Through the Fire and Flames Intro: A Comprehensive guide

4/13/2008 - I'm working on getting the freticons in. They'll be here thanks to GHCity. With my New Freticon TTFAF.gif I've had to edit the numbers to all have spaces. I think it still works really well. I'll be fixing this, and I hope you like it, cause it took me quite some time for something seemingly so small.

4/5/2008 - I added the Table of Contents. Finally took the time to learn and get around to doing it. I also am trying something that I'd like feedback on. I changed the index finger "1"s in the fingering guide to gray for readability. This is just on K3v's method at the moment. I don't know how helpful it actually is, so let me know through a PM or post if it helped you and if I should go ahead and take the time to do this on every method.

3/34/2008 - Sorry guys but I'm done adding different techniques. It's getting to the point where I think some people have recommended just be in the guide and there are already enough techniques. The point is to show some common ones, not every single one, and I think anyone reading will now get the idea that there are MANY different ways to do it.
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Table of Contents
Mission Statement
Introduction
Tapping
The Basics
My Guide to the Intro
Passing One Handed
Slow to Full Speed
Other (Common) Methods
Common Problems
Notes to Remember
Special Thanks to

Mission Statement
My goal is to get you to pass the Through the Fire and Flames intro the best way you can. Whether it be 1 handed, or tapping, I want you to consistently pass the introduction so you can play the goddamn song. I also want to help the ScoreHero community by eliminating the TTFAF Intro threads that continue to appear everyday.

Introduction
I don't know how long I've been seeing the same thread... the H3lp m3 pl0x i c4n't p45S teh intro to TTFATF!!!1!!11!1 So I'm attempting (don't know how well this will work) to create a comprehensive guide to help people pass the intro to TTFAF and take away congestion from this forum. I've collected threads that have dealt with every aspect of this introduction so everyone can find what they need help with.

I'm going to start of by saying that this thread was partially inspired by OfficerBarbrady's Raining Blood thread that was recently stickied. I'm not saying that I'm just doing this to get a sticky (even though that would be awesome). I have just seen more TTFAF intro threads than Mosh1 threads, and he made a list of the Raining Blood threads, so I've done sort of the same. I've just added my own guide along with the thread. This list of links to the threads is at the bottom.

Tapping
I'm going to start off this section by saying that tapping is definitely, in my experiences, the most reliable way to pass this intro. Though I have a few links below that should help people who insist that tapping will not work for them and that they have to do it one handed.

I know that you may think one handed is better, because maybe you get farther, or get a higher score, or last longer, but in the long run tapping will let you consistently pass the introduction, and with a great score.

Alright, I would also like you "discipline" the people that brag about how quickly they learned to tap this. Many people say "this only took me 20 min - 1 hour" and while this may be true, most people take much longer to learn. This was my first attempt at tapping, so this took me many hours spread across many days. Weeks before I could pass the intro consistently. Do not get down if you find you cannot tap the intro after only 5 hours of practice, it usually takes more.

Once you get the intro down, it is very rewarding being able to tap. Not only can you now have about 30k extra going into the song and a full rock meter, you've also bettered yourself as a Guitar hero player, and as a person. That may sound funny, bettering yourself as a person, but take a second to think about that. You've just set a goal for yourself and accomplished it, that's always a healthy way to better yourself.

The Basics

The first thing you need to know about the intro is how it goes.


The first red note needs to be strummed, every other note is a Hammer On (HO) or Pull Off (PO). If you don't know what HO/POs are then this isn't the thread for you yet.

The series of notes I posted above is repeated 7 times with the time after that going to the second orange note and then turns into slides. So it's really about 7.5 times.

There are also two Star Power (SP) phrases in this intro that will help boost your score later if you can hit them now. One is right after the first series starting off the second round, and the other is near the beginning of the 7th series, which is also an indicator that the intro is almost over for you.

This is technically the intro, so I'll talk about it. There are slides right after the series of notes above, after the 7 1/2th time. It starts with the second Orange note in the series and goes:
:O::B::Y::R::G::G::R::Y::B::O::O::B::Y::R::G::G::R::Y:
The only non HOPOs in this series are the repeated notes, i.e. the Green Green, and Orange Orange. I'm not going to talk to detailed about this, because if you're doing well enough on this intro up to here, you're not going to fail on these slides.
I just quickly switch from tapping back to one handed fretting at the end of the intro and hit as many notes as I can on this slide.

My Guide to the intro
This is my version to tapping the intro, that I decided to do, then to help from my friend (who recently passed in a car accident ) and Qaszimon.

First I need to make sure you can read this guide, and most other tapping guides. The numbers I'm about to use represent a finger, on either the left or right hand, and the number that is under the note is what finger is used to play that note.

1 = Left Index
2 = Left Middle
3 = Left Ring
4 = Left Pinky

1 = Right Index
2 = Right Middle
3 = Right Ring
4 = Right Pinky

Basically, I use my first two left hand fingers, and my first three right handed fingers. Although there are many different versions, this is the one I've found works best (for me). I'm using my Left index finger (1) to hold down the Green fret button and then I'm using my Left middle finger (2), my Right index (1), my Right middle finger (2), and my Right ring finger (3).

