Strategy Guide: Bark at the Moon on Expert
Now look. You can finish this damn song. I absolutely butchered it and still finally managed to finish. You don’t have to play well, but you have to play smart. And that’s what this guide will help you do.When I'm referencing a chord, it will look like this: "note-note."
Bark at the Moon, for the purposes of passing the song in Guitar Hero, is essentially made of six sections:
1) Green note
2) Bridge to first solo
3) First solo
4) Green note
5) Bridge to second solo
6) Second solo
The first and second green note sections and bridge sections are not identical, but they’re very similar, so if you can play the first section of each, you’ll be able to play the second.
There are two primary reasons why this song is so difficult to pass: sheer speed (almost twelve hundred notes in four minutes), and the two solo sections, which are brutal. But if you can play the green note sections and the bridge sections even decently, you can pass.
Now if you want to actually review the note sheet as we go along, head over to Purple Frog (http://web.purplefrog.com/~thoth/guitar-hero/) and download their excellent PNG file of the notes to the song. The star power notes are also identified on the PNG, which is very helpful. There are a few mistakes, but it’s still very helpful.
This song, if you scuffle along like I do, is all about star power. There is a ton of star power available in this song, and knowing when to use it is critical to passing the song. So let’s go through each section and identify the key moments.
Section One: Green Note
This section is over 80% green notes and it’s brutally fast. There are six star power sections available before you hit the bridge to the first solo, and you need to get at least two of them.
1) Blue, yellow, blue, orange, blue, yellow, red, green. This is an ascending/descending sequence, very fast, and I never get it. Ever.
2) Yellow-orange, blue-orange, yellow-orange. Three chords, not fast, relatively easy.
3) Red-blue (sustain), yellow-blue (sustain), green-red (sustain), green-red. This one should be automatic.
4) Yellow-orange, blue-orange, yellow-orange, red-yellow. An extra chord, but otherwise identical to the second opportunity in this section.
5) Blue, yellow, blue, orange, blue, yellow, red, green. Identical to number one and another one I never get.
6) Red-blue (sustain), yellow-blue, green-red. Again, this should be automatic.
Section Two: Bridge to First Solo
After the fifth star power opportunity, you’ll enter the bridge section. It’s a tricky section, but you’ve got star power to use. The only star power opportunity is right at the front, it’s very tricky (green-yellow, green, green, yellow-blue, yellow-orange, and it’s very fast) and I’d recommend sacrificing it. With a full bar, you need to enter star power mode immediately upon entering this section. If you don’t, you’ll be stepping on other star power collection chances (you can’t collect star power while using star power, and that’s very important in this song) that you need for the solo. I go ahead and use star power immediately when I enter the bridge, even if I only have half a bar, just so I can do it without the distraction of trying to figure out how long to wait.
Section Three: First Solo
There’s no other way to put it: this solo is a bitch. But it really has two subsections. In the first subsection, there are five relatively simple opportunities to gather star power, and that can get you through the fastest portion, which is pure hell. This is one of the most precise sections in the song in terms of executing properly.
To get through the solo (again, if you scuffle like I do), you need a minimum of three-quarters of the star power bar. You should be able to gather a full bar, because the chances are fairly easy through here. And if you used your star power right at the beginning of the bridge section, you won’t step on any of your chances here.
1) Red-blue (sustain). A gimme.
2) Red-blue, orange (sustain), blue (sustain), yellow (sustain). Again, not tough.
3) Blue (sustain), orange (sustain). Another gimme, and it starts a faster section, although it’s not totally insane yet.
4) Blue, yellow, orange (sustain). Another easy one.
5) Blue (sustain), orange, blue, orange, blue-orange (sustain). Also not hard, and your last chance for star power before hitting the hard part of the solo.
Now, if you fill up your star power bar with the first four chances, don’t use it right away. Burn it too early and you’ll get hammered by the end of the first solo. And this needs to be executed to the second, literally, to maximize your chances.
After your first four star power opportunities, you get a fast section, then a section with a series of sustains: orange, blue, yellow, red, green, blue, red, yellow, blue. That last blue sustain is the first note of the fifth star power opportunity.
Right after you pass the last star power opportunity, you’ll have four more notes and then you’ll see a three-note section: yellow, red, yellow (sustain). Right when you hit that yellow sustain, activate star power and hang on through the solo. If you have a full bar of star power, the star power will end about half a second before a series of seven orange sustains, and those orange notes are a critical star power opportunity.
If you activate star power too late (after the yellow sustain), those notes will not be starred when you get to them, because you’ll still be in star power mode. And to pass the song, you have to capture the star power in those orange notes. Or I had to, at least.
If you have less than a full bar of star power when you hit the yellow sustain, it’s very tough to calculate how long you should wait to activate star power without stepping on the orange sustain chance. That’s why it’s so important to fill it up with those five chances.
Section Four: Green Note
This is essentially a mini-version of the first section—almost identical note structure, but half as long. There are three star opportunities in this section.
1) Blue, orange, blue, yellow, red, green. Another fast up and down that I never get.
2) Blue, orange, blue, yellow, red, green. Again, impossible for me.
3) Red-yellow (sustain), yellow-blue (sustain), green-red. This one has to be automatic.
Exiting this section, you should have half a bar of star power. You don’t want to have any more stored up. That’s critical: if you already have half a bar when you hit the red-blue sustain, don’t capture it. You’ll wind up stepping on star power opportunities that you need to help you get through the last solo.
Section Five: Bridge to Second Solo
This is important: As soon as you enter this section, use star power. You’ll burn the half bar and be back in regular mode just a few seconds before additional star power opportunities that you need to secure to help you get through the last solo. Otherwise, you’ll be stepping on them, which you can’t afford. There are four opportunities in the bridge section, and two are very easy:
1) Yellow-blue, yellow-orange. This one is fast but critical.
2) Yellow-blue, yellow-orange, red-blue (sustain). Also fast. Get both of these first two and you’re going to finish the song.
3) Red-blue, red-yellow, red-yellow (sustain). Easy.
4) Red-blue, red-yellow, red-yellow, red-yellow. Very easy.
If you exit this section with at least three-quarters of a bar of star power, you’ve got a good chance going into the last solo. And if you have a full bar, you’re definitely going to make it.
Section Six: Second Solo
Activate star power immediately. With half a bar, you’ll probably have to survive the last five percent of the song without any help. With three-quarters of a bar, you only have to get through the last two or three percent (which is doable—that’s how I finished the song). With a full bar, you’ve got assisted living all the way to the end.
That’s it. You’ve done it. I yelled "THE BEAST IS SLAIN!" through my study door and waited for Gloria. You may choose a less stupid way to celebrate--they're probably isn't a more stupid way--but regardless of how you get through this song, passing it is something to celebrate.
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