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Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 22 2012, 04:26 PM

Hi Gregc! Welcome to your personal thread for the http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=43110&st=0!

First of all I would like to know a bit more about you, your musical tastes, your gear, your recording software, the goals that you want to achieve as a musician and also to see some videos of you playing solos and rhythm. As you are already working with Ben, I would like to know what are you expecting of this project and choosing me as your mentor.


The principles of our Army are:

+ Improve your technique
+ Make music and solos
+ Have fun
+ Destroy the enemy (hahaha not realy just kidding... )


Ok, so thanks for choosing me.. here we go!

Posted by: gregc1 Feb 22 2012, 05:53 PM

Hey Gabriel! Ok, here we go...

I'm 33 years old and I'm from Florida in the United States. I've been playing guitar for nearly 20 years and used to play in bands when I was younger but haven't in YEARS. At this point I really just enjoy playing as a hobby. I took 1-2 years of lessons to get started and then took it myself from there. While I've always played since the beginning, I've only really dedicated myself to getting better for brief windows over the years.

I would say about 3-4 years ago I really started getting serious again and since I never played out anywhere, I decided, after doing some research, to purchase Guitar Rig 3 for the wide array of amps and effects to basically get what sound I want all in one package. Well that really blew the doors off for me with all of the options and the ease of playing along with backing tracks or songs and I've been totally hooked ever since. The problem I ran into very quickly is the fact that I had no direction or goals. Maybe I had goals but I had no real means to reach them. Then I started running across GMC videos on Youtube and convinced myself this is exactly what I need. Best decision ever.

Thats my basic background. My musical tastes are so wide it's ridiculous. I would say favorite style to play would be kind of a rock/blues/soul combo as well as hard rock. But I like country, neoclassical, metal, pop, jazz, fusion, etc.

Here is the gear I use:
- Ibanez RG
- Fender Strat
- Guitar Rig 3 for amps and effects
- Garageband for recording
- iMac camera for video
- iMovie for mixing audio/video

The goals I would like to achieve are to become a better lead and rhythm player. For lead, I want to become more melodic and learn to move more freely around the neck. I would also like to get my speed/smoothness up as that is probably my weakest area. For rhythm, pretty much everything. This is an area I have neglected pretty bad. I'm good with all of the major/minor/7th chords but really want to break out of that G-D-C progression box. I would like to learn more of the complex chords (F#add11, stuff like that) and how to utilize those chords when composing progressions.

One goal of mine has always been to write my own guitar instrumental song, that's one of the reasons I wanted to be a part of this project with you. The principles for this project you laid out fall right in line with what I want to accomplish. Improve technique and create music/solos.

A great example of about where I am is Marcus Lavendell's Evening Blues lesson:
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/evening-blues-lesson/

There are segments to this that I can do, fairly easily, but there are segments that are still over my head. Mainly the tapping stuff as I really have no tapping skills beyond the very basics. But this would be one I would love, and plan to, complete. I've only made 2 recording that I've posted to the REC board but I'll post those below for you to see.






Sorry for being so long-winded. Thank you for taking me on and I can't wait to get started!!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 22 2012, 06:38 PM

Hi Greg! Thanks for this complete post about you. Regarding your playing e will work on technique and work on lessons in the styles that you like. You already have a good level and also good vibrato and timing so we will continue on that road trying to start adding some short shred licks to your playing as it happens in Marcus tune. The lesson that I will select for this week is this one:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/The_tasty_etude/

You will not only find a cool solo to be played, you will find the simplified version of what it could be a full instrumental song. You have to learn it, record it and then post it here and at the REC to have other instructors opinions. The idea is that you also pay attention to the chord changes and how Jonathan chooses the notes where he stays more time. If you analyse that you will notice that on this tasty tunes the key is to repose on chord notes. You need to have a strong knowledge of triads in the fretboard if you want to do this in real time (improvisation). By now just pay attention to the notes choice.

Also learn the scale used in every position and jam a bit over the backing. If something cool appears please post it here.

The second thing that I want you to practice this week is this first lesson of my Intensive Technique Course:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=42825

Work on this exercises and record yourself playing it in 6 days. Concentrate on the sound, the volume of each note, not on the speed. Play it the faster than you can but the limit must be when you start to loose clearness.

As we are reaching the end of this month we will wait some days until the instructors post new Collabs to join.

This would be all for this week. Do you think that you'll be able to have all the videos by the next Wednesday?

Posted by: gregc1 Feb 22 2012, 07:19 PM

Ahh yes. These look awesome! I LOVE the solo and the exercises go right along with some of the lessons Ben has had me doing so I've got a little head start there. This is exactly what I need to work on getting comfortable with.

