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Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 19 2014, 02:44 PM

Hi Vince! Welcome to our thread for Gab's Army where I will help you to design guitar plans to achieve your music goals.

At first I will share here your goals as reference:

"My guitar goals are to master at least 5 styles of music and start a band in the near future.I have a job that allows me to have a lot of free time so my main focus is to benefit and learn guitar at a high level.I can practice 5-6 hours per day and more in the week-end.As music styles I am attracted to blues and rock ballads but also metal is ok.My weakness is improvisation,i tried only 2 times but i left this idea after i saw that my fingers were like 1 km from the fretboard so i started to work and get my fingers closer and now everything it's ok.I would like to learn improvisation,rythm and ear training in the same time,day by day,so a practice skedule would be so nice."

So the current list is:

- Learning 5 music styles (Blues, Rock, Metal... )
- Start a band
- Learn to improvise
- Master Rhythm
- Ear training


Could you please give me some more info?

- Your favorite musicians and bands.
- What do you know about theory?
- Do you have any audio or video of you playing?
- Are you able to record videos of you playing?

Posted by: Vince09 Jun 19 2014, 03:27 PM

Hi Gab!It's so nice to be here,sorry for my late reply...i had to kill someone to get my laptop back Let's get started...

- Your favorite musicians and bands.Eric Clapton,John Mayer,Slash,etc.
- What do you know about theory?I know only basic stuff like chords and scales.
- Do you have any audio or video of you playing?I don't have any videos of me playing guitar.
- Are you able to record videos of you playing?Yes i can record videos.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Jun 19 2014, 03:44 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 19 2014, 04:06 PM

Cool! Great to hear from you here! Welcome officially to GMC Forum!

Our first goal would be to have a video of you playing. What about choosing a lesson from GMC archive that you feel you can play, learn it and record it?

Maybe a blues lesson? Click http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/video-lessons/blues/.

Posted by: Vince09 Jun 19 2014, 04:32 PM

Thanks Gabriel! After seeing the blues lesson i decided to try and play a lesson called Blues Licks by Gabriel Leopardi
I will do my best

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 20 2014, 02:58 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Jun 19 2014, 12:32 PM)

Thanks Gabriel! After seeing the blues lesson i decided to try and play a lesson called Blues Licks by Gabriel Leopardi
I will do my best

Posted by: Vince09 Jun 20 2014, 04:32 PM

Thank you for this advices and I will follow them closely.You will hear from me soon...i hope

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 20 2014, 05:01 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Jun 20 2014, 12:32 PM)

Thank you for this advices and I will follow them closely.You will hear from me soon...i hope

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 24 2014, 02:49 PM

Ok mate! based on our private messages I decided that we will start building a new guitar routine for you. The topics that we will cover this first week are:


Warming Up

Alternate Picking

Dynamics (vibrato, bending & dynamics)

Rhythm

Blues Theory


I have some ideas for the lessons you could cover for each topic but let me know if you have some lessons that you like from GMC archive which fit here.

Posted by: Vince09 Jun 24 2014, 03:41 PM

Thanks Gabriel!I think it will be better that you decide the lessons...so I am all ears and ready to practice.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 24 2014, 04:18 PM

Ok! Here we go:


Warming Up

Stretches & massages: http://youtu.be/1XsLRQFV7rY
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Picking-Arpeggios/


Alternate Picking

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Alternate-Picking-Workout-2/


Dynamics (vibrato, bending & dynamics)

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Blues-Dynamics/


Blues Theory

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=50470


What do you think?

Posted by: Vince09 Jun 24 2014, 04:32 PM

Are you sure you can't read minds cause I got my eyes set on alternate picking and blues dynamics for some time So How should i study?Learn first lesson and post a video or learn all lessons in the same time 30 minutes each everyday?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 25 2014, 02:03 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Jun 24 2014, 12:32 PM)

Are you sure you can't read minds cause I got my eyes set on alternate picking and blues dynamics for some time So How should i study?Learn first lesson and post a video or learn all lessons in the same time 30 minutes each everyday?

Posted by: Vince09 Jun 25 2014, 03:57 PM

Now it makes more sense,i will follow this type of studying and let you know of the progress.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 25 2014, 04:37 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Jun 25 2014, 11:57 AM)

Now it makes more sense,i will follow this type of studying and let you know of the progress.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 5 2014, 03:29 PM

Ok Vince! As I received your updates via PM and gave you feedback by private, I will just write down an update to have it here as reference.

Lesson in progress: Blues Dynamics

Things to improve: Timing & Bending

Suggestions: Working at slower tempo, and practicing the bending exercise that I sent to you.

Posted by: Vince09 Jul 6 2014, 11:35 PM

Hi Gab!A quick update on the lesson Alternate Picking Workout 2,I learned the first 3 parts as you will see in the links bellow and I am waiting for your approval so I can learn the next part of the lesson .Sorry for the bad angle of my camera...I promise next videos will be much better

http://youtu.be/K8XlmugSflA
http://youtu.be/sc47X6pg-YY
http://youtu.be/xCb8pfqsbhI

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 7 2014, 03:30 AM

Hi Vince! Good job! You are playing these parts with a good tempo. You just have to be careful with your right hand palm muting because sometimes the notes sound too muted, and the pitch/note isn't clear. Experiment with the position of your palm, move it closer to the bridge and see how the sound changes. Please tell me your conclusions.

Posted by: Vince09 Jul 8 2014, 11:34 PM

Hi Gab!Another update on Blues Dynamics...I hope you like it.This took more then I expected so I didn't had time to experiment on Alternate Picking lesson.Cheers

http://youtu.be/mWG7SsiNivw
http://youtu.be/lGZOF_JQTR4
http://youtu.be/DlLk5H_fAt0

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 9 2014, 04:19 PM

Hi Vince! Thanks for the update! The licks are sounding good, you are doing a good use of dynamics on this ones. There are two important things to concentrate on during your next hours of practice:

- Timing: Mostly the first video but alto the others have timing issues. Practice using the guitar pro, or over the main video to be sure that you are playing the licks tight.

- Bending: Your bends aren't precise, you don't reach the correct pitch most of the times. Work on it!

Posted by: Vince09 Jul 9 2014, 04:35 PM

Ok Gab Back to the same old problems.I will work harder

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 9 2014, 04:51 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Jul 9 2014, 12:35 PM)

Ok Gab Back to the same old problems.I will work harder

Posted by: Vince09 Jul 9 2014, 06:11 PM

Thank you! I included that bending exercise in my daily routine,I do it 30 minutes everyday.I wanna know what you think about this kind of muting in the link bellow

http://youtu.be/fRcc9UXYGHQ

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 10 2014, 01:22 AM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Jul 9 2014, 02:11 PM)

Thank you! I included that bending exercise in my daily routine,I do it 30 minutes everyday.I wanna know what you think about this kind of muting in the link bellow

http://youtu.be/fRcc9UXYGHQ

Posted by: Vince09 Jul 10 2014, 09:28 PM

I set the Gain setting on my amp to 50%,I hope now it's better.I barelly touch the strings with my right hand and I can't go closer to the bridge,I am almost puting my hand on the bridge and it's not a comfortable position on a Fender bridge

http://youtu.be/-1WscvmWPpk

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 11 2014, 12:19 AM

Hi Vince! It's better but I would still experimenting because the notes could still sound clearer. I notice that your right hand can be even closer to the bridge, try it! just a bit and share the recording with me to see if it sounds better.

Posted by: Vince09 Jul 15 2014, 05:42 PM

Hi Gab!Here is a another recording...I hope it's better now

http://youtu.be/apzytJ0Zya8

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 15 2014, 10:42 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Jul 15 2014, 01:42 PM)

Hi Gab!Here is a another recording...I hope it's better now

http://youtu.be/apzytJ0Zya8

Posted by: Vince09 Jul 16 2014, 04:12 PM

Hellow again Gab!Here is another attempt from me

http://youtu.be/uWc2EQieRtc

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 16 2014, 09:59 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Jul 16 2014, 12:12 PM)

Hellow again Gab!Here is another attempt from me

http://youtu.be/uWc2EQieRtc

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 1 2014, 05:47 PM

Hi Gab!Here is the video we talked about.Sorry but after I shot the video I noticed the level of distorsion is low.

http://youtu.be/YZ0M1VXg268

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 1 2014, 08:16 PM

Hi Vince, I think that your right hand could be more relaxed while you play this exercise but the motion seem to be right as well as the sound that you are getting. However I recommend you to use your guitar less inclined while you practice, to avoid an extra inclination of your right hand. Do you understand what I mean?

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 1 2014, 09:23 PM

Hey Hey Gab I am not used to this right hand motion and I can't be relaxed at the moment...I guess it will take more practice The guitar position is also something I got to pay attention ...normally I try to keep it paralel to my body but it slips into that position wich is comfortable in some way I think practicing on a chair would be much better for my guitar position....

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 1 2014, 11:03 PM

Yes! You have to avoid practicing for long periods with that guitar position because it's very different to the one that you'll have when you play live, standing up. Practicing some minutes standing up could also be helpful since you will notice that it feel different than playing sitting on a chair. Use both ways but avoid your bed, it's even not healthy for your back.

What about the blues dynamics lesson and your bending technique? Have you been working on it? Did you notice any improvements?

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 1 2014, 11:43 PM

Then first thing in the morning is to go buy a nice chair and a extra guitar strap for playing while standing up....The blues dinamics is going well but I didn't want to post any videos untill I am comfortable in playing those licks cause I want them to be perfect Ben's string bending exercise is really great,it's amazing how practicing 30 minutes everyday can improve so fast your bending technique

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 2 2014, 01:03 AM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 2 2014, 03:53 PM

Everything sounds fantastic man. Getting a new chair specially for this means that you are giving a big importance to your guitar practice and that's very inspiring mate. Great decision!

In this video you will maybe get ideas on what things you should have in mind when you choose a chair for guitar practice:

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 4 2014, 09:25 PM

Thank you Gab!In the end I got a bar chair wich you can adjust your height and also at the midle it has a footrest.Unfortunetly you can't find a chair that gets closer to the professional chair that I saw in your video.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 2 2014, 05:53 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 4 2014, 11:59 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Aug 4 2014, 05:25 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 11 2014, 04:25 PM

Hi mate! How are you?

You asked me via PM to start some ear training. The first task is simple, please share here 5 songs that you like and that you've never learnt to play.

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 11 2014, 09:45 PM

Hey Gab!Thanks for hearing my call for help I am fine and willing to learn more
I know that the songs I like are not easy but I definetly want to learn them.Here we go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32GZ3suxRn4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zCcH3WG9tI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qouQRmWzqc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fregObNcHC8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZGYYDvZnpg

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 11 2014, 06:25 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 12 2014, 01:39 PM

Hi mate, that's a very cool list! The reason why we need a trained ear is because our ear is the responsible of connecting our mind, our creativity with our fingers and guitar. Improvisation, composition, rhythm, bending, dynamics, vibrato, everything depends on what your ear captures and send to your mind, and how your mind decrypts it.


Let's start with this song that is the easier from the list. I shared a youtube link where you can't see kurt playing.




