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GMC Forum _ MTP - The Mentored Training Program _ Jamest Mtp Thread - June

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Jun 1 2010, 12:18 AM

Hey JamesT!

it is nice to have you on my group of students for this next MTP phase, can you tell me somethings about you?, full name, guitar level, what equipment do you have, etc?

my MTP is very personalized so i would need a recording, a video if possible, to see how are you playing actually, and i'll give you 1 task per week, again, a recording is important so i know where to start smile.gif

i hope you enjoy good rhythmic and rock n roll cause you will be playing it a lot wink.gif

Posted by: JamesT Jun 2 2010, 02:49 AM

This is totally awesome Adrian! I'm so glad I'm able to participate in your class.
Rhythmic Rock and Roll is exactly what I'm wanting to focus on in the next few months so this will be great!

A little about myself...
I've been playing a long, long time, but over the years, school, family, career, moving, or some other reason have kept me from having time to really focus on guitar. But the last two or so years have been a little different as things on other fronts have stabilized pretty well and I've been able to get back to guitar playing and music which I love dearly and have always been a substantial a part of life. So for two years now, and since joining GMC I've been able to dedicate at least two hours every day to guitar. I will definately be able to dedicate the same two hours every day as your student in this MTP session.

For the past two year period, I have focused on right hand techniques which I feel are one of my major weaknesses. I'm not sure if this is because I am left handed, or if it's only because that I've used legato techniques (too much) in my lead playing. So for two years, I've focused on AP almost exclusively. Unfortunately, the results of two years are that while I feel much better and more coordinated at my comfortable tempo, I am still very slow with picking even to a point where my picking speed (95 bpm 16th notes is still my max comfortable speed, short bursts to 100) still severely limits my lead playing and even riffing.

So I almost think that to become a better player I have to change my goals away from becoming a shredder and more towards someone who can do many things well.

Rock guitar is where my heart is as a player and even if I ever get good enough to write my own instrumental tunes, I'll probably stay in the Rock genre. My favorite guitarists are Jimmy Page, Eddie, Santana, Neal Schon, David Gilmore, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, and recently Andy Timmons, and of course many others that I would like to emulate.

For an overview of my current level, below is a link to my YouTube channel. Please check out as many videos there as you wish.

http://www.youtube.com/user/james61t

I consider myself to be a competent level 4 or 5. The only thing that seems to limit me from playing higher levels is my picking speed ...or at least I think so because I have memorized a bunch of the higher level GMC lessons and can play them beautifully at slower tempos. I'm getting a little frustrated with that for sure, but maybe it takes more than two years to get each 10 percent speed gain for me.

Adrian I'm really looking forward to this. You are a great player and a great teacher. All of your lessons are really cool too.

Bring on the 1st assignment!

I'll do my best to master and understand all the assignments and work the ideas into my playing style each week.
Thanks again,
Jim.

Oh yeah, my equipment:
Guitars:
Ibanez 540 (1987, the first Joe Satriani model)
Gibson Les Paul Custom, Black w/three pickups.
PRS Custom 24, Artist Series
Warmoth Stratocaster, Chambered body, Lindy Fralin Vintage Hots at Neck and Middle, & SD Hot Rails Humbucker at Bridge.
Washburn 6 string Acoustic
Ovation 6 string Acoustic
Breedlove 12 string acoustic
Ibanez Bass

Electronic Gear:
Pod X3 Live
Yamaha ES7 Keyboard/workstation
TC Electronics Konnekt 48 DAW interface.
Alesis M1 Active Monitors
UAD1 PCI Hardware plugin module.
Hand held video camera .


Software
Sonar 8.5 Producer
UAD Plugins
Pod Farm
Sony Vegas for video editing.


Oh yeah, my full name: Jim McGlone


Thanks again Adrian for this opportunity. This is so cool. cool.gif

Sorry for so many edits and the long-winded post.

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Jun 2 2010, 05:15 PM

Hey Jim!

i see where you wanna go!!, let's see exactly where you are, this is, and probably going to be the first task for all my students:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Rock-Rhythm-Variations/

you got a very strong rhythmic playing i think, let's focus on that tis first month, maybe i can give you some tips smile.gif

Please record yourself playing the whole number, again video is better.

Don't let the "level 2" trick you, if you don't have a rhythmic base it will show biggrin.gif, wanna see how is your overall timing, beat, and groove keeping, the last one for is not about playing in perfect timing, but playing "with the music".

Have fun trying to remember all the parts in order, i had to do my homework when i recorded it wink.gif.

Again, it is a pleasure to have you on board!

And yeah its the same post for everyone at this stage biggrin.gif but i do mean that is a pleasure to have everyone of you on board!

Posted by: JamesT Jun 6 2010, 06:39 AM

Hi Adrian.
Here's my take. This lesson, illustrates my weakness for sure. The muted 16th downstrokes killed me. mad.gif I can't say exactly why, but its either that I'm left handed, and right hand technique is just something that gives me a lot of trouble, or that I really haven't focused enough on it to develop it. I switched the way I hold the pick also a couple of years ago when I joined GMC. That effected my rhythm playing to and I've been focusing on AP for some time now to the exclusion of rhythm.

