Hey Gab, I did some new takes on the lessons today that I am learning. Check them out below.

BMTH
I have increased the tempo to 125bmp for this take.


ADTR


Rise Against


Skate Punk
This first take for this lesson at 150bmp.


I have also recorded the lagwagon cover again but it hasn't finished uploading to youtube. I started the song analysis the other day but haven't quite finished, maybe I can send it tomorrow. Cheers!

This post has been edited by philm: Jun 24 2015, 08:03 PM

Hey Gab,
Here is lagwagon take to go with the others. I am getting more comfortable with this one but I messed up the solo and the downpicking part again where i went off too fast. So those two parts still need work.


I also attached the second attempt of the first timing assignment and a chart of the first analysis of the rise against song "savior".
I am struggling with the the chords and scales section. I know the the guitars are tuned half a step down. I find it hard to find out what chords and scales are being used, I don't think I can work it out by ear. What is your suggestion to get started here.

https://soundcloud.com/pmpm101/timing-ex1-take2

This post has been edited by philm: Jun 25 2015, 02:59 PM

Hi Philm, good job! I can notice improvements on the lessons that you've been working and that means that you are working really hard.

BMTH: This one is getting better. You just have to polish the 16th palm muting parts, and also the section that includes the pinch harmonic. Both things are not sounding tight enough but sound better than in previous takes.

ADTR: The same here, it is a much better take than the last that you've shared but there is still room to improve on the sections that we've talked before. So please continue polishing this one, isolating the tricky parts and working on them as exercises.

Rise against: This one starts with timing issues on intro but then it gets better. The pre-chorus and chorus could also sound tighter so we can say that timing is the elements to pay attention on this one during the next days of practice.

Skate punk: This lesson is a very good choice to continue! I can say that this one is on the right track. You'll have to pa special attention to the intro riff since it's not sounding smooth. Then, the melodic verse has some little timing issues to adjust, as well as the pre-chorus for the song. The chorus sounds better but there is also some room to go tighter with the drums.


Ok mate, you are doing a very good job with this lessons. As you can see, the main thing to improve here is timing so please focus on it and work on smaller sections to polish each part.

Hey Gab, Thanks for your comments. I will the adopt the same plan as the previous week and then record new takes. These lessons are taking a lot of discipline to keep going on. It's also tempting to start new lessons and exercises but I really don't want to take anything new on until I get these lessons right.

I feel like my technique is improving as these lessons kind of get "easier but I to have noticed these timing issues I practiced a lot of these parts with the metronome last week at slower speeds and then full speed. The problem is as soon as you play over music it becomes much more difficult to stay consistent which the timing I think is your point demonstrated with timing assignments. I really notice this with the 16th note part in the ADTR lesson. I feel in time and it sounds smooth with the metronome but then over the backing it's not consistent.

I posted another take on the Lagwagon and timing exercise above we must have just crossed paths

Well, I think that it would be interesting if you create backing's loops with the parts that are giving problems. This will allow you to work on the tricky parts over the musical backing. Then you can get back to the whole backing.

Yeah that's what I have been doing for the past week. I guess I just did to keep working on it.

I posted the lagwagon song, timing assignment and song analysis exercise above. You missed it, no worries here they are again

Lagwagon Automatic


Timing Assignment
https://soundcloud.com/pmpm101/timing-ex1-take2

Hi mate! Good job!

The Lagwagon lesson keeps on polishing! There is still room to improve some little details about timing in the first riff, and also at that part at 2:14. When playing the melodies, remember to let the note sound and then add vibrato to avoid making everything sound a bit nervous. Other than that, it's on the right track!

The timing exercises shows some problems on this area. You tend to play a bit before the beat most of the time. This means that your 8th notes are not sounding tight and need more work. Please continue practicing trying to go totally tight with the hi-hat that is also playing 8th notes.

The song analysis is very cool! It's a great design to have all the analysis organized! Good job! The structure and arrangements are detected well, now it's time for the progressions and scales. Are you on it?