Qaszimon made a GREAT video explaining this technique that pretty much taught me my method. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy_1Itjkczs
watch it!

Keep in mind that I start with my fingers in the correct positions so this all kicks off with an elbow strum. It's not too hard, and sometimes I strum in anticipation. That really doesn't matter though and long as you're not strumming so early so many times that you're failing...because you practically need to FC this intro to pass it. As long as you can hit that first red note you're good.

Now a huge problem I had was holding the first red note before it came. DON'T. Tap that first red note just like any other or you will mess up your whole rythmn to start the intro and you'll never it make it back up before you fail. This keeps your tapping consistent.

Alright, so here's the intro again:

2 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 1

That is what finger I use to hit what frets. My fingers are consistent with the frets, I don't change in the middle like some others, so I don't believe it is too difficult to understand what I'm doing.

Now obviously you're going to want to take this to training -> Practice -> TTFAF -> Expert -> They're Hammer Ons. Start on Slowest, do not move up until you FC this on slowest, at least up until the slides at the end. I'm not expecting anyone to FC those. Move up to Slower, do not move up until that is FC'd. Then Slow...then Full Speed. This should be a given, so I'm not going to go more in depth about how you should move up.

Now to address the slides at the end. Right after that second orange note in the 8th series I switch back to a regular position with one hand on the fret and one on the strum bar to hit as many of the slides as I can. If you’re worried about passing though, you can do what Qaszimon suggested. Right after the second SP phrase you can slow start to tip your guitar up so that by the time you reach the slides you’ll have star power activated and it’ll be a challenge to fail. That star power should hold you into the post insanity. The unfailable ones ^.^

Passing One Handed
I'm not going to lie and say that I can pass one handed consistently, or even in a yellow rock meter, but I can do my best to help you guys here and to make this guide more "comprehensive."

To pass this one handed you're going to need a FAST (left) Pinky for starters, or a flexible and fast Ring finger or Middle finger. Basically, you're still going to hold down the green fret with your index finger, and you'll be using one of your fingers for 2 frets and the others will have a designated fret. Check the bottom of Other (Common) Methods to see the versions of one handed tapping.

Now do accomplish this, I would suggest either alt strumming at a consistent speed, or down strumming every non green note. To down strum you need to make sure that you're pulling off fast enough or the green will not register as pull offs, but with alt strumming you can be slightly less careful.

Your focus when do a one handed method is to pull off the frets fast enough, which was the biggest problem with pinky speed.

There is also a method of one handed tapping that I'll add to one handed methods that is like a piano style. Basically you anchor your pinky on the green fret, and use your other three fingers to play the rest because they're faster. This takes almost as much adjustment as tapping, but you have the benefit of having a strum hand if you mess up.

Schmole wrote:

In regards to the one-handed method, i'll be frank and say it does require one's hand to be quite strong and fluid in its movements (I played piano for many years, which helped greatly imo).
I haven't done the intro with the 'flipped' method, with pinky on green, but only the normal way.... well, normal to me anyway

First thing's first, the hold of the 2nd/pointer/#1 finger on the green shouldn't be hard. As in, it should be loosly pushing the green in, giving it space to move slightly when stretching the pinky to the 'O' chord. I find if i hold it too hard, not only does it strain the finger, but it minimises mobility of the other fingers, which is paramount.

Secondly, the pinky is always in control of the 'O' chord, but not necessarily the 'B' one. I don't have a fixed pattern to the fingering, as I just play it on the fly, but the 4th/ring/#3 finger is also used. Take bar 4 for example: https://2img.net/h/i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee222/Nintendguin/thrufireandflames_guitar_expert.png
i would have used the pinky for the bits in bar 1, but bar 2 would be comprised with use of both fingers. It depends on whats coming up/has just been. I prefer just to play whatever is comfortable, which varies each time i play.

Finally, I will most definitely say that this is no means a method for everybody. Personally, I passed the intro on my sightread with one hand, but for others tapping will be the only way, most likely due to either reaction speed, hand strength or just plain convenience.
I have videos of my hands on youtube as well should people be interested to have a look at how I manage. (90% and 94% runs respectively)
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=NA4XzLyUEnE
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Mmq2_a1i4

I hope this has helped in some way ^_^

Thanks Schmole ^.^

Slow to Full Speed
I used to have this under common problems, but I've decided to make it its own section due to the sheer number of problems with this.


I can summarize my thread though. Basically, my timing was COMPLETELY off. I was going far too fast most of the time, because the thought of full speed intimidated me. BUT I HAVE A SOLUTION FOR YOU
*Note - You'll pretty much have to have the intro memorized to do this, but this isn't too hard considering the sheer number of times you have to play it to get this down.
-(Make sure no one will mind first) Turn the volume of your TV way up so you can hardly hear the clicking of the buttons
-Play mostly by sound. Focus on just hitting groups of notes at a time.
-It may help to always start on the first red of each phrase so that it's consistent
-Play it in sections. I first focused on the :R::G::Y::G::B::G: Once I got that down I focused on :R::G::Y::G::B::G::R::G::Y::G::B::G::O: and so on.

