Many players do not use pinky at all when playing
3nps shapes higher on the neck,
however I prefer to use wherever possible
since its our sweet little tiny weak finger
and it needs better/special treatment ( read torturing ) .

And there's no need to prove me your progress Monte,
it's all very obvious, take a look at your clips at the beginning
of the thread, you were avoiding AP all the time
and now you're playing it very comfortable and with fun
which is all that matters, we have done a great job so far, no doubt!!

I'll wait for your tune to comes, no problem.

Muris,
I played ZERO guitar this week. The WHOLE family is sick....all have the flu mixed with a nasty cough. Should be back on track next week and get some uploads. Hope you are feeling better than me. I'm having withdrawl pains from my guitar which makes my cold and flu even worse....

Oh man, you scared me to DEATH when you mentioned flu,
thought it was the one from Mexico!!

Wish you and your family fast and safe recovery tho.

And if it means something, I had ALMOST zero guitar this weak.

Hi Muris,
I know you are busy rehearsing for your GI show so I'll keep this short. I've been battling burnout for the last few weeks so I haven't played near as much as I would like. I am still working on my AP and it is progressing nicely. The only thing I have really worked on other than trying to learn to use Logic 8 Pro and my AP is this take on and E lydian backing track. It is still sloppy and needs cleaned up but overall I think it turned out OK.

Good luck at the GI show Muris....you deserve to win. I will post again when I have something else to post. I'm gonna shift gears a little and get away from your AP etude for awhile. I might do a take for the PetrucciFever solo contest that they have going right now. Not that I could even compete with those guys but it could be fun to work on it.....\m/\m/

That was very very well played Monte!!!!!

Actually I was a bit worried when I was watching,
you played tons of uber cool tapping, legato and sweeping lick but no alternate picking.
And then near the end you applied some one string AP licks!
Now, I'm sure that you wanna be able to throw in much more than just that
but hey, you played none AP before we started MTP, way to go!
And with more pushing in AP direction you'll naturally play
more and more AP when improvising or composing,
that's how things work.

Yeah, I fully advise you to participate in the contest,
contest are great and are not just for the win,
you get motivated to play better and that's the key imo.
Let me know when you upload your take so I could have a look, ok?
Best of luck with it Monte, I'm sure you'll do a great job!

And thanks for your kind wishes and support regarding GI 2009, means a lot!

We will talk soon, you record as times allows you, no worries.

Cheers!

Thanks Muris. My plan was to do that last legato lick using AP. It is still about 15-20 bpm above what I can play cleanly. I'm still working on it though. I'm working hard on my AP and I'm actually using it quite a bit in my playing....I'm just kind of in that in between stage right now. A couple more months of hard work and I think I should be able to use it quite a bit. I'm probably gonna focus on the PetrucciFever contest this month. Just for fun and it will be fun to get your input. I'll post an initial tak as soon as I have one and you can give me some input as time allows. I know you are gonna be UBER busy with the gigs with Emir and the GI finals. Good luck again Muris......\m/\m/

No problem Monte.
I do understand "between stage" feel tho, more work as you said
and it'll become quite natural.

Muris.....It's the start of a month and last month was tough for me. I made some good progress on my AP and I am still working on it but I am getting burned out. I think I am gonna switch stuff up this month. Here is my plan and let me know what you think.

I'm gonna work on a take for the PetrucciFever contest....I'll decide whether to submit it or not after I get it done. I also have always wanted to learn Vai's "windows to the soul". It has a couple of AP licks in there and it will give me something new to work on. I'm gonna slowly break this song down and start working on it. I'll post takes as I get them up to speed and you can help me with my phrasing and technique etc. With my AP I am really focusing on 3nps shapes and I am playing in the boxes and also working on playing two string shapes and moving them up the neck and changing positions. I'll post some vids of this this month as well and you can give me some pointers.

I think working on these two things will give me some much needed change in my routine. What do you think? BTW....when do you leave for London?

Thanks as always Muris.....my AP is much better already than I ever imagined and I am finally confident that with some more hard work I will get it to a competent level......\m/\m/

All that sounds fine to me Monte,
as long as you practice and focus I can't complain,
all that I CAN do here is to look at your takes and recordings,
give some advices IF something doesn't look or sound the why it should.
I just sent you some idea for contest via email, check them out!
And I'm leaving for London on June 9th, in a week.

Thanks Muris....I'll get to work....

Ok!

Hi Muris,
Here is what I have so far with the PetrucciFever take. I'm a VERY SLOW composer... The last note is a clunker I know. I think I am going to go into a long tapping or legato run from where I ended......unless of course I can borrow your AP skillz. I'm still in that in between stage. I can get some adequate speed but nothing like I can generate with my tappng and legato. It'll come though....just not for this take.

Any comments are much appreciated. Thanks.

That was nice take Monte!

Now, I believe you can come up with more "catchy" lines
in the beginning before rhythm guitars start,
something to hold at, something easy to remember for an ordinary listener.
Have you tried to sing along with the backing?
That always helps to come up with very sweet melodic lines, give it a shot!
And second part could be more aggressive tho,
everything is burning pretty much so you might as well.

Thanks for the suggestions Muris. I just listened to it again and I agree with you about the second part. I always struggle with playing too many notes and playing something melodic..... Back to work and I'll keep you updated...

Anytime, make few more versions and let me hear all,
we'll try to do a fine mix of couple ideas!

Will do Muris. I'll do a couple of versions and we'll pick the best. Probably wait until you get home from the GI finals. When are you scheduled to come back?

Hopefully on June 16th or som.

Hi Muris,
Here is my entry for the PetrucciFever solo contest. I made some mistakes but it is the best I got right now. I don't know how much time I am gonna have to work on it in the next few weeks so I thought I better make a take now or it might not get done. I had a hard time with one of the sections until I remembered that you told me "YOU MUST USE HARMONIC MINOR IN THIS SECTION"....

I wish I had my AP to the point that I could use it for some uber fast licks.......maybe next time......

Great job on the Guitar Idol Final Muris.....\m/\m/

Nice Monte! Good luck bro, you looked very relaxed which spilled over into your composition. Enjoyed it!

Thanks Skenny.....appreciate it.