[ChiefOlukOneHand]

To pick songs, since you're new to the game, try to find some songs that you like regardless of the difficulty. FFR has a lot of songs, and soon you'll have some favorites.

Once you know what difficulty you are good at, try something harder. Find a song that's a little easier and try to get a better score. Find a song that's a little harder and try to get a full combo. The fastest way to get better is to challenge yourself.
There are a certain number of good "practice" songs. For now, just play as many songs as you can. Keep track of the ones you like. (For you, I recommend "AIM Anthem" for strength, "Ninja Turtles Theme" for simple rolls, and "Halogen" for jumps and chains.)

Once you start getting good, go back to all the level 1 songs and full combo them. Try to combo as many songs as you can. Eventually you'll reach a point where you can't combo any more, and that will show you a goal for improvement. I have old screenshots of my "best" FCs from two months ago, and now I see how much better I've gotten. (By the way, save screenshots of all your good scores. It will make you feel better.)

After FC'ing for a while, try to AAA those easy songs. Focus on the arrows and not the music. Focus on hitting the arrow exactly when it reaches the target. You are a metronome. The arrows follow a rhythm, the music follows a rhythm, and usually they don't match. You will want to use speedmods at this point--use the highest speed you are comfortable with. (I play 1.5x, and many players use 1.75x, 1.85x (subscribers only), and sometimes 2x)
[[If you're feeling adventurous, download stepmania and some song packs. Stepmania has more judgments and judgment settings, allowing you to practice your timing more. I find stepmania to be a bit confusing, so I barely use it.]] [[You'll have to figure it out on your own; that's part of the "adventure."]]

Exercise! Half the game is skill--reading the notes, learning the patterns, controlling your muscles, holding a rhythm.... The other half is performance--lifting your fingers, striking the keys, enduring for minutes at a time. Flex your muscles every day. If you workout or play a sport, that's even better.

Drum your fingers in tricky patterns from songs, if you remember them. Imagine hitting a jump pattern: upright, updown, leftdown, updown, upright... upright, downright, leftup, leftdown, upright... Practice patterns left-to-right and right-to-left. When your hand learns these patterns, they'll be easier to perform in-game.

If you want to be the best of all time, you need natural talent. If you want to be really good, spread is the way to go. (I find that wider key-settings are more comfortable that tight ones, e.g., using zx./ for spread. When you get really good, you might switch styles in the middle of a song, and that will require your keys to be close together (I remember a "Flight of the Bumblebee" AAA that switched between spread and index)). I like one-handing because it's uncommon. I use unorthodox keys--I encourage you to experiment and find some keys that you're comfortable with.

FFR is a game, first and foremost. Play for fun. When you're tired, take a break. When you're frustrated, take a break.
I've been meaning to write a training guide.
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