For the above reasons, this was a very good exercise for me. Down picking could be an area where I could focus. I tried doing a few of my routine AP exercises with downpicking only. It's funny how I can almost do down pick only almost as fast as AP. Well, not quite, but close. I would think that since my hand is literaly moving twice as fast to pick the same notes as AP that my AP would be twice as fast as my down picking. Maybe downpicking focus will help my AP as well. I'll keep doing it.

Anyway, here's the take. Most of it is played pretty cleanly it's only that one section that gives me trouble.
As for tone, I was trying to emulate the tone that you used. I think I ended up with more of a grunge sound than you had for the lesson. If you've got any pointers on how to get your tone for this take let me know. I'll bet that you used a real amp on this.






Posted by: Adrian Figallo Jun 6 2010, 06:17 PM

Hey jim,

this is actually a very very solid take!!, i did used modeling for this track, in fact i think everything here on GMC is guitar rig 4, i will help you develop tone if you want smile.gif!

i think you could post it as a rec take if you want, for me it's like an 8.

quick tip, hit the string a little harder, this will make the overall sound brighter, but mute the strings that are not being used.

will give you the next assignment tomorrow smile.gif

Posted by: JamesT Jun 7 2010, 04:44 AM

help with tone? ...that would be awesome.
I have Guitar rig 3. I can tweak this take to your suggestions. I liked the clarity of your tone in this lesson. it sounds overdriven and bright but somehow not like there's a whole lot of fuzz or distortion. I wonder if like you said, a lot of the tone comes from he attack/pick. if I were to guess I'd say that it's a Fender model that you used here.

Looking forward to tHe next assignment!
Jim.

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Jun 8 2010, 06:43 PM

Hey jim, you got homework!

you have a pretty good rhythmic feel, we need to work on that speed, it is not hard at all.
you need to work on speed AND on madness smile.gif, get that right hand furious, i know you like blues and classic rock, but punk rock is their bastard brother, trust me on this one, we all need punk rock in our playing.

you have to record this lesson:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Explosive_Punk_Rock/

from 0:00 to 1:06, and check the solo if you feel like you can do it, go for it, but at this point is not a must.

BT  backingtrack_150bpm.mp3 ( 2.53MB ) : 227


have fun!



Posted by: JamesT Jun 9 2010, 02:00 AM

I love it man! biggrin.gif cool.gif
I'll give it my best shot. I'll get back to you in a few days with a recording (hopefully). smile.gif

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Jun 9 2010, 06:24 PM

you can do it man!

Posted by: JamesT Jun 14 2010, 07:15 AM

Ok Adrian, here it is.

This was tougher than I thought it would be. This was about my fifteenth take. I almost nailed it except for the very end. ... You'll see. mad.gif laugh.gif It's a little different doing the MTP (in a cool way, but harder than the REC program). I'm used to being able to take all the time I need to get something down. But here, you only get a week and you have to record and post something.

I learned a lot by doing this lesson: I notice that I have a habit of letting my right fingers sometimes hit the string. With this tune, I had to make sure they were "out of harms way". When you get your hands moving like that, you want to keep your fingers clear of the strings. tongue.gif laugh.gif or they'll get bitten.




Posted by: JamesT Jun 15 2010, 03:21 AM

On second thought, I think I'll revisit what I'm doing with the rhythm on that last segment (12th fret A octaves/chord). It doesn't quite seem right. And then, on the slides up to the 12 fret in the first half, I should probably glide more slowly/smoothly. It looks kind of jerky there.

Got any tips for keeping the pick from rotating on these kinds of tunes?

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Jun 16 2010, 01:33 AM

jim man, amazing take, you really got some rhythmic skills!, love how your right hand moves freely!

the solo needs a little work, be sure to practice it, it's always a good resource to have!

you also can submit this to rec, i'm sure you will get a nice score!

now, something more complex, i want to see that right hand moving man, you are in the right way, try to absorv all this knowledge and apply it to all the music you make, and remember this always, the right hand NEVER stops, even playing leads or whatever, the groove is all you need!

full lesson this time man, no more childs play biggrin.gif

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Muted-Strings-Rhythm-Guitar/

go for it tiger, also let me know if you are tired of practicing my lessons, i can find some other tunes for you, but im know already what to recommend with my own material.


edit: for the pick thing, are you using a tick one? i recommend the purple tortex ones!

Posted by: JamesT Jun 16 2010, 03:29 AM

Are you kidding? ... I won't get tired of your lessons for sure. All very great stuff, and not so easy to play as their level would indicate. I think it's cause I have spent a lot of time focusing on leads (maybe?) I liked what you said about rhythm playing in your first lesson ... that it's a very important part of guitar and if you listen to all of your favorite players and songs the solo is only a small part of what the songs are about.

