Hi Chris! Welcome to Gab's Army! You asked me to start a thread to work on Music Theory so here we have it! Let's explore this magical world of music theory and let's connect it to making music. It's very important to always be able to apply the theory concepts than we learn so we will work on both theoretical and practical tasks to get the more of this thread.
At first, please let me know what do you know about music?
Hey Gab! Thanks for having me!
It seems what I know is a little of this and a little of that - with A LOT of gaps in between
Scales: I know a little bit of the Minor, Minor Pentatonic, Major and Major Pentatonic scales but not all the positions.
I know the formula for these scales:
Major: WWHWWWH
Major Pentatonic: Drop degrees 4 & 7
Minor: WHWWHWW
Minor Pentatonic: Drop degrees 2 & 6
So when I come up with a little lick/riff/chord progregression I can use this formula to determine what key the song is in by using these formulas.
Modes: Something I still don't understand. I know that each scale degree of the major scale has its relative mode.
Degrees: I II III IV V VI VII
Modes: Ionian - Dorian - Phyrgian - Lydian - Mixolydian - Aeolian - Locrian
I understand that if you learn the major scale that you have learned every mode - because your using the major scale just starting on a different root.
For example:
C Major = C D E F G A B which would also be C Ionian
However, if we start on F instead and we get F G A B C D E then we are using the F Lydian mode.
My confusion is what notes or chords to play these particular modes over to actually get them to sound like the mode and not just the major scale.
Like if I had a chord progression of Bm A Asus4 Bm D Dsus4 - I wouldn't know what mode to use.
I also hear a lot of talk on the forum that it's really certain notes of a mode that make it sound unique over a chord and I know nothing about this as well.
Chords: I have done the Harmonizing the Major Scale lesson so I understand how to build basic triads with the Major scale.
Major = I III V
Minor = I bIII V
Diminished = I bIII bV
I IV V = sus4
Major 7th = I III V VII
Dominant 7th = I III V bVII
9 = I III V bVII IX
Although I know how to construct 7 and 9 chords I haven't practiced doing so and don't know any.
Other than messing around with some triad shapes over the neck I only know some basic open chords:
D - Dm - Dsus4 - A - Am - Asus4 - Bm - E - Em - C - F - G
Circle of Fifths: I've seen a video on it, so I understand it somewhat - but not enough to know how to actually use it and apply it.
That pretty much sums it up. I'd like to have a better understanding so that I can develop my songwriting as well as my phrasing and technique.
I haven't really been learning any new theory or applying it because I don't really know how - that's why I really need some guidance.
Here is an example of where I am at with songwriting (very basic):
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/when-will-i-see-her-again
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/hip-hop-rockidea
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/city-lights-idea
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/hear-our-cries-snippet
And as far as technique - I have decided to focus on tightening up my alternate picking and my legato (legato being a very big weakness of mine) by challenging myself with this lesson:
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/legato_and_picking_intermediate/
But enough blabbering from me
Ok, thanks for the info. Let's start working on your theory based on the program of my improvisation course. But as you also want to apply this concepts to composition, besides the improvisation course I will assign some other works and threads to work. This is how the first module looks:
Module 1: Major Scales
1. http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=42832&st=180&p=694411&#entry694411
2. http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=42832&st=180&p=694891&#entry694891
While working on it, you should also check:
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=5040
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=48048&st=0#entry634876
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=48709
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=5042
These are some recommended lessons to learn licks and use the backings:
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Pentatonic-Major-Soul/
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/major-pentatonic-intermediate-solo/
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/b-major-intermediate-solo/
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Major-Arpeggios-Exercise/
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/major-pentatonic-add-maj7/
As you can see this is a lot of stuff. Both the impro course and the extra stuff should be organized in 3 weeks of work. Please be organzed and focus only on these concepts. Keep me updated about the progress, share your practice and improvisations here every 3 days of practice.
Deal?
Deal! I will begin working on this immediately
Hey Gab!
Sorry for the delay! I hardly ever use the major scale (which is VERY BAD) so this is proving to be really tricky for me. I tried coming up with a melody and then building off of it but it proved difficult because I'm not sure of where all the scale notes are located yet (getting the hang slowly but surely, though).
Here is a small sample of where I am at:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/g-major-improvisation-1
I didn't listen to any lessons - although learning some licks would have helped I wanted to try to take a shot at it on my own to see what I can come up with.
Overall, I'm not too happy with it I'm used to cranking out those Minor Pentatonic licks but that gets old real quick, that's why I'm trying to branch out and learn to write more complex and melodic music.
Any advice? What steps should I take next?
Thanks!!!!
Hi Chris, good first attempt.
I notice that your phrasing is lacking direction and melody. I can hear fragments of the scale for one side and reverse, like if you would be playing random parts of the scale but without knowing how it will sound before you play. This is not a bad exercise since it's the first step to get familiar with the scale, and how the different notes sound over the different chords. But our main goal here would be to make your phrasing more defined to make your guitar talk or better said sing, and combine this singing with more flashy stuff that connects everything.
The next step is to get a leit motiv, a main melody that can last 4 measures. Before you search it in your guitar, imagine it with your mind and sing it over the tune. Once you get a melody that you really like, record it and share it here. You are invited to record many options to then choose the best one to continue working.
To get some inspiration if you are blocked, you can check Joe Satriani's songs who really makes his guitar talk/sing.
Hey Gab!
Sorry for the long delay - slowly making a comeback with my tendinitis so I've been inching my foot back through door slowly but surely!
I am going to resume where I left off and post a main melody in a day or two.
As for now - in response to the ear training thread you posted in the Practice Forum (which I'm super excited for!):
I listened to the track only once - and these are my first answers (I haven't listened to the track again, only once):
Assignment I:
1. Major 3rd
2. Perfect 5th
3. Major 3rd
4. Octave
5. Major 3rd
6. Perfect 5th
7. Perfect 5th
8. Octave
9. Octave
10. Major 3rd
11. Octave
12. Major 3rd
13. Major 3rd
14. Perfect 5th
15. Octave
16. Perfect 5th
17. Perfect 5th
18. Octave
19. Major 3rd
20. Octave
21. Perfect 5th
I know for a fact I didn't get them all right - but I think I did pretty good for my first listen!
Hi Chris! Good job! Thanks for sharing the first answers that you've got before checking everything again. I found that most of the intervals are ok, but there are 8 wrong ones. I feel that there is some connection between the ones that give you issues so I invite you to re-check everything to find which are the wrong ones and try to see which ones are giving more problems, and why...
Remember to use very known songs as reference to detect intervals.
Hey Gab!
I'm not really good at this but I came up with a basic melody over the backing track like you said:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/gmc-gabs-army-improv-2
Very basic - but I'm not sure how to turn on Steve Vai / Joe Satriani mode and actually make music out of it
ALSO:
My ears are pretty bad I guess - I listened to it a second time and my answers are somewhat different:
12. 5th
13. 3rd
14. 5th
17. 3rd
18. 5th
20. 5th
So I only have 6 different answers instead of 8 and I might even have more if these are wrong too. Seems like the 5th and Octaves get me the most.
Hi Chris,
the interval number 12 isn't right on the last list that you added so there are still 3 wrong ones from the original answers.
About your phasing, now your melodies make more sense and start to sound more musical. Those backings are great to get familiar with the scale and arpeggios. In order to start exploring a more musical side, I have an idea. What about learning, analyzing and then creating a solo taking variations of the licks combined with your own licks and ideas?
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Beginner-Soloing-1/
That's the lesson. Analyze the structure, the notes choices and learn the licks. Also pay attention to the use of dynamics, bending and vibrato.
Deal?
Hi Chris, so you say that you know the scale shapes but not how to use the notes?
Have you ever worked on triads or arpeggios?
Ok, so let's start simpler, do you know this two Pentatonic major shapes?
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/scalegenerator
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/scalegenerator
Ok, how many pentatonic minor shapes do you know?
hehehe, you won't imagine how much you can do it just those shapes. Let's start making music.
Record an improvisation over this backing:
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Buckethead-Style/
That's what I call connection! Awesome!
So I've been a bit busy with everything that is going on in the forum right now
My first attempt with the exercise you provided me - and MY BRAIN HURTS!
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/gmc-timing-lesson
Interesting! You did a good job with this one.
The next task is to use different notes from the scale now. You can play a measure from the exercise, then a measure with a long whole note and then again the following measure from the exercise. The idea is to make it sound a bit more musical and nicer to your mind, what do you say?
Hey Gab!
So I spent some time over the buckethead backing track and this is what I came up with:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/buckethead
The playing is a little sloppy - I didn't work too much to perfect it but rather getting the idea recorded to develop it.
What do you think, my friend?
Hi Chris, ok, so this should be our first reference to see how your improvisation / composing skills progress in the next weeks.
The next task is to learn the chords used in the backing track in different parts of the neck. Try to play the whole progression on a same range of the neck, use the closer chords and identity where the 3rd of each chord is. After doing this for a while, follow the chords playing only the thirds of each. While you do it, try to also visualize A minor pentatonic scale to have it as reference.
Finally, keep on focusing on thirds but use other notes from the pentatonic minor scale to slowly start creating simple phrases.
Record yourself and share the audio or video here.
Hey Gab!
So I've been away for the week - my grandmother passed away last Sunday, unfortunately
I haven't really had the motivation to play this week but I'm back.
I recorded this:
https://m.soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/bop-it-idea
Just a random idea in my head, what do you think?
And with that idea out of my head I can resume where we left off
Hi Chris, I'm sorry about about your grandma.
The idea that you recorded sounds good. I like both the riff and the solo section, it would be cool if you continue and complete this one. What do you think?
Good job Chris! This is a good first step. The next step is to incorporate more notes from the scale around the thirds. You should keep on focusing on thirds but now you can "surf" a bit more the scale, to make the phrases less obvious. Just that, experiment with it in different positions and share a new take when you have it.
We will add different elements like this one, gradually to make your phrasing more interesting.
Hey Gab!
I got a sweet deal on IK Multimedia Sample Tank 3 SE - originally $100, got it for $40.
I'd say about half of the tones are kind of mediocre but the other half are really solid. I was just messing around and I came up with this:
https://m.soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/diaboli
I was going for a horror movie vibe since my girlfriend is really into horror - I'm going to try to develop it further in my spare time, any advice on it?
Thanks mate!
PS: the mix is rather low volume, it sounded fine with my studio headphones but when I rendered it the volume was really low.
Hi Chris! Congrats on your new purchase!
This idea sounds cool, I like the atmosphere created by the synth. I'm not totally convinced by the percussive fx, they don't sound realistic yet. Maybe you could experiment with some reverb and eq to make them sound more real. The reverb could be also added a bit to the synth in order to create an environment.
About volume, always remember to add a compressor/limiter before the stereo out to get louder mixes. There are some mastering tools that can be good purchases in the future. These usually come with compressors, multiband compressors, Eq, harmonic exciters, all great stuff to make your mixes sound better.
