Try it with the 16th notes on the metronome and see if you can keep it synched with the metronome. Once you can always keep a lick tight with a metronome, you can stop using one as your internal metronome will take over. But as long as you find you are too focused on the lick to stay synched with the metronome, it's a good idea to keep using one. You can clearly play this lick. I think you may just get too focused on it and it's hard to focus on a fast lick and listen to a click at the same time but that is why we are here It's possible, just takes some time. Keep it up!!!
Sarge
Lesson - 7 - Take 2
Let me know if this time I am synched with the metronome.
Here I play it at 80BPM, I can play it faster, but I just wanted to be sure that I can play it in time and as clean as possible.
If you think my playing is good here, let me know what do you think if I will make another video where I will try to push it to my speed limit or should I proceed to the next lesson?
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
BINGO!!!! Now you are getting it Soldier!!! This is exactly what I"m talking about. I just need a few bars to see if you are getting the hang of it. You got it!!!! This is a great lick for working up speed so keep it in your WARMUP ROUTINE!! Let's Debrief!!
MEDALS OF HONOR
ALT PICKING: The first thing I look for on this Mission is your Alternate Picking. You are off to a good start here. Some quick tips.1.)KEEP IT SHALLOW: When alt picking in bootcamp, make sure to "shallow pick" E.G. The space between the strings and the body of the guitar. Your pick should only strike deep enough to let the tip of the pick hit the string. No deeper than that. 2.) 2.)TRY CLASSICAL POSITION: See if you can place the guitar on your left leg instead of your right leg. This will help you a great deal as you re train your picking hand. It changes the entire angle of your hand/arm. Also it raises the angle of the neck. Put your left foot on a stack of books or something to raise it off the floor. This is called "Classical position" since it's how classical players play. There is a very good reason they play this way. It makes playing the guitar easier once you get used to it!!! Here is a pic. MUTE: Second thing I look foor here is a good mute. Well done there! No string noise. QUICK TIPS!!1.)Proper Mute: Put your palm on the bridge and keep it flat against the bridge so that you can mute all of the strings just using your picking hand. This is a pic on how it should look. Keep your hand in this position even if you are not muting so that you are always close to the bridge for a quick mute.
SYNCH: The last thing I look for here is SYNCH. You keep good synch on this one and don't drift.
Well done Soldier!! You are ready for Mission 8! Try these QUICK TIPS and see if you can incorporate them in to your playing style. They will help you in a HUGE way going forward. You just.. LEVELED UP!!!
Onward! Sarge
QUOTE (Victor Simion @ Feb 4 2020, 04:18 PM)
Lesson - 7 - Take 2
Let me know if this time I am synched with the metronome.
Here I play it at 80BPM, I can play it faster, but I just wanted to be sure that I can play it in time and as clean as possible.
If you think my playing is good here, let me know what do you think if I will make another video where I will try to push it to my speed limit or should I proceed to the next lesson?
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
'I can see you are still fighting a bit with the metronome. You drift off beat just pinch and the catch back up. You seem to be playing on a down beat, e.g. between the clicks instead of on the clicks. Playing with a metronome is not easy at first. But 's a foundational skill.
Watch this vid. At the end, he does a good job playing on beat with the metronome. Sometimes it just helps to hear it done right.
*Around 3:30 he plays one note per beat which is what I'd like you to try.
Despite the odd drift now and then, this is a worthy take. Let's debrief! MEDALS OF HONOR
TRAVERSE OF KINGS i do use a LOT of non stop string traverse to get you used to crossing strings without losing time on the metronome. You are getting very close. You seem to start on a down beat which is odd and I think may be getting in your way. I'd say get rid of the clack that happens every few clicks and just use clicks if possible. Try to tie your pick strike to a click instead of trying to stick it after the click in the space in between. Make sense? SOLID PACING Despite losing track on the metronome a couple of times your overall pace was solid.
ALT PICKING FROM HELL This one requires a lot of alternate picking and string crossing. Well done!! You just... LEVELED UP!!!
Yes, that makes sense: I can play one note per beat, but that means I will have to slow down very much. If this is helping me to fix my timing I will focus on this.