I'll learn and record the solo and then maybe just jam on top of the backing track and post it here so you can hear it and see what my improvisation tendencies are.

Perfect Gabriel. I'll have all of this posted here by next Wednesday.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 22 2012, 07:31 PM

QUOTE (gregc1 @ Feb 22 2012, 03:19 PM)

Posted by: gregc1 Feb 23 2012, 07:26 PM

Hey Gabriel!

Learned the solo and just made a quick audio recording. I figured I would go ahead and post it even though it needs a ton of touching up. I should have a good video recording of this sometime this weekend and then we'll work to get it ready for a good REC take. I'll also be working on the warm-up/endurance exercises and I'll post those next week by Wednesday.

Have a good one!

 tasteyetude.mp3 ( 1.49MB ) : 219

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 24 2012, 07:35 AM

Wou!! Your take is so good mate! It's so near to sound exactly like the original lesson. I will become very strict (since your take is great!) and I will ask you to review Jona's playing and try to emulate every little slide and hammering, as well as his vibrato. These little details makes his playing so beautiful and enjoyable. This gives value to each note and adds a lot of feeling to the performance.
By the way.. keep on the great job!

Posted by: gregc1 Feb 25 2012, 07:50 PM

Hey Gabriel!!

I managed to get a recording down of the Tasty Etude. I actually feel like I can do it slightly cleaner but I still get really tight when I'm trying to actually record, video especially. I'll wait for you to see it before I post it to the REC board and I'm still working on your warmup/endurance exercises so I'll post those early this week as well. I look forward to your feedback! Thanks again!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 25 2012, 08:35 PM

Wou man! That's a really nice take! Your timing and groove is perfect, even the ghost notes are exactly when they must be. Your tone fits really good with the backing track, and I must say that you could get a very warm sound with that nice Ibanez guitar. Your bends are precise and you played every phrase with those little details like slides and hammering give your playing a great feeling. The only thing that need a bit more work to be a superb take is your vibrato, it's ok, but I think that it should be more natural... sometimes the vibrations is irregular and sometimes it's to electrical while the piece is quieter. Go for the REC with this one man! It's a 9.5 for me!

Posted by: gregc1 Feb 25 2012, 08:47 PM

Thank you Gabriel! I totally agree about the vibrato. I'm trying to get it wider and more controlled and in the month or so I've been here it's actually gotten better. I find that certain situations and locations are easier than others. I think my best vibrato is on the G string with my index finger, while my middle and ring are much less natural sounding and controlled. Also, the notes I play leading up to a vibrato section seem to have an impact on my feeling of control when I get to the vibrato part so that's one thing I could definitely focus on improving. I would love to get that real wide, NASTY vibrato in any position.

I will go ahead and post to the REC board and continue on your endurance exercises. Thanks a million for the feedback and I'll talk to you soon!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 25 2012, 09:12 PM

That's right! It's very difficult to have a balanced vibrato with every finger in every position. When we are beginner players, we usually left practising vibrato to the end because we use to think that it's easier and less important but this technique must be trained like we do with alternate picking or legato. It is awesome how this technique can make the difference. Let me know how the exercises go after a pair of practice's days.

Posted by: gregc1 Feb 25 2012, 09:59 PM

Sounds like a plan!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 26 2012, 06:50 PM

QUOTE (gregc1 @ Feb 25 2012, 05:59 PM)

Sounds like a plan!

Posted by: gregc1 Feb 29 2012, 04:36 PM

Hey Gabriel! I've been working on the endurance exercises and I will have those posted later today. I'm doing pretty well with the warmup exercise although alternate picking is much less tight that sweep picking them. However the legato/endurance stuff is a struggle for me. I'm pretty solid at incorporating legato sections into my playing but I am VERY WEAK and maintaining it for extended periods like these exercises. So I will post what I have to stay on schedule but I will continue with these exercises as part of my standard warmup/practice routine until I get them effortlessly (and after).

Looking forward to our next step!!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 29 2012, 06:05 PM

Hi Greg! Thanks for the update! I will wait for your take for the endurance exercises.

I just checked your Satriani Rhythm Style lesson at the REC and It's perfect mate! I think that we can go for a more difficult one... Steve Vai rhythm work is always very interesting so I was thinking on assigning you this lesson, once again by Jonathan

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Steve-Vai-Rhythm-Style-Whitesnake-Era/

What do you think?

Posted by: gregc1 Feb 29 2012, 06:19 PM

Love it! This one will be tough but this is what I need and want to learn how to do.

I will post my endurance exercises shortly (although it will just be audio) and start on this new lesson right away. Very exciting stuff!!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 29 2012, 06:30 PM

Great mate!! I like to see you motivated!