There are two tricks that you can use to learn the song. The first one can be found explained on parts 5 and 6 of this lesson:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Riffs-Ear-Training/

It includes a nice assignment that you can also try try.

The other trick that you can use is the software slow downer that allows you to slow the tempo of the songs without altering the key. It's a great tool for learning tricky parts but you can also use it for starting.

What do you say? Are you in?

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 13 2014, 05:41 PM

Hey Gab!Definetly I am in...The first impression is that I don't hear clearly what is going on in the song....but I will try the secrets you have told me and write my opinion here.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 13 2014, 06:09 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Aug 13 2014, 01:41 PM)

Hey Gab!Definetly I am in...The first impression is that I don't hear clearly what is going on in the song....but I will try the secrets you have told me and write my opinion here.

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 16 2014, 04:31 PM

After listening to the song with the slow downer software I can say that the song is in G major key...and the first chords are G-C and G-Am and after that I don't know cause there comes a part wich they play only the low strings and I can't figure it out...

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 16 2014, 04:53 PM

Hi mate, you are close. The first two chords are ok, not the third one. Are you using the ideas shared by Ben in the lesson that I posted?

I have another idea, what about going for this song which doesn't include lead guitars:

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 16 2014, 05:04 PM

Suure I am using his ideas...I listen to the chord and hear how many strings are involved and also listen if it's major or minor.I listen also if he goes higher or lower on the fretboard,with hard training I am sure I can do it....I will give it a go with this new song

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 17 2014, 03:32 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Aug 16 2014, 01:04 PM)

Suure I am using his ideas...I listen to the chord and hear how many strings are involved and also listen if it's major or minor.I listen also if he goes higher or lower on the fretboard,with hard training I am sure I can do it....I will give it a go with this new song

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 18 2014, 06:49 PM

I am sure the first 2 chords are G and C...and the third I think it's F

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 17 2014, 05:32 PM)

Great! the process sounds good. Looking forward the chords for Polly.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 19 2014, 12:32 AM

Hi Vince, those are wrong chords.

I give you another chance, let's go for the first chord. Try to discover the root of the chord, sing the chord and then try notes on the 6th string until you find the one that sounds like the root. Ok?

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 19 2014, 10:54 PM

Then I will sing the chord and also sing for new gear cause what I have right now ain't helping me

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 19 2014, 02:32 AM)

Hi Vince, those are wrong chords.

I give you another chance, let's go for the first chord. Try to discover the root of the chord, sing the chord and then try notes on the 6th string until you find the one that sounds like the root. Ok?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 19 2014, 10:58 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Aug 19 2014, 06:54 PM)

Then I will sing the chord and also sing for new gear cause what I have right now ain't helping me

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 19 2014, 11:24 PM

Well I use a 2.1 speaker system connected to my laptop and the sound isn't so great....I am sure some studio monitors will help me much more to develop my ears.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 20 2014, 12:58 AM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 20 2014, 02:10 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Aug 19 2014, 07:24 PM)

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 20 2014, 06:25 PM

Sure I found it ...The root of the first chord it's E.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 20 2014, 06:39 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Aug 20 2014, 02:25 PM)

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 20 2014, 06:41 PM

Nope.But definetly I am sooooo interested.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 20 2014, 08:39 PM)

Excellent!

Have you seen this?

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=52846&pid=694412&st=0&#entry694412

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 21 2014, 08:39 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Aug 20 2014, 02:41 PM)

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 21 2014, 08:47 PM

Great?It was not great...it was totally awesome and so inspiring .I am working on it right now but I am using my headphones or else you will have a student less in your army

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 21 2014, 10:39 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 21 2014, 09:32 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Aug 21 2014, 04:47 PM)

Great?It was not great...it was totally awesome and so inspiring .I am working on it right now but I am using my headphones or else you will have a student less in your army

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 24 2014, 04:32 PM

After experimenting a little bit I can say for sure that the first chords are E5 and D5.The next ones I think they are D5-C5 and G5-A#5 but I can't figure it out the tonality wich they belong to.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 21 2014, 11:32 PM)

hahahah great!! Keep me updated.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 25 2014, 02:03 PM

Ok, that's not totally right. The correct progression for the intro and verse is: E5 - G5 - D5 - C5

If we want to determine the tonality of this progression, you can check the chord function taking each of the chords as the root chord. Based on my experience, I can say that this track is not in E major, because G chord appears that is the chord based on the minor third. As most of the songs start or end with the root chord, my main suspect would be that this track is in Em.

These are the 3 possible tonalities that include the chords:

If the song would be in Em:

E5 - G5 - D5 - C5
Im - III - VII - VI


If the song would be in G:

E5 - G5 - D5 - C5
VIm - I - V - IV

If the song would be in C:

E5 - G5 - D5 - C5
IIIm - IV - VII - I


If you check the progressions, you will notice that the first one seems to be the most reasonable, it's a very used movement in music. But now there is a last step that you can do to define it. In a tonality, playing the root chord as the last chord gives the sensation of "end", of "resolution", so you can play the progression 3 times and end it, first with Em, then with G, and finally with C.

Which chord fits better in the end?

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 25 2014, 07:19 PM

Definetly the Em fits better in the end.The G and C give me the sensation of incomplete.
Looking forward to discover the chords of the next song

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 25 2014, 04:03 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 26 2014, 05:52 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Aug 25 2014, 03:19 PM)

Definetly the Em fits better in the end.The G and C give me the sensation of incomplete.
Looking forward to discover the chords of the next song

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 28 2014, 05:24 PM

Hey Hey Hey!This song is in C major and the chords used are G,Cadd9,Am,C with some variations in the bridge.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 26 2014, 07:52 PM)

Excellent! This is the best way to discover the tonality of a song.

Next song!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 28 2014, 10:52 PM

Very close man! Yes! It's in C major, and the chords are: C - Am - G - F

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 29 2014, 11:38 AM

I think I need to have my ears checked
On the next song I will pay more attention.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 29 2014, 12:52 AM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 30 2014, 04:25 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Aug 29 2014, 07:38 AM)

I think I need to have my ears checked
On the next song I will pay more attention.

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 30 2014, 05:16 PM

Gab!I already joined your improvisation course and I should post my recordings here in this thread but I think it's better that I have a thread only for improvisation...What do you think?

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 30 2014, 06:25 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 1 2014, 12:27 AM

Hi Vince! I think that having a complementary thread just for the Improvisation course is a very good idea, so this is the thread for it!

Click http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=52915.

Posted by: Vince09 Sep 1 2014, 05:19 PM

Hey Gab!Thank you for support!Looking forward to start improvising but also to train my ear...I am beginning to like to discover chords

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 1 2014, 02:27 AM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 1 2014, 05:42 PM

ok! So this is our new song to learn chords by ear:

Posted by: Vince09 Sep 2 2014, 03:24 PM

Hey Gab!The main chords are C Am Dm G and the bridge is made out of C Am G C and Am C G.The song is in C major.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 1 2014, 07:42 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 3 2014, 01:42 PM

Hi mate, there are some chords that are right but some others aren't. The key is perfect! C Major. I will help you with the second chord of the ver and let you discover the third, the other two are ok.

Verse:

C - Cadd9/B - ? - G





Bridge: Check it again, it starts with F.

Posted by: Vince09 Sep 3 2014, 05:41 PM

So the third chord of the verse is Am7.The bridge is F-Cadd9/B-G-Am and F-Cadd9/B-G.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 3 2014, 03:42 PM)

Hi mate, there are some chords that are right but some others aren't. The key is perfect! C Major. I will help you with the second chord of the ver and let you discover the third, the other two are ok.

Verse:

C - Cadd9/B - ? - G





Bridge: Check it again, it starts with F.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 4 2014, 04:48 PM

Hi Vince!

Verse is now perfect... bridge...

F - ? - ? - Am

F - ? - G

Posted by: Vince09 Sep 5 2014, 07:44 PM

The bridge is F-Gadd11-C-Am and F-C-G.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 4 2014, 06:48 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 6 2014, 04:52 PM

Just 1 chord to go! C isn't the right chord in the second part...


F-Gadd11-C-Am

F- ? -G.

Posted by: Vince09 Sep 6 2014, 05:55 PM

F-Em-G

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 6 2014, 06:52 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 6 2014, 06:22 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Sep 6 2014, 01:55 PM)

F-Em-G

Posted by: Vince09 Sep 6 2014, 06:31 PM

Our work certainly helps...now I know what I did wrong and try to not mess it up again in the future.I promise I will be more patient:)

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 6 2014, 08:22 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 7 2014, 04:51 PM

Ok! So this is the new song to analyze:

Posted by: Vince09 Sep 14 2014, 05:46 PM

Hey Gab!After listening so many times this song I can say that it is in E Major Key.I am pretty sure that the chord progression involves a modulation...and the chords are D5-A5-F#5-E5.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 7 2014, 06:51 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 15 2014, 04:51 AM

Hi Vince! This is so awesome!! The chords are perfect!! Some of them are major or minor but by now identifying power chord is enough and a good step forward.

Talking about the tonality, you are close, it's E major, but not the most known or commonly used major mode. It's a different mode. Let's analyse it a bit:

These are the notes that form E major scale:

E F# G# A B C# D#


The chords that you've heard are: D5 - A5 - F#5 - E5


Everything is ok, except that D5 because we don't have D root on E major scale. E major scale is also known as Ionian mode and it's one of the 3 major modes that derive from a major scale. The other two ones are Lydian and Mixolydian.

Check out E mixolydian;

E F# G# A B C# D

As you can see, D appears there as well as the other notes from the progression so I believe that the progression is in E mixolydian tonality.

If this stuff is completely new for you or if you have some unclear knowledge about modes, please check the following thread and let me know if you have some questions:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=48825

Posted by: Vince09 Sep 15 2014, 04:46 PM

Hi Gab!I am so happy that I got the right chords and thank you for explaining the theory behind this chord progression Now I have a new perspective about the tonality of a song.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 15 2014, 06:51 AM)

Hi Vince! This is so awesome!! The chords are perfect!! Some of them are major or minor but by now identifying power chord is enough and a good step forward.

Talking about the tonality, you are close, it's E major, but not the most known or commonly used major mode. It's a different mode. Let's analyse it a bit:

These are the notes that form E major scale:

E F# G# A B C# D#


The chords that you've heard are: D5 - A5 - F#5 - E5


Everything is ok, except that D5 because we don't have D root on E major scale. E major scale is also known as Ionian mode and it's one of the 3 major modes that derive from a major scale. The other two ones are Lydian and Mixolydian.

Check out E mixolydian;

E F# G# A B C# D

As you can see, D appears there as well as the other notes from the progression so I believe that the progression is in E mixolydian tonality.

If this stuff is completely new for you or if you have some unclear knowledge about modes, please check the following thread and let me know if you have some questions:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=48825

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 15 2014, 11:31 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Sep 15 2014, 12:46 PM)

Hi Gab!I am so happy that I got the right chords and thank you for explaining the theory behind this chord progression Now I have a new perspective about the tonality of a song.

