1) Four fingers, five buttons…so how do you reach the orange button in Hard and Expert modes? “The best thing to do is shift your hand down so that you start with your index finger on the red button,” says Ted Lange, Guitar Hero II ’s associate producer. “I find it easier to shift your pointer finger back to the green button than to shift your pinky finger to the orange one.” We’ve tried his method and it works wonderfully. You can take it further if you like, especially if you’re having trouble using your pinky. Note that the centrally located yellow button features a small ridge on it; use that to help keep track of which position your hand is in. If you feel the ridge with your ring finger, you’re in “fi rst” position. If you can touch it with your middle finger, you’re in “second.” And when your index finger’s on it, you’re in “third.” (Try shifting your fingers among the three positions on the verses of “Surrender” on Expert.)

2) The key to playing fast runs is using hammer-ons and pull-offs. If two notes are close together, you can play the second note just by pressing the button, without hitting the strum bar a second time. If the second note is “higher” than the first (such as going from red to yellow), it’s a hammer-on; if the second note is lower (red to green), it’s a pull-off. Knowing when to try this technique is half the trick. Each line of the scrolling on-screen fretboard represents a beat. If the two notes you’re trying to link with a hammer-on or pull-off are on two different horizontal “frets” on the screen, they’re too far apart and you’ll need to pick both. But if the second note falls between two frets, you should try a hammer-on or pull-off: pick the first note, and then just press the button for the second (and third, in some songs). Mastering this technique is the only way you’ll nail the faster, tougher songs on Hard and Expert. Songs that use hammerons and pull-offs include “Carry Me Home” on Medium (yellow to red pulloff on the verse riff; green to red hammer-on on the chorus) and the solo to “You Really Got Me” on Hard — plus most of the “Hangar 18” solos and just about everything on Expert. Throw those songs into your practice regimen to learn the technique.

3) Star Power piles on the points based on the number of notes played during the Star Power segment, not the length of time. That means if you know you’re coming up to a flurry of notes, even if you have the bare minimum Power stored up, that’s the time to unleash it. Letting it rip during an easy section — like that single held note in the middle of “Possum Kingdom” — won’t do you any good.