Tips for those trying out doubles?

I am trying out playing doubles at the arcade, and am wondering the following:
1. Where do you start a song? Between the bars, or is it better to memorise where a song starts and go from there?
2. Is it better to play doubles with the bar, or not? (or is this considered a preference thing, like with singles?)
3. Anything else I should generally be aware of...?
Sorry if these questions seem somewhat facile, I am not new to DDR but I am very new to doubles.

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1) Close to the center for sight reads. Later on you can adjust that as you know where the song starts. The same for singles, really, but on singles it's easier to get to the opening note if you're on the wrong panel.

2) Basically the same as singles. Using the bar on doubles will work muscles in your sides you didn't realize you had, though, if that's something you're looking for. Kinda like how toned your arms can get just from extended sessions using the bar.

3) Crossing over is significantly more mandatory, but there are still parts where double stepping can be beneficial. One of the hardest parts of doubles for me was learning that not everything needs to be crossed over for some songs.

Also timing is super disjointed from how you step on doubles. This was already kinda true for singles (like MAX 300, left down up right down up left, having to take your foot across the entire center panel requires faster movement than going from left to up or down to right) but now imagine you're moving a foot from P2 left to P1 down or something like that. You're constantly changing movement speed to stay on track for MA/PA.

Also, it's like learning a different dance game. You should be able to move up quickly through the difficulties but don't be surprised if you're passing like 16s or 17s on singles handedly and the patterns in something like jane jana EDP throw you for a loop. There's also songs like Paranoia KCET EDP that are incredibly straightforward. If you have no troubles PFCing on singles you'll probably take that one down with ease. I would say it's exactly what someone who only plays singles thinks of when they want to learn doubles, but it can get pretty twisted pretty quickly even at 10s and 11s.

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I play barless, and if you're planning to go that route it's also pretty much mandatory to play 1x because you need to be able to look ahead in the chart and plan out where and when to shift your weight in different directions.

I think if the song is slow enough like 132 bpm you could do a higher speed mod like 2x.

Oh also when picking songs to start doubles with avoid 1stmix to 5thmix, those songs have janky doubles everywhere

Speed mod gonna vary from person to person, and similar to singles it’s going to be about how well you know the song as well. I’m comfortable at about 330ish barless, 500 with the bar. And that’s slower than singles where I play at about 400 without the bar and 550 with it.

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I use Doubles' speedmod that is 0.75 less than what I use for Singles. For example, if the song's bpm is 180bpm, I choose x3 in singles or x2.25 in doubles.

I'm not sure Konami figured out how to make consistent Doubles charts until X or so.

(Honorable mention to every Xbox game except the first Ultramix. They all had great Doubles before great Doubles was a thing.)

This was very helpful for me, (and would be for most...! I assume ) I got a B+ on She is my wife BDP, and an A- on Diamond Dust BDP too. You were right, my arms were given quite the workout during this...(Footnote of sorts: i'm currently quite far away from my preferred DDR machine, and will try these again when I am able to, on better pads) I thank you fervently!

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I appreciate some of this may have already been said but figured i'd drop what I tend to tell people playing doubles for the first time:

1) Everyone reads slower on doubles, take your usual speed and drop it and if you want to go no bar drop it further. it's ALWAYS better to be too slow than too fast when learning.
2) Yes staying in the middle at the start of the song will for the most part do you good until you learn where songs start
3) Don't worry about ignoring older songs/charts as was mentioned, you'll get interesting patterns all the same. Maybe consider again lowering your speedmod to acclimatise to them.
4) Try your absolute hardest to read each crossover as alternating feet, i've noticed modern ITG Doubles and SMX doubles (for the most part) tends to go on the school of thought that crossovers basically shouldn't exist and crabwalking is the only real way to go so if you're playing on DDR doubles absolutely go all in so you can get used to all these patterns and transitions that barely get used anywhere else.
5) Expect your score to be lower for a long time, it takes so much time to develop the new muscle memory for the better patterns on doubles but if you're not at the point where you're grinding for scores then it's even better because you can get used to it long before it becomes a problem!
6) No idea what songs are in the folder anymore but DDR Max had some of the most well rounded doubles stuff from the old days, always worth having a look at some of them in Stepmania or just online in videos if you want to see other patterns.
7) Really focus on getting used to the position of the middle two arrows (P1 Right and P2 Left) because most new doubles players tend to lose track of these really quickly.

Always great to see someone wanting to give it a go though, just wish Konami had done more to make it easily available before now so it was more common

1. I typically start every song in the center: left foot on 1P right arrow, right foot on 2P left arrow

2. It's up to your preference. My recommendation is to avoid the bar at the beginning of your doubles journey so you can start familiarizing yourself with patterns and the momentum you need to create when moving across the two pads. I tend to grab onto the bar when I overdo the momentum to save myself from falling.

3a. DDR X and DDR X2 have very good Difficult charts to help you recognize basic patterns. My recent favorite is "Dance Celebration [System 7 Remix]." Here is the link to the chart. It starts with a variation of a figure 8 pattern and the rest of the song teaches you to jump across the two pads.
3b. I also recommend "Make A Jam!" on Basic as it focuses on teaching the player how to crab walk.
3c. Playing song/stepcharts you are familiar with on Mirrored mode can also help you learn other patterns you will encounter in your Doubles journey

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I don't use the bar at all for doubles and I can play 13s. My general advice is to get as far as you can without the bar and once you get to a point where you feel unable to move across the pad fast enough you can switch to using the bar.

This really goes in hand with my advice for people using the bar in singles. You shouldn't use it until you feel that you need to to get better, like at around 12-13 range. Using the bar too early can result in you double-stepping everything and not learning proper technique.


Use a MUCH lower speed mod than you use on singles to start out. I would recommend 1.5x on most songs when starting out. This allows you to see further ahead in the chart and plan how to position your body accordingly. You really need to be able to see 3 notes ahead to read the patterns correctly.

Also, ALWAYS try to alternate feet as much as possible. Newer doubles charts like the ones in the DDR A3 and DDR World mixes are charted well to the point that you will almost never be punished by alternating feet every time you hit a new arrow panel.

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I want to mention that if you tend to bar hug in singles, bar hugging is a little different in doubles. Expect to stretch your legs if you do since you'll be in the center of the pads most of the time. (not that there's anything wrong with bar hugging)

This should be obvious but playing doubles require you to move around the pads. This doesn't happen in singles since you're just in one place so it will take some getting used to.

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