Posted by: Vince09 Sep 21 2014, 03:23 PM

Hi Gab!Please help me with this one cause my ears won't cooperate when they hear something they don't like

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 16 2014, 01:31 AM)

Excellent!

Dave likes to use modal progressions, mostly Lydian but in this case appears one of the most used in rock Mixolydian. Bands and musicians that have USA folk influences uses this mode a lot, for ex: Slash / GN'R, Zakk Wylde, Rolling Stones, etc...

Next song:

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 22 2014, 05:07 AM

Ok, let's go for this one that has similar chords that clearer because guitar is more present:

Posted by: Vince09 Sep 24 2014, 06:35 PM

Hi Gab!The song is in D major and the main chords are D-A-G-D and also in the chorus we have A-D,G-D wich leads us back to the main chords.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 22 2014, 07:07 AM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 24 2014, 07:32 PM

hehehe that's perfect man! I think that your ear is getting tight! Well done.

how are the other things going? improvisation stuff? technique?

Posted by: Vince09 Sep 24 2014, 08:05 PM

Thanks Gab!Unfortunetly in the past 2 weeks I didn't had much time to practice and I can't keep up the rythm with your impromovisation course THe alternate picking lesson is almost done,I am working on final details and the blues dynamics lesson I can't play it at tempo so it will take me more time to make it perfect.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 24 2014, 09:32 PM)

hehehe that's perfect man! I think that your ear is getting tight! Well done.

how are the other things going? improvisation stuff? technique?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 25 2014, 01:57 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Sep 24 2014, 04:05 PM)

Thanks Gab!Unfortunetly in the past 2 weeks I didn't had much time to practice and I can't keep up the rythm with your impromovisation course THe alternate picking lesson is almost done,I am working on final details and the blues dynamics lesson I can't play it at tempo so it will take me more time to make it perfect.

Posted by: Vince09 Sep 26 2014, 05:05 PM

Hey Gab!You are right again I will take my time on week number 1 of the course and post a recording to let you see if I am on the right way

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 28 2014, 08:39 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Sep 26 2014, 01:05 PM)

Hey Gab!You are right again I will take my time on week number 1 of the course and post a recording to let you see if I am on the right way

Posted by: Vince09 Sep 28 2014, 09:20 PM

Well...I learned everything that you thaught us at the improvisation course but when I try to improvise nothing smart comes out of my hands and everytime I am on the wrong note when the chords change...It's so frustrating

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 28 2014, 10:39 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 28 2014, 10:09 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Sep 28 2014, 05:20 PM)

Well...I learned everything that you thaught us at the improvisation course but when I try to improvise nothing smart comes out of my hands and everytime I am on the wrong note when the chords change...It's so frustrating

Posted by: Vince09 Oct 3 2014, 02:59 PM

OK Gab I will start slow and make sure i know everything before I post the recording .Please let's move forward with the ear training cause my main focus is to play and compose for my future band.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 29 2014, 12:09 AM)

Start slowly. Don't try to make amazing melodies at first. Practice using random notes, playing the sequences or arpeggios up and down. Very slow melodies. You fingers can go faster than your mind so now your fingers need to be patient and wait to your mind to get use to this techniques.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 3 2014, 05:35 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Oct 3 2014, 10:59 AM)

OK Gab I will start slow and make sure i know everything before I post the recording .Please let's move forward with the ear training cause my main focus is to play and compose for my future band.

Posted by: Vince09 Oct 7 2014, 04:46 PM

Hi Gab!As my ears hear this song is in G major with the main chords G5-A5-D5, pre chorus G5-A5 ,G5-A5-C5 and the chorus G5-A5-C5-D5 followed by G5-A5-C5...back to the main chords.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Oct 3 2014, 07:35 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 7 2014, 06:02 PM

Hi Vince. You are not on the right track from the beginning. The tune is in D minor, and D minor is the first chord. Please try to learn the intro arpeggios, no matter if you are not sure about the name of the chords, but try to learn each note played and tab it with guitar pro, is it possible?

Posted by: Vince09 Oct 9 2014, 08:15 PM

Hi Gab!I am so sorry that i got it wrong I will try the way you recommended even though I have no experience with guitar pro.
Here is a quick recording of the alternate picking lesson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_7CH2BAOOQ&list=UUF5KJ0AVwaeazmWdyfD7UxA

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Oct 7 2014, 08:02 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 9 2014, 10:17 PM

Hi mate, thanks for the update. I can see that you are doing a good job with this lesson that seems to be very effective for your Alternate Picking technique. The first thing that I would improve on this one is your tone, I don't know if it's the camera video or what, but it's a bit weak and is lacking sustain, I also think that the EQ could be warmer (less treble, more bass & mids).

About your playing, it's ok to use palm muting in the lower strings, but for any reason the notes played on the higher strings are also cut too early and sound like with a staccato effect. Try to make those notes longer to let your playing sound smoother.

This lesson is very demanding at first but it's very useful so please keep on practicing it. The next thing to have in mind is how you manage dynamics, and off course the tone that you get, not only because of the settings used, also from your fingers and pick.

Keep on the hard work!

Posted by: Vince09 Oct 9 2014, 10:41 PM

Hey Gab!Unfortunetly finding the tone that i like is really hard for me cause I am a total beginner when it comes to settings,even with much better pickups i still ain't got enough sustain...I am using guitar rig presets wich I modify them a bit but they are kind of limited. Any suggestions of how can I get a decent tone with something different then guitar rig?

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Oct 10 2014, 12:17 AM)

Hi mate, thanks for the update. I can see that you are doing a good job with this lesson that seems to be very effective for your Alternate Picking technique. The first thing that I would improve on this one is your tone, I don't know if it's the camera video or what, but it's a bit weak and is lacking sustain, I also think that the EQ could be warmer (less treble, more bass & mids).

About your playing, it's ok to use palm muting in the lower strings, but for any reason the notes played on the higher strings are also cut too early and sound like with a staccato effect. Try to make those notes longer to let your playing sound smoother.

This lesson is very demanding at first but it's very useful so please keep on practicing it. The next thing to have in mind is how you manage dynamics, and off course the tone that you get, not only because of the settings used, also from your fingers and pick.

Keep on the hard work!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 10 2014, 02:44 PM

Well, my trick to have enough sustain both with emulators and real amps is using some kind of tube screamer before the amp. I do this with guitar rig, with Poulin and also with my Mesa Boogie amp. I recommend you to create tones from nothing. This is th ebest way to keep it simple and be able to understand what each module is doing.

For example, start the chain with a tube screamer emulated (it's usually called Screamer, Overdrive or something like that), then choose an amp that you like, this election can be based on what you saw in your favorite guitarists. Let's say that you love Jimmy Page, ok so you should try going for a vintage sounding sound, something like Plexi, or maybe an Organge could do the job. Then, choose a cabinet, the election depends again on the type of sound that you want. IF you want something more vintage, go for a small cabinet, if you want to blow an stadium, use a 4x12 cabinet with V30 or something similar.

Once you have this chain designed, turn on everything and start with the amp with all the parameters in 5, and try to get a balanced EQ. Experiment with treble, mids, bass, presence and once you find an EQ that you like, work on drive. Set a good balance between the amp's drive and the overdrive gain. Try to find a combination that give enough sustain but keeps the signal clean and clear.

Once you find a sound that you like save it, record something and check it later of the following day. Let your ears to rest because we tend to get used to a sound even when it's not as cool as we want. We need to refresh our mind and ears and get back to it later.

You can also experiment with other effects like Delay, Reverb and chorus, just as another variation to the tone for solos or special parts.

You can use Guitar Rig, or you can also try Lepou which are free vst. Check out this thread where you will find all the info: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=52512

Feel free to share the results here.

Posted by: Vince09 Oct 18 2014, 08:04 PM

Hi Gab!I followed your advices and eperimented with the components in Guitar Rig but I am still a little far from what I really want it to be.So here it is...https://soundcloud.com/vince1409/altrernate

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Oct 10 2014, 04:44 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 19 2014, 06:00 PM

Hi Vince! This is a very good first experiment! Your guitar tone is much better now, it sounds clearer and more defined compared to your previous video. I think that the EQ balance is better now and the only thing that I would try to improve is adding more drive to have more sustain. Have you tried the overdrive before the amp? If you did it, I would just add some drive to that pedal.

Your playing is tight one this one but it's still not enough smooth. Try to make the notes longer to avoid silences between notes. It will make your take sound more fluently and with less staccato effect. In the palm muting section, the secret is to put the palm of your right hand on a different position, closer to the bridge, with less pressure, to also make the notes longer. Experiment with it!

Posted by: Vince09 Oct 20 2014, 06:37 PM

Hey Gab!The drive is at a higher level...I hope you can see it in the picture that I sent you via pm.
I am trying to make the notes longer but you know...I learned the lesson in a bad way from the start and it's all my fault cause I didn't post any recordings of each part of the lesson.Also I am having problems in hearing and tabing the intro of The Ramones-Pet Semetary...I hear 3 chords Dm-?-F5...even if I can sing the intro with my voice I still can't find the notes for the second chord
Soon I will post a recording for the blues dynamics lesson cause I am sure I have tone problems theere also...

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Oct 19 2014, 08:00 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 21 2014, 02:06 AM

Hi Vince! I've checked the setting pic and I can say that it looks good., but I wonder if the noise reduction is a bit high and that's the reason why you are not having enough sustain. Have you tried bypassing it? Please try it and let me know what happens....

About the Ramones song, I hear something like this... what do you think?

Posted by: Vince09 Oct 26 2014, 08:57 AM

Hey Gab!I've set the the noise reduction as low as I can...without the noise reduction I hear the process of making popcorn on the background but the sustain is still missing
Here is the intro I hear for The Ramones-Pet cemetary
 Ramones_introX.gpx ( 17.46K ) : 91

The sog is made in E dorian and the pre chorus is C5-D5-C5-D5-C5,chorus D5-E5-G5-A5 and D5-E5-C5 and there is a part wich I think that is the bridge where he uses the natural minor Bb-D5-Bb-C5
Here is a sample of the blues dynamics lesson .I would like your opinion about the tone(and the playing) cause I can't even get near the tone from the lesson.
https://soundcloud.com/vince1409/blues

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Oct 21 2014, 04:06 AM)

Hi Vince! I've checked the setting pic and I can say that it looks good., but I wonder if the noise reduction is a bit high and that's the reason why you are not having enough sustain. Have you tried bypassing it? Please try it and let me know what happens....

About the Ramones song, I hear something like this... what do you think?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 27 2014, 03:13 AM

Hi mate, how are you? I cannot open the GP file, the extension is GPX and Guitar pro is not opening it in my computer, Could you please save it for Guitar pro 5? The song is in D minor key, and there are many differences with the chords that you suggested, please check it out again considering that Dm is the root chord.

About the tone used for the blues dynamics lesson, I think that it sounds really good! It's not the same than the original but it works. It only lacks some sustain that will really help the longer notes and the vibrato. Compared with the original lesson, your tone sounds with more treble and presence, so if you want to go for a closer sound, you should adjust a bit EQ (increase bass or decrease treble). About your playing, I only note that the bends at 00:07 are not perfectly on pitch so be careful with it.