Here I've found some free stuff: http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/trcs/
Hey Gab!
So I was wondering if you would be ok if I try to push myself harder?
I was thinking we can break up my schedule like this:
50% = Theory/Composition, phrasing, etc. (basically what we are doing now)
25% = Developing rhythm - learning GMC rhythm lessons to help better my rhythm work so I can develop more complex and interesting rhythms.
25% = Incorporating speed into my lead - so when I am improvising I will hear a quick picking run or legato run in my head but I don't have the experience practicing these to actually be able to incorporate them (think back to my first Buckethead improv, I tried to be flashy but it wasnt there). So maybe giving me a lesson that will develop my speed.
SO:
The theory part is pretty much covered with what we are working on now, and as for the rhythm I have been working on both the Hard Rock Riffing lesson as well as your AWESOME Anvil style lesson. I figured I would focus on the anvil lesson for the time being since it is a little more challenging for me than the other one and this is where I am at:
I try to incorporate as many upstrokes as I can get away with to give my wrist a small break, I don't want my tendonitis to flare up - the New Grip wrist wrap I wear now also helps a little.
Not really sure where to start for speed, any ideas?
I can always upload of video of what I can currently accomplish as far as playing fast?
So what do you think, my friend?
Hi Chris, this plan sounds very interesting. It's a good idea to push yourself since that's the way to take your guitar playing to a new level.
Let's talk about speed. Speed is achieved with repetitions, working over metronome or drum loops and focusing on making our hands movements the most efficient possible. At first, it's better to work with small patterns that can be looped.
I personally would recommend you to work on this kind of stuff: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=42832&view=findpost&p=567344
It's organized starting with 1 string and gradually incorporating different ways of crossing strings.
This work, combined with some other lessons will be a good training. There are basically three main techniques for speed:
- Alternate Picking
- Legato
- Sweep Picking
and there is an extra that maybe you'll want to try that is Hybrid Picking.
About the lesson choices, we have lots of "in the style of..." lessons that you could work. I recommend start with lessons in the style of Paul Gilbert and Zakk Wylde. You won't necessary have to learn the whole thing, you can take the faster licks that you like and work on them as exercises.
Does this make sense?
Thanks Gab!
I will start the ITC program you mentioned and post my results from time to time.
What did you think of my take on the Anvil lesson?
EDIT:
I think for speed I'm going to try to nail the intro riff to this and maybe some of the tapping runs because I really enjoy tapping.
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Scarified_by_Racer_X/
Hi Chris,
Anvil lesson is sounding very good. There are three things that I would consider focusing:
- Dynamics: You could accentuate more some notes from the riffs.
- Timing: There are some little moments that could sound tighter (for example the riff at
- Sound: Your tone could sound more defined. Try lowering some bass mid frequencies and increasing around 3000 hz.
Gilbert's song is killer, I love it. It's not a bad idea to work on those licks.
Ok! Sounds good.
Hey Gab!
So I know that my vibrato has been pretty lacking - I tend to always do it as fast as I can no matter the tempo and it sounds too frantic.
I decided I would try to slow it down a bit and I came up with this and was wondering what your thought were?
https://m.soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/cesspool
As always - thanks!!!
Hi Chris, is this your original idea? It's good to work on your own phrasing while trying to polish techniques. I think that your vibrato is natural on this one but it is note very notorious, it's weak in some moments.
Vibrato is a very personal technique so you have to develop your own way to make your playing personal, but it's cool to have different intensities of it to be able to express different feelings.
Keep on working!
Hey Gab!
So the cactus picture has me stumped from the creativity thread - so I came up with this instead:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/goosebumps
Was going for a spooky carnival kind of vibe.
Thanks!
This is killer mate! It's so perfect for this picture! I don't know if you have seen "Breaking Bad" tv show but I think that this tune would have been perfect for it!
What instruments did you use?
It's not exactly the same, but for any reason the feel of your tune made me remember to this:
Thanks man!!
Me and my girlfriend love Breaking Bad - the ending was so good yet so sad. Thanks again for taking time out of your days to help me and everyone else - I can see improvements in just about everything in the short time we've been working together - I appreciate it!
I do need some help with my harmony work though
I wanted to add in a harmonized guitar section but it just wasn't sounding powerful like any other harmony part I hear (Iron Maiden, Avenged Sevenfold - even Socky42's Dragonball Z cover which was awesome!)
I know how to build triads/chords so I think I'm at least half way there...
This is what I came up with just as an example:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/harmony-example
So the main theme from goosebumps looked like this:
E Minor Scale:
Hi mate, the problem here is that you are not harmonizing with notes from the scale. You have to mix major and minor thirds depending on the notes that belong to the scale, in order to get a diatonic harmonization... does it make sense?
Check out my Iron Maiden Masterclass lesson where I talk about this and let me know if it clarifies this concept.
Thanks Gab!
So I think I'm on the right track, however, I use a chromatic passing tone ( D# ) that's not in the scale and that messes me up. Here is the improved take:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/harmony-example-revised
At the ending I play three notes chromatically but the D# isn't in the scale:
I harmonized the E with a G / I counted up two scale degrees from D# so I harmonized it with an F# / but then the D should technically be harmonized with the F# but since I already played the F# with the D# I bumped it down to an F which is outside of the scale.
Does this make sense? The chromatic note D# messed me up and I wasn't sure how to harmonize it properly - any advice?
Thanks!
Hi Chris! Now we are talking!
This is how you can harmonize a melody in thirds. When using a chromatic note, you get an "out" effect that will be enhanced when harmonizing it. In this case, the chromatic note is between two diatonic notes, and when harmonizing you also have 1 note between them so this is the best way to harmonize this idea. In other cases, there are not rules but you could try repeating one of the notes or maybe playing using an octave for this one...
If you have read the iron maiden masterclass article, you know that you can harmonize in thirds, fifths, sixths, octaves... and you get different effects. A cool trick is to combine a bit different intervals while improvising, to get more interesting and less predictable ideas. This can work or not depending on the melody, the style, etc, but it's cool to experiment with it too.
The most important thing here is our ear, the more we train our ear with this, the easier will be to think in sound instead of intervals and scales and so the more creative ideas will appear.
Thanks Gab - Im going to try to come up with a Maiden style riff/lick to practice my harmonizing!
In the meantime,
Halloween is sort of around the corner and it is my girlfriend's favorite holiday
I was thinking of doing something different this year and I thought I would take a shot at remixing/covering the Halloween theme from the Halloween/Michael Meyers movies and this is where I am at:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/halloween-remix-demo
I would appreciate it if you could give me as much feedback as possible - what you like and don't like - so I can have it as perfect as possible come Halloween
My main concerns:
1) Do the bongos ruin it?
2)Does the guitar ruin it at the end?
3)Does switching tempo from 135 to 160 and from a 5/4 to 4/4 time signature at the end ruin it?
My plan is to solo over the guitar part at the end and then switch back to the main theme at some point.
Do you think I am on the right track? If so, I think I'm going to have to buy a wah pedal for the solo - I'm get a wah-wah kind of vibe in my head
Thanks, friend!
Hi Chris, this is a very good idea.
I think the thing that is lacking this is a better overall sound. I like the piano and strings, but I don't like the kick, bongo, drums and rhythm guitar sound. The arrangement is interesting and I don't think that the change in meter and time is a problem. But that guitar must sound killer. Try another distortion and recording it twice and panning it.
The bongos sound weak, not very clear, and the kick could sound more defined and with more low end. Try this ideas and share a new mix. I'll be here to comment it.
Thanks Gab!
I'll let you know when I make some progress
Hey Gab!
So as you know it's been tough trying to stay motivated with everything that has been going on but being so far behind in this assignment I needed to do something to try and boost my morale and so I just let it all out and came up with this:
I feel a little bit better and have actually started working on the assignment now - it's going to be one hell of a comeback trying to accomplish this one
As always,
Thanks!
Hi mate! Great to see you back! That solo is promising! I like the composition. The elements that you need to improve on this one are those that we are already working on the assignments and that are related to performance and feeling. However it's really positive to see you recording your own ideas, keep on polishing it.
Hey Gab!
So in the time that I have been gone I've been making a lot of changes in my life - for the better, of course! There is a whole world out there, filled with great things and great people, waiting to be seen - and it's important to make time to see them, after all - we only get one life to live.
If you haven't seen this movie I strongly suggest you check it out:
Into the Wild
It really changed my perspective on life, it's a pretty deep movie.
Anyhoo, I've been slowly getting back into guitar and I thought I would try to come up with something to reflect the inner-battle I'm fighting:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/untitled-demo-rough-edit
It's kind of like a violin vs guitar sort of thing to emulate me vs my inner demons. Since I can't sing the best thing I could do was find some sound samples from a translation site for the chorus.
It's supposed to be:
"I love you. Do you love me, too? Please tell me. Please?"
But I highly doubt the accuracy in that
Glad to be back!
Hi Chris! Very interesting stuff! I haven't seen the movie, just heard the soundtrack which is amazing, I'll definitely watch it.
The tune composed is cool, I can feel that vibe that you are feeling and wanted to transpose into music. The translation is very close, except by the phrase "tell me" that in the Spanish version is saying something like "notify or warn"... in spanish the word would be "dÃme" o "cuentame" so the phrase would be "por favor dime", "por favor cuéntame".
By the way, the combination of instruments with the words are very good. It's nice to see you exploring this more creative side of you. I encourage you to keep going on this direction.
Yes, it has lead strings, single and groups of violins, viola, cello, etc. By the way, before you buy it, check some youtube samples to be sure that it fits your necessities.
Hey Gab!
Wow, time flies - I had no idea it has been almost a month since I've been in this thread
My absence was not in vain though because I come bearing this:
I wrote this for my girlfriend - it was my first ever attempt at a "real song"
Never wrote lyrics before either so they're a bit weak but she loved it so it's all good
Thanks
Wou! That's a beautiful present for your girlfriend mate! Congratulations on putting together your first complete song and video! And what a guest!!
Hey Gab!
It's been way too long, I missed working with you and GMC in it's entirety. If you saw my post in the Gear section with my Metal Muff you know I've been working the overnight shift at Toys R Us for the past two months and it's been total hell - glad it's over with and I can actually have a life again!
All that I've really been able to do the past two months was this:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/missing-you-idea
&
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/breaking-free-idea
So now that I am finally back to being able to practice regularly and such - I don't even know where to pick up at this point - what do you think I should start working on?
Thanks man!
PS: How have you been, hows the band, hows life, etc?
Hey mate! Nice to see you back here!
I'm fine thanks! This has been a positive album with many personal and professional achievements. I feel healthy and happy which are the most important things.
I've checked both ideas and I like the melodies in both. I was thinking on your next steps. I think that the best would be to set some new (or maybe old) goals and then design you plan based on them. Some ideas for goals:
- Take your technique to a new level.
