A timing window, in general, is the maximum allowed time leniance of a particular action. For example, when strumming, the software generally checks to see if the closest note that hasn't already been hit is within a certain threshold, or timing window. If it is, the game registers a hit; if not, then it's a miss.

The image to the right shows an example timing window for Game_RockBand2 Rock Band 2∞ in red, though it is not an accurate representation of the actual timing window for the game.

Enabling the Precision Mode cheat in Rock Band 2⇒, as well as in all Guitar Hero games excluding Guitar Hero 1⇒, makes the timing window for notes smaller, while enabling Easy Expert in Game_GuitarHeroIIILegendsOfRock Guitar Hero III∞ makes the timing window larger.

The following actions have timing windows:

• Hammer-ons Hammer-ons and Pull-offs∞
• Strumming (to hit a note)