What is that sort of science fiction treadmill road thingie

Hahaha! I like that description!

That's what RS calls the "note highway". Think of it as tablature....moving tablature.
Like tabs, it's just telling you what string(s) and what fret(s) to play.

And yes, the bottom strip shows your fret board, finger position, and tells you if you hit it or missed it.

If you're an accomplished player who doesn't like doing covers, playing along with songs, then about the only part of RS that might interest you is the Session mode. In the Session mode you can create your own band and select up to 4 instruments and then jam with them.

You can set tempo, the key you want to play in, style of music...etc...and just jam along.
Here's a short video describing Session mode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPFMDdMpttw

This is a much longer and more detailed tutorial on Session mode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mAehvLEzL0

Dean Johnson Photo wrote:

Hahaha! I like that description!

That's what RS calls the "note highway". Think of it as tablature....moving tablature.
Like tabs, it's just telling you what string(s) and what fret(s) to play.

And yes, the bottom strip shows your fret board, finger position, and tells you if you hit it or missed it.

If you're an accomplished player who doesn't like doing covers, playing along with songs, then about the only part of RS that might interest you is the Session mode. In the Session mode you can create your own band and select up to 4 instruments and the jam with them.

You can set tempo, the key you want to play in, style of music...etc...and just jam along.
Here's a short video describing Session mode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPFMDdMpttw

This is a much longer and more detailed tutorial on Session mode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mAehvLEzL0

I guess that's why I have a home recording studio then. I do wish I had tools like the OP when I was starting out!!!

Lohkee wrote:
Does it teach you the basics? Like where the notes are for someone who has never held a guitar in their life?

Absolutely it does. When you first start it, it will take you through some questions where you can tell the game how new you are. And for those that need it, they have a set of lessons that range from how to hold a guitar to tuning..and all the basics.

And when you start playing songs, they will start you off at the easiest level, if you've chosen to play the rhythm part, the game will start you off just playing the root note of the chords being played, and if there's lots of fast chords changes in the song, it will only show you the main ones.
The cool part is, if you play through a song and get more "hits" then "misses", the game will then level up and start giving you more notes to play. As you progress, so will the game...it will keep showing you more notes as long as you're hitting them...until finally you are playing all the notes/chords.
Then, you'll hit the "master mode" and the game will start to fade the notes away so that you're playing by memory.

Shadow Dancer wrote:

I guess that's why I have a home recording studio then. I do wish I had tools like the OP when I was starting out!!!

I hear ya, I wish the internet (and RS) was around when I first started playing. Maybe I wouldn't have given up for so many years.

Dean Johnson Photo wrote:

Absolutely it does. When you first start it, it will take you through some questions where you can tell the game how new you are. And for those that need it, they have a set of lessons that range from how to hold a guitar to tuning..and all the basics.

And when you start playing songs, they will start you off at the easiest level, if you've chosen to play the rhythm part, the game will start you off just playing the root note of the chords being played, and if there's lots of fast chords changes in the song, it will only show you the main ones.
The cool part is, if you play through a song and get more "hits" then "misses", the game will then level up and start giving you more notes to play. As you progress, so will the game...it will keep showing you more notes as long as you're hitting them...until finally you are playing all the notes/chords.
Then, you'll hit the "master mode" and the game will start to fade the notes away so that you're playing by memory.

Wow. Thanks for the detailed response. I'm now thinking about it for my grandson.

Lohkee wrote:

Wow. Thanks for the detailed response. I'm now thinking about it for my grandson.

That would be a great gift!

How much fun will it be when you see him rock out in a year of two?

Shadow Dancer wrote:

That would be a great gift!

How much fun will it be when you see him rock out in a year of two?

I thinking it just might be the ticket. I'm an old fashioned dude (well, old anyway) and I firmly believe that every child should learn how to (really) cook (good) food and play an instrument. Both teach useful skills and can bring much peace when life gets rough.

Lohkee wrote:

I thinking it just might be the ticket. I'm an old fashioned dude (well, old anyway) and I firmly believe that every child should learn how to (really) cook (good) food and play an instrument. Both teach useful skills and can bring much peace when life gets rough.

I couldn't agree more! Mom taught her kids the principles of cooking without being too rigid. Result, I can take just about any ingredients and make something good to eat. I am grateful for that all the time, I have friends who eat the worst shit because they won't learn how to make good food.

Playing guitar has saved my soul, made me money and gotten me laid. Plus I had fun and rocked out. Not done yet either, very into songwriting now and working on a masterpiece.

Lohkee wrote:

Wow. Thanks for the detailed response. I'm now thinking about it for my grandson.

I think that would be a great idea! One thing to consider, and what was a bit of a disappointment for me, is that RS 2014 has a limited number of songs.
I'm a classic rock guy, and when I got the game I was disappointed to see that there were only about 6-8 songs included that I even cared to learn.
There's only about 50 songs that come with the game, they have more available for purchase (about $3 per song) but even that is rather limited.

There is a website that has tons of downloadable "unofficial" songs however. I've got about 50 of those now, but it's a bit of trick to get them imported to RS, and they generally don't work as good as the official songs. But they do work. I can go into more later if need be.