- Learn more about theory.
- Polish your improvisation skills.
- Adjust rhythm playing.
- Compose a song.
- Compose an album.
- Record an album.
These are just some random examples. Write down your own ideas.
Thanks for the advice Gab!
I think my two biggest goals are going to be focusing on my improvising to develop my melodies into more complex phrases - less simple - and to take my legato and tapping to the next level.
I really like the "fluid" tone of legato and tapping over the more aggressive sound of speed picking (although still something I will work on).
How should I go about improving my tapping/legato phrases?
I also fooled around with some tapping to create this:
And for my improvising I tend to start out strong and then become extremely weak in the middle, such as this idea:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/kickball-under-the-lights
I like to think I have catchy melodies but the verses are what I struggle with.
Thanks Gab!
Hi Chris! Great stuff!
That tune sounds interesting! I like the riff created there and there are some interesting tapping licks. Working on your one tunes and solos is the best way to develop your own voice on guitar so keep doing it, combines with practicing some exercises and learning new licks that make your vocabulary grow.
So about your question on how to develop your tapping and legato. I think that a good plan would be to learn one or two new licks every day based on this techniques and practice them over a backing track creating variations and combining with other phrases of your own. Where to get these licks? At first you could use GMC lessons.
Besides this, you would dedicate 10 minutes to guitar gym, that would be just some fingers training. In other words I suggest playing repetitive exercises that help to train your fingers for these two techniques.
Finally, about improvisation, I recommend you play a lot over backing tracks. You can use the backing tracks from the lessons that you are learning.
I'll copy here something that I've shared at another improv thread of this forum:
However, the most important thing is not adding a lot of concepts, or learning lots of techniques, patterns, arpeggios, triads. The most important thing is to assimilate the develop each element that you learn and work on one each time. I like the idea of writing down a list of concepts, and working over a backing track on 1 each time. This is an example list:
- concept 1: vibrato and bending
- concept 2: following the chords with thirds.
- concept 3: following the chords with triads.
- concept 4: mixing triads to get new colors.
- concept 5: dynamics
- concept 6: double stops
- concept 7: learning and applying sequences.
- concept 8: structure
- concept 9: alternate picking
- concept 10: harmonics
- concept 11: melodic motif
These are just ideas, there are lots of concepts that you can work. Besides working on 1 of these each day and using gmc tutorials and lessons to get inspiration and more knowledge about the topic, I recommend you to learn 1 new lick each day and practice it over backing track, playing it as it is, and making your own variations of it.
Thanks for all the great advice, Gab!
Combining yours and Mr Dahl's advice on a legato thread I posted on his instructor forum - this is the plan I'm going to go forward with:
I think at first, instead of using a new backing track everyday - I will use one a week for starters.
I will use a slow backing track, as Mr Dahl recommended, which will force me to play my legato slowly so that the focus will be on what notes I'm choosing to use and how I use them as opposed to just playing as fast as I can.
In combination, I will also take a legato lick from either a lesson or a solo from a song I like and try to learn it, and then make it my own - I feel like this will also give me insight to help me figure out more creative ways to use legato instead of the basic repetitive patterns I use now.
So with those two, I will post a first day video of my day one improvisation over that backing track, and then spend the remainder of the week trying to polish and further develop the licks, and then post a final day improvisation video so that we can compare results and figure out what to focus on going into the next weeks backing track.
Aside from this, I will also do the guitar gym finger training exercises as well to keep my fingers nimble and independent.
How does this sound?
Thanks
This sounds perfect. We have a deal!
Hey Gab,
Decided to use a backing track I recently made for the first week it's slow - 60bpm:
Any thoughts moving forward?
Thanks
Hi mate, there creative ideas happening there. Let's start with the basic, what's the chord progression and what scale are you using?
Ok, so what's the reason why you are using D minor scale? There isn't a D minor chord in the progression... what's your approach to decide what scale to use?
Hey Gab - so I've been experimenting more with the Major Scale since it's a pretty big weakness of mine and I've come up with this song that I think I'm going to have done for Valentines Day:
Here is the backing track (what do you think)?
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/tonight-backing-demo
I have some lyrics written for it and once their done I'll hire a vocalist to record them.
The backing track isn't complete, and I am open to any suggestions you might have.
Thanks mate!
EDIT: Its not showing up in the player on my end, if it's not on yours you can click the link and it should take you to the song.
Hi Chris,
Nice track! It has a very happy feel. I think that the progression is melody friendly so you will be able to create cool melodies for a singer over this one. I think that the next step is to work on production and sound. Here are some ideas:
- Getting a cooler drum loop sound. Something more modern would give this a fresher air.
- Take some time to try different synths and keys to give the "electro" feel a more realistic, professional sound.
- Produce guitars. This style has usually very interesting guitar works, with clean arpeggios or melodies full of modulations and /or delays. Listen to masters as U2, The Killers or Imagine Dragons to have ideas.
Good job Chris! I like how this one is turning. There is still room to improve guitars and drums EQ and also working a bit on reverb can make a difference in your mix. Check out some youtube tutorials to take ideas on how to use reverb to make everything sound with more life.
About the solo drum groove, I like it! It's original. Lately I've been listening to this band and one of the things that I like more is how drums are complex but fix well with the song:
I'm currently using Altiverb for reverb, it's a very good reverb vst with lots of ambiances and possibilities.
I agree about the volume of hi hats and cymbals. Adding a good reverb for drums will make them sound more connected with the mix. About EQ, it's more trial and error until you hear what you want. I also think that guitars are lacking some presence so I would increase frequencies around in the high range.
I still think that better drum samples would improve this a lot, so maybe you can check if there are some free drum vst that give you better sounds.
Regarding bass, what are you using? I can't really hear it clearly.
Hey Gab!
So while I'm waiting for the vocals I decided to start on a new rough draft to keep the creative juices flowing and I was wondering what you think of this foundation?
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/bridget-collab-idea-two-rough-draft
So far I'll probably change the synth in the chorus and I forgot to fade out the synth with the rest of the tracks for the outro
Hi Chris! Nice new track! I like the groove and how you arranged guitars. It has some Maiden's feel but sounds more pop.
It's a promising idea and a good follow up to the previous track. It's also a very good exercise for creativity and composition to keep creating music so keep going!
Hi Chris, good job! This tune is evolving really well!
Waiting for vocals to polish arrangements is a clever decision and that's how I work with my band. I first create a possible melody, then the song, then work on lyrics and vocals melodies with more precision and finally work on the overall arrangement. It's not a lineal process but you need to go advance to then get back to the backing.
Thanks for the tips!
So I couldn't think of any lyrics for the last song, so I gave the vocalist free reign over the lyrics and vocals: so now the song is an R&B song about doing the nasty
Oh well:
Gave you a shout out for helping me polish everything
Wou!! Congrats on the final job!
The vocal melodies and lyrics finally give the final shape to this song! I love how catchy the verse is now with vocals. This is a very important step for you as a musician and composer. I hope that this is the first of many tracks from you!
Thanks for the shout out!
I'm proud.
Keep going!
Hey Gab!
Lots of things happening in my two/three weeks absence!
Firstly, I'm back in school finally - studying to become an electrician
And second, I have two new songs in the works.
This gem is mostly finished - still have to do some mixing, there's no bass, and the drums are just a loop so I will have to polish them - I also plan on making the piano more complex when the cello comes in:
The song is going to be about suicide, so the ending will make more sense knowing that; picture falling from a building:
https://m.soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/goodbye
It's my most complex song so far lyrically - and it also features some strange chord progressions:
Am Em Am Dsus4 Dm (I don't usually ever see the last two together) and then the out to shifts to Am G C D
Let me know what you think!
Thanks man
PS So I was reading Cirse's wikipedia page and it says you guys got to tour with Evanescence is that true?! If it is, Im totally Jelly I love Evanescence - I'm currently trying to blend their work on the Fallen Album with Stabbing Westward's Darkest Days album to create the sound I want to move forward with.
Hi mate, I love the demo of your song "Goodbye". It has a very deep feeling and the ending is shocking.
The things that I would polish on this one are:
- the sound of drums. Overheads are too loud and high, and kick is not audible.
- Making the piano intro more interesting and organic.
About your question regarding Cirse, we've shared stage with Evanescence at a festival here. It was a great show at a big open air place. The day was so stormy but we had a great time. The only bad thing is that Amy Lee, and the the rest of the band didn't want to get in contact with us (the band), and we've been treated as "terrorists" by their security team. On the other hand we've opened two concerts for Metallica, one of the biggest rock/metal bands ever and they went to our backstage to salute and take a picture with us... they are great guys.
Wow! Opening for Metallica that is awesome, man! I'm sorry to hear about your experience with Evanescence though - it's a shame when bands can be "stuck up" like that.
I spent some more time developing Goodbye:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/goodbye-v-30-no-vocals
I reworked the piano - does this make the piece sound more natural/organic?
I reworked the drums, the kick is more noticeable now in my opinion - the toms sound super fake/processed so I will need to fix those - I lowered the volume of the cymbals but I feel they are still too loud in some spots so I will use the Track Automation feature and manually adjust those volumes at a later time.
I also added bass, reworked the guitars on the outro to give it a slight "Epic Metal" feel and added a choir to make the fall seem more "angelic".
And lastly, I changed the final piano chord to an arpeggio with a slight tempo bump to make it end on a more interesting note.
What do you think, my friend?
Hi Chris, this sounds better! The overall arrangement has improved.
Kick is now audible but it still needs work to sound "more real". Try to compare with some songs from Evanescence or Stabbing wetward to emulate more EQ and compression. Also, it seems that the kick has too much reverb, snare can have more reverb but not the same that kick.
Talking about reverb and ambience, you need to work on this because drums are not sounding connected with the other instruments. Adding a bit of reverb to guitars and synths can make everything sound like in the same place.
Overheads are still too "highy".
Ok, looking forward the new mix!
Buenas Tardes, my friend!
So I found a free Reverb VST that sounds (to me) better than Reaper's built in reverb - I looked into Altiverb, which you mentioned using but it's a bit out of my price range at the moment (still saving for decent drum software).
The controls are a bit difficult, but what I have been doing is using Reaper's "Mix Alive" reverb setting to give some depth to the tone, and then running it into Ambience (the new Reverb I use) and this is the result:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/goodbye-v-40-no-vocals
Am I heading in the right direction as far as getting all the tracks to sound like they are in the same venue?
I also spent time on the cymbals, hi hats and toms - lowering their levels to get them to sit back further in the mix.
Thanks man!
PS. Vocals should be done my Monday - I can't wait to mix them in and let you hear the song.
EDIT:
Do you have any experience with the BeBop scale? I came up with what I thought was a cool riff but according to guitar pro the only scale that it fits in is A# Bebop - and when I look at it I see the C minor scale with some chromatics in it.
