5Frets interviews top Guitar Hero player Lilirock to learn more about her unusual playing technique
Manon "Lilirock" Desbiens's extraordinary skill at Guitar Hero has earned her a #15 ranking for highest Guitar Hero 5 Expert Guitar Career score on the competitive ScoreHero.com leaderboard. But the kicker is her very unusual playing technique: she plays the guitar overhand like a piano, using all 5 fingers on her left hand in reverse order compared to normal. Her pinky handles the green fret and her thumb handles orange – even for trills!
To get a better idea, watch this video of Lilirock's 100% perfect FC run of Rush – "The Spirit of Radio" in GH5:
Lilirock talked technique with 5Frets recently in an interview:
5Frets: Tell us a bit about yourself for readers who aren't familiar with you.
The biggest and easiest improvement I ever made to my Guitar Hero drumming skills, was when I learned how to control my kicks better with this technique.
Maybe Guitar Hero and Rock Band drums are a little too realistic, because the natural instinct for anyone who sits down behind a kit, is to wail and hammer on them relentlessly. Sure it's fun at first, but if you want to become a better player and earn higher scores, you need to learn how to control your hits as accurately as possible.
Why Are You Pounding On Electronic Drums? They Sense Differently Than Real Drums
It's no secret the toughest part of learning drumming is becoming accustomed to the bass pedal kicks. But beginners make things much worse on themselves by STOMPING the pedal with every hit. Nobody can keep that up – and on time – through the end of a setlist!
The GH/RB drum kits are obviously not "real" percussion instruments, so striking the pads extra hard is pointless and counterproductive. They feature highly sensitive vibration sensors to detect the hits, and knowing the difference is your advantage here.
Want to get better? Here's a short look at how to improve:
Guitar Hero World Tour is known to have finicky and difficult Star Power activation on drums. Most drummers have experienced it: you hit the yellow & orange cymbals simultaneously to activate Star Power, and instead you get a dull thud and break your streak. Why is this, and what can you do about it?
Worldwide 1st place (career score) Guitar Hero World Tour Wii drummer "Koric" shared with 5Frets.com his excellent tips for mastering the tricky GHWT drum SP activations:
Guitar Hero World Tour is known to have finicky and difficult Star Power activation on drums. Most drummers have experienced it: you hit the yellow & orange cymbals simultaneously to activate Star Power, and instead you get a dull thud and break your streak. Why is this, and what can you do about it?