Posted by: gregc1 Feb 29 2012, 07:29 PM

Okay Gabriel, here are my warmup/endurance recordings for this week.

For the warmup I used alternate picking. I can do it smoother using sweep picking but I've learned here pretty quickly that my alternate picking needs some work so I was trying just to focus on that.

For the endurance stuff, , you will see that I need serious work here.

The first one was not as bad but you can see it's not clean at all and also you can see about my limit on endurance with legato.

The second one, I hesitated even posting but I figured you need it straight about what you're working with. Anything legato using the little and ring finger is damn near impossible for me right now. I just don't have that coordination yet. I'm much better using the pointer, middle, little finger combo with legato. It's something about that ring and little finger together gives me a fit.

I will keep working on it and post updates along the way as I make progress, which I have no doubt I will make eventually.

 warmup95bpm.mp3 ( 785.3K ) : 135
 endurance1.mp3 ( 551.43K ) : 132
 endurance2.mp3 ( 653.06K ) : 139

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 29 2012, 08:03 PM

Hi Greg! Your thoughts about your takes are exactly what I think. The first one sounds perfect with alternate picking, every note sound at the same volume and the timing is very tight. The second one is also ok, but I can note that you still need some effort to keep the sound and timing... the third is the one that need more job, and I really suggest to do it since I believe that it's a VERY effective exercise that has been my friend for 14 years and he will keep being it...
You are working this exercises right so keep on doing it. I like the fact that you posted takes at tempos that you can still make every note sound at a reasonable volume.
Well done!

Posted by: gregc1 Feb 29 2012, 08:39 PM

I will definitely keep working on them. I know it's a glaring weakness of mine but I've never taken the time to sit down, take my time and be disciplined about training my fingers and endurance so this is just what the doctor ordered. Thanks again! I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 29 2012, 09:17 PM

That sounds great mate! This type of exercises are like going to the gim, maybe it's a bit boring but it's sooo effective so keep on working on it!

Posted by: gregc1 Mar 4 2012, 05:16 PM

Gabriel! What's going on brother?

Just wanted to post a progress update on the lesson for this week. I have a good handle on the structure and know every part although there is serious clean up work needed. The biggest issue I'm having is, this should really surprise you, the little fast legato transition in the verse sections. I just can not do it up to speed or even close right now but I know how to do it and I can do it much slower. From here I'm focusing on that section along with the endurance stuff as it is the same skill for both that I'm lacking.

There is also a good deal of tightening up that's needed throughout the whole thing but I'm really just starting to get confident with it so I know the more I do it the cleaner it will get. I'll have a video shot and posted by Wednesday as well as some updated warm up/endurance recordings.

Have a good one!

 vaiRhythmRaw.wav ( 33.37MB ) : 104

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 4 2012, 05:40 PM

Hi Greg! Good job! You are right regarding your thoughts about your take. The faster legatos need some more work so I think that you could isolate those ideas and work them over metronome. The riffing could also sound tighter with the drums. By the way you are very close on this one... I'll be waiting for your Wednesday's take!

Posted by: gregc1 Mar 8 2012, 05:36 PM

Hey Gabriel! Sorry for my tardiness. If it's okay with you I'd like to just take a couple more days to finish this assignment. I have been working relentlessly on getting that legato section down and am getting closer. I had a lesson with Ben this week where I had the same problem, a fast legato run mixed in here and there that gave me a fit so I've been double teaming my issue this week.

I will have a video posted of the Steve Vai Rhythm by Sunday along with more warm up/endurance recordings. I may have those posted before Sunday but definitely no later.

Have a good one!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 8 2012, 06:04 PM

That sounds good for me mate. Don't worry about times just keep on practising! Looking forward your video!

Posted by: gregc1 Mar 12 2012, 05:45 AM

Hey Gab! Alright, I'm not quite ready yet to do a video of this because I still have not got the legato section down. It's still a struggle for me and the movements have not clicked yet with my fingers but I think I'm getting closer. I can definitely do it cleanly at slower speeds but it falls apart at full speed. Also, after listening back through the recording I can hear myself staying ahead of the beat quite a bit. When I'm real relaxed and just playing I feel like I can get it down pretty clean, time wise, all the way through (except legato) but I still get a little frantic or pressured when I'm recording.

I'm going to have a lot of time over the next couple days to devote to this so I can wrap this up. I'm sorry this is taking me so long to finish, I have really struggled with that one small section. My goal is to have a REC quality video up within a couple days so we can move on. If you want to go ahead and hand me my next lesson I can get started on that while I'm finishing this one up.