Is the BeBop scale something is used very often? I came up with a lead over it - I like the "strangeness" the chromatics create over it:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/new-idea-a-bebop
Hi Chris,
the new mix sounds better. Now the instruments seem to be in the same venue. I say venue because the amount of rever is big so it doesn't sound like an studio or room, it's bigger. I think that you still need to adjust it but let your ears rests. Using headphones and comparing with other mixes is the way to go.
About your bebop idea, it sounds really interesting. The use of chromatisms is something very used in extreme metal, and even more on progressive and math. This is a lesson that covers it a bit:
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Bebop_and_Bluesin_Metal/
Hey Gab I have a general mixing question:
When you record guitars - is it better to record them dry, and then to add the delay and reverb in your DAW - as opposed to recording with a little bit of reverb and then adding more later on?
Also:
While I am waiting for the vocals for Goodbye - I decided to start working on a concept for my first album and I want to do an Evanescence style: heavy guitars / female lead.
I came up with a basic outline for the first song, I wanted a long intro to build suspense - vocals wouldn't come in until 1:07 although I don't have any lyrics written:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/song-1-idea
Whatcha think?
Thanks!
Hi mate, cool composition!
I like this as an intro. I would only add some more synth, maybe some "Ah voices" effect to give it that Evanescence feel that you are searching. The mix is getting better but you'll need more powerful guitars for this style. This music is usually recorded with Big Mesa Boogie Rectifiers and JCM800 combined. If you are going to use emulations you'll have to dedicate time to try different options to make it sound "big".
About your questions about recording, for rhythm guitars don't add reverb or delay. For leads, only if you are sure that then you won't want to turn it down. The results is similar regarding quality but it depends on the processor you use.
Hi mate, all great stuff here!
The sneak peak is VERY promising!! The singer sings really well, I like his voice and the melody is epic! Great job! Can't wait to hear the whole song.
About the audio samples, I think that this new samples are getting better. I like the first combination (-JCM800 with tubescreamer ), but you should try with less distortion and recording your guitar twice, and panning it in the mix.
You can listen to isolated guitars from albums to see how they are usually eq and that amount of drive used:
Is it normal for two different amps to be used between the rhythm and lead guitar - or do producers generally use the same amp for both for consistency?
Because I've been working on blending a Mesa profile for rhythm and a JCM800 profile for lead:
Both guitars together, then the Mesa by itself, then the JCM800 by itself, then both together again
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/11-rack-tone-test-jcm800-and-mesa-boogie-pair
I dialed back the gain a good amount - I'm not sure if it's still too heavy though.
Hi Chris, this is getting better!
Producer usually try every combination possible to get the tone that they are looking for. I recommend you to see the classic albums series documentaries, for example the one about Nevermind where I remember Butch Vig talking about combining amps to get the sound he was looking for.
I think that you could try with less drive, and also adjusting the EQ of Mesa Boogie with is a bit "bassy". Try lowering bass or maybe adding mids / highs.
Hey Gab - I've been experimenting with double tracking the rhythm and lead's to help getting a wider sound as well:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/you-dont-own-me-rough-draft
I didn't EQ the mix, I just panned and level so there is probably more high end than needed - what do you think of this?
This is also another idea I am working on, the intro will be completely different but I'm happy with the riffs.
I even have some lyrics:
Chorus
You - don't own me;
Can't control me;
Never loved me
It's over, over this time
Wou! Those guitars are getting heavy!! Well done mate! I like how your guitars are sounding now. I think that bass and drums require some attention.
I recommend you to check some isolate bass for nu metal bands like Papa Roach, or even Korn to hear how drive is used to give a special color to the bass track. Try this unit as an example: https://www.tseaudio.com/software/tseBOD
Drums need some special work. You can experiment with Kick and Snare EQ, compression and reverb (only for snare not kick), and also take care of those overhead that are too loud.
This is very promising, keep on the great job!
Thanks for the pointers man! I'll definitely work more on the bass (I didn't spend any time of the drums).
Also, latest sneak peak for Goodbye!
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/goodbye-sneak-peak-2
The song will be part of a GoFundMe campaign linked directly to the American Society for Suicide Prevention - anyone who donates to them will get the song for free and if we reach a target goal (not set yet) the song will be free for everyone!
I'm pretty much a nobody in the music world hehe, so I don't expect a lot of donations or a high goal to be reached but I'm just glad to be using music for a good cause!
Wou! Those are great news mate! Congrats! It's very good for you as a musicians, it will bring a lot of promotion, and you'll be helping for a nice campaign. Everything is so great.
And the new sample is very promising. Keep working!
Thanks for your kind word man
Also, big congrats to you and Cirse for the upcoming Sinergia DVD on Saturday!
My question is, is it possible for me to buy one and you guys sign it?
Hi Chris! Thanks for your words! I think that it's possible. Please remind me the next week and we'll try to arrange it!
Thanks! I will surely remind you
And without further adue:
https://m.soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/goodbye-demo
Still some touching up to do but this is pretty much the song - I hope you enjoy it
Mate! I have to congrats you and that amazing lady for the killer track that you've created! I think that the song is brilliant, very deep, and sad... I really get the feeling... and the singer is fantastic, his vocal "colour" is very nice to hear, and when she goes up it so expressive! and keeps sounding nice and warm.
I think that you can still work on the mix. The use of reverb for vocals could be better, guitars less "high" (deeper guitars) and also take care of that crash cymbal that is played on the right channel which is not very natural (at least control the eq or it).
Fantastic work!!
Hi Chris,
It's true that there are some words that could sound louder, are you compressing the vocal track? Maybe you can try with more compression.
I'm still not convinced of the vocal ambience. I would try with any other reverb, are you using "plate" type. Also, using delay will make the ambience sound more "pro".
Check out this track:
Thanks for the isolated vocals - they really were helpful!
I ditched Altiverb - and am now running Reaper's built in Reverb, but then following it up with a TAL-Reverb-II plate plugin to add character since Reaper's reverb alone is pretty generic.
Comparing Amy Lee's vocals to Ashley's - I noticed that my wet signals were way too high and the reverb was overpowering. I also was only using a Vocal Slapback effect for delay, so I made the delay time longer to make the repeats more noticeable.
I also noticed that the studio must have used a little too much auto-tune/pitch correction - if you listen closely between 0:55 and 0:56 when she says "be" you can here the pitch shift, is there anyway to correct this in my DAW since I obviously can't have the vocals redone without hiring her again?
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/goodbye-isolated-vocals
Thanks
ALSO:
I am using compression but probably totally wrong - I really am clueless with compression and how to use it, so I basically just move dials until I here a difference. Here is a screenshot of my compressor settings for the vocals:
This is much better!! Now that the ambiance is better I've noticed that the EQ of your vocal track has more mids than Amy Lee's track. This can be related to the mic choice, but I want to be sure that you are not adding too much the frequencies between 1.0 to 2.5. This frequencies are very important for the voice but if you enhance them too much, you can get a "radio effect" sound. I feel that your track has some radio feel so maybe you can experiment a bit with EQ now. Adding more bass / highs or lowering some mid frequencies.
In other words try to get a more balanced EQ as it happens with Evanescence's track.
Thanks Gab, I've been out for a few days with a stomach virus
I will return to the mix once I am feeling better.
Any update on the DVD, my friend?
Hey Gab!
So I'm finally feeling better and I come bearing a couple pieces of news:
1) I've decided to switch majors in school - I have no passion to be an electrician, and having only one life to live I think it's important to follow your dreams : so I have decided to double major in Audio/Video Communications and Music Recording Technology and afterwards I will be doing a two semester course for a certificate in Photography.
My goal with this is to get a job working with a local radio/new/tv station to get experience and money - and then put that towards starting my own independent production company that basically does it all.
We could do audio for the radio, we can shoot and edit video for a commercial - if you're a band we can record and produce your new cd, film your performance on stage, take photos, design your websites, etc etc.
I feel like it's something I can wake up everyday and love what I do, so there is that
2) Since I am going for Music Recording, I am going to put a hold on releasing any new material besides Goodbye - I will continue writing new material but I won't actually produce complete songs until I have the experience to put out more quality mixes than I currently am.
3) In order to help my creativity and my rhythm/lead work - I've decided I will be learning a new cover once a month, mostly Evanescence covers as well as other songs that fit that style (the style I want to pursue with my own music) in order to help me understand their structure and allow me to create more interesting rhythm pieces.
So within a week, I will post an update of where I am with my first cover: Evanescence - Tourniquet
Hi Chris! I'm happy of reading this post. You won't never regret this great decision you took. Your plan is not only you following you dream, I think it's reasonable and totally doable.
I'll be here always ready to check your progress and song analysis.
Thank you for your kind words, Gab!
As far as learning covers - you have done a lot of "In The Style Of" lessons here on GMC so you are the perfect person to ask this question to:
What do I take away from the covers, beside just learning how to play them?
For example, on my very first day of learning Tourniquet, I said to myself: "I think this is in E Minor" and when I checked the scale in Guitar Pro I was in fact correct - it is E Minor
Aside from what scale is being used, what other things should I be analyzing as I am learning these songs?
Thanks
When analyzing music I like to organize the analysis in 3 columns: Structure, What's happening? and Theory (Scales and chord progressions). The first column is basically writing down the parts (intro, verse, chorus, etc). On the second on the second one -I write how the song is arranged, what the instruments are doing, and everything that it's relevant regarding interpretation. Finally on the last column I write down the chord progression, and the scale use for vocals or other lead melodies.
When composing a lesson in the style of I analyze many songs and try to detect which are the elements and concepts that they tend to repeat or that make their music unique.
Does it make sense?
Hi Chris! Great to see you joining the collab! The take is cool and I'm sure that it works for the collab. If you are interested in polishing this one, you can dedicate some time to adjust timing on the first half of the solo, mostly the first licks. Also, cleaning a bit that double string arpeggio, and making it sound more natural would improve the solo.
The solo has cool licks and I'm sure that Darius will find useful stuff for the final mix here.
New idea in the works, my friend!
It's a love song
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/forever-rough-draft-no-vocals
I haven't really spent anytime on the mix - and the drums are just the same sample looped - but as far as the overall construction I'm pretty happy, it's a bit more complicated structurally than what I have been doing so far.
Here is the lyrics for the first two verses to give you an idea
Every star I see
Spread across the galaxy
Humbles me
So peacefully
Even when they're gone
Their light still shines on
Present in the past
Together they will last
Forever
Hi mate, this is a promising idea. I like the feel of the progression and main arrangement, and I think that the message behind the lyrics is deep. I'd like to hear how this one continues evolving, keep working!
who is going to sing this one?
Awesome! Congrats on your new purchases! I don't know addictive keys, what's does it include? pianos?
Great to know that you'll also have a professional singer on this track. The track sounds really good by now. I'll check it again at the studio to hear the mix and how the new drums vsti affected your track.
