Tips for playing on Hard?

[Java]

I've gotten more into GH3 since I've been wanting GH:WT and I just completed Career mode on Medium.

I'm not very good at GH, but I'd like to get better.

After playing a few songs on Hard, I need help. >_>
For one, I find playing with my pinky extremely awkward (I don't know if anyone else does), but it makes it even harder when I have to hit the orange notes. I used to have difficulty with this even when I used to play guitar (granted I was never very good, but still...)

Does anyone have any tips for me for learning how to play on hard?

[Kaso]

Shift your hand so that your index is on red, middle on yellow, ring on blue, and pinky on orange. It helps out a lot, but it's weird at first because you still think you're playing with the old style.

[PsychoYoshi]

You're going to need to get used to playing with your pinky; Hard and Expert are going to be impossible unless you have at least some confidence in using it.

For practice shifting, play on Medium using only your middle, ring, and pinky fingers and shifting between green/red/yellow and red/yellow/blue when you need to. Or just use Practice Mode and play songs on Hard for a couple hours. It'll get a lot easier; learning to shift is actually the easier part of the Medium/Hard transition.

The hard parts are:
a) HOPOs are usually no longer just a suggestion; you'll actually need to hit them. This isn't as bad on GHIII where they introduce HOPOs quite a bit on Medium and the note window is extremely forgiving, but on GHII/RB, it can be difficult.
b) Alt-strumming. It can be difficult to keep time when you strum up and down. Pick a song like Barracuda in GHIII that forces you to alt-strum but uses a predictable, regular rhythm.

[HTA!]

Sometimes I can simply move my pinky over while still sitting on green, but the ideal placement is to move your entire hand because some songs really force you to use red and orange so much that trying to keep your hand on all 5 frets is ridiculous.

Once you memorize where your hand will be on the neck at any given time, it gets much easier.
But really, you just need practice.