Posted by: Vince09 Oct 28 2014, 02:58 PM

Hey Gab!I am not doing so good as you can see I use Guitar pro 6 and it saves all the projects as gpx files.I think it would be better to show you a image for now.Only thing I can think is that in the Pet Cemetary song they use triads instead of power chords.I will adjust the EQ for the blues lesson and post again the first part with the bends being perfect.

 Ramones_intro.gpx ( 17.49K ) : 65

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 28 2014, 03:27 PM

Hi mate, yes, that image is perfect. They are using triads and those are the chords for the introduction and also for the verse. This type of songs are trickier because we are not just using power chords. Don't worry about not being able to learn it fast. This is part of the process of learning and training your ear. It's good to try to learn a song, write it down, then check the correct chords and try to find out the differences and why we get confused. That's how it worked for me in the past.

Posted by: Vince09 Oct 28 2014, 10:19 PM

Hellow Gab!Nice to know that I got the intro right I will have another shot with thins song and hopefuly I will get it right.I am so cuorious why I was so confused with hearing the chords cause everytime I was so sure that I got the right chords.
In the meantime here is another attempt on the alternate picking lesson.
https://soundcloud.com/vince1409/alternate-picking-2

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Oct 28 2014, 05:27 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 29 2014, 06:28 PM

Hi Vince!

Good job with the Alternate Picking lesson. It's evolving really good! Your timing is getting tighter and your overall technique more consistent. There is off course still room to make everything sound smoother and tighter but this will come with more practice. In order to make the notes sound smoother, try to make them longer, I feel that the notes disappear too soon and it makes most of the licks sound like with staccato, and this makes it sound less smooth.

And about the Ramones song, don't worry, this is part of the process, and I can notice that your ear is being trained. Just let the things happen naturally.

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 7 2014, 09:37 PM

Hi Gab! I am having a hard time in discovering the chords of The Ramones song...After hearing the chords I know that in the pre chorus the chord progression is C-D, C-D-Bb and in the chorus we have D-E-G-A,D-C-Bb. Only thing I can think is that they use power chords

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 8 2014, 08:33 PM

Hi Vince, you are getting VERY close. I will just write here the parts that you have right to give a new chance to recheck the wrong chords:

Pre chorus: C - D - C - D - Bb

Chorus: D - ? - ? - ? - D - C -Bb

Check it out and let me know if any of the lacking chords become clearer.

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 9 2014, 08:33 PM

So after squeezing my brain out and annoyng the neighbours the chorus is : D -F- C-Bb - D - C -Bb

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Nov 8 2014, 09:33 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 10 2014, 02:45 PM

hehehe that's perfect mate! Well done!

This means that your ear is slowly being trained. Once again, don't worry about how much it takes. I still remember those days when I used to play songs bad until I found a transcription book and discover the real way to play a song. It was frustrating at first but it was also very interesting to discover which where the things that I wasn't able to learn by ear yet, and try to found out why this happened.

So well, as the Ramones have given you some problems, let's go with another great hit by them:



What do you think?

I was also wondering about your diary practice. How is it going? Do you think that you already need a refresh of the lessons that you are working? What's the progress with blues dynamics, and the alternate picking one? What about the improvisation course?

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 10 2014, 05:02 PM

Hi Gab! Finally I got it right...I think the problem was all from bad singing ...what do you think?
I've listened the new Ramones song and already I can say it will be hard but now I have a little bit of experience with this type of songs and I know what to expect.
About my practice routine...the alternate picking is giving me headaches cause I don't know how to put my hand in order to make the notes longer but also to use palm muting .I discovered that if I keep my hand really close to the bridge my palm muting still leaves some sounds to be heard and it isn't nice and I tried every position of the hand that I had in mind.
The blues dynamics lesson is much harder cause I can't play it right everytime ...I am not consistent in my bends but also in my phrasing..I think it will need much more time.
I really really need a refresh of the lessons....Something new to draw my attention and keep me focus...
The first week of the improvisation course I think I learned it for some time but I each time I practice it i's much better cause I know all the time were I am on the fretboard without looking at it...the connection between mind and fretboard is growing each time

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Nov 10 2014, 03:45 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 11 2014, 04:51 AM

Hi Vince, thanks for this fantastic update.

You have said something very wise:

I have a little bit of experience with this type of songs and I know what to expect.

That's exactly the experience that makes things easier and smoother. The sum of a well trained ear and some patterns and combinations that get familiar makes the process of learning songs by ear much easier and faster. And that's what we are training here!

So you mean that you want to get palm muted notes with more sustain? This can be achieved by doing less pressure with your palm, and position it closer to the bridge. It is a bit different on each guitar, depending on the bridge that it has. Please experiment with it and if it's possible record a video of you just trying different positions.

I think that it's time for some musical lessons that makes you enjoy playing guitar more than being worried about technique. What do you think? Do you have some favorite lessons in mind?

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 11 2014, 07:52 PM

Hey Gab!I think the ear training is paying off and now I can tell much faster what chords they use ...Regarding the alternate picking lesson,I will indeed take a video using different position of the hand...I am sure I am doing something wrong.
I got some lessons that I want to learn in the future but for the moment I think this one http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/In-The-Spirit-Of-70s/ will cheer me up What do you say ?

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Nov 11 2014, 05:51 AM)

Hi Vince, thanks for this fantastic update.

You have said something very wise:

I have a little bit of experience with this type of songs and I know what to expect.

That's exactly the experience that makes things easier and smoother. The sum of a well trained ear and some patterns and combinations that get familiar makes the process of learning songs by ear much easier and faster. And that's what we are training here!

So you mean that you want to get palm muted notes with more sustain? This can be achieved by doing less pressure with your palm, and position it closer to the bridge. It is a bit different on each guitar, depending on the bridge that it has. Please experiment with it and if it's possible record a video of you just trying different positions.

I think that it's time for some musical lessons that makes you enjoy playing guitar more than being worried about technique. What do you think? Do you have some favorite lessons in mind?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 12 2014, 02:21 AM

hehehe why not man! That's a beautiful lesson by the great guitarist Sinisa. It has some problematic licks in the second half but if you have enough motivation to learn each of the licks, let's go for it! The first goal is to learn each lick and play it at your tempo over the backing tracks. You can use slower backings for playing it exactly as it is, but I also recommend you to use the normal tempo backing to create variations of the licks that you already can play. So this should have a double goal: technique and creative.

What do you think?

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 12 2014, 05:03 PM

Hey Gab! I think that I should get started in learning this new lesson but also keep you updated each step I take ...
And about this song The Ramones - I believe in miracles it's in B minor with verse B-G-A-E -|B-G-E-A, chorus B-A-G ,bridge A-G-A-G-A.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Nov 12 2014, 03:21 AM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 13 2014, 06:44 AM

It sounds good. What about one new part each day and you post the lick here?

About Ramones song...

Chorus and bridge are perfect. I'm playing your version of the verse and it sounds possible but it's not right. Give it a new try and let me know what you get.

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 13 2014, 07:57 AM

Hi Gab!I will try one part everyday except this friday I think anything is possible.In the Ramones song I will recheck the verse and see if I can find the right chords...
The first part for today didn't end up well cause I don't feel so comfortable playing it...so here it is...
https://soundcloud.com/vince1409/in-the-spirit-of-70s-part-1

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Nov 13 2014, 07:44 AM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 16 2014, 07:00 PM

Hi Vince, I'm checking the first lick for this lesson and I have to say that you are playing it with a different rhythm, and starting in a different part of the measure compared to the original take. Check out that your playing starts at the beginning of the backing while Sinisa's let's a silence there. Do you note it?

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 16 2014, 07:28 PM

Hey Gab!Unfortunetly I noticed the next day that I had a false start ...I decied to learn the second part and post a recording with both parts on the right rhythm...is that ok?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 17 2014, 01:25 AM

It's ok! Remember to practice the licks over the original lesson to be sure that you are playing them with the correct rhythm and timing. I'll be waiting for the new recording.

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 17 2014, 09:24 PM

Absolutely!The new recording is coming soon...A new update on The Ramones song...the verse is B-F#-G-E B-F#-G-A.I noticed that all my mistakes come from bad singing and from the fact that chords share in common one or two notes.I think after establishing the tonality it would be a good idea to learn by ear the scale.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Nov 17 2014, 02:25 AM)

It's ok! Remember to practice the licks over the original lesson to be sure that you are playing them with the correct rhythm and timing. I'll be waiting for the new recording.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 18 2014, 04:01 PM

Hi mate! Thanks for the update! Looking forward the videos!

Great job with the Ramones song, but just one details, the intro and verse are always: B-F#-G-E. But I consider this one as done! Congrats!!

We should go for a new song since this is a task that you should do diary....

What about this song from our first album?

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 18 2014, 04:25 PM

Hey Gab!Since it was the same with the verse I forgot to point the intro...but next time I will not miss any details Hehe I always wanted to learn a song from your band...I am so excited

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Nov 18 2014, 05:01 PM)

Hi mate! Thanks for the update! Looking forward the videos!

Great job with the Ramones song, but just one details, the intro and verse are always: B-F#-G-E. But I consider this one as done! Congrats!!

We should go for a new song since this is a task that you should do diary....

What about this song from our first album?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 18 2014, 07:24 PM

QUOTE (Vince09 @ Nov 18 2014, 12:25 PM)

Hey Gab!Since it was the same with the verse I forgot to point the intro...but next time I will not miss any details Hehe I always wanted to learn a song from your band...I am so excited

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 22 2014, 07:32 PM

Hey Hey again!Here are the first 2 parts of the 70's lesson...Right from the start I had a problem cause my guitar has only 21 frets and in the 2nd part of the lesson I need to play note D on the 22 fret so I was forced to play C# on the 21 fret wich doesn't sound bad but it''s not like in the original lesson.WIth much more practice it will sound much better .https://soundcloud.com/vince1409/70s-part-1-2

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 22 2014, 08:57 PM

Hi Vince. Great job with rhythm this time!

You are getting close now but off course you still have to practice this one to polish the trickier parts. One important difference with the original lesson is the vibrato technique. Check out how Sinisa incorporates wide vibrato which fits great with the backing. I don't really note it in your take. Also, the last licks need to be polished, there are some timing issues as well as sync between both hands. Isolate that part as I usually suggest and work on it while you also continue learning the next section.

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 22 2014, 10:27 PM

Hellow Gab!Your advice is my command About the song Cuando Despiertes....it's made in F# Minor and it has the intro F#-A-E-B (Also on the background I hear a cool little sound made out of E-D-C#-B-A-C# E-D-C#-B-A-F#), chorus F#-A-E-B ,bridge F#-A-B-F#-A-B-D major.The verse is the main problem cause I can't hear it really well cause it's way in the back but I am sure it's made out of triads F#minor-A major-E major-B minor.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Nov 22 2014, 09:57 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 23 2014, 05:10 PM

Hi Vince. The intro and chorus are perfect! Well done! You are now very tight learning power chords by ear. The problem appears when the guitars are arranged with arpeggios or the chords are changed fast. Both the verse and the bridge aren't well yet. Let's start with the verse, instead of listening to the guitar arpeggios try to hear what the bass is doing, listen to the roots used and let me know what you hear.