Yep - addictive keys has I believe three versions:
Studio Grand (the one I got), Upright and then Pop (I think)
Studio Grand is a couple different versions of a Grand Piano that you can mess with different microphones and placements and what not
I do have a question regarding drums though:
So what I want to do after creating the drum track is render individual WAV files as if they were individually recorded so I can better mix the sound.
I saw a video and the way he set up his drum tracks was like this:
1. Kick
2. Snare
3. Rack Toms
4. Floor Toms
5. Overhead left
6. Overhead Right
7. Kick front
What exactly does the kick front mean and is there a way I would emulate this with Addictive Drums or no?
Thanks Gab
There are many ways of recording kick. The most used way is to have one mic for the "kick" sound (high attack) and another one for the low end. Maybe that Kick Front is more the low end while the other mic has the attack of it. You don't have different mics for the drums on addictive but you can set the distance and position of each mic which allows you to vary the eq balance that's being captured. Another possibility is that the kick front is some kind of close room mic. In this case, you'll find that there are room mics on addictive vsti, which I recommend to use to get the right ambience and low end of the whole drum kit.
Thanks Gab - I will look into this.
So I rewrote the rough draft for Forever:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/forever-new-direction
I kinda like this one better but the problem is I have to completely re-write the lyrics for the Chorus
I'll keep you posted
It sounds like a stadium hit now. The chord progression combined with the groove suggest a very catchy vocal melody. I don't know what's the musical direction that you want to give to this one, but I would take it more to Imagine Dragon's than pop punk. I would work more on synths and other stuff that makes it sound more modern. But this is just a subjective comment.
Great!
I'm fine thanks. I had a relaxing weekend without gigs but now we are again working. We have rehearsals this week to prepared everything for this weekend short tour. We are also working on the arrangement of new songs for the next album.
We have lots of shows this year, but the idea is to also dedicate time to get a new album ready at the end of this year or maybe first months of the next one.
This is a picture that I took yesterday when getting back home from a very inspiring day at the island (Delta Tigre).
Wow! That view looks amazing! I'm hoping I can take a trip down to the beach this summer
I made some changes to Forever:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/forever-new-direction-2
I got rid of the "Pop Punk" vibe the best I could by cutting out the 16th note rhythm guitar parts - I added some synths and came up with a new chorus and lyrics to match it:
Verse:
Every star I see
Spread across the galaxy
Humbles me
So peacefully
Even when they're gone
Their light still shines on
Gently reminding me
That we can be
Chorus:
Together Forever
I know we can be
Together Forever
Just you and me
I can't live without you
Can you live without me?
'Cause baby I need you
I need us to be
Forever
The intro with the claps will have the singer humming the chorus melody to add more atmosphere - I am debating taking out the guitars from the intro and replacing it with a synth.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the synth sounds minus the synth at 2:21 - I think I might use a different one for that section.
What do you think, my friend?
Good! I think that it's taking the right direction now. There is some room to make it sound less pop punk and it's related to guitar arrangement but this is a big step to the other side. Maybe listening some indie synth songs can bring ideas. The guitar tone is important here, check out some first albums Yeah Yeah Yeahs songs and notice how guitar tone sound and how guitars are played.
Thanks Gab - I gave them a listen and made some more changes.
I spent a lot of time reworking the song and I am super happy with it now - I can feel a Simple Plan vibe when I listen to this.
There are still some minor changes I will be making and I sent you a copy of the lyrics I have written via PM so you can read them
Didn't want to post them here so someone could steal my work
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/forever-new-direction
This is very nice mate! I think that now the direction is clearer and more enjoyable. In order to adjust details regarding sound and arrangements I think that it's good to give a try to the vocals. When are you going to record it?
That so nice mate! I feel honoured by citing me on that essay! and I would really like to read it then. Is it possible?
We will be hand writing the essays today and won't get them back until May, the end of the semester, but as soon as I do I will post it.
I do have the first paragraph typed though as a reference to study for going into it:
Knowing how to be an effective leader in the guitar playing community, like that of instructor Gabriel Leopardi (band Cirse) of GuitarMasterClass.net, requires you to follow these three critical steps in order to shape your students, with a hands on approach, so that can be molded into great musicians. The first step will require you to reach out to your students; some people may be too shy to reach out to you. Next, you must be willing to dedicate your time and work with these individuals; molding inexperienced musicians into future rock stars takes a lot of perseverance. Finally, you must continue to support, motivate and inspire them in order to strengthen their confidence and give them the tools they need to be successful well after your last lesson. Let us now delve further into a more detailed explaination of the steps needed to be a truly effective leader in the guitar teaching community.
wou! that's awesome! this material is priceless mate. I can't wait to read the whole text. It will be really well received at GMC.
My pleasure, mate! It's the least I can do with everything you do for us
So as far as new stuff, a good friend was feeling ill this week so I decided to do a quick cover of one of her favorite songs:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/adele-hello-coverremix-idea
I just threw this together pretty quick but I actually kind of like it and I think I might to try to do a real cover/remix of it. I know my timing is way off for the vocal melody - that's a big reason I want to do a real cover: to challenge myself.
So I will spend some time developing this
That's very nice mate. I hope that your friends gets better soon.
Hello Gab!
I was wondering what you think of my first impressions of the Paradise Lost collab:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/gmc-paradise-lost-collab-my-take-rough-draft
I like the fact that your phrasing reminds me to Marylin Manson's Sweet Dream solo. Your phrasing is cool, I like how the solo evolves regarding rhythm and notes range.
I think that the note choices can be wiser. Mostly those notes in which you stay. try to analyse the notes compared with the chord sounding and see if there is a better option. It's a slow process but that's how we work on details.
heheh that's killer mate! I like how the final production sounds! I think that the direction that you gave to the track is very fresh and unique. It's interesting to hear the evolution of this track, from the first draft to this mix. (maybe a thread showing the process can be very appreciated at the forum).
Congrats for another beautiful song.
Thanks Gab! Couldn't have done it without you
Also: HUGE CONGRATS for landing a shout out in an article of Guitar World, I saw your post on Facebook
Thanks mate!
Hey man, I hope all is well with you!
Three pieces of news:
#1 I am an now an uncle
#2 Forever will be airing on one of the areas local radio stations this Sunday for Locals Only!! So exciting
#3 New idea in the works
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/invincible-idea
I want to work on making stronger solos and break out of a single position and utilize more of the fretboard.
So do I take the chords, and just solo around the thirds and just keep developing it from there?
Thanks mate!
All great news!! Congrats on becoming an uncle! I haven't been an uncle yet but my uncles have been very important in my life, and also in my relation with music.
Also congrats on forever being played on radio! It's such a rewarding experience to hear our music on the radio. Enjoy it!
About using the whole fretboard for soloing... there are many tricks and exercises that you can do to avoid blind spots on guitar, here are some ideas:
- Practice scales horizontally. Learn and practice scales on 1 string, then on two and try to create phrases moving vertically. Your phrasing will become more melodic and close to a vocalist.
- Use triads to improvise to get out of the scale boxes. Using the same "horizontal" concept, create phrases moving through triads.
- Follow the chords with thirds. Start your phrasing just with 1 note over each chord (the third) and play this notes in different parts of the neck. Slowly add other notes from the scale to build the melodies.
- Create a phrase and play the same phrase with same notes in different parts of the fretboard. Play it everywhere you can.
Thanks Gab!
I will begin applying these techniques and try to develop my Paradise Lost take into a better composition
PRODUCING QUESTION!
What techniques can I apply with a snare sample from Addictive Drums to achieve the snare sound you hear in the beginning of this song? Very explosive - I dig it!
ALSO:
I have started working on this lesson from the coolest dude on the block
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Rise-Against-Hardcore-Punk/
Day one:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/gmc-rise-against-lesson-first-attempt
How do you think the tone is? I used a Treadplate 4x12 profile on my 11 Rack
The hardest thing I am struggling with is the all down-strokes after the intro, I started but I couldn't keep so I switched to alternate picking for the last half of it
Thank you, friend!
Alright, so I slowed it down to 90 bpm
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/riseagainst2
Not sure how close I am with my tone on this one...
It seems I can play the down strokes fine at 90 bpm, but once I go up to 100 bpm I am still having difficulties. I notice that when playing at the higher tempo my hand seems to tense up, and I catch the string on my way up (accidental upstroke).
I guess the only thing to do is to keep working at it, anything you want to add that you noticed?
Thanks
Hi mate, how are you?
Regarding that amazing snare, I think that it's achieved with an aggressive reverb effect that gives a "delay" sensation. If you listen to that snare you'll hear a repeatition of the sound very close to the original, that's what is called "pre delay" which are the first reflections from the room. By default, this setting is usually set "Too close" to the original sound, sometimes in 0 mm, so you need to separate it, you need to experiment with higher values until you can hear it. Then, you have to turn it lower. From what I hear here, it could be a plate type reverb.
Rise against lesson obviously needs more work. It's a very fast lesson and you are not still comfortable playing down picking at this tempo. The tone is ok, I think that the amp is a good choice, however I would experiment more with EQ balance to make it sound closer to the original lesson. There is some mid stuff in your tone that isn't in the original, just experiment moving pots and see what happens.
I think you should just change the lesson so that it's alternate picking, instead
I will spend some time working on this and post an update in a few days.
And for the Paradise Lost collab:
Intro: (G5 - C5 -Eb5 - D) x2
Verse: (G5 - Eb5 D5 Bb5) x4
Since that is the part I will be playing over, am I breaking this down correctly:
Strong notes I want to solo with:
G5 - A note
C5 - E note
Eb5 - F# note
D and D5 - F note
Bb5 - C# note
Did I analyze this correctly?
Thanks
According to the second video in the lesson I have to use down picking, as much as I want to just use alternate picking (but then it won't pass REC)
My apologies for the note choices, I made a mistake and figured the 3rds out as if all the chords were major which is not the case.
Here is my new analysis of the G Minor Scale:
G (minor) A (augmented?) A#/Bb (Major) C (minor) D (minor) D#/Eb (Major) F (Major)
so the thirds I would solo around would be:
G5 - G#/Ab (minor 3rd)
C5 - D#/Eb (minor 3rd)
Eb5 - G (Major 3rd)
D and D5 - F (minor 3rd)
Bb5 - D (Major 3rd)
Is this analysis correct, now?
Thanks
yeah, it's correct now! Looking forward to hear your take.
So I am already confused
Ab is the strong third to play over the G5 - but it is not in the scale so I just used it as a passing tone:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/mytake2
I find it a lot harder to have to think about what I should be playing, instead of just playing - but I know I have to do this in order to make stronger solos.
ALSO:
New song in the works!
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/imperfections-rough-draft
It's just a rough draft but I was wondering what your first impressions are of it?