It's a bit hard for me to play on time since I am not even able to say exactly where I drift off the beat. What I try to do is listening to my recording, I will also slow it like half of the speed of the original and try to listen if my timing is off.
Also you mistaken my "Medal".
QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Feb 11 2020, 11:05 PM)
'I can see you are still fighting a bit with the metronome. You drift off beat just pinch and the catch back up. You seem to be playing on a down beat, e.g. between the clicks instead of on the clicks. Playing with a metronome is not easy at first. But 's a foundational skill.
Watch this vid. At the end, he does a good job playing on beat with the metronome. Sometimes it just helps to hear it done right.
*Around 3:30 he plays one note per beat which is what I'd like you to try.
Despite the odd drift now and then, this is a worthy take. Let's debrief! MEDALS OF HONOR
TRAVERSE OF KINGS i do use a LOT of non stop string traverse to get you used to crossing strings without losing time on the metronome. You are getting very close. You seem to start on a down beat which is odd and I think may be getting in your way. I'd say get rid of the clack that happens every few clicks and just use clicks if possible. Try to tie your pick strike to a click instead of trying to stick it after the click in the space in between. Make sense? SOLID PACING Despite losing track on the metronome a couple of times your overall pace was solid.
ALT PICKING FROM HELL This one requires a lot of alternate picking and string crossing. Well done!! You just... LEVELED UP!!!
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
I understand that it's hard. It's meant to be. Retraining your hand and eliminating bad habits is never easy. You will have to slow down QUITE a bit. That's ok. Once you get the technique in hand, you'll be able to speed up to any speed you like. I can play at any rate for as long as I want because i put in the work to be able to play correctly in the start. Without that, one never gets fast, one just gets sloppy. Control is everything. You have to train your ear to hear the metronome as you play. This may require you to slow way down so you don't have to focus so much on guitar. That ok. You'll speed back up quickly. Keep at it!!
Sarge
QUOTE (Victor Simion @ Feb 12 2020, 07:02 AM)
Yes, that makes sense: I can play one note per beat, but that means I will have to slow down very much. If this is helping me to fix my timing I will focus on this.
It's a bit hard for me to play on time since I am not even able to say exactly where I drift off the beat. What I try to do is listening to my recording, I will also slow it like half of the speed of the original and try to listen if my timing is off.
I understand that it's hard. It's meant to be. Retraining your hand and eliminating bad habits is never easy. You will have to slow down QUITE a bit. That's ok. Once you get the technique in hand, you'll be able to speed up to any speed you like. I can play at any rate for as long as I want because i put in the work to be able to play correctly in the start. Without that, one never gets fast, one just gets sloppy. Control is everything. You have to train your ear to hear the metronome as you play. This may require you to slow way down so you don't have to focus so much on guitar. That ok. You'll speed back up quickly. Keep at it!!
Sarge
Lesson #9 - Building Speed
Even though the title is "Building Speed" today is about perfecting my playing on time, and then I will speed it up. I play at 160 BPM each note on each click.
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
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From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
This is much better Soldier!! You get better with each take and that's a good thing. You are finally in full control of your playing. You keep Solid synch the entire time, you are locked in with the metronome and you play with precision. This is exactly what I want to see. From here, you are ready to start speeding up. You've got to make it to this point before you can start getting "Fast". You have made it that point Soldier!!! Let's Debrief!! SNIPER Just like a SNIPER, being able to STRIKE WITH PRECISION is CRUCIAL!! It's the foundation of everything. You are getting a good handle on your precision!!! CONSISTENCY Thisthe second most important thing you have to learn. Without consistent playing, you get random rushing/lagging and one can never truly shred. You are breaking through the barriere here and showing very good consistent playing. MUTE TO KILL Lastly, you HAVE to be able to palm mute while you traverse string without lifiting your hand. This is something we have been working on for several Missions. I've been trying to help you train your hand to just tilt while keep contact with the bridge and picking with the thumb/first finger. You've finally got it!! Congrats Soldier... You just.. LEVELED UP!!!!
CONGRATS Soldier. You've earned it!!! You are finally at that place where you are able to play with precision, in a consistent manner, and with a solid palm mute. You've got your foundational Skills and you are ready to Move forward!!!!!!