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 23 2014, 09:19 PM

In the verse I hear F#-A-B-E.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 25 2014, 04:55 AM

The correct chords are: F#m - E - B - A. Play them with the tune and hear the differences than playing the chords that you suggested. Do you note it?

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 26 2014, 06:40 PM

There is a big difference between the chords that I suggested and the right chords.I don't know how could I missed it.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Nov 25 2014, 05:55 AM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 27 2014, 02:19 PM

But now.. can you hear the difference? Did you try playing both possibilities and listening to the differences? That's very important.

This is the new song to learn by ear:



This one has mostly guitar arpeggios, so as we did with Cirse's song, start with the roots and then try to find the complete chords, and maybe the arpeggio pattern. Ok?

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 27 2014, 08:44 PM

Hi Gab!Of course...I played both versions of the chords and I saw the differences.I am rushing again in taking decisions...Next time I will explore more before I post the chords.I think this song is really great since it's based on my weakest point and that is...arppegios. I think discovering the pattern is the biggest chalenge but that doesn't scare me...I can do it
Just a quick update on the 70's lesson: https://soundcloud.com/vince1409/in-the-spirit-of-70s-part-1-2-3

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 29 2014, 06:47 PM

Hi Vince, how are you?

That RHCP lesson is great! Chords are not tricky, start trying simple stuff and maybe you'll find them soon. The best is to first find the roots, and then try if each chord is minor or major. Finding out the tonality at first, can make things faster to find since you will then know the 7 possible chords of the tonality. (I can share a link to our theory board if you need to read more about tonalities).

There is a software called Amazing Slow downer, do you use it for learning songs by ear?

Regarding the lesson. It's evolving well! Please pay attention to two things in order to fix these parts that you've learnt:

- Try to emulate Sinisa's vibrato. His vibrato is stronger and adds a lot of feeling to the playing. It's very important in this style.

- Check out how he manages the length of the notes and silences on each phrase. He adds a very 70's feeling to his phrasing with this. Try to work on each phrase, listen to his playing and emulate each one. Work on this details, practice over the original lesson to get the most of it.

Posted by: Vince09 Nov 29 2014, 09:45 PM

Hi Gab!I am doing fine..making my best to achieve my goals This is exactly the way I study by ear a song...First I discover the roots for the first 2 chords,then the chords and after that I establish the tonality of the song...and from this moment I know what the chords posibilities are.I also use amazing slow downer and it really helps
Regarding the 70's lesson I will follow your advice and take lick by lick and make it sound like Sinisa.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 1 2014, 07:29 AM

Great Vince! I'll wait for news.

Posted by: Vince09 Dec 9 2014, 10:23 PM

Hey Gab!Here is another try on the 70's lesson. https://soundcloud.com/vince1409/in-the-spirit-of-70s-part-1-2-3-2

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 10 2014, 06:07 PM

Hi Vince! Congrats on this new take! Your playing is evolving really good.

You are now doing a better use of silences and also are giving more feeling to the phrases thanks to the use of dynamics, slides and other phrasing techniques. Your vibrato is still weak compared with Sinisa's on the original lesson. Sometimes it's not wide enough and some other times is not going with the groove.

Be careful with the licks at 00:23 which are not totally clean and have some little timing issues, and from there to the end I notice some other licks that has VERY little timing issues. Nothing so serious, just pay attention to it.

Keep on the great job!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 10 2014, 07:59 PM

Guitar Plan for the next 20 days:

Learning 4 songs by ear:

Song 1: http://youtu.be/GTwJo0HeNmU
Song 2: http://youtu.be/qPxL5guYmWw
Song 3: http://youtu.be/9DvRCykzHy4
Song 4: http://youtu.be/pzoppexUOXg

Working on a technique lesson: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Bending-Ballad/

Please let me know what you think of the songs and lesson.

Posted by: Vince09 Dec 11 2014, 06:55 PM

Hey Gab!Thank you for the comment of the 70's lesson,I will pay extra attention to those parts you mentioned ...I think it will be ok by the time I will finish the lesson.The next part of the lesson is very tricky cause I am not used of using my fingers so fast ...Please tell the right way to study this kind of licks.Also I saw the routine for the 20 days and I think it's excellent...That's exatcly what I want

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Dec 10 2014, 08:59 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 13 2014, 05:48 AM

the next parts include some really tricky Alternate Picking licks, mostly based on pentatonic scale with chromatic notes as passing notes. The good thing is that the licks are based on repetitive patterns that are played on a scale shape. The best way to master this licks is to divide it in very short fragments and work on them as isolated exercises to be able to think mostly on playing everything doing small movements to apply an effective technique.

The licks are fast so you won't be mastering them in one day, but it's a good reason to start developing your speed. Speed can be achieved starting with short loops that should be extended progressively.

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=44163# you will find some cool speed exercises that you can take as example.

Posted by: Vince09 Dec 13 2014, 05:35 PM

Hey Gab!I had a different approach on the speed lick but this one that you proposed is far better ...About the RHCP-Californication...This song is made in Am tonality with the intro Am-F,verse Am-F-C-G-C-Dm ,pre chorus strumming Am-F,chorus C5-G5-D5-A5,C5-G5-D5.I still didn't figure out the chords for the solo.Also here is a picture with the arppegios used for the intro and verse.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 13 2014, 10:36 PM

Hi Vince!! Great job with this one! You are very close. About the chords, there is only a little difference in the verse section. Check out the correct progression:

Am-F-C-G-F-Dm


Then, the intro arpeggios. You are close but it's not perfect yet. As the bass is also doing a melody there, it confuses a bit but please check again the lead guitar, and maybe check some live videos to hear better what guitar and bass are doing there.

Posted by: Vince09 Jan 20 2015, 05:21 PM

Hi Gab!I don't why I in included also the arppegios made by the guitar bass ...but anyway here is the intro arpeggios made by the lead guitar.

The song Greenday Basket by Greenday is made in A# Major tonality..I believe it's in Myxolidian mode.Te structure of the song it's pretty new to me and I don't know how to name them...maybe you can recommend me a link to learn exactly about the structure of a song.
So here it is:
Chorus:D#-A#-C-G,G#-D#-A#
Bridge 1: G#-A#-D#,G#-A#-D#-C#-C-G#-A#-D#(with a little legatto part D# hammer on F pull off D#)
Bridge 2 : D#-A#-C-A#,G#-A#.

This is the only song I discoverd for now,the rest 3 songs I can't hear them clearly and I am a little bit blocked at the moment
Now comes the sad part,The 70's lesson.I am still at part nr 4 of the lesson were is that speed lick.I did some ugly mistakes while I was studying like the first time I considered that there are 5 notes per beat and it was wrong,the second time i learned the lick with 6 notes per beat and after I did this I played with the original song and I saw that I am 1 beat behind.This is so frustrating cause that means the lick has 7 notes per beat and I got to start learning all over again.Please tell me if that lick has indeed 7 beats per not cause I will go crazy if I learn wrong again ...

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Dec 13 2014, 11:36 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 21 2015, 02:01 AM

Hi Vince! Great to hear from you here!

The RHCP intro is close but there is still a small difference in the last notes of each arpeggio. You have my permision to use youtube to see a how to play video where you can see exactly how the intro should be played. Then listen again to the song, and try to hear the difference and to find out why you couldn't get it right. This is not a battle lost, this is a learning process so please don't worry.

The chords for Basket Case are very tight, you did a good job learning it by ear. The key is D# major. It's simply to note it, just try to imagine what's the best chord to end the progressions, what chord would you play to release the parts, try the one that you said, and then try D# and let me know what's the difference.

About song structure. Pop/rock/punk songs usually include this sections, in difference possible orders and repetitions: Intro, Verse, Pre- chorus, Chorus, Bridge, Solo section, Outro. This song seems to start directly with an intro connected with the chorus, and it includes musical bridges, and a solo section where there isn't a solo, just power chords.

And finally, here you can see the rhythm used in that part that is giving problems:

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 22 2015, 02:53 PM

Hi Vince! These are some rhythm lessons suggestions:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Blues-Rock-Rhythm/
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Blues-Rhythm-Guitar/
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Pop-Punk-Lesson/
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Van-Halen-Style-Rhythm/

Posted by: Vince09 Jan 22 2015, 03:43 PM

Hey Gab!Thank you for this awesome rhythm lessons...I will start right now with Van Halen style Rhythm and then with the others.
I watched a video on youtube on saw exactly how the intro arppegios of RHCP should sound.The original lesson uses open strings and the sound is totally different to what I suggested.

I don't know what was in my mind when I said that the tonality of the Green Basket song is A# Major....since A#5 was the last chords it would sound weird to end it in A#Major,it's like it doesn't end.So the right one is D#Major with C# borrowed from D# Mixolydian.

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Jan 22 2015, 03:53 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 23 2015, 01:30 PM

Now we are talking!

Ok, please start working on VH lesson, and also try to learn a new song by ear and share news here.

Posted by: Vince09 Jan 23 2015, 09:48 PM

Hey Gab!I am working but the song Radiohead - Creep is giving me headaches...I know the chords but I can't hear clearly the arppegios cause they are using effects...please help

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 24 2015, 04:48 AM

Ok, a little help. The first chord is played using the "E shape" of the caged system. The arpeggio starts with root, followed by the thirds, then it continues with notes of the chord, but the 4 is added melodically, so the chord becomes "sus4" in one moment.

Hehehe I'm just giving some tracks... try again and let me know. Please don't feel frustrated, this is a game, a learning game.

Posted by: Vince09 Jan 26 2015, 10:01 PM

Hi Gab!Here is my way of playing the Van Halen lesson...http://youtu.be/f9n9BoqQIhI

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Jan 24 2015, 05:48 AM)

Ok, a little help. The first chord is played using the "E shape" of the caged system. The arpeggio starts with root, followed by the thirds, then it continues with notes of the chord, but the 4 is added melodically, so the chord becomes "sus4" in one moment.

Hehehe I'm just giving some tracks... try again and let me know. Please don't feel frustrated, this is a game, a learning game.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 27 2015, 01:12 PM

Hi Vince! Great job with this lesson! You've learn the whole things and can make every section sound clean and clear! That's a great first step!! Now you have to focus on two elements:

- Groove
- Dynamics

I would start in the order that I listed them, starting with groove. If you compare your take with the original one you will notice that Alex's riffs and chords are like "dancing" with the drums, if you close your eyes and let your body follow the lesson, you will not only move your head or tap with your foot, you will find your self doing some kind of happy motion with the groove. That's what your take is lacking. Your take is very static and if I close my eyes I have a situation where the drums want to make me dance but the guitar want to stop me. This is lack of groove and also a little timing issue that I found in which you sometimes tend to go a bit before the groove. This can be noted even in the first riff.

So the idea is to work on polishing your timing and groove, how? Work on each riff at a time, starting with the first one. Create a loop, close you eyes, play it and dance with the music. Let your arms, hands and body be relaxed while you play.

After some time of practice, record yourself, maybe just playing the first riff and compare it again with the original lesson. If you feel that you get closer please share it here.

