Chris S. Guitar Development Lab |
GMC Forum > Discussion Boards > VINTAGE GMC > Community Activities and Tutorials > Ask an Instructor > Cosmin Lupu
IS THAT YOUR MAMA?
Nope didn't think so either. We all know parents don't get this.
I can show you how to be the virtuoso your folks could only dream about, but I first need your help:
* Pm me and I will show you where to start. I am online every day and I will help you out directly!
* Join my mentoring program. I will customize your learning experience in a way you haven't experienced before. We will have regular contact so that you can remain inspired every day and eventually reach a new level.
* Join my next video chat! GMC startpage holds a video chat schedule. We always cover a lot of ground and have fun. Remember that you don't need any previous knowledge, and you can be passive in the chat.
* Jam with me - you will find active collabs here.
* Post a topic on this board, guitar related or not - doesn't matter! You will find that chatting with instructors boosts your motivation to practice.
* You haven't missed my latest video lessons, have you?
* Oh and did you know that to become a killer guitarist you just need to focus on one thing? Everything
else is secondary. Pm me and I will explain.
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Oct 17 2014, 05:52 AM
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Also,
I don't know if you saw my thread in the Gear section but my soul mate bought me a new axe! Thought I'd do a little free-form blues improv: https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/freeform-blues-improv I feel like if I write a little riff or lick once a day it'll help me in the long wrong with my songwriting? 
This post has been edited by Chris S.: Oct 17 2014, 05:55 AM |
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Oct 17 2014, 09:27 AM
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Hey buddy! Thank you for the video - it's clear that you are on the good path, but let's see how we can improve
 Out of what I am noticing:- timing could be improved in respect to landing the chords on the beat - you need to relax your left hand in order to make the chord sound natural and for all the notes to be heard. Sometimes, you tend to push too hard on the string and that can be heard in the pitch of some notes  - reduce the tempo when practicing, in order to manage to play in good timing, stay relaxed and land the chords with all the notes ringing out clean and clear Do we have a deal, young man? About the volume - maybe it's the input level that needs to be raised - I am guessing here.. Todd knows a lot of stuff about Reaper, so I guess that the best thing would be to post a question on the matter in the Practice room. QUOTE (Chris S. @ Oct 16 2014, 05:31 PM)  Thanks for the kind words my friend! I wouldn't have expected something I made to trigger a memory, that's such an awesome feeling! My fingers get really cramped in the higher frets and that's where most of my mistakes are, along with my picking hand not striking each string or each triad with a consistent attack. Other than that it's basically the big changes from moving from the last triad from one set of strings to the first triad on the next set of strings. I'm practicing at a slow 80bpm - I'm hoping I get it better by Monday or Tuesday so I can post a take because right now it's pretty sloppy  It seems a little bit easier when I use a pick that's cheating since the video lesson calls for finger picking  I'll keep you posted EDIT: So you're not entirely in the dark I thought I would do a quick take, but silly me rendered the backing track at 100bpm instead of 80bpm but like I always say "When life gives you backing tracks 20bpm faster than what you're used to, you roll with it!" - Actually, I have never said that before But yeah, I went with it so you can get an idea of where I am at. It needs a lot of work, but trust me when I say it's A LOT better than it was a few days ago! Whenever I use a clean amp in POD Farm and record into Reaper the volume is so wimpy. I cranked the volume on the amp in POD Farm and I boosted the gain of the track in Reaper but as you can hear it's still really quiet. If I keep boosting the gain the track is going to start getting all fuzzy and distorted, do you know of another way I can make it louder? I thought about boosting the gain of the amp but then the tone becomes overdriven instead of clean  Thanks man! QUOTE (Chris S. @ Oct 17 2014, 04:52 AM) Also, I don't know if you saw my thread in the Gear section but my soul mate bought me a new axe! Thought I'd do a little free-form blues improv: https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/freeform-blues-improv I feel like if I write a little riff or lick once a day it'll help me in the long wrong with my songwriting? Hey again mate - that's a very good idea and I totally support it Now about this one - it has potential, but you need to take into account a few things:- groove - there's no rhythm emanating from the playing - if you decide on playing with the guitar only, you need to play very groovy. Can you take this idea and establish a groove with it? By that, I mean, playing the lead ideas in a rhythmic fashion and then, once a groove stays in the mind of the listener, you can develop the lead further on - articulation - you need to bend and vibrate a bit smoother, but this is an aspect which we will develop together in our further musical endeavors Keep going with this! |
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Oct 21 2014, 04:04 AM
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I've isolated the chord changes that are causing me problems and I'm going to spend the week improving them. When I feel confident with them I shall post a take at 80 bpm, and then if all is well I'll work on increasing the speed
 I've also been trying to work on my grooooooooveeee I came up with a little pentatonic riff that reminded me of a spy move like James Bond and I thought I would try to make it have some groove like you talked about: https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/spy-groove-snippet Is this a better concept of groove? Also, I've really been trying to break down the triad lesson and take as much information from it as possible and I came across a question that I was hoping you could answer? So all the triads in the lesson make up the C Major scale, and I made that little song on the rainy day that is in the key of C. Now the chord progression goes C Am Dm G My question is, if the progression starts with a different chord other than C, would it still be in the key of C? Like if the progression was Am Dm Em G - all those triads are in the C Major scale but would you still be in the key of C and use the C Major scale or would it be in a different key and with a different scale? Sorry if I didn't explain that well 
This post has been edited by Chris S.: Oct 21 2014, 04:20 AM |
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Oct 21 2014, 10:18 AM
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Hey Chris!!