Sarge
QUOTE (Victor Simion @ Feb 19 2020, 02:47 PM)
Lesson #9 - Building Speed
Even though the title is "Building Speed" today is about perfecting my playing on time, and then I will speed it up. I play at 160 BPM each note on each click.
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
MISSION 10 DEBRIEF
NICELY DONE!!!!! You are getting the hang of playing with a metronome. It is something that is worth learning and it does take some time but you have put in the effort and now you are reaping the rewards! This is a great step forward. You are able to strike and play on the beat. This means that when you speed up the clicks you can speed up your playing. When you hear yourself getting behind the clicks, start over. You can also play just a couple of bars quickly, and stop and wait to jump back in. That way your hand gets a break on very fast bits. Let's Debrief!! *SYNCH OR SWIM: Hand synch is CRUCIAL on this lick. If you slip just once, it sticks out like a sore thumb as I'm sure you found out. So it's critical that each pick strike matches up with a fretted note. You are doing a great job on SYNCH now. Congrats! *MUTE OR DIE: Due to the massive amount of string/fret traverse, you gotta keep a good palm mute on this guy or string noise will just wreck it. Your mute is spot on. Your hand position is much improved as well! *AGGRESSIVE STYLE: This is a hard lick to play. It's to involved to play very fast but you manage to play it quite briskly and with precision. NICE! In short you just.... LEVELED UP!!
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Well Fought Soldier!! I can see that you have been working hard with the metronome to be able to keep tight hand sych and stay in time with the click. Eventually, this click will live inside your head and you will hear it when you play even if the metronome is turned off. You will develop your own internal metronome. It's your own internal sense of time. It will come in very handy when playing with other musicians and playing on REC and collab tracks. You have clearly earned it Soldier!! Let's Debrief!!!
MEDALS OF HONOR
LOOPY: Firstly I want to see you play a lick in a loop with the metronome. If you can repeat something and stay in time, then you've got it.. This is so that you focus on the lick itself. Also, it allows me to see your playing over a distance of ground. If you rush/lag, it will stand out. Part of what I'm trying to teach you is Playing like a Robot in order to Shred Like a God. Paul Gilbert is a good example of putting loops of a given lick to good use.
NON STOP TRAVERSE: Secondly I want to see you have good string traverse. Going back and forth between strings without losing pace or precision. You have made great gains in this area. Score!
ARTICULATION: You are doing a very good job of articulating the pick with your thumb/first finger and avoiding the dreaded "Picking from the Elbow" keep that up!!
I can hear the practice time when you play soldier!!! Well done. Keep pushing it!!!
Well Fought Soldier!! I can see that you have been working hard with the metronome to be able to keep tight hand sych and stay in time with the click. Eventually, this click will live inside your head and you will hear it when you play even if the metronome is turned off. You will develop your own internal metronome. It's your own internal sense of time. It will come in very handy when playing with other musicians and playing on REC and collab tracks. You have clearly earned it Soldier!! Let's Debrief!!!
MEDALS OF HONOR
LOOPY: Firstly I want to see you play a lick in a loop with the metronome. If you can repeat something and stay in time, then you've got it.. This is so that you focus on the lick itself. Also, it allows me to see your playing over a distance of ground. If you rush/lag, it will stand out. Part of what I'm trying to teach you is Playing like a Robot in order to Shred Like a God. Paul Gilbert is a good example of putting loops of a given lick to good use.
NON STOP TRAVERSE: Secondly I want to see you have good string traverse. Going back and forth between strings without losing pace or precision. You have made great gains in this area. Score!
ARTICULATION: You are doing a very good job of articulating the pick with your thumb/first finger and avoiding the dreaded "Picking from the Elbow" keep that up!!
I can hear the practice time when you play soldier!!! Well done. Keep pushing it!!!
You Just..
LEVELED UP!!!!!
Thank you.
I am focusing more on timing and the on speeed, because I feel that my timing skill is below my speed skill. I think the first thing that will break in my playing will be the timing and then the hand sync.
How do you advise me to practice next lesson since it's about playing twice the same note, I can play 2 notes per beat, or stick with 1 note per beat.
I could play it much faster without the metronome.
