Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock/Controls

The Guitar Hero series, as the name implies, is about playing the guitar. Here are some things to remember when playing:
 * The game defaults are set for right-handed players. There is an option available in the menu for left-handed players that want to play the guitar left-handed (right hand on the colored neck buttons, left hand strumming/picking).
 * The buttons from top to bottom: green, red, yellow, blue and orange. These buttons are used primarily to play melodies.
 * The strum bar is important because you need it to pluck the notes.
 * The whammy bar is mainly used for notes that are held for a long time and allow you to add a tremolo effect (reduce the pitch of the note as you lower the bar, returning to normal as you release the bar).
 * Star Power is activated by tilting the guitar or pressing psx: select / / . When the Star Power Meter is at least half full you can activate Star Power to double your score multiplier.
 * To pause the game, press psx: start / /

Alternate controllers
If you don't have a guitar controller handy, the standard system controllers can still be used to play the game, although it may be more challenging. Unlike the guitar controls, every button press also counts as a strum, so the buttons will have to be timed accordingly (you won't be able to press the buttons before strumming as you would with the guitar).

Here are the button layouts for the various system controllers:

Special note: The wii remote needs to be held sideways. You should shake the wii remote up and down for a better whammy effect. Also be careful not to accidently press the which is near the. Players on the PS2/3, on the other hand, should be ready to use the left thumb to either use the whammy or the star power. The Xbox360 and PC are similar to the PS2/3.