tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591947515218661072.post7297354784826394999..comments2023-06-30T08:45:45.699-07:00Comments on Gallagher's Rocksmith Journey: A Closer Look at Rocksmith 2014 Session Mode - Hidden ToolsSailor Jerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17600020669551641488noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591947515218661072.post-1495810070391683182015-04-12T12:54:32.169-07:002015-04-12T12:54:32.169-07:00the difference between the two Mastery scores is t...the difference between the two Mastery scores is the Main % is total knowledge (and ability to play) you have of the entire song. The other Mastery that it shows you is how much of the song you can play without seeing the notes (mastery mode).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16892207868339932853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591947515218661072.post-28643330653986707382014-01-15T07:48:19.671-08:002014-01-15T07:48:19.671-08:00Thanks for reading! Always enjoy getting comments....Thanks for reading! Always enjoy getting comments. Contrary to how it might have sounded in this or other posts, I think Session Mode is totally incredible - I just suck at it, so I really don't enjoy it as much as I might if I had a better feel for improvising. <br /><br />I finally got my XBox Live connection issue resolved so I checked in on UPlay again last night after playing pretty often over the last several days. It still says that I'm only 7 days into my 60-day Challenge. Some of the other data (high Guitarcade score, etc) seem to be correct, but clearly whatever it is that's supposed to keep track of how much we play isn't working quite right. But, I did go ahead and redeem some of my U-points for the downloadable song. However, I noticed that I have absolutely no idea what song I got. . . so, I tend to agree that UPlay is a wasted effort at this point. <br /><br />Sailor Jerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17600020669551641488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591947515218661072.post-21822763733138728712014-01-15T07:43:22.225-08:002014-01-15T07:43:22.225-08:00Dave - Funny, I used to tinker around on a piano a...Dave - Funny, I used to tinker around on a piano and could improvise some really nice-sounding stuff (at least it sounded good to me. . . ) .But, for me, piano is easier. The notes are all just laid out right in front of me in a straight line. And, for any given note, there's only ONE place on the keyboard to play it! <br /><br />Didn't mean to scare anybody off of Session Mode. Like I said, it's an awesome tool and an amazing bit of software design. <br /><br />I laid off of posting (and playing RS) for most of the summer. Was just really busy going to baseball games and softball tournaments. My son made All-Stars so his season was extended a little, and my daughter played travel ball which started up as soon as school ball finished. So, I was running pretty constantly. But, I did drag the cheap Ibanez acoustic around to a lot of ballparks and hotel pools. (Got a great deal on a low-end but very playable acoustic early last year, so that's my "travel" guitar. If it gets scratched it won't hurt quite as much.) Sailor Jerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17600020669551641488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591947515218661072.post-42659769137563251732014-01-15T00:16:07.780-08:002014-01-15T00:16:07.780-08:00Nice write up, I just discovered Session Mode and ...Nice write up, I just discovered Session Mode and really diggin' it. Uplay is a totaly waste imo, On my PC it's always "cancel/cancel/accept" ... Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591947515218661072.post-44166635512332559442013-12-20T17:41:43.660-08:002013-12-20T17:41:43.660-08:00I think maybe I'm thinking along the lines of ...I think maybe I'm thinking along the lines of people who want to write song eventually, in which case you kinda have to know scales/arpeggios/etc. Might also be a generational thing. But most of my friends are self-taught, too, and they all know their scales. <br /><br />I'm primarily a drummer myself, but I've played enough instruments over the years to know some basic theory. My main purpose in commenting was to offer a different perspective from your article before this one, where it sounded like you didn't get much out of session mode upon first playing it. I was always a bad improviser on piano, but it really clicked for me right away when I started playing session mode. It's maybe partially the fact that Rocksmith suggesting what to play combined with my limited previous musical knowledge and it just clicked. I just didn't want people to get scared away from Session Mode because they thought there was a big learning curve.