Light It Up, Ghost

Back in the peak days of Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), Guitar Hero, and Rock Band, I would obsessively play the songs I liked over and over, ignoring those that mattered little to me even if they were easier. I would do hammer my favorites until I mastered them on the hardest difficulty I could manage, then up the challenge further if I could.

Turns out nothing has changed in 15 years, because I'm the same way with Beat Saber, visiting and revisiting the challenging songs I want to not only excel in but truly master. I wish I could say they were the easier ones, but alas, that would mostly be a lie.

Camellia's songs are some of my favorites, but the learning curve for many of them goes from 1 to 100 real fast, so it takes time to not only train that hand independence and muscle memory but also build the reaction time necessary for the full tempo when 50 notes are flying at you every few seconds. I'm hyperbolizing. Marginally.

"Light It Up" has been one of my two biggest obsessions for several reasons, least of which is just how fun the note patterns are. (The video below is not me but an example of the song on Hard. Once I figure out how to record my own version, I'll replace this with mine.)

3:50 on is an absolute blast once you get the pattern down. I still remember how giddy I was when I succeeded it for the first time.

Well, this week, I not only succeeded at beating the song on Hard but also reaching SS Rank with only 2 missed notes and a score of 1,247,745. I've been told by a couple of people that it's difficult to break a million, so I've been glowing from this accomplishment. I couldn't tell you how I did it. I'm not sure I can duplicate the results, but that feeling when getting into a zone with something you once found difficult is unparalleled.

If that isn't exciting enough, I've dabbled with playing it on Expert before and have always screwed up that 3:50 mark, because the pattern shifts ever so slightly, which threw me for a loop every time I attempted it in the past. Here, let me show you. (Again, not me. And actually, to notice the pattern shift, I would suggest lowering the video speed.)

Man, watching that masterful performance just got me all hyped up to practice it again. That tempo is so crazy, and there's that part of me that's just like, "How?!" but I'll get there in due time.

Any musician knows the feeling when they're practicing a piece or a song that's just above their skill level. There are areas of the piece that come easily, but then there are the areas where your fingers trip over each other or you lack the necessary control with your voice to attain the necessary virtuosity required for the song. So, you practice and practice and practice, and you may go from one day of still not quite getting those areas to the next where it feels as though something *clicks* for your body. Suddenly, your fingers or voice understand what they need to do while your brain lags behind for a second or two in belated revelation, at which point the planets seem to align and you reach the euphoria of enlightenment.

Can you tell that that's what happened for me with that pattern? I had to slow the tempo to 50% again and practice that section of the piece several times before it clicked, but once my muscles understood, I was able to bump up the tempo, again, by 5% increments to ~70%-75%. For the shiggles I tried to play it at full tempo just to test the waters and yeah, no. No, I failed miserably. Yet that's okay, because the progress I made was exponential, and I'll only continue to improve.

"Ghost," the other Camellia song I'm obsessed with nailing, is one of the most notoriously difficult ones on the free Beat Saber albums. The level ratchets up as you move from Normal to Hard to Expert to Expert+, making it seem nigh impossible from one to the next. I myself had only ever completed it on Normal difficulty at 100% speed, but I've been practicing it on Hard for a while now, setting the tempo to 50% regular speed and incrementally raising it each 5% tick from week to week as I've improved my accuracy, muscle memory, and reaction time. For reference, this is it on Hard. (Not me.)

I cannot help but watch these all the way through whenever I find them, and it just stokes my desire to pick up the headset and play through them again, but as with all things, from sports to games to music to writing and more: rest is necessary.

I haven't acquired SS Rank, but for the first time today, I played and beat "Ghost" at 100% tempo with a High Score of 1,000,001 on Hard difficulty. Between that and my accomplishments with "Light It Up," I am beyond elated.

Seeing the fruits of your hard work pay off no matter where you've been putting it has to be one of the most fulfilling feelings in the world.

Wouldn't you agree?

Other Notable Accomplishments

• Performed a couple of Tabata sprints this week, since it was cooler outside than it has been.

  • For those who may not know, Tabata training is a form of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) where you push your body to its limits for 20 seconds then "rest" for 10 seconds. This repeats for 8 total cycles to complete a set. The way I perform it for sprints is 20 seconds of sprinting as fast as I can, then 10 seconds of walking, though sometimes a light jog is easier and less jarring.

  • It was developed by Dr. Izumi Tabata for Olympic speedskaters.

  • It...It sucks. I hate it, because it's one of those types of exercises that never becomes easier; you just get better at it. I can't refute the effectiveness of it though. Anaerobic improvement for the win!

• I'm going to be able to lighten my pull-up band here soon! I can perform the maximum number of reps for my pull-ups and chin-ups with one foot out of the band even though it's difficult still, so I think within the next upper body day or two, I'll be switching. I'm pretty stoked.

• Finally copied the notes over for Session 86, since 87 was on Wednesday. (It's been a weird week.)

• Finished Khadija's course on Skillshare for Wordmark logos.
  

This Week's Obligatory Cat Pic: Qiri