Ok, good idea! I'll do another recording with the last riff to isolate this, too.
But what exactly do you mean with more definition?

There are some notes which are a bit blurry - such as the first notes in the beginning of each riff - when you do the pull-offs on the low A string using the C in the third position and the open A

Ah, I see. Will keep an eye on that with the next recording

Okay, here is another take for the two riffs isolated:



It still can be improved, but maybe you can tell me some more details on what I have to keep an eye on..

And maybe you can give me some suggestions on what I can do to get a more djentish tone

Marc

the last one sounds like the robots are coming it needs just a bit more groove to make it great You have to understand the drum groove and the accents so that you can follow with the guitar. Technically, it's good, but it lacks groove In any case, I can see improvement in correctness and definition.

Tell me, what sort of device are you using for the tone?

Cosmin

I'm using TH2 with Todds Djent Preset (http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=44968) and adjusted the noisegates... I think getting a better tone would improve the groove. What do you think?

So, his is the gear I'm using to record: Guitar -> FastTrack Pro -> Cubase5 with TH2

I also have a Zoom G2.1u, but it's difficult to get a djentish tone with this one..

Hey mad Well, I have no experience with the TH2, but I can tell you what I am doing with my AMT - lowering the bass to about 8 o clock and playing with a less distorted tone while hitting the strings pretty hard to get that chunk going.

A good tone will always help out indeed. If you are using Line 6, I can help out with some really good tone presets which will utterly provide THAT tone

How's practicing with that groove going?

Cosmin

Goes fine ... I feel like this guy here:

Click to view attachment



So, I played around with my Zoom and got a quite genty tone (I think). I used the Peavey 5150 sim with lowered gain and less mids and added a noise gate.
Here we go:

Hey mad! I likethe tone it sounds pretty authentic you know about the second riff, you are delaying the Bb note after the A and this is why it's a bit out of the groove try and feel the drums a bit more. Can you sing the guitar part over the backing at full tempo?

Thanks!
Yes I can sing the second riff at full speed and now I know exactly what you mean
I'm playing the whole lesson almost at full speed now - the first riff is still giving me some trouble at full speed, just a little more practice time....

I'll upload a first take of your Katatonia-lesson soon!

Marc

great man! Looking forward to see the takes - you have to convince me with this one as well

Hey Cos,

Just a short update: to be honest, I think to get the djent lesson clean and up to speed I need another month or so.. I'm getting close, but it seems to be an endurance problem. When I play the first riff slowly up to speed, it works great, but when recording a few takes it gets more and more sloppy and out of time so maybe you have an idea or another lesson to practice similar techniques?

The Katatonia lesson is going well so far (except the last riff - it's a bit tricky..)

Working on your Djent collab tomorrow!

Hey mad! Glad to see you back into action

Regarding the Djent lesson - give it time and try to use a certain anticipation technique - always think a bit ahead and be aware of what's next to be played - in this way you won't let the flow get interrupted by the fact that you are not prepared to move your hand consciously. It is a bit difficult to explain in words, but it's all about anticipation - do it at a slow tempo first and then incorporate it in your habits for anything you will ever play

A lot of stamina loss comes from the stress of not being aware of what's next and becoming tense because of that - I may be wrong and in your case it might be something else, but still, this is a good approach

You could try Metal Metrics 2 although it's tougher technique wise - but it's a great stamina exercise nonetheless.

About the Katatonia the last riff is my favorite! Try to tap your foot to the ground and work on the time signature change, by playing the riff while tapping 8th notes with your foot and when the 4/4 kicks in tap 4/4 It works awesomely for the whole pulse!

Looking forward to seeing your take for the djent collab and please go ahead and ask me anything else you'd like to know

Cosmin

Yeah - I'm already using an anticipation technique in all of my playing - I really think it's a stamina problem and more practice of course..
The MM2 Lesson is already on my agenda - I suspected you'll recommend this one
I can say I like all your Metal Metrics lessons and I'll get into the No. 2 asap - is it possible that I can here some clipping in the full backing track for that lesson?

I'll try tapping the foot while practicing the whole katatonia lesson

BTW - your collab is the first for me

Thanks!

Hehe! I am honored to have you break the ice with the collabs mate!

Clipping? Hmmmm, dunno man, I'll check it out and see...

well, don't know if you call it clipping - it's a clicky noise appearing at about 28s in the 100bpm backing.. but maybe it's just normal...

