Tips for transitioning from one hand to two hand?

[TeslaSquare]

Rare forum poster here but Ive been playing for well over a decade now. I started using the one handed claw, three fingers and an arrow pad. Heck, it took me several years to even investigate and find out you could change bindings.

Now I wish Id started two handed because it seems like the transition would be way easier, but Ive pretty much hit the ceiling for how well I can play with my current style. Is there anyone who’s successfully made the change late in the game or just two handers in general with advice about best setup, positioning, keys to use, etc.?

[Zageron]

The one handed ceiling is a little higher than where you are. :P
I'd say transitioning to spread is as simple as just play spread dfjk or askl for a few weeks. You'll find your groove.

[_DJ Vinyl_]

You got the right guy as I used to be one handed myself. It's pretty simple to pick up depending on if you do spread or are close either way works. The key to getting good at two hands is conditioning. As I'm aware it's not just as simple as you think (if you are in D1).

Seeming you are D1 or close to D2, I suggest you practice easier songs to see if it's comfortable to your style. If not you can try a speed mod because it's way faster to tap with two hands. I started transitioning when I was getting into 2 years of playing this game, so try to raise the difficulty when you are practicing. Also note to practice jump streams and hand patterns as those will be the hardest to transition to.

If you are feeling up to the task practice stairways and grace notes in order to futher your skill. Once your are used to it, make sure to always stay in sync with both of your hands, never second guess. Pretend they are your feet and go to the rhythm of any song you play here on out. Don't count your speed just yet as switching to 2 hands can give you 2x the amount of speed compared to 1 hand.

Now go on and follow my methods or do what you want. At the end of the day, they're your hands.

[XelNya]

Originally Posted by TeslaSquare

Rare forum poster here but Ive been playing for well over a decade now. I started using the one handed claw, three fingers and an arrow pad. Heck, it took me several years to even investigate and find out you could change bindings.

Now I wish Id started two handed because it seems like the transition would be way easier, but I've pretty much hit the ceiling for how well I can play with my current style. Is there anyone who’s successfully made the change late in the game or just two handers in general with advice about best setup, positioning, keys to use, etc.?

Figure out what setup of four keys works for you, then figure out if you want to do Standard: AS KL sort of setup, of Hybrid WD(or E) KO type. (I recommend the first one frankly.)

Then it's just teaching the other hand the skill your right hand already has, your reading abilities translate, so focus more on easier files to bump yourself up slowly to your old skill level.

A good file for practice is Once Upon A December, it pretty much has most skills you'll need, bar stream and jumpstream, but those are learned in your bump past one handed most likely.

But really, focusing hard on being comfortable will make the transition as smooth as possible. I swapped from Index to Spread myself, and have also taught myself downscoll for the fuck of it (though I'm no where as good.) I also played with Middle / Ring finger for the longest time, and play Index / Middle now.

So I've jumped around a lot.

[WSCB]

I'd say your best bet is picking a setup (like askl, qwop, etc.) and jumping in. Use different mods and files to keep playing fun and challenging while you are getting used to the new style. A regular laptop/desktop keyboard should suffice.

Started out one-handed for a few years / transitioned to split for this account a few years ago (one finger left, three fingers right (gnj,)) and started learning spread (qwp[) on a separate account this year. I could barely play songs around 30-50 (normal is 80s to low 90s). Now I'm starting to break into the 70s to 80s range - it was quick progress without a terrible amount of effort, but standards may vary on the player...

Don't put too much thought into it. I think there will be great return if you make the transition to spread soon and persevere, despite initial awkwardness.

[TeslaSquare]

Originally Posted by Zageron

The one handed ceiling is a little higher than where you are. :P

I wasn't trying to be cocky, I know there are much better one handers than me, I just meant my own personal ceiling. I haven't seen any marked improvements in years at this point.

[TeslaSquare]

Originally Posted by WSCB

I'd say your best bet is picking a setup (like askl, qwop, etc.) and jumping in.

I'm going with askl. There are some elements I'm having to get used to but I've already noticed a massive improvement in my timing.

[Zageron]

Originally Posted by TeslaSquare

I wasn't trying to be cocky, I know there are much better one handers than me, I just meant my own personal ceiling. I haven't seen any marked improvements in years at this point.

Of course, didn't intend to imply. Best of luck with switch.