Fourth and Inches

I’ve been tearing through Medium level songs on Rock Band 2 these last few nights. One day, I can’t get through Medium, the next I five star nearly every song I play, with 95% ratings to boot.

The difference? I scooted back half a foot from the kit.

The bass drum has long been my Achilles’ Heel (bahaha). I had my foot at a constant 45 degree angle with the floor and the strain of maintaining that position tired my foot and ankle muscles, making it almost impossible to play difficult bass drum parts. I could roll through Easy levels songs because the bass drum is almost non-existent. But Medium adds the bass drum liberally, often pairing it with a red or blue beat. The beat patterns also get more difficult, so much so that hitting the bass drum requires instinctual timing and reaction.

So the other night, I thought about my foot getting tired and scooted my chair half a foot from the kit. At first, I didn’t like this position because the drums felt like they were too far away. But when I placed my foot on the drum pedal, I knew I was in flavor country. To test my new footing, I went back and started playing early songs on Medium. I tore through them just like I do Easy. Less than a foot back and Medium becomes the new Easy. Who knew?

This weekend, I’m going to fire up Hard and see how I fare.

Oh, and before you opine me as some kind of drumming genius, Motorhead’s Ace of Spades came up the other night and I failed it miserably on Medium. It wasn’t even close. Even more embarrassing, I failed the song while Wifezilla kept strumming along. I swear there’s a metal heart lurking deep within the ribcage of my wife. I played the song later on Easy and barely survived at 67%, a three star rating.

God I loath that song.