Definitely!! You made me nod my head The first part is very groovy and well interpreted, but the second half of the theme could have a little bit more confidence - from 0:10 onward, you need to play that accentuated chords a bit more firmly, as it weakens up a bit.But you, my friend, understood the concept Good goin! Try to implement the idea of grooving with everything you create and it will only get better!Please proceed as you stated with the lesson and when you feel like you are ready with the 80BPM take, show me a recording and we'll take it from there on I understood your question perfectly - and it is a very good one indeed! The idea here is that you stay in the same key for all the progressions you mentioned, but each progression can be related to a different mode, which can be derived from that specific key. For instance: C Am Dm G is a major progression related to the Ionian mode - the C major scale while the Am Dm Em G is an A Aeolian mode or natural minor scale, if you want to call it like that. We need to delve into modal theory a bit, so that you may understand these ideas better. Having a good grasp on harmonizing the major scale with triads will allow you to juggle with modal progressions as well Have you read about harmonizing so far - I mean aside what the theoretical part of the lessons you are working on right now, mentioned? QUOTE (Chris S. @ Oct 21 2014, 03:04 AM) I've isolated the chord changes that are causing me problems and I'm going to spend the week improving them. When I feel confident with them I shall post a take at 80 bpm, and then if all is well I'll work on increasing the speed I've also been trying to work on my grooooooooveeee I came up with a little pentatonic riff that reminded me of a spy move like James Bond and I thought I would try to make it have some groove like you talked about: https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/spy-groove-snippet Is this a better concept of groove? Also, I've really been trying to break down the triad lesson and take as much information from it as possible and I came across a question that I was hoping you could answer? So all the triads in the lesson make up the C Major scale, and I made that little song on the rainy day that is in the key of C. Now the chord progression goes C Am Dm G My question is, if the progression starts with a different chord other than C, would it still be in the key of C? Like if the progression was Am Dm Em G - all those triads are in the C Major scale but would you still be in the key of C and use the C Major scale or would it be in a different key and with a different scale? Sorry if I didn't explain that well |
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Oct 22 2014, 08:19 AM
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Hey lil' buddy!
It is indeed a PRS - those bird inlays are unmistakeable So let's take things one at a time - first things first, thank you for your kind thoughts on my composition - it has a very deep meaning for me. One thing that you need to know, is that emotional music needs to have a real basis. I mean, whenever I manage to put my feelings into music, I get something genuinely true and beautiful. But that doesn't occur easily and it doesn't come to me everyday. It hurts most of the times, because somehow, it seems that the best songs I have written so far are pretty darn sad and it has to hurt in order for something worthy of recording to come out But hey, that's what happens in my case - it doesn't have to be the same with everyone. In order to feel the groove, you need to be able to have a good grasp on rhythmic subdivisions and on groove in general. It's something that comes with experience and in order to get more and more into it, we can work on similar pieces found in GMC lessons and then, based on what you have learned and synthesized out of them, you will be able to build your own ideas. I also have this little trick here: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=41914 If you are able to play ANYTHING using those backing tracks in there, you will become the master of rhythm and groove Read through a bit and let me know what you think about the backing tracks Regarding the book - it can help of course - we have all those concepts written in the Theory section here in the forum so let me know if everything is easy to understand from the book and based on your newly acquired knowledge, we will add some more and develop things. Let the questions pour!
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Oct 22 2014, 08:08 PM
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Taking bars out of backing tracks at random times, YOU MONSTER!!!