And there seems to be an error in the tabs for the Katatonia lesson (in the tabs below the video and in the gp-file): in bar 6 and 10(tabs below video) it's played 0-5 instead of 7-5

There must be a problem which occurred when I rendered the track

Maybe you just don't here it, if I ever manage to record a take at full speed for that lesson

A slow and perfect one, would sure make my day Eh, what say you?

Okay, back in action..

So, I was just before giving up to even try to play the Djent-Lesson at full speed. Until today.. I received a parcel from Thomann containing a .68 elixir string that replaced my current .60 on the 7string.. and voilà:



It's not perfect, but it's a start playing your drop-A monster at this speed
Now continuing with your Katatonia-Lesson

Marc

Hey mad!

I see and hear progress! The first part and the one resembling it (the one that makes the link between the main riff and the verse riff) are perfect! Now - the main riff has good timing but you are not playing a few notes as defined as they should Take some more time to perfect this one and the verse riff is still a bit rigid, it needs to be more synched with the drums and groovier. I suggest more slow practice and trying to understand the verse groove better - try to sing against the drums if you have the riff in your head

When will I see a recording of the Katatonia style lesson?

Thanks
Jaja - that verse riff is quite difficult to play slow with a groove.. I'll give that another shot after recording a clean and slow take for the Katatonia style lesson ... this weekend!

If I can make it to your V-Chat today, would you mind to play the verse-Riff from your Djent Lesson (very slow) for me?

Of course I will play it - ON THE NEW BARITONE

AWESOMENESS!!

Hey Cos!

After weeks of non playing guitar I decided to start all over again.. with very simple lessons here from GMC. I realized, that even level 2 lessons were quite hard to tackle for me (in a more enjoyable performance, if you know what i mean )
So I picked a few lessons from Gabriel and recorded them. This trained my ability to switch between effects while playing, too..
I'm going to do more advanced lessons soon - especially your new one

I'd like to do some theory with you, too.
What do you think?

Marc

Hey Marc! Welcome back man! Which new lesson are we dealing with - the one based on using modes?

What theoretical aspects would you like to discuss about?

Cosmin

Yes: Modes of the rising sun
I'm going to put some lighter strings on my Epi LP.. then I should be able to practice the whole lesson with all its bends for more than 5 minutes

Regarding theory: You might ask me anything and I have to answer.. just to test my overall music theory knowledge..

Ah - and in my last REC takes Gabriel mentioned timing problems in some spots.. maybe you have some simple practicing routines to improve this

Thanks!

Alright! So, until you get the lighter strings, let's see what we can work on, regarding theory

Let's consider we are in the key of D minor - can you please tell me what parent scale does the D minor/ Aeolian mode have and can you please harmonize it using 7th chords? And can you please tell me how we can modify the structure of the D minor scale to transform it into the D dorian and then the D Phrygian modes - what parent scales do these have?

Hope I haven't bombarded you too bad

As for timing, I got just the right thing for ya - check out this thread below and tell me what you think - would you be available to record a riff of your choice, using the tracks attached here?

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=41914

Cosmin

Definately! Will give everything a try right now

OK, theory first:
Hope I'm not absolutely wrong here..

Parent scale of D minor/Aeolian: F Major/Ionian

Harmonized F Ionian with 7th-chords:
F7, Gmin7, Amin7, Bb min7, C7, D min7, E min7b5

Transformations:
D Aeolian to D Dorian: playing major 6th instead of minor 6th
D Aeolian to D Phrygian: playing minor 2nd instead of major 2nd

Parent scale of D Dorian is C Ionian
Parent Scale of D Phrygian is Bb Ionian

Now I grab my guitar

Okay..

While playing I realized some problems in the wider empty spaces in the track. So I decided to play a few times using a click track behind. I played about 4-5 times with that method, and I tapped my right foot to stay in time. Then I recorded without click (only a pre click before recording starts) and this is the first attempt:



It was a huge difference, and it was a really cool feeling to be in time after the first larger spaces
I realized that sometimes I play a little bit in front of the beat - especially in the very first measures...

Hey Marc!