It's going to be about how the world has this crazy obsession with beauty and perfection. Here's a sample of the lyrics I have written so far:
Lost between the TV screens and
Billboards calling out to me here's
What to say, and what to do
I should try to be more like you
Photoshop models in magazines
Brainwashing girls they need to be
So perfect, so perfect, don't you
See, you should try to be more like me
But we're all beautiful
[Still working on a chorus but the last line is:]
I'm happily content with my
Imperfections
Let's go again.. I'm re-checking what you've written and I'm confused with things like: G5 - G#/Ab (minor 3rd)
Here are the correct thirds:
G5: the third of this chord is Bb
D#5: the third is G
D5: the third is F#
A#: the third is D
Is it clearer now?
The new songs sounds interesting. I like each of the parts, the clean one, the second more rocker and finally the powerful "chorus"? It sounds powerful and it promises a catchy melody... the lyrics is also interesting. For any reason, one of the bands that come to mind is Sixx am, do you know them?
Thanks Gab - I can't wait to see how this further develops. The only song I have heard from Sixx Am is "Rise" and I really liked it! I will have to check them out for sure!
I want to set a goal for myself, to be completed by the end of summer before I go back to school for the fall semester.
I remember seeing this lesson so many years ago, and it really made we want to learn how to play the guitar:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/haste-solo-lesson/
So I want to honor that by being able to play it! This is my first impression after only about 20 minutes of practicing it - so don't expect too much
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/hastefi
Before I spend any time on it - do you honestly feel this is a goal that I could accomplish in the next three or four months at my currently playing level?
ALSO:
Thanks for the correct thirds - I now see what I did. I was correct in determining the Minor/Major chord scale for the G Minor Scale but I still messed up figuring out the thirds on my piano - but I now see what I did wrong.
That's a cool solo lesson. It has some tricky passages that you'll need to isolate and practice a lot over metronome. This is a not a lesson that you'll master playing it over an over. It's a lesson that you'll master if you work diary on the tricky parts during the first 2 months, and then work on connecting everything during the second two months...
What do you think?
Great mate! I like how both things are evolving. I've already said that the song sounds very powerful and promising. I'm anxious to hear the vocals that you have in mind for this one.
It's also good to know that you accepted the deal. Please keep me updated. Share a video of you playing the tricky parts in 1 week to let me check if there is anything about
Hi mate, nice arrangement for the chorus! Good job. This is evolving great.
Honestly, at first I liked how the word "Cirse" sounds, but the real meaning is that it's the name of a flower... check it out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirsium_vulgare
As promised - my first progress video of the Haste lesson, minus the final sweeping section:
Hi Chris,
This take is very promising. You start to look comfortable playing those licks. Continue practicing with this things in mind:
- Be careful with timing, you tend to go a bit after the bit, mostly in the first phrases.
- the legato doesn't sound smooth with the backing track. It sounds good when playing it solo.
- Try to make your vibrato more consistent, more regular.
The mini sweep sounds great!
Keep on the hard work.
Thanks man! You're words mean a lot, I feel like I can actually pull this off
I will practice more over the original lesson to try and stay in time with Sean - and then begin transitioning over to using just the backing track.
I will post another video in a week or two
Just for clarification - what did you mean exactly by making sure my vibrato is more consistent? Should it be wider, or is it just too shaky and uneven?
Thanks man!
PS
I took a hike with my girlfriend yesterday at Ricketts Glenn State Park - this is what the back yards of Pennsylvania look like:
Very inspiring
EDIT:
For whatever reason I'm not happy with Goodbye - it just isn't sitting well with me so I have decided to have some fun with it, and I kind of like the new direction
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/goodbye-remix-idea
Hi Chris!
That's a beautiful place, very inspiring!
About vibrato, I mean more regular, more connected with the backing's groove. It tends to be weak and irregular.
Regarding the song in progress. In this new audio I feel that the sound of each element is in a different world. Guitars are more "vintage", drums are modern, and vocals are more "classical" "orquestal". There are also timing issues that make everything sound untight. You need to decide a clear direction and take each element closer to it.
I was messing around yesterday and decided to work on a more "cinematic" piece:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/and-then-i-found-you-instrumental-idea
The idea was this dreadful life/existence, but then finding someone who changes all of that - which explains the sudden change halfway through.
Listening to it now, I think I will split them into two different pieces. One horror, one more hopeful.
Hi Chris, both sections sound GREAT! This is very promising mate.
Thanks Gab!
I started working on the final sweep in the Haste lesson and oh boy does that put the mini sweep to shame!
Definitely going to be a while for that one
haha ok! take your time to get familiar with it!
So this is my first shot at the final sweeps:
I am more comfortable with the second sweep vs the first sweep so I feel I will master this one sooner.
For the first sweep, do you feel this is the right fingering for the sweep shape? Barre with my ring finger?
Hi Chris, two things:
You need to practice this one, as a loop using metronome but increasing tempo gradually. Don't jump from slow to fast, practice at all in between tempos to slowly become familiar with the motion.
Check out how the instructor in the video does the sweep over the neck to be able to reach the tapping. That's the only way to play this lick at that speed.
I have begun implementing these suggestions into my practice!
ALSO:
I took your advice on the Goodbye Remake - how it was all over the place.
What do you think of the new direction? Personally, I like how the guitars hit you real hard near the end!
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/goodbye-remake-rough-draft
Hi Chris! Yeah! I really like the new direction and how the guitars hit when they appear. I think that this just need some polishing, be careful with the note choices of the clean solo responses in the beginning, and off course we need a deep bass guitar when the distortion appears.
This is very promising.
Almost there!
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/goodbye-remake-almost-final
I added some more orchestral items and re-structured the outro.
Still no bass for those parts, I have a buddy working on a real bass track instead of a sample.
Two questions:
1.) How is the sibilance of the vocals?
2.) Do you like the new ending or do you think the original of the crash and car alarm was better?
Thanks mate!
Hi Chris, nice!
I think that vocals sound good on this mix, I don't find an issue related to sibilance. About the ending, this new one sounds like more "profesional", more like a real song. However I also like the other one, since it still impacts me every time I hear it. No matter which one you choose, it will be ok!
Thanks Gab - currently I am watching a lot of mixing tutorials so my mixes stop sounding so muddy and unprofessional
Aside from that I purchased Ben's Sweep Picking lesson from his website - I want to tackle these sweeps before I continue learning the final sweeps in the Haste Lesson.
I feel like I should "learn to walk before I run" or so they say
The first sweep is an A Major Sweep all 8th note triplets:
Thanks you mate! Yeah, I had a great time on my birthday!
Both learning about mixing, and practicing those sweeps are GREAT ideas. Feel free to share videos playing the sweep patterns.
Keep going!
So I finally picked up a set of studio monitors - no more headphone mixing!
Haha what a difference it is mixing with proper monitors
They're small, 3 inch drivers - but my room is pretty small and I couldn't afford a $400 pair.
These were $100, on sale for $60 and since I'm friends with the manager he let me use a 10% off coupon as well so these were a steal!
So as of right now my current lineup:
1.) Remix Forever - it's already much less muddy and a better quality mix. Once that's done I am going to take a shot at mastering it, I've been watching tutorials; otherwise, I'll send it to get mastered.
2.) Remix Goodbye once it's finished, still waiting on bass. Once this is mixed and mastered I'll try to get it played on Locals Only on our local radio station.
3.) Still working on new ideas - I wanted to stray away from the more pop sounding songs so I came up with this:
https://m.soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/the-devil-waits-for-me-intro-riff
It will feature the same singer from Goodbye once I have a structure and lyrics.
Whatcha think man?
PS. What have you been up lately, mate?
Hi mate good plan! Congrats on your new monitors! That has been my last big investment in my studio and I will never regret it. The old ones were't really good, and they were working wrong. It is awesome how much impact has in what we do.
That intro riff sounds very promising. Keep the music coming!
Hey man! I hope you enjoy the fireworks today!
Here is my amateur shot at mastering Forever:
https://m.soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/forever-mastered
I think it's overall better from the original but I have a long way to go before I'll produce anything that sounds professional. I want to begin saving so I can purchase Ozone to use as a better platform for mixing/mastering than Reapers stock plugins.
Next on the list is Goodbye
Hi mate, I don't have a consistent reference since I'm not at my studio and my headphones are not professional. Here it sounds good, but I cannot say much more than that. It's balanced.
Ozone would be a GREAT investment for mastering.
Thanks man!
Did you enjoy your 4th of July, my friend?
I hope you got see some fireworks and maybe even light off a few of your own! Haha
How's New York treating you?
I'm glad to hear you having a great time!
I live in Pennsylvania, right below New York - lot's of mountains and trees
This is my rough master of Goodbye:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/goodbye-master-test
I tweaked the piano a bit to make it less repetitive and overall I am happy with the result. There is only so much you can do with free/stock plugins so whenever I have the funds for Ozone I know my mixes and masters will be a bit more polished.
Still not a mastering engineer but practice makes perfect I guess - and I need a lot of it!
Cool! The song sounds great. I'll check your mastering as soon as I get back home the next week. The main secret for good mastering and mixing is having a good pair of monitors.
Living surrounded by trees and mountains sounds VERY good.
Alright Gab - NO MORE MESSING AROUND!
I've been playing for 8 or 9 years and I am no where near as good as I should be and I have no one to blame but myself.
I'm realizing it has a lot to do with a lack of confidence. I don't think I will ever be as good as I want to be - and I have been using that in a negative way this whole time.
Well, if I'm never going to be as good as I want to be then why even bother practicing everyday? This benefits no one.
What I should be saying is: Even if I will never be as good as I want to be - that doesn't mean I can't continue to get better.
If I am not practicing - I am not getting better - and therefor I am not getting ANYWHERE.
I realize now it's just like going to the gym. I am a small guy, very skinny. I may not ever be as big and muscular as I would like - but after going to the gym 3 days a week for almost a year now - I can see results. I may not be huge and muscular, but I can see some small improvements and I feel much better, and I can notice how much stronger I have gotten.
I must now look at guitar like this - I might not be as amazing as you, or Darius, or John 5 - but that doesn't mean I can't keep getting better.
So going forward I want to create a very strict plan - and stick to it. This involves creating a routine, as well as setting goals.
First off my goals:
1.) Improve my speed picking
2.) Improve my legato
3.) Improve my sweep picking
4.) Learn more riffs/songs to improve my rhythm
And for my plan:
1 hour each day, 5 days a week, Monday-Friday
Four 15 minute sections focusing on each of my specific goals
-15 minutes practicing a speed picking passage
-15 minutes practicing a legato passage
-15 minutes practicing a sweep picking passage
-15 minutes practicing a riff from a song I like
Sweep picking will be covered in lessons from a video I downloaded from Ben Higgins - the first sweep is the A Major sweep I posted earlier. I will practice this in sextuplets over a metronome.
Speed picking - I only want to focus on picking runs. Instead of focusing on learning the entire lesson I only want to focus on the speed picking passages.
