Chord Strumming 40bpm Options

[Gert1973]

Hi Monica, Kris and GMC,

Last 2 weeks I have been working on a chord strumming lesson from Darius as suggested by Monica.

Here's a first take at 40bpm.



As always look forward to feedback

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[Monica Gheorghev...]

Hi Gert!

You do a really great job with this lesson. I like the fact that you learned all the strumming patterns. This made me very happy.

Be careful when you strum the muted notes ("x"). Don't let sounds come out. You need to completely release the pressure from your fingers while still maintaining contact with the strings.
At this moment, you make a mistake. You release the pressure only when you make the down strum. When you do the up strum you already start pressing on the strings which is wrong. We need two strums with muted notes.
You have a few moments when you succeed in playing correctly. Add a little more focus on this area and the issue will be fixed.

Also, don't forget to play the last two strums from the lesson. From what I see, you realized that you forgot to play them. Your hand wanted to make the movement but it was too late.

BTW I'm sure Darius would be very happy to see you making those "in the air" movements.

Great work! I'm very proud of you!

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This post has been edited by Monica Gheorghevici: Jan 12 2023, 03:04 PM

[Gert1973]

Hi Monica,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly again

I will put some more attention on the muted part for sure.

And... I did not 'forget' the last two strums of the lesson When I started this lesson, I wrote down the strumming part but just forgot to look at the end where you have those 2 added strums to finish! Everytime I came to the end of this lesson, it felt to me that something was 'missing' there, hahaha.

So thanks for pointing it out to me. I just watched the video again and noticed the 2 strums at the end I will add them in the next recording

And indeed I guess Darius would like my in the air movements because I can feel in his video it's important to him. And he's right of course. It's a good way of not losing timing...

Please tell him when you see him

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[Gert1973]

Hello again!

Back after some practise with a new recording on this lesson. Speed is 80bpm now...



Analysis:

30-52: Overall good I think. I can here difference between the muted and unmuted.
36: not good transition from G to Emin. Quickly adjusted it although.
54: not good transition from D to C. Must do more smooth.
1.06: From D to Emin not good enough.
1.18: I have less poblem to go to C here then the first time. I think because there's a little more time between Bmin and C.
1.41: I did put in the 2 final strokes now

About my right hand: I pay attention I use my wrist and let it loose and relaxed as much as possible to strum. But it seems my arm is moving also little bit up and down. I don't know if this is somthing to work on?

Ok, back to you

Next speed 100bpm? Or I still need some more practice on 80bpm?

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[Monica Gheorghev...]

Hello again!

Back after some practise with a new recording on this lesson. Speed is 80bpm now...



Analysis:

30-52: Overall good I think. I can here difference between the muted and unmuted.
36: not good transition from G to Emin. Quickly adjusted it although.
54: not good transition from D to C. Must do more smooth.
1.06: From D to Emin not good enough.
1.18: I have less poblem to go to C here then the first time. I think because there's a little more time between Bmin and C.
1.41: I did put in the 2 final strokes now

About my right hand: I pay attention I use my wrist and let it loose and relaxed as much as possible to strum. But it seems my arm is moving also little bit up and down. I don't know if this is somthing to work on?

Ok, back to you

Next speed 100bpm? Or I still need some more practice on 80bpm?

Hi Gert!

This lesson started to sound very nice.

First of all, I want to say that you did a very good analysis. Thank you for accepting to do this additional task. Everything you pointed out is correct. I can say that you started becoming good at mistake hunting and I really like this because it's one of the skills that I want to help you develop.
In time, it will bring you only advantages.

I love how good the muted notes sound now. You fixed the issue and that's really awesome.

It's not a problem that your right hand moves a little bit up and down. It was a problem if the movement was a big one. From what I see, your hand keeps a good resting point and that is all that matters.

Now we have a very important problem in your take that we need to fix.
You need to be very careful when you do the strumming on less than 6 strings (A minor, D major, C major). You don't have yet a good precision when you strum and, because of that, you touch the strings that should not be played. There are moments when the notes sound wrong.
Look, even if there are cases in this lesson when we have a note which is included in the chord, our purpose is to not expose the note from the lower frequency because it will totally change the flavor of the chord.
In the spoken video from the lesson, Darius talks about this. Watch his video and try his solutions:
1. Use your thumb or index finger to mute the unwanted strings.
2. Strum without touching the unwanted strings.