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
The metronome can feel like a ball and chain holding you back. But in truth it's just keeping you honest. It prevents the hand from playing easier parts a beat faster than harder parts. For the next mission, try the MULTI PICKING. Now that you are used to the metronome, it should work. It's just two strikes instead of one. You can increase the number of clicks on the metronome to match the double picking. So that you are stick making a strike on each click. It's worth digging in to. Being able to multi pick is a great skill to have. In a solo it can add a lot of texture without adding more notes.
Todd
QUOTE (Victor Simion @ Mar 3 2020, 05:43 AM)
Thank you.
I am focusing more on timing and the on speeed, because I feel that my timing skill is below my speed skill. I think the first thing that will break in my playing will be the timing and then the hand sync.
How do you advise me to practice next lesson since it's about playing twice the same note, I can play 2 notes per beat, or stick with 1 note per beat.
I could play it much faster without the metronome.
The metronome can feel like a ball and chain holding you back. But in truth it's just keeping you honest. It prevents the hand from playing easier parts a beat faster than harder parts. For the next mission, try the MULTI PICKING. Now that you are used to the metronome, it should work. It's just two strikes instead of one. You can increase the number of clicks on the metronome to match the double picking. So that you are stick making a strike on each click. It's worth digging in to. Being able to multi pick is a great skill to have. In a solo it can add a lot of texture without adding more notes.
Todd
So should I still play each note to each beat or two notes on each beat?
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
See what works best for you. Try it both ways and play it back to see which way you can keep better time. I'd say try to play one note per click if possbile just so you can tie each pick strike to a click. Otherwise, you have to tie a pick strike to a gap which might not work. Give it a shot and see what goes best!
Todd
QUOTE (Victor Simion @ Mar 4 2020, 06:46 AM)
So should I still play each note to each beat or two notes on each beat?
See what works best for you. Try it both ways and play it back to see which way you can keep better time. I'd say try to play one note per click if possbile just so you can tie each pick strike to a click. Otherwise, you have to tie a pick strike to a gap which might not work. Give it a shot and see what goes best!
Todd
Maybe I can do both, but it feels easier to do one note per click. But eventually I want to be able to play 4 notes per click.
But what about the next lesson where I get to play full scale? It's getting harder to play 2 times, 3 times and then finally 4 times each note. Ideally I want to be able to play: - 2 notes per click when the notes are played two times - 3 notes per click when the notes are played three times - 4 notes per click when the notes are played four times
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
You can do it! If you need to slow down the metronome to do it, that's ok. Eventually multi picking full scales will seem very simple. Like many things it's only hard at first. Start with double picking, then triple, then quad. Just like in the demonstration video.
You can make a progress video and I can give you some pointers if you like. Or you can dive in and just give it a Mission vid. Whatever works for you.
I look forward to seeing it!
Sarge
QUOTE (Victor Simion @ Mar 5 2020, 03:03 AM)
Maybe I can do both, but it feels easier to do one note per click. But eventually I want to be able to play 4 notes per click.
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
NICE ONE SOLDIER!!! Not too long ago, being able to mute without lifting the hand and while alternate picking was a LOT more of a challenge for you. Now look at ya!! Picking hand PLANTED firm on the bridge, articulating the pick with the thumb/first finger, keeping good hand synch, need I go on? You've started to put all the little bits of technique together and it's working!!!!
Let's Debrief!!!
MEDALS OF HONOR
ALT PICK OF DESTINY: The first thing I'm looking for here is solid Alternate Picking. Alternate Picking is at the core of this lick. Without good alt picking technique, this lick won't work. It's the kind of thing you just cant play with all downstrokes. You keep your hand planted on the bridge and manage to use your fingers to control the pick. It's EXACTLY what I was hoping you'd be able to do at this point. SCORE!!!!
TRAVERSAL OF FORTUNE: This lick never stops moving. If you don't nail it at each position, it falls apart. So not only do you have to pick perfectly, you have to have left hand control as well, which you do!!! DOUBLE SCORE!!
PINKY TIME: A strong pinky is crucial to becoming a great player. Your pinky has come a long way in a short time. Good use of the pinky here! On the lower frets, Pinky Power!!! TRIPLE SCORE!!!
You are ripping it up Soldier!! It only gets harder from here. But you are ready!!! Forward!! NO MERCY!!!
It's possible, just takes some time. Keep it up!!! 