Legato - same as speed picking, focus only on the fast legato passages.
Riffs - I will start with the main riff from Tourniquet by Evanescence - I learned it a little while ago, but I want to relearn it and polish it and then record a video for critique.
I think focusing on all of this, and posting a video once a week, over the next 365 days there is bound to be some noticeable improvements.
No more being average - I want to be a great guitarist like you, but I now know that it's going to take work and commitment - as much as I just want to wake up and be an awesome guitarist one day it's just not going to happen
So to complete the plan - do you have a particular picking passage and legato passage from a lesson that you would like me to focus on? I'm not sure where to start with these.
Once we have the plan in order - it will be showtime!
Thanks, man
Hi Chris,
I think that the plan sounds GREAT! The only thing that I'd like to suggest is that you start visualizing that you ARE a great guitarist. That's the first step to become one. I know that you surely have seen this in the past, but watch it EVERY DAY if it's necessary.
Don't think that you won't be a great player, think that you already are, and visualize yourself being able to play those licks and things that you dream.
Now talking about the program, it's totally interesting and I'd like to do a weekly following of it at this thread.
This lesson includes fantastic picking runs (as well as some sweep picking, and legato ones): https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/paul-gilbert-style-lesson/
and if you don't find a legato run there, you can choose one from the second half: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Vai-olation-Lesson/
I have actually never seen that video - thank you for sharing and your words of encouragement
I have picked a picking passage from the Gilbert style lesson that I will focus on first and as for legato I am going to start with a simple 4 note per string chromatic passage - I have noticed I have difficulty with pull offs at slower tempos so I will be focusing on this.
And as a side note:
Went to a concert yesterday with my girlfriend! Saint Asonia, Alter Bridge, Breaking Benjamin and DISTURBED! It was a great concert, so loud and a lot of energy!
How is your band doing, friend?
Wou mate! That's a great combination of bands!! We have an interesting festival soon here that includes those type of bands. It's something really unique to have so many bands of this style together in a fest here.
About my band, we had our important mid year show at Buenos Aires and it was great! Now we are working on the pre production of new songs that will be part of the next album but we also have many gigs around the country and also some other close countries. So we have lots of things coming.
Glad to hear you are keeping busy and that the band is doing great!
First up - my Tourniquet Intro Riff Cover:
I have the audio/video recorded for the lessons I will put that together and upload it in the next day or two for Week One's progress
Wou! That sounds killer mate! Great playing and guitar tone. Congrats! Can't wait to check the other videos!
Hey Gab!
Thanks man! The next cover is going to be a Breaking Benjamin song!
Here is week 1's progress:
Hi mate! Good job here! The exercises still need to be polished but I can see how this method will have a good impact in your playing.
I was thinking that we could add 1 exercise to each of these techniques in order to make the raining more intensive. How much time are you dedicating to each of these passages?
Yes, that sounds good. I was thinking on adding simpler exercises on each technique.
Here is a suggestion of where you could find this type of exercises. https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=42832&st=0&start=0
Sounds good - I will look through these and pull some exercises
Next cover is going to be a full cover of So Cold by Breaking Benjamin:
Here is a quick tone test (although the playing is sloppy, it's not as bad as I thought it would be for only practicing the song for a brief time)
https://m.soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/so-cold-cover-tone-test
I think the clean is pretty close - the lead I need to work on a little more - and the distortion sounds okay to me
^^Since that cover is going to take me a while I decided to work on some "fillers" or easy covers to keep things flowing.
This is one of the very first songs I tried to learn on guitar - I learned it in Drop D because I was too stupid to figure out how to tune to Drop C haha
I decided to do it justice and make a proper cover
What do you think, my friend?
Hi mate! that Ramstein cover sounds killer!! Are you playing it over the full song? or you've found a track without guitars?
About the BB song, it's a really cool song, and from what I can hear in your sample, your guitar tone is very close. Are you going to do the mix of all instruments?
Hi Chris, that sounds good! I was wondering how you make those guitars sound that big but now I understand that it's your guitar added to the mix.
Another easy cover in the works - this song is the song I played my girlfriend to show her I like her
Artic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know?
Tone test:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/do-i-wanna-know-covertone-test
I love this song!! The tone sounds very close.
'Tis a good song! I plan on having it done for my girlfriend's birthday September 16th
On a side note - YOU HAVE TO CHECK THIS OUT!
So you know how a big part of my problem is tracking progress, well I found something that blew me out of the water!
Here is a little jam I did called "Hear Our Cries" BEFORE I started working with you on GMC:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/hear-our-cries-soooo-old
And here is my new take of that same song AFTER working with you on GMC:
So on that note I would like to THANK YOU! I still have a long way to go but I can hear a difference in everything from mix quality, melody, blah blah blah
This is totally awesome man! This before/after stuff is totally impressing! Congratulations on your hard work here!
I think that this could be inspiring for other students. Is there any problem if I share it at the Practice Room?
Cool question! There is not 1 way to work on this but here is an idea.
Our improvisation skills are similar to our speaking skills. There more we do it, and the more we hear other people doing it, the more tools we have to express ourselves clearer. When talking, we don't learn phrases by our own, we learn it from other people (we could also learn it from books but that's not natural) so I would apply this principle to guitar playing.
I would identify passages in my favourite players that are similar to the ones that would fit in my soloing and that I feel that my playing is lacking. Try to find around 3/5 possibilities, learn and practice them as exercises. Once you can play these ideas at tempo, try using them (or variations of the licks) in those wholes that you have. With the pass of time, this passages will become more and more natural.
Let's start with the first step:
- Identify 3/5 licks that would fit in what you feel you are lacking.
Hey Gab, long time no see!
I've been following you on Facebook, I'm glad to see you and your band are doing well!
As for me, I've been busy with school - I decided to study to become an electrician instead of taking on producing (it's near impossible to find any production work wear I live).
But I haven't come back empty handed - I have a new song in the works!
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/the-monster-that-youve-made-of-me-rough-backing-track
Featuring the same vocalist on my last song - Goodbye
The Monster that You've Made of Me
Behind these eyes
It rains with tears to wash away
The lies, you deny
Your picture perfect alibi
Where I must pretend
All of this is in my head
Where I must pretend
This "fairy tale" will never end
But I'm done pretending
If you're done pretending
Are we done pretending
There's truth to your lies?
This storybook ending
Is so close to ending
There's no more containing
The monster inside
Don't you see
All the pain that you have caused me?
Don't you see
The monster that's inside of me?
Won't you see
What this pain has done to me?
Won't you see
The monster that you've made of me?
The monster that you've made of me? x4
Behind these lies
I'm forced to wear this perfect smile
And all of this while
You beat me, and hit, convince me your sorry
All of these scars
The weakness buried deep inside
All of these scars
I'll wear with pride to turn the tide
'Cause I'm not a victim
I won't be a victim
I won't be a victim
Of your little game
I'm done pretending
If you're done pretending
There's no more containing
The monster inside
Don't you see
All the pain that you have caused me?
Don't you see
The monster that's inside of me?
Won't you see
What this pain has done to me?
Won't you see
The monster that you've made of
Come and see
The monster that's inside of me
Come and see
The monster that you've made of me
The monster that you've made of me
Song should hopefully be done and mixed within the next few weeks
Hi Chris! Nice to hear from you mate! I think that's a good move if you think that the commercial potential was very low there. The producer career is sometimes that requires time, it's a long and slow journey.
The track is very promising! I can hear that this keeps your composing style. Are the vocals melodies already composed?
Hey Gab!
I got your message - there is some news with my playing but not much. I restructured 'The Monster That You've Made of Me" however, the vocalist I wanted to hire (the one who did Goodbye) left the studio and the remaining vocalists don't seem to be a good fit.
Recently, I went through a breakup so I decided to channel that energy into a new track I am working on called 'Lost':
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/lost-idea
It's in Drop C# which I've never composed a song in before. The only lyrics/vocal melody I have is for the chorus:
Love is lost
A stranger in the dark
Erased with time, forever
History will not remember
I was lost
I could not be saved
An angel without her wings
Falling for eternity
Alone
Lost
Falling forever
I've been keeping busy with song writing and composing, however, when it comes to practicing it feels more like work than anything, with no enjoyment. I guess that's just a phase all musicians go through now and again though.
How have you been, mate?
Hi mate! Nice to hear from you! I'm sorry about the breakup.
For any reason, the song Goodbye is always the next song from everything I play on Soundcloud so I keep listening to it a few times each week. I'm a fan.
I'm now checking your new track and I like it. It sounds very promising and it's related to the other track. I can get that Evanescence New Metal feel on this one too. The same singer would really fit.
I'm fine thanks! We are on the mix of our 4th album with Cirse, so nice things are coming. I'll be on vacation the next week so I'm finishing everything before going.
My latest two creations:
A cover from my favorite band Stabbing Westward:
And a birthday present I am working on for someone. It's an instrumental cover of Marilyn Manson's Coma White, built from the ground up. It's my most ambitious cover yet and I want it to be perfect haha!
It's a work in progress but if you can give me any critique on what I have so far I'd super it appreciate it, man!
Hi Chris! Great pair of songs!
That one from Stabbing sounds killer! Good job with those rhythms.
An Manson's tune is GREAT! I love it. It's definitely one of my favorite tracks from him. The arrangement is very promising. I think that it's essential to find a killer guitar tone for those leads so I would put a lot of effort on tone and performance. Also, drums should sound outstanding so once you have the track, wotk on making them more unique and less "ez drummer" type.
Yes, I agree about reverb and gain. Try replacing some of that reverb with Delay. You could combine a Plate reverb with delay. I also thing that it could sound warmer so some EQ work would be good too unless you are referencing with John 5 tone who uses more "highy" balance.
Hey Gab - update time!
So I ended up finishing the Marilyn Manson cover a few days after I posted about it, I was in a rush to get it done before school started back up. It's not perfect but I am happy with it still.
Also, I have a cover done for Senses Fail - Rum is for Drinking Not for Burning. Just waiting for a buddy of mine to do bass for it so stay tuned for that!
And I've always loved John 5 - especially the song Damaged but I always felt I was never good enough to tackle it (still kind of do) - the intro is definitely going to take a lot of work but for only a weeks worth of practice this is where I am at and I am pretty happy with it, what do you think? (I excluded the crazy intro to avoid embarrassing myself)
Cheers!
EDIT: I forgot to mention I got a new guitar - A Michael Kelly Patriot Premium with EMGs :-)
Hi Chris!! Nice to hear from you!!
I think that I've already said that I love that Manson's song! And you did a great job with this cover. I've enjoyed your version while singing the vocals over your lead guitar. Well done my friend.
And that John 5's teaser!! It's a bomb! I don't think that you are not at that level, the preview sounds very promising. Can't wait for the full track!
Thanks for the confidence Gab! Damaged is going to take a while to get down so I've been doing some small covers in between.
