longer.
Too bad I play the violin, so I'll only get 1-sided bonuses in finger speed. I guess I'll do a bit of piano/guitar on the side when I have the money. It can't hurt, and it does really seem like a good idea.




EDIT: Curse the FBI for taking out MU, when that's really the only common place the hard packs are hosted. I'll try searching around some more. There seems to have been a SM songs topic here before, but something seems to have happened to it. Does anyone have a link to the hard packs?

Last edited by MracY; 01-30-2012 at 11:16 AM..
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