I think you did a great job mate The only observation I have, would be the fact that we are dealing with BbM7 instead of Bbm7 there, in the F Ionian

Now, for the playing, I think it's going good! You need to become more balanced, but since this is a 4/4 simple track, you can work on those skills, by simply interpreting the riff a bit. You can slack or go a pinch faster to give it some dynamic! Anyway, you tend to hurry because you are scared not to stay behind But if there's no actual rhythmic landmark, when the silence bits come into play, your internal clock is the only one working here - this is the whole purpose of this exercise: Adjusting your internal clock to various grooves and timing situations where you must rely on yourself only

Shall we try another one? And regarding theory, it seems to me that you can handle this stuff pretty well - is there anything specific regarding theory which troubled you, or you had not understood?

Cosmin

Yes, another one!

Regarding theory I would say, we just leave it.. when I have a specific question I can just ask
By end of the week I'm going to change strings and then you can expect a first take on your modes lesson..

Alright! Well, please let me know when you have the recordings ready - why not chose Gabe's Love Metal lesson and record it over the tricky backing tracks eh?

I'll let you know. And I'll try to record Gabriel's lesson over your drum-track.. let's see

Here is a first recording of the rhythm section..

http://soundcloud.com/mad-gmc/sets/cosmin_timing

This is a set of two tracks, the second contains the recording with more empty spaces..

Marc! Congrats man! I think you did a fine job Now tell me, how does it feel? Are you relaxed or not?

Thanks
I'm very relaxed and it feels very natural now. I use to play while tapping my foot since a few days, that really helps with the internal clock..
I just started with another lesson from Gabriel and this time I try to especially keep an eye on timing..

Is there anything else you think I should do to improve timing? Maybe another lesson that contains (easy) phrasing.. just to see if I get the notes played in time?

Glad to hear it Marc! I think it's a good thing to play everything like this from now on It'll solidify your rhythm skills greatly
You mean, a lesson which has to do with lead also, right? That would be interesting to see - played against the special backing
How about this one: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guit...hythm-phrasing/ It seems perfect for the task

Cosmin

I'll do, I'll do and I really like your new collab Will see, if I can come up with something interesting..
Well, that wallimann-lesson is another hard one for me - I'm not into fusion playing, and these chops are quite hard to copy, even at a slow tempo..

I just looked at this one here: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Improv...h_Low_Contrast/
I think it fits better into my playing style and level.. ok with that, too?

Today I played the first bars of your 'modes of the rising sun' lesson. I played with the slower backing, fiddled around and created some bend/pre-bend-licks of my own just to get a feel for it.. was fun!

And - as you now - I like to grab my acoustic once a while.. and playing your new 'violins and hybrid picking' - lesson is awesome!! I never played hybrid before (just only pick or pure fingerstyle). Will see if I can make a take for you next week..

P.S. there is a bug in the tabs for this lesson: Part4, bar 3 (it's played 5-4-0-3, 5-4-0-5 but in tabs : 5-4-2-3, 5-4-2-5)..

Hey man! Go for the High Low Contrast lesson It's a very good one and if you like it and I also look forward to the Violins and the Modes lesson. Man you got some work to do

Please tell me, what tab were you referring to?

It's the tab for the Violins & Hybrid Picking - Lesson (both - under the video and GP)

Uh oh, I'll correct that Thanks mate!

OK, as discussed by PM, here is just a small preview with my progress for your deftones style lesson..

http://soundcloud.com/mad-gmc/deftonesstyledemoforcosmin

I'm still not satisfied with the tone..

Hmmmmm, I think that the riff tone should be a bit brighter - it's a bit dark at this point but the playing sounds pretty good to me. The only thing I'd observe is that in the beginning you need to be closer to the balance in the original piece Let's hear the whole thing

I think I found a brighter/crunchier patch for the riff, will give that a try later today. I'll keep you updated, thanks for your feedback
btw: I'm still on your Katatonia lesson - the last riff is tricky for me

Tell me about it...I am currently trying to sing the vocal line and play that bit... I feel like wanting to throw the darn guitar against the wall

Hehe - I hear you
Few weeks back I remember situations like in Ben's 'guitar recording frustrations' video while playing that part.. And I think: How can one develop such a sick and unplayable riff
BUT: there will be one day when I can play this one and then i am the riff master in my mad rhythm corner

Anyway - here is the whole thing:



Would that get a REC pass?

One thing regarding soloing.. I definately need some really easy solos to start over again.. Maybe you can give me your suggestion for one that's playable for me. atm even a level3 solo won't get to a point where I'm satisfied with the way I can play it...