Cover numero uno is Stay Loud! - Drifting:
My good pal Carl is the bassist/founder of this local pop/punk alternative band. I really dig their work and the cool thing about this cover is I actually tabbed it out 100% by ear which is something I have never done before. I know it's a pretty straightforward song but I was still surprised that I was actually able to do it.
Cover #2 is Senses Fail - Rum is for Drinking Not for Burning featuring Carl (from Stay Loud) on bass:
Hey Chris! Great job with both covers! I'm enjoying that song by your friend's band. It sounds cool, catchy but deep punk rock, with some modern feel.
Your playing is very precise on both videos, and the tone is very powerful. Good job!
Based on this videos, I would really like to see you rocking some of my GMC lessons. Have you seen the Metalcore series? https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonseries/Metalcore/
and there are also many modern punk rock ones...
Hey Gab! I really dig the Bring Me the Horizon lesson that djenty riff is killer! I'll start working on that in conjunction with the John 5 Damaged cover that will take me a while to complete.
Speaking of John 5 Damaged this is the second part:
Biggest part of this one is the tapping - especially trying to eliminate the string noise as I am having a hard time muting everything except the one string I am pick tapping on.
Wou! That's sounding really well Chris!! You are doing a great job with that cover.
And regarding my BMTH lesson, I would be proud if I find your take at REC!
Hey Gab I've been a busy little bee these past few weeks - you know me I'm always all over the place haha!
I just wanted to leave this little snippet here for you to see what you think
Hey mate! That's promising!! Tell me more!
That is a sneak peak of my latest tune "Haunting Me" that I am in the process of finishing the mix/master so expect to hear it soon!
I don't know if you remember my song Forever that you helped me develop some time ago - it was a love song for my now ex-girlfriend. I decided to write a breakup song and it features the same singer who did Forever (this track shows his diversity! haha)
I basically wanted to channel that negative energy after a breakup into song form. The whole relationship didn't work out, and you're better off without that person (I don't need you) but part of you still denies that fact (but I want you) kind of vibe.
The vocalists name is Max, he did some of the vocals for the Guitar Hero games which is pretty cool.
I'm pretty excited for this one!
Hi Chris, I'm sorry about the break up, but from what you said, it was the best option. It's good to convert this feeling into music. That's when the deepest songs appear. I remember that old song, isn't it the one that was played always after every new song that I heard at soundcloud?
It's all good, happens to everyone.
Here's the finished product
this was forever (I think I've come a long way with mixing since then haha):
http://www.soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/forever
Hey Chris! Great job with the new song. It has a very dark vibe, and reminds me a bit to A Perfect Circle, and some other alternative industrial bands. I'd love to hear this one with more production since it deserves really big drums and bass.
Have you listened to new APC songs? I think that you'll get some inspiration from it.
By bigger, I reffer to a combination of EQ, drum type, and reverb effect. This song has "big drums":
Thanks Gab, I'll have to check out some mixing videos on how to make drums sound bigger.
What do you think of my progress for your Escape The Fate lesson?
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/intro1
Yeah, if you use google you'll find many articles like this one:
https://theproaudiofiles.com/how-to-get-a-huge-drum-sound/
I'm sure that there is great stuff at youtube too.
The lesson is going great. I don't now any issue to fix on this take. Keep going.
Thanks Gab!
I signed up for Dueling Mixes - it's a sister site to Recording Revolution, each month you get to watch two engineers mix a song from scratch, and then you get to download the RAW files and mix it yourself, so I am hoping to learn a lot over the next few months!
I will continue with the next part of the lesson, I plan on going through your In The Style Of lessons one by one to hopefully become a better rhythm player, and hopefully help me create more interesting rhythm work for the music I work on.
If I can one day be HALF as good as you, I'll be happy
PS. Hows the band doing these days?
Hi Chris! Great stuff here!
I'll check those sites since I'm always trying to become better at mixing. Thanks for the recommendation.
Regarding working on my in the style of lessons, it's a great idea! You'll become better at rhythm and you'll incorporate lots of tools for arranging songs. Go for them!
And about my band, we are preparing everything to start with the new albums gigs and tours. We'll have a busy year starting on February. We have 10 more free days and then we start again with rehearsals.
Glad to hear the band is doing well, mate!
For the lesson, here is my latest progress:
http://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/gmc-escape-the-fate-lesson-halfway
Hi Chris, that take is perfect. There is nothing to fix there, great job!!
Hey Gab!
Before moving onto the last part of the lesson I wanted to pay my tribute/respects with a Cranberries cover. A beautiful and unique voice, gone too soon
That's very nice mate! I still remember the impact of this song the first time I've heard it. It was a bomb.
I'm also working on something...
It's finished, it will be up soon.
I can note the timing issues on that part of the lesson, keep on working on it.
Here is my second attempt, my man!
http://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/full1
Also (since my time is split half on lessons and half on covers):
Hi Chris!
Escape the fate lesson is a lot better now! You are very close mate. And the cover is perfect! That's a very cool song, so I've enjoyed the whole playthrough. A small detail that I would like to mark is that the EQ of the guitas could be worked. The problem appears when you add the second rhythm guitar, it seems that this guitar or maybe the sum of both bring low end issues to the mix. If you already have the mix, check it out and experiment with possible solutions.
Keep on the great job!
http://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/last3
I agree with the mix - I'm not sure why but when I recorded the second guitar is sounded "off" - as if the guitar was slightly out of tune with the other one although this was not the case.
The EQ adjustments I did made it better than it was originally but I'll explore it further to see if I can nail the root of the problem and fix it.
Good job with the lesson. You are getting closer and closer, keep going.
After another day of practice:
http://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/last4
This the next cover I am working on and it's definitely the most challenging thus far!
That sounds great! I just can hear very small details, it sounds very good.
Nice track! what album do you need recomend from that band?
What were the small details you noticed, my friend? Still a timing issue or something else?
My wrist (fretting hand) has been getting sharp pains in it while playing so I will probably take a few days off from playing to let it heal whatever the issue may be.
Yeah, but nothing very serious, just small details that make the take sound natural, now that I've rechecked it, I wouldn't mind about it. It's done.
I'm sorry about your hand issue, take care of it. It's a good move to rest for some days.
Hey Gab! I come bearing three things:
1.) I posted my REC take for the Escape the Fate lesson, hope I made ya proud!
2.) Since I remixed Goodbye about 20 times so far and haven't been happy with it at all I decided to give up and hand everything over to a professional and I think he did an amazing job! So this song is now 100% officially done and I will no longer touch it.
http://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/ashley-graham-goodbye-mixedmastered-by-jonah-walton
3.) El Cazador is my all time favorite Cirse song, and I would be absolutely honored if you were to teach me how to play it so I could cover it. However, if that is an issue with you, the band, label, etc - I will not be offended if you say no and I will continue on with the Senses Fail cover.
\m/
Hi Chris!
I'll check your take at REC.
The new mix is awesome. It sounds excellent in my studio monitors! It's top quality. Congratulations!!! Are you going to release it at Spotify or anything? It really deserves it.
Regarding "El Cazador", I would be honoured! I don't have tabs done yet but I'll think on something.
Thanks man - I'll have to look into the whole Spotify thing!
As for the next lesson I was thinking this one:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Post-Hardcore-I-Silverstein/
I really dig the tapping part - it kind of reminds me of the tapping part at 15 seconds for Gojira's - Silvera (although the overall song is heavier) which is a cover I plan on doing in the future:
As for El Cazador - thanks for agreeing to help me learn the song, I can't wait to become THE HUNTER!
Hi Chris! That's a killer track by Gojira! I like the overall sound and riffs. I've never been too much into their style.
Silverstein lesson is a good choice to continue, let's go for it.
I just recently got into them, some of their music is hit or miss for me but Silvera stuck out enough that I ordered their Magma album.
I started the first part to the Silverstein lesson, I'll share my progress in the next few days.
\m/
Nice! Keep me updated!
Hola, Gab!
So I have a new song in the works (sort of new, I revisited an older tune I wasn't happy with at the time) and I was wonder what you think of the structure (not so much sound, as it's not mixed).
The electric piano you hear is the vocal melody, I only have it done for some parts not the whole song - but it will feature a female lead.
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/perfect-bg2
Hi Chris,
on a first heard, I can say that I like the overal vibe of this tune. The rhythms are interesting and the vocal melody is catchy. I need to give it more heards to have a deeper comment regarding structure.
What are you thoughts about it?
For me - the drums need work, I mostly just have random patterns in there to keep the time.
I'm not sure how I feel about the transition from the clean guitar verses to the pre-chorus at 31 seconds. I originally had some synths there as well but it sounded weird only have them on that one pre-chorus as there are no synths anywhere else in the song.
Other than that it's basically the bridge at 2:19. I definitely like the faster palm muting of the rhythm guitars, but I feel like the lead guitars clash with the vocal melody wise.
That's everything that jumps out at me so far.
Also here is my progress with the Silverstein lesson:
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/silverstein
Hi Chris,
The tansitiion from verse to pre-chorus is a bit agressive, it's not sounding bad, but maybe trying to make a part that sounds "smaller" will make the chorus explore more, if I understand well the structure, the chorus starts at 00:42, is it right?
What using some electronic drums for the pre-chorus?
This is not the style of your song, but I like how real drums and electronic synths and drum loops are combined to create contrast between the different parts in bands like this:
Thanks for that video Gab it gave me a little bit of an idea - this isn't final but what do you think of the new Pre-Chorus direction?
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/perfect-pc
I also added a small solo at the bridge, but I don't know if it sounds forced or if it fits with the rest of the structure
Nice! That's what I was talking about!! This is very promising. Keep on experimenting, and listening to productions like the one I've shared.
I will keep developing it!
I also did a new cover to hopefull impress a girl - I think it worked
Killer sound!! I have to listen more to this band. I like it!! Great job.
They're a great band - they're from my city and the lead singer graduated from the same highschool as me
This is their latest single:
As for the Silverstein lesson this is where I am at:
https://www.soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/silverstein
Nice! Thanks for the link!
Hey Gab!
So where I am at so far is I scrapped the pre-chorus, I didn't have lyrics written for it and I feel like trying to force a Pre-Chorus is going to end up hurting it in the long run. I did keep the electronic drums in the chorus, and added a synth that pan sweeos left and right.
To give you an idea of the vocals here are the lyrics that follow the vocal melody:
Trapped between the tv screens
The billboards calling out to me
Here's what to say, what to do
I should try to be just like you
A photoshop model in magazines
Convincing me that I need to be
So perfect, so perfect
I need to be so perfect
I can't believe
That you believe
The lies they sell to
Our insecurities
Do you believe?
I won't believe
The lies they sell to
Our insecurities
(the chorus lyrics aren't final but that's what I have so far)
https://soundcloud.com/stortzmusic/perfect-synthy
Hi Chris! Good move! I think that it's more natural now without the pre-chorus.
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