Rock Band #102: Run To The Hills
Okay, here's how I passed Run To The Hills (drums, on Hard), so if you're still stuck, maybe this will help you out.First off, if you think this song is hopeless, it's not. I had never even passed 45% until a few days ago, then quickly went into the 65% range, and when I passed the song, I'd never even gotten to 70% before. So it's not hopeless at all.
Before we get started, here's a link to the note chart. It's in graphic form, too, so it's easier to grasp than my text version.
First off, there are four major patterns in this song (it's not everything, but it's most of it):
1. YYYYYYYYYYYYY.B., then repeat forever
Those are sixteenth notes (I think), and the bolded letters include the kick pedal as well. So it's twelve yellow notes, with the kick pedal every fourth note, and the "." represents a sixteenth with no note, so in the last section, it's no note, blue, no note, yellow.
For weeks, I just flailed away at this section, playing it as fast as I could. I was missing a ton of notes and thought I was still playing too slow. What I finally figured out, though, is that I was actually playing too fast. When I just relaxed and actually listened to the song, I could hear the beat, and I started playing that section with 90% accuracy, plus I was capturing at least one of the two overdrive sections. If you do that, you can then get the easy overdrive section at the end of this passage, which means you've got overdrive ready to go when you hit Section 2.
2. "The Bitch"-- R.RRY.RRR.RRY.Y., and repeat forever
This section is the devil, basically. Maybe it doesn't look that fast when you see it on paper, but it's wicked fast, and I absolutely could not play it all. I kept trying to use both my left and right hands on the red notes (I tried both right-left-right and left-right-left), and failed miserably.
Then I decided to try it a different way. No right hand on the red drum--ever. And I decided that when there were three red notes in a row, I'd just try to hit two. They're sixteenth notes, so hitting twice in a three-note section almost guarantees you credit for two notes.
What that did was make the section manageable. I slowly drained the meter, but I hit this section at the top of the green, so slowly going down wasn't a killer. Plus, if you have overdrive here but don't use it, you get a break every so often when you get a fill. That made a huge difference in keeping my brain straight (it's really easy to get overwhelmed in this song).
At some point, you'll need to use your overdrive, but delay as long as you can.
3. Variation on "The Bitch"--R.RRY.RRR.RRY.RR, repeat (but not forever)
This is very similar to #2, except now the kick pedal is every fourth note instead of every eighth. This section really messes with your brain, because it feels very different when you play because of the extra kick pedal notes. That's the only difference, though.
4. I'm Already Tired--RRRRRRRRRRRR..., repeat forever
The problem for me here was that I kept thinking this was a faster section than the opening of the song, and I kept trying to play faster. Once I slowed down a little, I still missed notes, and I still drained the meter, but much more slowly.
If you're not in the red at the end of this section, you should be golden--particularly if you have unused overdrive to give you drum fills as a break. I know, not using a drum fill when it comes along reduces the number of notes you can play in the song, but I was just trying to survive, and those breaks reduced the frantic pace of the song. From here on out, the only tough sections consist of replaying Section 2 with minor variations. Everything else toward the end is easier than anything you've played so far.
There are some difficult overdrive sections in this song, but there are also some that are dead easy (six of them, by my count). Getting at least four of them gives you a really, really good chance to finish the song.
I'm a klutz, so if I can do it, then you can, too.
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