 I love the concept actually, but my problem is that I can keep time pretty well if its consistent note values - like all triplets, all quarter notes, all 8 notes and so on - but to actually solo over a backing track where all the notes are different values plus there is rests, I goof up a lot  So far, I'm reading through part one of the book because it focuses on learning where all the notes are. I've been trying to just memorize where every single note is but the book says a great way to do it is learn all the natural notes on the 5th and 6th string and with that you can use the octaves to find out where those notes are on the rest of the fretboard, and if you need a sharp or flat it's only a semitone away. I've been applying these concepts and it's going by pretty slow but I know it will come with time. Also: I've been practicing my butt off with the triad lesson and I thought I would surprise you with another take at 120bpm instead of 80bpm! I've been playing along to the original video, but the backing track by itself is a little hard for me to follow along with because I'm used to drum beats that are simple like 1 , 2, 3, 4 kind of like a metronome so this is very different for me but overall I feel like I have come a long way since my last take - what do you think? https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/major-tr...120bpm-take-two I was playing at 80bpm and was getting so bored so I started playing the piece in quarter notes instead of half notes and challenged myself to work through it and I feel like it has helped me improve my changes since the last take. Stay sharp, my friend! P.S. I'll be waiting for the PRS Awesome Sauce 3000 - the name of your signature guitar that PRS better make
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Oct 23 2014, 10:45 AM
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Hehehe
Well, if you are able to play anything you learn - be it rhythm or lead oriented, against those tracks, you will be a hell of a timing machine Try it from time to time and you'll be amazed by how your abilities will grow It is important to start with consistent values and then slowly diversify, until you are confident in playing more loose and complex forms, such as a slow ballad phrase for instance. Playing slow is as difficult as playing fast But if you learn how to play slow, you will have a far easier time learning how to play fast. We'll talk about various concepts and ideas, as they pop up in the lessons anyway, so as I said, the more questions you ask, the more you will understand and know Learning the notes on the neck would be far easier if you reduce your instrument as if it were a one string guitar and learning the notes on that one string musically - for instance - please check out this post in the link below: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...st&p=671081 Use the backing track and on each chord change - the progression in the track is Cmajor, Aminor, Fmajor,Gmajor, play the root of each chord on just the high E string. Then the thirds and then the 5ths The idea here is to say the names of the notes out loud as you play them Once you are comfy with doing this on the E string, get to the B string and so on. The final result? You will know where the C, A, F, G, E, B and D notes are on the entire neck You will learn it in an organic manner and what's more you will become able to associate a sound, a name and a position, for each note, in respect to where it will be played.About the take - your chords sound a lot better, but there's a slight delay when you change the position - I mean you are not dead on the beat - maybe slowing things down to 100 BPM and focusing on the exact shits, would be a good step right now, so that you will make the lesson get as close to perfection as possible What do you think? QUOTE (Chris S. @ Oct 22 2014, 07:08 PM) Taking bars out of backing tracks at random times, YOU MONSTER!!! I love the concept actually, but my problem is that I can keep time pretty well if its consistent note values - like all triplets, all quarter notes, all 8 notes and so on - but to actually solo over a backing track where all the notes are different values plus there is rests, I goof up a lot So far, I'm reading through part one of the book because it focuses on learning where all the notes are. I've been trying to just memorize where every single note is but the book says a great way to do it is learn all the natural notes on the 5th and 6th string and with that you can use the octaves to find out where those notes are on the rest of the fretboard, and if you need a sharp or flat it's only a semitone away. I've been applying these concepts and it's going by pretty slow but I know it will come with time. Also: I've been practicing my butt off with the triad lesson and I thought I would surprise you with another take at 120bpm instead of 80bpm! I've been playing along to the original video, but the backing track by itself is a little hard for me to follow along with because I'm used to drum beats that are simple like 1 , 2, 3, 4 kind of like a metronome so this is very different for me but overall I feel like I have come a long way since my last take - what do you think? https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/major-tr...120bpm-take-two I was playing at 80bpm and was getting so bored so I started playing the piece in quarter notes instead of half notes and challenged myself to work through it and I feel like it has helped me improve my changes since the last take. Stay sharp, my friend! P.S. I'll be waiting for the PRS Awesome Sauce 3000 - the name of your signature guitar that PRS better make |
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Oct 23 2014, 06:10 PM
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QUOTE Learning the notes on the neck would be far easier if you reduce your instrument as if it were a one string guitar and learning the notes on that one string musically - for instance - please check out this post in the link below: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...st&p=671081 Use the backing track and on each chord change - the progression in the track is Cmajor, Aminor, Fmajor,Gmajor, play the root of each chord on just the high E string. Then the thirds and then the 5ths smile.gif The idea here is to say the names of the notes out loud as you play them Thanks Cosmin! This definitely seems like a more interesting approach - you should have been the one to write this book QUOTE About the take - your chords sound a lot better, but there's a slight delay when you change the position - I mean you are not dead on the beat - maybe slowing things down to 100 BPM and focusing on the exact shits, would be a good step right now, so that you will make the lesson get as close to perfection as possible So basically I have like an 8th rest at the end of each chord which is me changing from chord to chord and I should focus on making the changes happening instantly, correct? Also: Todd made me a thread on his board which is open to anyone, it's going to focus on improving my mixing/recording/editing skills. With you as my guitar teacher and Todd as my mixing mentor I WILL BE UNSTOPPABLE!!! (I should lay off the caffeine) EDIT: So I was thinking of a little snippet to record for Todd so he can get the full picture of how horrible I am at mixing Anyhoo, I wrote a little lick a few years ago when the Haiti disaster happened and I haven't touched it until now so I decided I was going to make something out of it: https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/hear-our-cries-snippet I'm a little proud of myself for actually coming up with something halfway close to being halfway decent Although I admit that I do not know the names of the chords I used and I don't know scales therefor I don't even know what scale I am using and I'm sure the chords don't match the scale and would have to be adjusted to fit the scale... Yeah, that's how bad my theory is
This post has been edited by Chris S.: Oct 24 2014, 04:52 AM |
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