diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 8a75d83..e938f57 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -49,8 +49,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
   bracketing it light up. A fretted note lights the wire behind it and the wire it's
   pressed against; a chord lights only the outermost wires of its shape; an open
   string lights the anchor lane's edge wires (its gem is drawn as a slab spanning the
-  lane, so those are the wires it sits between). With no scorer attached, nothing
-  changes.
+  lane, so those are the wires it sits between). At most **two wires are ever lit at
+  once**: when overlapping decay tails (fast passages) would light a run of wires, the
+  flash collapses to the outermost pair of the lit span — one bracket, never a picket
+  fence. With no scorer attached, nothing changes.
 
 ### Changed
 - **`GET /api/song/{f}?stems=1`** (new, opt-in) — returns the pack's playable stem
diff --git a/plugins/highway_3d/screen.js b/plugins/highway_3d/screen.js
index be2e03b..70387fc 100644
--- a/plugins/highway_3d/screen.js
+++ b/plugins/highway_3d/screen.js
@@ -12680,10 +12680,28 @@
                     ? Math.exp(-_fwDt / FRET_WIRE_HIT_DECAY)
                     : 0;
                 _fwHitPrevTime = now;
+                // Decay EVERY wire's glow state, but flash only the OUTERMOST
+                // pair of lit wires. Fast passages overlap their decay tails, so
+                // without this a run of consecutive notes lights a picket fence
+                // of wires at once; collapsing to the outer pair keeps the whole
+                // lit span reading as ONE bracket — the same rule chords already
+                // follow, applied across everything currently glowing. Interior
+                // wires keep decaying invisibly (the base tier loop re-seeds
+                // their materials each frame), so the bracket tightens naturally
+                // as outer tails expire.
+                let _fwLo = -1, _fwHi = -1;
                 for (let _f = 0; _f <= NFRETS; _f++) {
                     const _g = Math.max(_fwHitIn[_f], _fwHitGlow[_f] * _fwDecay);
                     _fwHitGlow[_f] = _g;
-                    if (_g < 0.004) continue;   // below perceptible — skip the lerps
+                    if (_g < 0.004) continue;   // below perceptible
+                    if (_fwLo < 0) _fwLo = _f;
+                    _fwHi = _f;
+                }
+                for (let _i = 0; _i < 2; _i++) {
+                    const _f = _i === 0 ? _fwLo : _fwHi;
+                    if (_f < 0) break;                       // nothing lit
+                    if (_i === 1 && _f === _fwLo) break;     // single wire lit
+                    const _g = _fwHitGlow[_f];
                     const _m = fretWireMats[_f];
                     if (!_m) continue;
                     _m.color.lerp(_fwHitColor, _g);