Hey, I listened to my new assignment "Muted Strings Rhythm Guitar" a couple of days ago . I was very impressed with the riffs and rhythmic variations. ...very excited about learning this one cause IT ROCKS! smile.gif cool.gif

Oh yeah, the pick ... I'm experimenting with a variety of picks these days. All of them are on the thick side. When I started practicing for the MTP, I was using mostly a very thick pick. It's called a "Big Stubby", and it's purple with a dimple in the middle of it. With these fast(er) rhythm lessons, I decided to test out some others even going back to the more traditional shape which is also a bit thinner (but I used to call it a very thick pick. smile.gif ) It's a "Fender Heavy". And then I've got a few others kind of in-between the Fender Heavy and the Big Stubby. One of them is nylon with grippy things on it, but that one is not my favorite at the moment. Hmmmm, I should get more scientific about these things. tongue.gif

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Jun 17 2010, 04:15 PM

thanks man, it means a lot to me that you like my lessons smile.gif
have a blast with this last lesson!

the pick thing is just a time thing, you will get used to it!, on this fast songs and generally hold the pick firm, but not tight, let your hand dance!

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Jun 17 2010, 05:01 PM

btw, backing track:  backing_track_normal_speed.mp3 ( 2.52MB ) : 242

Posted by: JamesT Jun 20 2010, 12:23 AM

Ok Adrian, here it is.

I think it turned out ok except I think it could be a bit tighter. I had a couple of pretty good takes and tried panning one right and the other left for a double tracked mix. It sounded cool double tracked except for a couple of spots where it really wasn't tight enough and ended up sounding a bit muddy. So I only put one of the takes into this mix. It was a good exercise to do that though cause you can really tell if your playing is tight enough when you hear them at exactly the same time.

I found a good amp model on Guitar Rig 3. I was looking for that snarly agressive sound that you got on your lesson and came pretty close I think. :-) You really got to tell me what you did for this tone. smile.gif

The lesson was a blast. Thanks. Let me know what you think.



Posted by: Adrian Figallo Jun 20 2010, 05:01 PM

you are dancing brother!!
amazing take jim, go ahead and post it to rec, it will get a high grade!

tone is pretty good man!, for this lesson i think i used the orange emu on GR4, but yours is pretty cool!
i'm organizing a video chat session to discuss tone, will let you know!

again, very very very nice take, a 9 out of 10 from me, just because you can hit the strings a LITTLE harder, and because you missed a chord at 0:36 smile.gif

keep the awesome work, new assignment tomorrow!

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Jun 22 2010, 11:58 PM

Hey jim!

time for the last assignment of the month, you made a LOT of progress this month man, congratulations, next month we are starting a little bit on playing leads, but first let's try that rhythm again, this is the most complex lesson, but i think you can do it!!

full lesson this time, have fun dude!

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Funky-Disco-Rhythm-Guitar/

BT  backing_track_120bpm.mp3 ( 3.16MB ) : 214


Posted by: JamesT Jun 24 2010, 03:53 AM

Thanks. I think I've made some progress too. cool.gif


I'll get to work on this next one. Very cool track!

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Jun 24 2010, 10:26 PM

have fun!

Posted by: JamesT Jun 25 2010, 06:59 AM

Hey Adrian:
I recorded my first take tonight (attached below).
Man, I've got some work to do. I can barely hit the strings. If I try to hit them harder, my right arm gets kind of tense.

Give it a listen and tell me what you think. I think by the end of the weekend, I can have something that's a little better...

[attachment=21281:20100624...hmGuitar.mp3]

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Jun 25 2010, 11:59 PM

you almost got it man!!
i know it is tricky at first, just study it some more and you will be able to make it.

keep rocking, and you have to RELAX that hand, no need to hit the strings so hard, it is a TOUCH.

Posted by: JamesT Jun 30 2010, 06:34 AM

Ok Adrian:
This one was tough. My right hand is a bit stubborn I think. mad.gif I'm not sure this video turned out any better than the take I recorded in the previous post. Maybe it's just nervousness with the camera rolling. As always, thanks for the great lesson. Let me know what think. Bring on the next lesson!


Posted by: Adrian Figallo Jul 5 2010, 06:39 AM

Hey Jim, great month dude, you made a LOT of progress man, from tone to technique!

The first take was great!!, just some 16th notes missing at that part, clean tone, and very tight rhythm, this song is a little bit tricky but handle it very very well!

The second lesson was the punk one, you proved here that you can keep a tight aggressive tempo, this is VERY important for every rock guitar player, very very very nice take. you even recorded the solo!!!

The third lesson was the groovy one, you succeeded 100%, very nice take, tight rhythm and a GREAT attitude in your playing.
not much more to add here, almost perfect, and in rock that's better than perfect.

In the fourth lesson i expected a better take to be honest, but now thinking it good, funk is very hard to play, specially if you are not a funk player tongue.gif, we will work on that right hand and we will get back to this one!

REC take:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=35656

thread closed!

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