Original lesson: Neoclassical Solo For Beginners by Emir Hot

Another take, trying to clean things up a bit. (there is a take 2 that I did not submit, so this is technically take 3.

I checked my intonation and things seem in order. I think it could have possibly been my playing in the first take. I hope it seems better.

I feel it's a bit messy in some spots, I plan to do another cleaner take. The F# ascending run may still be a bit off. Still trying to get comfortable with the vibrato. I am starting to feel a bit more natural with it. I am tepid with how wide I apply it in fear of breaking pitch.

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Links to previous attempts at this lesson:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=63163

This post has been edited by FreePizza: Jul 19 2022, 11:42 PM

Hi Bruce!

First of all, I noticed the fact that you fixed the picking direction on the F# run and also you took care about those notes that are played with PM. That is awesome!

The main problem with your take remains the pitch issues when you do the vibrato. In order to fix it, you need to see yourself and understand where exactly the issue is. I will point out some spots from your take where I think you can easily detect the wrong movement (you can even try to slow down your video).

0:19 - Look very close at your hand and you will see that on your first movement you pull the string down, but when you return you do not stop at the point zero. You cross the release point and you push the string higher. From that moment you are already out of pitch. The same thing also happens in the second movement.

0:27 - Another spot which exposes the vibrato pitch issue. You hit the note but at the same time you push the string higher (which causes the, out of pitch) and after that you make the downward movement. Every return that you make it cross the release point.

0:44 - Here you have a vibrato with upward movement. The first movement is a little too wide and you go out of pitch. Also, I tend to believe that your fingers add too much pressure on the string. I recommend you to take a look at "20 Beginner Tips Lesson" made by Darius Wave. Be sure that you check part 5 "Fret the notes properly" and part 9 "Care of the intonation".

0:33 - you still overlap the sound of these notes.

Because your take still has pitch issues, unfortunately my grade will remain the same as at your first attempt. You get a 6 from me!

I also started hearing pitch issues right at :19 and again strongly at :44. I'm not sure if this is tuning, intonation, or just finger pressure, and bending. One thing to do is to always tune the guitar, with a tuner, not just by ear, before each and every single take. This is a bit of a pain in the neck, but it can be the difference between a clean take, and one that needs to be done again.

Also, I don't remember what was said in terms of the guitar being intonated. If it's not had a proper intonation/setup by a professional luthier, since you've owned it, then it's worth having it done. I'm not sure where we are on this front.

Another culprit is finger pressure. Just a bit too much pressure can cause a note to go sharp. Monica suggested some very good lessons to look at for finger pressure practice. One drill to consider is to try to play, just for purposes of finding lighter finger pressure, without the thumb on the neck of the guitar. This is very hard to do if you sit side saddle as you are doing. Just for the drill, try to sit in classical position instead so you can pull the guitar in. Playing "thumbless" allows the hand to find what the minimum pressure needed by the fingers actually is. The thumb/hand can act as a fulcrum, and add too much pressure. Going thumbless helps to reset hand pressure.


I think your picking is looking good, and your muting is also looking good. This is a very tricky lesson and sometimes these require several passes. Each one is a new chance to further hone your skills. I'll skip grading for now until we can figure out what the issue at hand is in terms of pitch.

My feedback from your previous take still stands.

I think your b-string has an intonation issue. It feels pretty obvious around 00:39 when you play at the 12 position without any bending.

If finger pressure was the issue we would most likely hear it on other strings as well.

Tune your guitar with a tuner, then play the 12th and even the 15th fret on the b-string applying the typical finger pressure you would use when playing.

If your b-string is fairly new and the high frets still are out of tune - then intonation is the problem.

Closing this one