Sure, you can start practice this lesson at full speed. I think we can fix the rest of the details at the original tempo of the lesson.

Overall, you did a great job. A few more fixings and this lesson will sound good.

BTW...I liked the last two strums from the end.

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[Gert1973]

Hi Monica,

Here's a take of the lesson at full speed. After 80bpm I wanted to practise at 100bpm but you gave me the task to practise at full speed. So of course that's what I do then

I expected that I would have to practise this lesson at full speed for the next two weeks but surpisingly everything went very smooth with not much trouble. It was like everything felt into place and to me and looks like it's ready for REC.



I have paid attention to the strumming parts on the C major, A minor and D major and I think made some improvements here.

But I let you be the judge of that

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[Monica Gheorghev...]

Hi Monica,

Here's a take of the lesson at full speed. After 80bpm I wanted to practise at 100bpm but you gave me the task to practise at full speed. So of course that's what I do then

I expected that I would have to practise this lesson at full speed for the next two weeks but surpisingly everything went very smooth with not much trouble. It was like everything felt into place and to me and looks like it's ready for REC.



I have paid attention to the strumming parts on the C major, A minor and D major and I think made some improvements here.

But I let you be the judge of that

Hi Gert!

This lesson is definitely going in a very good direction.

You were able to play this lesson at full speed in a less amount of time because you paid attention to details when you practiced at very slow tempo. That's the advantage of fixing the issues at the right moment. Your playing it has improved a lot lately.

There are a few things that need to be polished. That's why, from my point of view (I'm always very honest), if you put this take in REC, the maximum grade that you will receive will be somewhere between 6-7.
But it's your choice. You can post this take in REC and go forward to learning a new lesson or you can polish the latest things and manage the techniques much better. Let me know what you will choose.


I will point out the things that need a little more work.

First of all, try to add a little more force when you play. This will improve the overall sound because what I miss from your take is the tone from your hand. This particular thing will get you an even brighter and "meaner" tone.

Also, take care about the accents. Make them visible.

0:12 - 0:13 - the transition between these two chords is not smooth enough.

0:13 (A minor) - on this spot you don't have enough precision when you strum and we can hear the first strings that should not ring. The same thing happens on the next chord (D major) and it sounds very wrong. Also, if you look very close at your hand, you will see how you hit those strings.

0:21 - 0:36 the barre chords - this time doesn't sound so good. It isn't perfectly clear and at 0:28 you let the up strum ring instead of playing this with a muted sound.

0:37 - this C major chord doesn't sound good enough. It's not very clear and I can hear the E lower string (which should not ring) very loudly.

0:41 - D major chord - again the E lower and A string can be heard and this is a mistake.

0:57 - on this chord (D major) you missed the sound of a strum.

1:05 - B minor chord also doesn't sound clear enough. Some notes are blocked and that's why it sounds bad.​

Gert, I want you to know that I'm very proud of you. You pay attention to details, you work hard and this is awesome. Your playing is improved and I always hardly wait to see a new take from you.

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This post has been edited by Monica Gheorghevici: Jan 26 2023, 05:24 PM

[Gert1973]

Hi Gert!

This lesson is definitely going in a very good direction.

You were able to play this lesson at full speed in a less amount of time because you paid attention to details when you practiced at very slow tempo. That's the advantage of fixing the issues at the right moment. Your playing it has improved a lot lately.

There are a few things that need to be polished. That's why, from my point of view (I'm always very honest), if you put this take in REC, the maximum grade that you will receive will be somewhere between 6-7.
But it's your choice. You can post this take in REC and go forward to learning a new lesson or you can polish the latest things and manage the techniques much better. Let me know what you will choose.


I will point out the things that need a little more work.

First of all, try to add a little more force when you play. This will improve the overall sound because what I miss from your take is the tone from your hand. This particular thing will get you an even brighter and "meaner" tone.

Also, take care about the accents. Make them visible.

0:12 - 0:13 - the transition between these two chords is not smooth enough.

0:13 (A minor) - on this spot you don't have enough precision when you strum and we can hear the first strings that should not ring. The same thing happens on the next chord (D major) and it sounds very wrong. Also, if you look very close at your hand, you will see how you hit those strings.

0:21 - 0:36 the barre chords - this time doesn't sound so good. It isn't perfectly clear and at 0:28 you let the up strum ring instead of playing this with a muted sound.