Ok?

Posted by: Vince09 Jan 27 2015, 09:16 PM

Hi Gab!How are you?I have read closely your opinion and I agree..Yes..i play like a robot There is no attitude,there is no feeling of what I play but also of the backing track ...maybe cause I am too cocentrated on getting the lesson right...you can see it in the video,all the time I am watching my moves.I realized that this is not the way it should be done so next step is to get into relax mode and enjoy the music but also tap all the time with my foot so I don't have timming issues.I can do it I will share my results soon...

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Jan 27 2015, 02:12 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 28 2015, 12:41 PM

Ok! I have to say that I really liked this phrase:

"next step is to get into relax mode and enjoy the music"

The second half of this phrase is the first rule! Looking forward your new takes.

Posted by: Vince09 Jan 29 2015, 06:08 PM

Hey Gab!Here is a video of the intro of Van Halen lesson....when I play in my ears it all sounds good but when i see the recording I have a senzation like the sound is flat...
http://youtu.be/KVI2Q5wk6Uc

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Jan 28 2015, 01:41 PM)

Ok! I have to say that I really liked this phrase:

"next step is to get into relax mode and enjoy the music"

The second half of this phrase is the first rule! Looking forward your new takes.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 30 2015, 02:59 PM

Hi Vince! This is not bad! Please check Alex's original lesson, compare his movements (hand, fingers, arms, body) while he plays the lessons with yours and let me know what big differences you note.

Posted by: Vince09 Jan 30 2015, 04:33 PM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Jan 30 2015, 03:59 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 31 2015, 03:50 PM

Hi Vince! That's a very interesting analysis. I think that your right hand / arm movement is the main thing to have in mind during the next days of practice. I mostly note that your movement starts from your wrist, but the arm is fixed, there is no movement from your elbow. Try to relax your whole arm and let it go with the groove. It would be also to change a bit the practice posture to reach the string like you would do when standing up. You should reach the string more from above, while you are reaching them with your right hand horizontally, does it make sense?






Both the movement and the posture should help to be able to play this one with more groove.

Posted by: Vince09 Jan 31 2015, 04:36 PM

Now I understand perfectly...I have this right hand position since I learned the alternate picking lesson and since then I keep it this way cause it's comfortable to sit on the bridge I will try the new position and show the result here...Thank you Gab!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 31 2015, 04:43 PM

Please try it and let me know what happens.

Posted by: Vince09 Feb 2 2015, 09:40 PM

New recording...i was not fully focused on this one cause it was kind of really late when I recorded.
http://youtu.be/iL4VeTHngfY

Also about the Radiohead song i think I can''t learn this one...I can''t hear it clearly...Even though I know the tonality of the song and I know that in every chord he uses the first,third and fourth...I can''t find the other notes and also my voice doesn't help me

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 3 2015, 12:07 AM

hehehe I'm starting to like that hand position and movement! I can even hear an improvement in the groove of the riff! This is so cool mate!! Please keep on practicing in this way for 2 days and share a new take here.

About the song, don't worry about it, we can get back to it then. Let's go for another one... do you have any suggestion?

What about anything like this?

Posted by: Vince09 Feb 6 2015, 05:13 PM

Hi Gab! I always loved the songs that you choose for me to study Now this one is in Am tonality with B borrowed from Am Dorian and the following structure:
Intro -the arppegios are played on the low E string using the 3 notes per string scales as it can be seen bellow in the picture
Verse 1:A-C-G-A
Bridge1 :F-C-F-E
Chorus: A with some slides on the background wich i will discover soon
Verse 2: A-C-G-A,A-C-D-E
Bridge 2: B and D


Also here is a new video of the intro of Van Halen lesson: http://youtu.be/z0LcEheLvSo

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Feb 3 2015, 01:07 AM)

hehehe I'm starting to like that hand position and movement! I can even hear an improvement in the groove of the riff! This is so cool mate!! Please keep on practicing in this way for 2 days and share a new take here.

About the song, don't worry about it, we can get back to it then. Let's go for another one... do you have any suggestion?

What about anything like this?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 7 2015, 03:10 PM

Hi Vince! Awesome job with "Breaking the law"!! Everything is ok, except the last two measures of the main riff which has two little differences. Please check if you can find them out and if not I will help you with it.

Van Halen lesson is evolving really good! I can notice how it is starting to sound more groovy and natural. I like how you are moving your right hand and how you are reaching the strings now. I think that the last days changes and improvement are being really important and that will affect your overall playing. I think that you just need to continue playing it to feel even more natural with this rhythm, but you are definitely on the right track.

Congrats for this great week of work!

Posted by: Vince09 Feb 7 2015, 04:22 PM

Hi Gab!Thank you for your reply My fears over the main riff of the song have come true....I tried diffrent combinations before choosing the last two measures and I got to admit that I am out of ideas....so please help....also with those cool slides on the chorus
On the Van Halen lesson I think I am in constantly battle with my right hand position cause it's not used to this position and also not used with pain in the shoulder but eventualy it will give up and everything will be natural

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 8 2015, 09:51 PM

hehehe ok, so this is my version of the last two measures of that riff:



Please try it over the song and let me know if you find it right.

About your rhythm hand movement and position, don't worry, it takes some time to get used to a new posture and position, but the good news are that you are making the groove sound much better now, so keep going with it.

What about the things that we've been talking about at the Vchat? Any news with it?

Posted by: Vince09 Feb 9 2015, 04:25 PM

Hey Gab! I tried your version and everything is alright...I really need to learn intervals by ear cause these 2 measures that I got wrong were so obvious
I got to admit that in these moment my right hand is a little bit confused...she doesn't know were to sit on the guitar and the first position that adapts is that from the Van Halen lesson
I really thought about what we talked about at the vchat and I want to take challanges like colabs and jaming with other colegues from gmc.I think joining a cover band it's too son cause I still make a lot of mistakes so that's why I have a new goal and that is to join a cover band next year but with the deadline of 1st of february.A friend proposed that we should do a cover and accepted since I have a electroacustic guitar and
a mic...he will do the vocal part.So this is my first little step ....Cheers from baby Vince

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 10 2015, 02:02 PM

hehehe everything sounds great! Thee are very good plans and show you on track. There will be a new collab soon so please start working on it as soon as it is opened, and make use of the workout created there. It will be really helpful and inspiring. About the cover band, if you already have the band-mate, I recommend you to start! Choose with him the playlist in order to be able to start practicing the songs and start rehearsing when you feel comfortable.

About ear training, this can be done with your guitar, play different intervals, and sing along with them. There are certain intervals that can be related to things that are familiar with you. For example I relate the 5th with the intro of Superman soundtrack. Happy Birthday song is also a good guide since it starts with a major second, then it does a 4th that goes to the major third. Things like this can really help you to identify intervals.

There are also many ear training software, like this one which is free: http://www.miles.be/

Posted by: Vince09 Feb 10 2015, 03:46 PM

Hey Gab!I will join the next colab as long as it's on my style...For example this AC/DC colab is not my style and I don't know were to start if I join...if i think about it i don't know much about this band cause it never interested me.
I don't have a cover band but i will join in the near future...I will just jam with a friend.Learning intervals is officialy in my daily skedule and I will do my best...also those tips of relating the intervals with something familiar are really great...I am just wondering if you can do that to developing perfect pitch.Please let's pass to the next song cause I want to learn learn learn....

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Feb 10 2015, 03:02 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 11 2015, 05:59 PM

Hey Vince! Have you seen this one?

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=53894

Next song:



What do you think?

Posted by: Vince09 Feb 14 2015, 06:21 PM

Hi Gab!Sorry for late reply...these days I was busy then usual...I saw the funk colab and I saw that it's allowed to play anything on the backing track and i will get it in ...I think I can squeeze 30 minutes each day for this colab.Now comes the part that made me realize that ear training it's actually more important than playing...The song from The Beatles....now this song...it's just like many other songs that my mind composes but they never make it out of the mind because it's too hard to play them on the guitar.I think that's why I am not into improvisation...
I recorded another video on the Van Halen intro lesson...wich by the way changed my position on the guitar and I find it comfortable right now
http://youtu.be/xeWl5r6fFWs

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 15 2015, 01:10 PM

Hi Vince, thanks for the new update. I didn't get what you mean about the Beatles song, what do you exactly mean?

About the VH lesson, it's evolving right, but your right hand is starting to do a weird movement when you play alternate picking, and this is because you are not letting your elbow move while you play the technique, combined to the fact that your wrist is not completely relaxed while you play it. What was the last alternate picking lesson that you practiced? Could you please share a video playing it?

About the collab, great!! Please go for it!

Posted by: Vince09 Feb 16 2015, 04:03 PM

Hi Gab!I ment to say that this type of composition(like the arppegios from The Beatles song ) I always compose in my mind but I can't play it on guitar.
I read carefuly your feedback about the VH lesson and now I understand what you mean...My alternate picking move is not as it should be done also I am not relaxed wich I can see only in the video cause when I am playing I am feeling ok.
Here is the last video of the alternate picking lesson:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_7CH2BAOOQ

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Feb 15 2015, 02:10 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 17 2015, 09:41 PM

Hi Vince, now I can get what you mean! I think that learning that song by ear can be a good step forward to make the connection between your mind and guitar smoother. That's what we are working on so it's a matter of time.

The lesson is evolving ok. The first thing that I noted on this one is that you are muting the strings too much with your right hand palm and that makes some notes sound so muted that I can't hear the pitch, while others are aggressive staccato. Experiment with the position of your palm to mute as well as the pressure that you do, and also try adding a bit more drive to your tone.

Starting at 00:40, I notice some timing issues that become more notorious so you should give more time or practice and repetitions to that part focusing on timing.

Posted by: Vince09 Feb 25 2015, 08:32 PM

Hi Gab!Sorry for the late response but I had some problems that I needed to fix but now I am back for good...at least I hope
So I saw your feedback regarding the alternate picking lesson and I can say I can't apply the right hand movement to the Van Halen lesson,it's because as soon I finish the alternate picking part I got to be with my right hand on top of the guitar so that's why I do that weird movement cause it's more comfortable for me and allows me to be close to the top of the guitar.
Regarding the ear training I tried singing the notes using the mic and the guitar and I find it very hard to sing the right notes so now I will use the free software that you recommended and I hope it will help me more then my voice I am aloso thinking in the near future to take some singing lessons.
The Beatles song seems to be easy but it's not...I have an ideea about the arppegios but I am not totally sure it's right.A little help would be nice...for example I think the song it's in E major,please tell me if I am wrong.
And now...for the final of this post....here it is...a new try on the intro of Van Halen lesson
http://youtu.be/iArpgZ2l2To
About the colab...I think it's better to let it go cause it's no time for me to finish my part untill the deadline.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 26 2015, 02:52 PM

Hi Vince, thanks for the update!

I note that you are not resting the palm your picking hand in any part around the bridge while you play the alternate picking part. If you do it, your palm will act as an anchor point for your wrist, and you'll feel your picking more stable and your hand more relaxed while you play. Check out any alternate picking lesson and you will note that we don't use the right hand floating in order to have more precision, and a better and more stable tempo.