Thanks for your feedback again. It's been hard work practicing these last days with GMC being down and the temperature here this last week in Switzerland has been around 35° everyday

Glad you like my song analysis layout, I have started to add in the progression and scales part. I don't think I am ready yet to work this out my ear so I found a tab which I think is quite accurate(I attached it too). I am having trouble with parts like arpeggios and the intro, I can find out what the individual notes are on the fretboard but how do I determine what chord they are based on and what scales are involved?

Hi Philm,

the progression used on the introduction and verse of this one is: F#m - A - D - A D/G#. This means that the song is in F#m tonality.

the pre-chorus is: D - E

and chorus is the same than the vesre and intro.

Please re-check now the guitar arrangements and notice how they arranged the progression to make it sound more interesting.

Hey Gab,
Thanks for your help on the song analysis. I have a question how do find out what the tonality of a song is? I know you look at the chord progression but how do you know what chords go under which tonality? I have updated the analysis its not quite finished yet.
Hmm I am not sure what exactly makes this arrangement interesting. What I find interesting is how the lead player plays octaves and the rhythm plays chords underneath, I noticed you did this in your rise against lesson.

Regarding the rest of my practice routines its going OK and I am working on the parts of the lessons I am having difficulty with, I won't be able to play much these next two weeks so I am not sure when I will have new takes ready.

Hi mate! It's cool to see that this analysis is starting to make you feel curious about some theory stuff. Please check out this thread and let me know if it clarifies your question: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...?showtopic=3160

About the arranging of the song, yes, the use of octaves is something that I've found in many of their songs and that's why I decided to use it in my lesson in the style of. I also consider the intro guitar very cool, how he took simple chords and built a chords riff that fits great with the vocals. Then, another thing to pay attention is how drums are arranged on each part and how they are related with guitar rhythm.

Hey Gab, Thanks for the link "finding the key of a song", I don't find this very easy but I guess it will get easier with practice.
I too find the the intro to the song really interesting, it's probably the main reason I like this song so much and it caught my attention in this first place. Its kind of like he is sounding out emphasizing the lyrics with the guitar, if you get what I mean One thing I noticed about the drums especially in the verses how the drums drop back when the guitars do and then start up again as the guitars build up again to the pre-chorus and chorus. Do you mean this?
What's the next step, should I start another song analysis or try to compose something of own based on this song.

Hi Philm, yes, that's what I refer when analyzing how drums are arranged. Before you start applying these concepts, let's start with a new song. Unless inspiration appears and you need to record your own idea, let's focus on these analysis for 2/3 weeks and then we'll start applying concepts. Deal?

OK gabs sounds like I good idea, I will keep going on the song analysis then. Like I said the next two weeks I am not going to have much time but I will get straight to it after that!

Ok, so we can extend the plan 2 weeks.

Hey Gab,
I have been away for a few weeks as you may have noticed I am back now and started up practicing with my plan again today. I am a bit rusty so I think it will be 2 weeks or so until I can post new takes. I am planning to start the next song analysis asap in the meantime.

Its good to be back!

Hi mate! Great to see you back here! Please work on the current routine this first week and then tell me how you feel with it. Sometimes we are not as rusty as we think, it's just a sensation!

Yeah at least I haven't forgotten any tabs though! I am finding it a bit hard getting back into my routine but I have practiced a few days in a row now and have recorded a new take on the skate punk lesson. The other lessons I will work on for another week before I post new takes.

Skate Punk Take 2 170bmp

You know the notes of this one but it has many timing issues everywhere. Also, the first riff has some sync issues so you should practice it at a slower tempo to be sure that you are playing with both hands in sync.

The main timing issues appear on intro, pre chorus, and chorus so please pay attention to it during the next sessions.

Hey Gab, Thanks for your feedback. I can understand what you mean with the timing issues, I will practice it at a slower tempo again. I am trying to keep in sync with the drums and I feel like I am until I listen back to the recording and I realize that I am not.
I am starting to get a little frustrated how long it is taking me to master these lessons I am currently working on which makes me thinkthat I will maybe integrate an easier lesson into my routine for a bit of motivation .
Yesterday I went to see bad religion for the first time and it inspired me to work on the bad religion lesson again as I never truly finished mastering it. Plus I will chose maybe another easier new lesson to work on.