0:37 - this C major chord doesn't sound good enough. It's not very clear and I can hear the E lower string (which should not ring) very loudly.

0:41 - D major chord - again the E lower and A string can be heard and this is a mistake.

0:57 - on this chord (D major) you missed the sound of a strum.

1:05 - B minor chord also doesn't sound clear enough. Some notes are blocked and that's why it sounds bad.​

Gert, I want you to know that I'm very proud of you. You pay attention to details, you work hard and this is awesome. Your playing is improved and I always hardly wait to see a new take from you.

Hello Monica,

Thanks again for the extensive feedback! I have listened very carefully at my take and can see and hear my mistakes.
Only the tone of my hand. Can you explain me what you mean with this? I already put a lot of force on the strings (I play with pic 1mm) because they ring a lot and very loud But of course you don't hear it on the take bacause my guitar is connected to an interface.

About a REC take... you asked me to put a take in the practise room at full speed before putting it into REC. It is my intention to put a new take into REC and not the one I will post here in the practise room. Because then I can take your recommendations into a new take which should be better when I put it into REC.

I knew this take was not good enough for REC

About your question wether I will put this take into REC... I already answered it partly above. I will practise some more on this lesson before I put it into REC. Maybe I will put one more here in the practise room before doing a REC take depending on how it goes. IF there're important issues I have to fix and learn then I will try to fix them instead of starting a new lesson. That's my point of view reagarding mastering the guitar here.

About the grades I get on GMC, that doesn't really mather to me. Of course I need at least a 6 but for me it's more important I got the technique right. And of course that will result in a higher grade but I'm not focused on the grade, if you know what I mean. For me it's more important that you tell me it's time to move on instead of what my grade tells me.

Ok, back to some more practising on this one and I will be back somwhere next week!

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[Monica Gheorghev...]

Hello Monica,

Thanks again for the extensive feedback! I have listened very carefully at my take and can see and hear my mistakes.
Only the tone of my hand. Can you explain me what you mean with this? I already put a lot of force on the strings (I play with pic 1mm) because they ring a lot and very loud But of course you don't hear it on the take bacause my guitar is connected to an interface.

About a REC take... you asked me to put a take in the practise room at full speed before putting it into REC. It is my intention to put a new take into REC and not the one I will post here in the practise room. Because then I can take your recommendations into a new take which should be better when I put it into REC.

I knew this take was not good enough for REC

About your question wether I will put this take into REC... I already answered it partly above. I will practise some more on this lesson before I put it into REC. Maybe I will put one more here in the practise room before doing a REC take depending on how it goes. IF there're important issues I have to fix and learn then I will try to fix them instead of starting a new lesson. That's my point of view reagarding mastering the guitar here.

About the grades I get on GMC, that doesn't really mather to me. Of course I need at least a 6 but for me it's more important I got the technique right. And of course that will result in a higher grade but I'm not focused on the grade, if you know what I mean. For me it's more important that you tell me it's time to move on instead of what my grade tells me.

Ok, back to some more practising on this one and I will be back somwhere next week!

Hi Gert!

Great to see that we both think in a similar way (haha...great minds think alike ). It's exactly as you said, all that matters is to learn the techniques in a good way. This is the purpose of our workshop.

I knew that if you will listen and see your take again you will easily spot the mistakes that I pointed out.
I have no doubt that the next take of yours will be highly improved. Be just very careful at the chords in which you have strings that should not ring. If you could fix this important issue, it would be awesome.

Yes, I asked you to put a take (or more) at full speed in the practice room before the REC because that's the moment when we start polishing things and fix the last details that can not be fixed at a slow tempo.

About the tone from the hand. To catch that specific sound, it requires you to add some of the wrist weight when you hit the strings. I believe that you play with more force. But to understand how hard you need to play, keep in mind the fact that, same as Darius, I generally play hard enough to make the string actually hit the frets in its middle.
The tone and brightness come from a huge strength, straight pick angle and wide forearm + wrist motion.
Don't worry, this will be a long term task and I already have the perfect lesson to give you which will make you able to achieve the tone from the hand.
But first let's finish this lesson.

Have a great evening!

