Faye and Ruth are generally the toughest to SS. The best tip I can give right now is to use Glass, and barrier. That being said a lot of the time the tough part is the section of the song prior to getting any modifiers. SS isn't meant to be something to be attained really easily. (hence why the rewards for such aren't very crucial to the game)
That being said, in v0.10 I am currently working on a system in which you can purchase a "charm" that allows you to start songs with a modifier right out the gate to help give that leeway for the first portion of the song.