I got this game last week and have been having a great time with it, but I keep dying on stage 2 (as in after the first boss fight). I try as best I can to avoid damage and full clear stages for more items but I can never get quite ahead of the curve and die midway through stage 2-1 or 2-2.

Is there anything I might just be doing completely wrong or do I need to keep playing and simply git gud?

here's my main starting load out btw:
Tempo
Fiery Yo-Yo | Wave Front | Scales of Babylon | Aqua Breaker (sig)
Claws of Tomo ( gives more range speed & crit to yoyo)

https://preview.redd.it/7v1a9j3c4aeh1.png?width=1078&format=png&auto=webp&s=a40eb346b4c3c95c24617c3d7f114fdfd9f43422

Every time I go through a new area, I think to myself "Suuuuurely there's no way it can link back to Firelink Shrine?"

But it does. It always does.

And it's damn wonderful.

I really enjoy composing original music but when I start with a riff and try to build a chord progression around it, the end result is almost always way too crowded or very boring and thin.

Also, even though I know that most of the time you're supposed to change with the chord (so like if the bar opens with C# you probably want C# or an interval of C# prevalent in that bar), I struggle with chord selection, as in what kind of chord to play and what voicing/shape/inversion to use.

any pointers for how to improve at this?