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[Gert1973]

Hi Monica,

I'm back with another take of this lesson:



Analysis:
0-20: I think this part has no issues anymore. I paid attention to A minor and D without hitting the E-string.
20-35: Positioning of my fingers need some more improvement as I'm not always straight on the right position after changing chords. I can hear good difference between the muted and unmuted parts.
35-36: Have been pracvtising this part a lot and can feel improvement, although still not perfect.
40: ring finger not in good position for D chord. Next second ring finger was adjusted
40-108: last part looks good to me

Maybe a little bit more practise and I can make my REC?

Cheers,

Gert

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[Monica Gheorghev...]

Hi Monica,

I'm back with another take of this lesson:



Analysis:
0-20: I think this part has no issues anymore. I paid attention to A minor and D without hitting the E-string.
20-35: Positioning of my fingers need some more improvement as I'm not always straight on the right position after changing chords. I can hear good difference between the muted and unmuted parts.
35-36: Have been pracvtising this part a lot and can feel improvement, although still not perfect.
40: ring finger not in good position for D chord. Next second ring finger was adjusted
40-108: last part looks good to me

Maybe a little bit more practise and I can make my REC?

Cheers,

Gert

Hi Gert!

Definitely, I can hear a lot of improvements. You fixed a lot of the issues. Congrats for your work.

All the things you pointed out are almost correct. The only part where I do not agree with you is the spot between 0:15 - 0:19 (D major) where I can still hear/see you hitting the unwanted strings.

You still have some problem with the precision when you play the chords that we spoke about. All the strings that should not ring are still too audible and, unfortunately, this affects the overall performance.
It's clear that you worked in this area and sound better than last time but still require additional focus and work.

Be very careful at the timing because you have spots where you hurry. Mostly when you start to play the barre chords.

The last chord (B minor) doesn't have a perfectly clear sound. Some notes sound a little blocked.

Sure you can prepare the REC take (but try to fix all the things that we both pointed out).
Even if there's still a clear difference between your playing and instructor playing (this will affect only the grade...I know you don't put so much attention on this aspect but it's my job to mention about it ), overall you achieved the purpose of this lesson. To make this sound perfect it's a matter of time and practice.
I think we can make these techniques shine in your next lessons.

BTW, about the next task. Do you agree to work on that Easy AC/DC lesson that you proposed to me in the other thread?

Ohhh, I forgot to tell you something. I don't know if you saw it, but Kris made a new site functionality, where you can play in any lesson with the instructor and you will receive instant feedback.
If you want, you can test it. It's really awesome! Here is the link to the thread:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=63422

Have a great day!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

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This post has been edited by Monica Gheorghevici: Jan 31 2023, 01:37 PM

[Gert1973]

Hi Gert!

Definitely, I can hear a lot of improvements. You fixed a lot of the issues. Congrats for your work.

All the things you pointed out are almost correct. The only part where I do not agree with you is the spot between 0:15 - 0:19 (D major) where I can still hear/see you hitting the unwanted strings.

You still have some problem with the precision when you play the chords that we spoke about. All the strings that should not ring are still too audible and, unfortunately, this affects the overall performance.
It's clear that you worked in this area and sound better than last time but still require additional focus and work.

Be very careful at the timing because you have spots where you hurry. Mostly when you start to play the barre chords.

The last chord (B minor) doesn't have a perfectly clear sound. Some notes sound a little blocked.

Sure you can prepare the REC take (but try to fix all the things that we both pointed out).
Even if there's still a clear difference between your playing and instructor playing (this will affect only the grade...I know you don't put so much attention on this aspect but it's my job to mention about it ), overall you achieved the purpose of this lesson. To make this sound perfect it's a matter of time and practice.
I think we can make these techniques shine in your next lessons.

BTW, about the next task. Do you agree to work on that Easy AC/DC lesson that you proposed to me in the other thread?

Ohhh, I forgot to tell you something. I don't know if you saw it, but Kris made a new site functionality, where you can play in any lesson with the instructor and you will receive instant feedback.
If you want, you can test it. It's really awesome! Here is the link to the thread:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=63422

Have a great day!

I just had a look at this new feature and I will try it out soon! Looks very cool and helpfull indeed!

Of course I want to attack easy AC/DC after this one! Hardly can't wait to start with that one

But before I begin with AC/DC I will practise this lesson some more to see if I can improve it a little more and fix the issues.

I think my problem with the chords where I have unwanted strings that are ringing, comes from the upstrokes. I try to avoid them but clearly it still need some work. So maybe this week or the next week I will send in a REC take from this lesson so I can wrap it up an begin the next amazing lesson!

See you...

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