[Xiaounlimited]

Originally Posted by Gundam-Dude

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoICjGzxf6k

This is the best answer to what not to do when stepping for solo.

As said before, avoid heavy ring finger usage unless you're making a solord level chart. Brackets are probably the single hardest pattern to do on solo due to the way your hand tendons are designed. Jacks should be avoided more in solo and switched to trills whenever possible, though jacks when used properly - see POOPY TIME FUN SHAPES or my PxFxS file - can still be fun. Use sparingly though or you'll get a chart like Red Zone which very few people like and only play for the difficulty factor.

A tip from the get-go if you're an aspiring solo stepper - use the 1 and 6 keys less frequently while focusing the bulk of your notes and hard patterns on 2345. You might ask, "But doesn't that make it just like a singles chart?" The answer is no; this is for easier files and those who aren't experienced with making difficult charts. All of the files in XSBP2 use this stepping method with the exception of Brimming White oni's piano solo, Zenius -I- Vanisher oni and PxFxS. Venturing into using all 6 keys evenly isn't recommended for new solo steppers IMO.

Also, get used to putting bass on the left arrow and snare/cymbals on the right (though you can take liberties with the latter, like putting cymbal crashes as a chord on 34 or something). You can mess around with snare/cymbals/whatever but by convention bass is almost always on the left arrow. There are times where you can deviate from this, but I'm sure you can figure out when it's appropriate and when it's not.

I could probably make a thread on this but I'm way too ****ing lazy. Promoting solo is already enough for me.