The song by The Beatles is in E major so you are on the right track with it! Are you using Amazing slow downer software?

Posted by: Vince09 Mar 13 2015, 12:49 PM

Hi Gab!Sorry for the late update...I am not doing to good this period and practicing is on the 2nd place of things to do.
Regarding the alternate picking from the Van Halen lesson I have to say that even though it can't be seen beucause of the recording angle...I have 2 contact points on my guitar....one is with my elbow and one is with my soft side of the hand.
The beatles song is giving me headaches cause even if I know that the song is in E major tonality I can't find the right pattern.
These days I had a small idea that I think I will benefit from it and since next year I will look to join a cover band...How about if in our ear training program we study popular songs that cover bands play...what do you say?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 13 2015, 02:33 PM

Hi Vince! Thanks for the update. I don't know exactly what's happening but I hope that your other things get calm soon.

About your right hand position, yeah, maybe the camera angle confused me. There is a difference in picking direction that makes your version sound with a different accentuation and less groove. If check Alex's right hand at 00:04, you will see that he is playing the part with only downstrokes but keeps the up and down movement in 8th notes to keep it groovy. This is a trick that will help a lot to make your rhythm technique tighter and more connected with the backings groove. It would be a good plan to use this lesson to practice it because then it will be a natural part of your playing.

The cover songs band sounds like a great plan! We can work on a list of popular songs but from my experience cover songs are very wide so I wonder what songs you consider are at the top of the list of cover bands... in my country this is a possible list:

















and this list can last forever...

Posted by: Vince09 Mar 14 2015, 06:24 PM

Hi Gab!How are you?First of all thank you for your reply....your words are orders for me, just like in the real army
I checked the Van Halen lesson and at the 00:04 he plays only downstrokes and I couldn't tell why I left over such an important detail but now I have the answer....in the end of the lesson he plays the same part with upstrokes and my brain tricked me to learn the easy way and that is the part with upstrokes.Now regarding the alternate picking part I looked better and saw that actually there isn't any alternate picking it's just a legato part played with downstrokes.After this lesson definetly I should get a pair of glasses
About cover songs ...you are right!It's different then my country so I think I should propose a new song everytime if you are ok with this...I am a little bit scared cause I am stepping into the unknown
The first song is this....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0nlygb1Qfw
What do you think?
Short update on the Van Halen lesson....http://youtu.be/fOsY-SvOVGI

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 15 2015, 06:19 PM

Hi Vince, good job analyzing the lesson and technique used by Alex closely. I notice that your rhythm skills are getting better and better after each take that you share here. There is still something to adjust regarding your downpicking movement exactly at the 00:04 part that we talked before. You do some kind of "circular" movement while it should be more vertical. Please compare your hand and Alex's at that moment and let me know if you can see what I mean.

About the cover song, yeah! that's a great choice. Could you please post here the chords that you hear on it?

Posted by: Vince09 Mar 15 2015, 09:28 PM

Hi Gab!I checked the part at 00:04 and I redid a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BmxRVT0r98
So about The Passenger song by Iggy Pop I hear the folowing chords: Am-F-C-G.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 16 2015, 03:06 PM

Hi mate, the video is private.

The chords are perfect! Have you played along with the song? Is there a recording of it?

Posted by: Vince09 Mar 16 2015, 08:03 PM

Hi Gab!Sorry about the viideo....now it's unlisted and you can see it!
I tried a little bit to play the chords but it wasn't enough time to record...tomorrow this will be the first thing that I do

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 17 2015, 02:14 PM

Hi Vince, the part is better now, there is still some "circular" movement but it's smaller now. Keep on practicing and be careful with it.

Posted by: Vince09 Mar 18 2015, 10:20 PM

Hi Gab!I was brain storming today and I think the only way to get rid of the circular movement is to stop the string with the pick This motion allows me to mute the string and also keep the hand paralel to the guitar.What do you think?
Here is a quick video of The Passanger song....http://youtu.be/54mK2_d77mQ

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 19 2015, 03:21 PM

Hi Vince, I'm not sure of what you mean. Could you show it with a close camera angle?

The Passenger sample sounds good, it just needs more groove but maybe using a drum groove or backing track could help with it.

Posted by: Vince09 Mar 19 2015, 03:44 PM

Hey Gab!To better understand me please look at part 2 of the lesson...there is a close video of the right hand movement and you will see that I got the circular movement by reproducing this part in my playing...in the main lesson he does a a different movement using only downstrokes and muting the string with his pick or maybe his thumb
Regarding The Passanger song...how about if I play over the song?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 20 2015, 04:32 PM

yes! he is resting the whole hand there including the thumb, the pick and the palm. That's how I also use to mute the strings between strums when it's required. If you pay attention to the moment in which he mutes you'll notice that he goes with the beat/groove. It's important to always keep grooving, even when you mute.

Posted by: Vince09 Mar 21 2015, 07:36 PM

Hi Gab!Another attempt on the VH lesson,at the moment I don't find it natural to keep my hand on the strings when I do the muting part.
http://youtu.be/mYBEAWqV8kY

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 23 2015, 02:33 PM

Hi Vince, your hand movement on this lesson seems to be right on this take. Are you talking about this part when you say that you don't feel it natural? Because it looks natural from here...

I'm talking about the muting parts for example at 00:12.

Posted by: Vince09 Mar 23 2015, 03:15 PM

Hi Gab!Exactly...I am talking about the part at 00:12...When I am playing I sitll got to think about where to put my hand on the guitar.If everything it's ok ...can I move on and record the next parts of the lesson?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 23 2015, 04:09 PM

yes! It's ok like that! Let's go for the next parts.

Posted by: Vince09 Mar 25 2015, 07:44 PM

Hi Gab!Here are the next parts of the Van Halen Lesson...I played them on a slower tempo cause I want to be sure that I get them right.The first impression is that I am rigid when I mark the accent on the strums....but you will see it in the video
http://youtu.be/aF3ns8kvInM

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 26 2015, 02:19 PM

Hi Vince, great to see you playing the whole thing!

I agree with you about the fact that your playing and movement sounds and looks rigid on this video. I checked the original lesson again after watching yours and I noted a big difference: Alex's body, hands, arms and foots are going with the groove while your body looks frozen while your hands move. You need to follow the groove with your head, tap with your foot, and let the right hand move with the groove in 8th notes even when you don't reach the notes. I know that this is an early video, but please continue practicing with this in mind.

Also, remember to avoid that circular right hand movement that we talked about when you pick single strings. (for example around 00:36).

As I did to give more specific feedback, compare both videos, check your posture and movements and notice the main differences with Alex's. You will learn a lot just y analyzing. You can do the same with some other rhythm guitarists. Check some Van Halen, SRV or Angus Young videos, analyze how they play rhythm stuff.

Posted by: Vince09 Mar 28 2015, 09:16 PM

Hi Gab!Another update attempt on the VH lesson.I hope to finish it soon cause I can't take it anymore...this is getting in a nasty routine and I need something new to study but also don't want to let this lesson unfinished My guitar is not happy...the first 3 frets are out...and probably it will need a fret leveling or in the worst case....refreting.
http://youtu.be/iDBz3CL2jiI

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 29 2015, 04:55 PM

Hi Vince! It's very cool to see you playing this lesson complete. I think that you'r rhythm playing has progressed a lot thanks to this lesson and that you are ready to start working on some new lessons and keep this one on your diary practice just to slowly continue polishing the groove and dynamics. You don't have to dedicate a bit amount of time every day now, you can play it 4 or 5 times and then work on a new lesson that you find inspiring.

what do you think?

Posted by: Vince09 Mar 29 2015, 07:22 PM

Hi Gab!I don't need to add anything...you are always on the same frequency with me For the new lesson I was thinking of studying this one http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/rhythm-guitar/srv-stevie-ray-vaughan-lesson/.Even though it's a difficult lesson I think it will really help also with the old lesson.What do you say?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 30 2015, 01:18 PM

Nothing to add!! hahaha. Perfect choice. Let's go for it.

Posted by: Vince09 Apr 3 2015, 06:23 PM

Hi Gab!I am affraid I have bad news....I can't do the first part of the SRV lesson...that left hand murting technique is too hard and I tried every posible way that I could think of

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Apr 3 2015, 08:31 PM

mm don't worry! What about going for other easier lesson?

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Texas_Blues_Rock_Shuffle/
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/SRV-Style-Rhythm/

Posted by: Vince09 Apr 3 2015, 10:27 PM

This is really great!Those 2 lessons would be a great foundation for finishing the SRV lesson by Muris.I will start with Laszlo's lesson

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Apr 4 2015, 10:03 PM

Great! Please keep me updated.

Posted by: Vince09 Apr 19 2015, 10:40 PM

Hi Gab!I have some updates on my work:
The Passenger song- http://youtu.be/B-abgM6JOUY .It's a lot better then first time I started playing this but still I am having muting problems and also I find it crazy to play this chords so long in a live situation.
The SRV rhythm- https://youtu.be/RietbpKl9Os .I find this type of muting technique hard to master cause in the same time you got to stay grooving so that's why I recored on a slower tempo...please tell me if I am doing it corectly before I speed it up.
Also here are the answers for the 1st week of the ear training program: 5th,3rd,5th,8th,3rd,5th,5th,8th,8th,3rd,8th,3rd,3rd,5th,8th,8th,3rd,5th,3rd,5th,
8th.
On the Easter Holiday I had a 3 days vacation far from the big cities and doing something that I really like and comes 2nd after playing guitar....and that is...riding my mountain bike

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Apr 20 2015, 02:20 AM

Hi Vince! Nice pics! It's always inspiring to left the city and go for some new air to the mountains. Well done! The place looks very good, where is it?

I'm not convinced of the movement of your right hand when you play the SRV rhythm. You are doing a weird rotation while it should be the same write moment that you do when you play alternate picking or strumming. Check carefully how Laszlo or even SRV do it.

The Passenger is evolving good but be careful with timing. Strums 2 and 3 of the pattern are not going tight with the backing. Pay attention to it.

Posted by: Vince09 Apr 23 2015, 01:32 PM

Hi Gab!Sorry for the late reply....the pictures are taken in a small village near the border with another country called Moldova.My grandparents live here and also this is the place were I grew up when I was smaller then my guitar I think words and pictures can't describe the feelings that you have when you are surrounded all by nature.
Now regarding the SRV lesson...I thought that the muting part is made with the right hand...that's why I make that weird movement.Since it was wrong I changed the motion and I am muting the strings with my left hand and with my right hand I only do a movement similar to alternate picking.But as always the lesson is evolving extremly slow
On THE PASSENGER song...it's only my fault...I deliberately delayed strums 2 and 3 just because I thought that it will make it more groovy ....but I was wrong like always

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Apr 23 2015, 07:53 PM

Ok, so now I'd like to see you playing the SRV rhythm again to see how you improved it. No matter the speed you play it, please share a video to be safe that you are doing it right.

Posted by: Vince09 Apr 23 2015, 09:12 PM

Here is the video Mister Instructor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFy6ClcD3J0

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Apr 24 2015, 08:06 PM

Hi Vince, the hand movement looks good, but the groove is different. Notice that the original lesson has a swing feel while you are playing tight eight notes. This is maybe because you are not playing over the backing, and you didn't pay attention to it, but please take care of the required groove.

