Trouble Points
Posted on: August 10, 2006, at 07:38:38pm

The LDUR pattern and doubles on 16th notes aren't the only things that mess me up. At higher speeds, a bunch of doubles in a row can create problems, as can doubles popping in where I don't expect them. I almost dread them when I see them now. I've started to get some slower and/or shorter runs of 16th notes, but the longer and faster these runs are, the more trouble they cause me. Sometimes I get through by basically mashing, but what's a bit irritating is that I think I can actually read some of the patterns, but not get my fingers moving to the right keys fast enough. Practice is helping, but my hand/arm/fingers still get tired, so I suppose I need more stamina. I also need to find ways to hit patterns I can't right now (like LDUR) and fix them in muscle memory so I don't have to consciously think about them anymore.

What almost always messed me up, at least until I practice songs enough to anticipate and consciously adjust for it, is arrows that don't match the melody. I think some songs use bass notes or harmony for the arrows and if I'm expecting a melody pattern, like because that's what it has been so far in the song, I'll often miss these off-melody notes. Given my level, I can't definitely say that arrows aren't matching notes all the times I think that. However, if I can't hear a note that matches the arrow, it makes things harder for me. That's probably due to my long music background.