It's important to realize that Slow is 75% of full speed, so full speed isn't that much faster. It's just intimidating, and people who have memorized the notes tend to play too fast. Focus on the song, and not trying to hit every note at first.

Other (Common) Methods
K3v227's Method: It's pretty complicated, I wouldn't recommend it to those learning to tap

2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1
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12312: (First 3 on left hand, First 2 on right hand).

2 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 3 1
_______________________________________________

12341: I don't like this method because my pinky is too slow

2 1 3 1 4 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 3 1 4 1 2 1 1 1 3 1 4 1 3 1
_______________________________________________

11234: Again, pinky is too slow for me, especially the right pinky

1 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 4 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 4 1 2 1 3 1 2 1
_______________________________________________

11: This is using only the right index finger to hit every note but green. A variation can be using only the right middle, etc... There was a good video, I'll try to find it.

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
_______________________________________________

Demonicguitar's Method
1231: (Index finger for Blue and Orange)

2 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 3 1
_______________________________________________

Jowhannez's Method
1232: (Middle finger for Blue and Orange)

2 1 3 1 2 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 3 1

One handed Methods:
Using Pinky for Blue and Orange while other fingers are planted

2 1 3 1 4 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 3 1 4 1 2 1 4 1 3 1 4 1 3 1
________________________________________________

MACGYVERRRRRRRRR's Method
Piano Style (This can also be a tapping method using the right index finger for the orange fret rather than the left to switch between orange and blue)

3 4 2 4 1 4 3 4 2 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 2 4 1 4 3 4 1 4 2 4 1 4 2 4
________________________________________________

Using Ring finger for Yellow and Blue while other fingers are planted (This is ridiculously hard)

2 1 3 1 3 1 2 1 3 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 3 1 2 1 4 1 3 1 3 1 3 1
_________________________________________________

Using Middle finger for Red and Yellow while other fingers are planted (Still much harder than moving pinky)

2 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 3 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 4 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 4 1 2 1 3 1 2 1
_________________________________________________

Monk's Method
Overhand method using 3 fingers

3 4 1 4 1 4 3 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 3 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 4

Common Problems(I'll update this too if I notice more)
I've had issues with most of these, so please take my advice on these.

-Many people don't hit the notes fast enough. Pull Offs are required for the Green Frets to register, so once you hit those Red, Yellow, Blue, and Orange frets, your fingers need to fly off them so that fret so that the Green PO registers.

-Some people always mess up in the same place. This happened to me on the :B::O::B: part. this is what made me realize that using my left pinky was not good. Then I messed up on the second :R::Y::B:. Basically I analyzed myself playing and slowed it back down. I realized I was getting so used to the Red Yellow Blue combination that I was going far FAR too fast.
Just slow down, and really analyze your play on this section. It may help to have a Guitar Hero Savvy friend with you. They can try to help you understand where you're messing up like hitting buttons too early or late while you focus on the play. It's okay to slow it down again, it won't make you worse.

-Some people eventually are able to pass it on full speed, then lose it. This is mainly nerves and frustration. Don't kick yourself if you were able to do it once, and can't anymore. I'll say it again: It's okay to slow it down again, it won't make you worse. You're probably nervous in some way and your play has been altered because of it. Or you may even have gotten too comfortable when you shouldn't be that comfortable yet and this has messed you up.

***NOTES TO REMEMBER***
-This is my first real guide, so if you want to, in your replies let me know how I did and if this was helpful. Feel free to give me constructive criticism to improve the guide. I will be constantly updating it and/or changing mistakes in the guide.
-If you're still having problems please either post or Private Message me and I will help you any way possible.
-There are many ways to tap the intro, I just explain one way, but you can find most ways in the links that I have added to the bottom. If you can't find "your" way, post or pm me a link and I can add it.
-Let me know of typos too, I hate typos.
I hope this eliminate the need to create any more TTFAF intro threads.

THANKS FOR READING AND PLEASE COMMENT
(guides like these have problems getting bumped >_<)

***Special Thanks to***
Andrew Butler
Qaszimon
Schmole
My friends for making fun of me to no end until I could finally do this and shut them the hell up
GHCity

That's fine, thanks.

I'm gonna work on getting the picture for the freticons too, unless you can implement that leaf.

http://downsey.com/adzicents/freticon/

Good site for them.

Nice guide this can really help extensively

My way:

1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 3 1

1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 3 1

Matched it up with the image so we could see it...

whoops, 1 1 1 2 1 1 1

My fingering is Demonicguitar's Method.
Its easy to learn.

My fingering for the END of Synth Death.
How do you at freticons btw? I tried + failed.

I thought this might help because I used to fail here/it's a valuable SP Phrase.

it's 1 3 1 3 1 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 4

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