<br /><br />I've had been reading this blog since I first started Rocksmith over a year ago, but there was a while when you didn't post and then I didn't realize you were posting again until just the other day. Keep it up!Funn Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591947515218661072.post-6217428424503799462013-12-20T07:30:55.002-08:002013-12-20T07:30:55.002-08:00Sounds like you've got "the ear" for...Sounds like you've got "the ear" for it. Wish I did. Maybe Session Mode will help me improve my improv'. I might get to where I can play tolerable stuff. But, like I said, I think I lack the genetic make-up to play "great stuff." Sailor Jerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17600020669551641488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591947515218661072.post-69170536935899316882013-12-20T07:24:57.918-08:002013-12-20T07:24:57.918-08:00Dave - I was over-generalizing when I said that gu...Dave - I was over-generalizing when I said that guitar players tend to ignore scales. It wasn't intended to be a slam - just an observation. But, I stand by it. <br /><br />Most guitar players I know are self-taught. They practice songs, not scales. One of the very best guitarists I know personally can't even read music - let alone say, "I'm going to run through a B-flat minor scale a few times. . . " and then do it. He knows the patterns on the neck because he knows what sounds right and can play amazing stuff right off the top of his head, but as far as I know he never just sat down and practiced scales in any formal way. <br /><br />I'm sure this has a lot to do with how accessible the guitar is. I mean, think about it - even my fairly small town has a Guitar Center and at least two other local guitar shops. Plus several pawn shops with whole walls of guitars. No drum shops and only one music store where you could buy a horn. Even Target and Wal-Mart sell what passes for "guitars." And, there are tabs and chord charts available for free all over the Internet. Anybody can go out and buy a guitar and be strumming chords on their own within a matter of hours. Or, they can get a copy of Rocksmith and literally be playing through whole songs in an evening. . . So, I suppose it's natural that thousands of people just buy a guitar and pick it up on their own without ever learning their first scale. When they start playing Rocksmith, they might not even know what a "scale" is. Yep - RS has facilities to learn scales and I'm sure almost all of us have played Scale Runner a bit, but I suspect a lot of RS players never really delve into how scales really work or how they're related to chords or improvising. <br /><br />Most definitely the info was geared toward beginners. Keep in mind, I'm a drummer - not a guitarist. I am familiar with moving chords - barre chords, especially - up and down the neck, but I still don't have a firm grasp on the relationship between chords and scales/keys. And that's after two college semesters of music theory and years (decades, literally) of playing (at) guitar! It just won't sink it for me. I figure if I don't get it, there must be others out there who find it a little confusing. . . <br /><br />This blog is partly just a way for me to try to muddle through it all and express my frustrations. Believe me, if you understand this stuff I WELCOME your (or anyone else's) input! Sailor Jerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17600020669551641488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591947515218661072.post-61968425964865414922013-12-19T22:28:41.121-08:002013-12-19T22:28:41.121-08:00Last thing: I share your confusion about the new M...Last thing: I share your confusion about the new Master Mode.Funn Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591947515218661072.post-72576435858893204082013-12-19T22:27:27.763-08:002013-12-19T22:27:27.763-08:00Also, what makes you think guitar players don'...Also, what makes you think guitar players don't learn scales? They do. Usually pretty much right away. They're even a big part of Rocksmith, as they had a guitarcade game in Rocksmith and two in 2014. And if you know your chords, you know your scales. The fact that scale patters are the same up and down the fretboard is pretty common knowledge (again, if you know how chords move up and down...) too, although since Rocksmith is mostly for beginners some readers might find that info useful. Funn Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591947515218661072.post-70812719687636131732013-12-19T22:18:03.171-08:002013-12-19T22:18:03.171-08:00For the record, I've never been a very good im...For the record, I've never been a very good improviser myself, and I found myself playing some pretty great stuff the second I started session mode.Funn Davenoreply@blogger.com