For the endurance and warmup exercises I will admit I have note given nearly enough time to these as I've mainly been focusing on the Vai Rhythm lesson. I will start setting aside a few minutes everyday to work on these and post more frequent progress updates. The pinky-ring finger pull off is still a huge challenge but I'm starting to get more comfortable with the rest of the patterns. I'm sure these would help my issue I'm having with the lesson. I'm trying to figure out how to record cleanly over just a metronome beat and I'm sure there's probably an easy way but I'm just having to use these drum beats to record the exercises with for now although I do practice with just the Guitar Rig metronome.

Also wanted to say I popped in to your chat the other day and really enjoyed it. That was the first time I've checked it out but I plan to be more active with those. I'll check the schedule and try and sit in on a few of them.

Talk to you soon!

 vaiRhythm.mp3 ( 2.02MB ) : 94
 warmup.mp3 ( 563.67K ) : 84
 endurance1.mp3 ( 1.39MB ) : 77
 endurance2.mp3 ( 603.67K ) : 81

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 12 2012, 05:11 PM

Hi Greg! Thanks for this complete update! Everything sounds great for me! The Vai lesson is sounds better now so I think that you'll master it very soon. The warming up and endurance exercises also sound good, the last one has some little timing issues. Please continue working on them to gain more stamina and speed.

Don't worry about how much time it takes you to master the lessons or exercises that we work here.. the idea is always keep going so you are on the right track! Continue working on this ones and I will give you a new assignment as soon as you post the video for the REC.

Posted by: gregc1 Mar 14 2012, 02:51 PM

Hey Gabriel, just checking in with a progress report. I actually had somewhat of a breakthrough on the legato run last night. I finally "heard" it for the first time.

I think one of the biggest issues I've had with this section is I've had a terrible time hearing exactly how this run fits in with the beat while I'm trying to teach my fingers to do it. I hope this makes sense. I can hear how it fits fine when Jonathan plays it at full speed but when I slow it down I can't tell exactly how it fits in a 4 bar measure. When I'm trying to learn fast stuff like this I usually try to use "checkpoints" if that make sense. Kind of like "on the 2nd downbeat, I need to be here" and so on. It helps me get the feeling on how to do it. With this section it was either super fast at full speed or super slow in the actual instruction part so at half speed, with the backing, I just can't find the rhythm to it.

Anyway, kind of an explanation of my struggles but in short, I felt like my fingers started to get it last night so I will keep working very hard on this and hopefully have a REC quality video very shortly here. I also plan on recording some updated warmup/endurance stuff tonight so I will post that after I do it.

Thanks again for your patience! This is one of the tougher things I've ever learned so this will be cause for huge celebration when I get this!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 14 2012, 05:10 PM

hahah so I'm sure that we will celebrate mate! You are working hard and that's a really good thing. I'm proud of you!
Everything sound great for me. That way of playing fast licks at tempo isn't something that I have ever used but it's ok if it helps. Every trick that can help you to improve your playing is more than welcome!
I will be waiting for your new takes!

Posted by: gregc1 Mar 17 2012, 12:58 AM

Hey Gabriel!

Not much new to report. I'm attaching a new recording of the Vai Rhythm. I've been working relentlessly at it but frankly, after listening to my recording I don't feel like I've made any progress on the legato section since the last one I posted.

I've got the song down comfortably (although there are a few little errors in this recording) but I'm held up by the same little set of notes. I can do them slow but when I get up to speed it still feels like warp speed to me and my fingers just can't seem to handle it. I'm going to keep working away at it but if there are any pointers you may have for me, I want to try anything to finish this one.

Also, sorry I don't have any more warmup/endurance recordings right now. I've literally been devoting all of my practice time to this lesson. I'll have more of those up soon.

Have a good one!

 vaiRhythmNew.mp3 ( 1.98MB ) : 90

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 17 2012, 05:23 PM

Hi mate! This is normal. You have to be patient, keep on playing this lesson but start working on exercises that could help you with those legato licks. We could go for this lesson that can be added to the warming up exercises.

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/legato-exercise-lesson/

what do you think??

Posted by: gregc1 Mar 17 2012, 05:38 PM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Mar 17 2012, 04:23 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 17 2012, 05:51 PM

QUOTE (gregc1 @ Mar 17 2012, 01:38 PM)

Hey Gab! I know it will happen here eventually. I expect one of these days it's going to turn on like a switch and I'll look back at this and get a laugh.

This legato exercise is perfect. I was actually thinking of finding something similar to try and help me and I don't think I could have picked a better one. Now if I can get that exercise up to full speed eventually I'll really be doing some things!

Thanks for the help! I'll keep you posted.