Posted by: Vince09 May 10 2015, 06:13 PM

Hi Gab!Sorry again for dissapearing like a magician...llife is complicated for me
I know I am behind with ear training course but I think things are getting better each day I practice your assignments.
Here are the answers for the assignment nr. 2:
1.Major 3rd
2.Major 6th
3.Perfect 8th
4.Perfect 5th
5.Major 2nd
6.Major 7th
7.Major 6th
8.Major 2nd
9.Unison
10.Perfect 4th
11.Perfect 8th
12.Major 3rd
13.Major 7th
14.Perfect 4th
15.Perfect 5th

Also here is another demo of the SRV Rhythm: http://youtu.be/GbWNTndIgIA

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 11 2015, 03:50 PM

Hi Vince! Thanks for the update!

The ear training is perfect! Great job. Don't worry about being behind, take your time to get into the sound of each interval. The SRV rhythm sound good but there is something about groove lacking. You are playing tight 8th notes while the original requires to make it sound with some swing. I think that it would be a good idea to practice this over the backing tracks to be sure that you are playing this with the correct rhythm.

Posted by: Vince09 May 11 2015, 05:40 PM

Hi Gab!Thank you for your kind words I think assignment nr 2 is the most important and I will practice it each day untill I can sing the intervals right but also continue with the other assignments.
I have a groovy problem Please help me fix it cause I watched the SRV lesson over and over again and I don't know where I am doing it wrong.Here is a video of me playing almost all the lesson....with some little mistakes of course
http://youtu.be/-oBpsNj3tcI

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 13 2015, 03:57 PM

Hi Vince, your playing is lacking the "triplet" feel, but I checked the guitar pro file and it was also lacking it. Please check this new version of the guitar pro and notice how I wrote 8th notes but with the "triplets feel" which give a swing feel.

 SRV_style_rhythms__1_.gp5 ( 5.18K ) : 55

Posted by: Vince09 May 15 2015, 06:08 PM

Hi Gab!I looked at the gp file and unfortunetly I can't understand I noticed that If I do a circular movement with my right hand the groove is almost the same as the original lesson.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 16 2015, 04:30 PM

Please listen to the following guitar pro, the first measure shows the correct rhythm (swinged 8th notes), the second one show the rhythm that you were doing.

 difference.gp5 ( 1.59K ) : 59

Posted by: Vince09 May 20 2015, 03:37 PM

Hi Gab!I looked at the gp5 file and this is the result https://youtu.be/ZhUue8M6n0Y
Unfortunely the lesson is at 120 bmp and there is no backing track at 120 bpm..only 110 bpm or lower.

Here are the answers for the assignment nr 3 for the ear training course:
1.Major 3rd
2.Perfect 5th
3.Major 3rd
4.Perfect 8th
5.Major 3rd
6.Perfect 5th
7.Perfect 8th
8.Major 3rd
9.Perfect 5th
10.Major 3rd

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 20 2015, 04:38 PM

Hi Vince! Great job with both things!

The ear training is perfect, and now the rhythm goes as it should be on the SRV lesson! Well done!

I created a 120bpm backing for this lesson to let you practice at the normal tempo. We 'll add it to the lesson too.

Check it out:  Backing_Beginner_Soloing_loop_C_Major_120bpm.mp3 ( 1.15MB ) : 57

Posted by: Vince09 May 29 2015, 02:26 PM

Hi Gab!Thank your for your kind words and also for the backing track Here is a quick play of the full SRV lesson...what do you think?
http://youtu.be/7XFsTo6AL7I

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 29 2015, 02:45 PM

Hi Vince! Good job with the lesson! You can play the whole thing! Now it's time to focus on:

- Groove: Try to follow the rhythm with your body while you play, you need to feel it, and connect your timing more with the backing track, mostly with the drums.

- Dynamics: All notes sound with the same intensity on your take. You need to start accentuating some notes (as it happens in the original lesson) to give more life to your playing.

- Vibrato: More and wider!

keep on rocking!

Posted by: Vince09 Jun 1 2015, 08:27 PM

Hi Gab!I am doing my best to apply your advices in my playing but it's not easy
I aslo started to learn this lesson: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Texas_Blues_Rock_Shuffle/
The orginal backing track has also a problem...it has Stepahane playing on it so at the moment I use a slower one
Also here are my answers for the assignment nr 4 of the ear training:
1.Perfect 5th
2.Major 2nd
3.Perfect 4th
4.Major 6th
5.Major 7th
6.Major 3rd
7.Perfect 8th
8.Perfect 4th
9.Perfect 8th
10.Major 6th

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 2 2015, 02:03 PM

Hi Vince, good job with the intervals, everything is perfect! You're ready for the following assignment.

That Texas Blues lesson is really cool. I've checked the backing and it includes Stephane's reverb effect so it shouldn't be a problem, it's more like a guide. By the way I'll ask if this can be fixed.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 2 2015, 06:54 PM

Hi again! This is the backing in 118 bpm without lead guitar.

 Texas_Blues_118.mp3 ( 946.95K ) : 65

Posted by: Vince09 Jul 5 2015, 09:15 PM

Hi Gab!I am back...I hope for long time from now
Thank you for the backing track. Here is a quick demo of the Texas Blues Lesson :
https://youtu.be/mH_qWLOroP0
There is only one problem with the video...I forgot to switch the camera to night mode
Also with the little time that I had I worked on the ear training course so I have the answers for Assignment nr 3:

1.Major 3rd
2.Major 6th
3.Major 7th
4.Perfect 5th
5.Major 2nd
6.Perfect 8th
7.Perfect 4th
8.Perfect 5th
9.Major 6th
10.Perfect 8th

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 6 2015, 03:16 PM

Hi Vince! Welcome back!

You are doing a good job with the Texas lesson but there are two elements to focus now: groove and dynamics. These two specific elements are fundamental in this style of music. Your playing is not tight enough, and even when it's tight it's lacking that groovy feel that the rhythm requires. You already know the notes, now it's time to feel it. Close your eyes, follow the groove with your head and/foot and let your hand dance with the backing.... dynamics will appear too if you let your hand move and strum freely.

About the ear training assignment, are you sure that this is the number 3? Most of them are wrong...

Posted by: Vince09 Jul 6 2015, 03:35 PM

Hi Gab!Thank you for your feedback.Those two elements are big problem for me and even though I payed attention I still didn't got it wright.I will keep studying but already I feel like moving on...
About the ear training..Of course they are not the answers for number 3....cause they are for number 5

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 6 2015, 03:46 PM

Ah! Now it makes sense, the answers are perfect, good job!

Posted by: Vince09 Jul 12 2015, 10:27 PM

Thank you Gab! At least the ear training is going nice...Here are the answers for assignment nr 6
1.Perfect 5th
2.Perfect 4th
3.Major 3rd
4.Major 7th
5.Perfect 8th
6.Perfect 4th
7.Perfect 4th
8.Perfect 5th
9.Major 2nd
10.Perfect 4th

Now I am gonna be honest...I tried to associate the intervals with a couple of songs but that didn't work cause I am not singing the wright interval Also it's extremly hard for me to recognize the intervals wich are played using high notes
Now regarding the rhythm lessons(Van Halen,Srv,Texas blues)...as I mentioned before I practiced them each day and still I can't get that groove and dynamics wich is required so I think it would be better if I practice each 10 minutes per day and start a new lesson wich I will share with you every part I learn....what do youi say?The lesson that I had in mind is this one http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Muted-Strings-Rhythm-Guitar/ wich is closer to the other lessons that I study

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 13 2015, 03:43 PM

Hi Vince, good job with the intervals, there is only one wrong.

I recommend you to practice scales and try to sing along the notes. I consider very helpful to a guitarist to be able to sing in pitch. It's very useful for composing, improvising and learning songs. Please take some time every day for it.

The lesson you plan to start working looks great, let's go for it.

Posted by: Vince09 Jul 13 2015, 09:27 PM

Hi Gab!I rechecked the assignment nr 6 and found out were I did wrong:
1.Perfect 5th
2.Perfect 5th
3.Major 3rd
4.Major 7th
5.Perfect 8th
6.Perfect 4th
7.Perfect 4th
8.Perfect 5th
9.Major 2nd
10.Perfect 4th

I will also include daily scale singing but...I will not move on to minor intervals unless I am sure that I can recognize anytime the major ones.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 14 2015, 05:31 PM

Hi mate, this is not right yet. Keep working!

Posted by: Vince09 Jul 25 2015, 05:47 PM

Hi Gab! I redid the assignment nr 6 and to be honest I need a little help cause I don't know wich one I got wrong.
1.Perfect 5th
2.Perfect 4th
3.Major 3rd
4.Major 7th
5.Perfect 8th
6.Perfect 4th
7.Perfect 4th
8.Perfect 5th
9.Major 2nd
10.Perfect 4th

Also I studied ther first 2 parts of the Muted Strings Rhythm lesson and here it is the result:
https://youtu.be/Sgm_eOYZNvE
First thing I noticed is that my left hand doesn't keep up with my right hand.Also I am muting the low E with the tip of the index finger but it still makes an annoying sound even though it doesn't vibrate.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 27 2015, 02:43 PM

Hi mate! Good job! The only wrong one is the number 6.

The muted lesson is on the right track, but there is still room to make it sound much groovier. Your timing is not precise when you play the palm muted rhythm, and the melodic line is not appearing smooth there. A good exercises would be to follow the groove with 16th muted strums to get the groovy feel while closing your eyes and following the rhythm with your whole body.

The lesson choice is excellent. Keep on the hard work!

Posted by: Vince09 Jul 28 2015, 05:00 PM

Hi Gab! Thank you for your kind words!I rechecked the question nr 6 and the answer is Major 6th.
I also experiemented with 16th muted strums and I can say...Are you sure? Cause 16th on 160bpm is crazy fast and It's really hard to keep up...

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 29 2015, 02:20 PM

I was thinking on this as a 80 bpm backing, so go for 8th notes.

The 6th is a 6th, exactly!

Posted by: Vince09 Aug 23 2015, 02:59 PM

Hi Gab!Long time no see...Unfortunetly I couldn't study much in this period so that's why there was no news from me....The Muted String lesson is going well but I am not fully happy cause I am not relaxed when I play it...so I gues I will have to work harder untill I can play it naturaly.
I finsed assignment nr 7 of the ear training but I can't recognize all the intervals by ear and voice so I think it's better to create my own assignments untill I am 100% that I can pass to minor intervals.
Here are the answers for asisgnment nr 7:

1.Major 3rd
2.Major 6th
3.Perfect 5th
4.Major 7th
5.Major 2nd
6.Perfect 4th
7.Major 6th
8.Perfect 4th
9.Major 3rd
10.Perfect 5th

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 24 2015, 02:28 PM

Hi Vince,

Everything is right except the number 8. I think that it's a very good idea to create your own assignments based on this one to master this type of intervals. Take your time to feel comfortable with these intervals, there is no hurry!