My Gmc Journey, It's just the beginning Options

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hi Jim! Good update. It's always important to do balances and think on next goals and direction. Working on technique and composition sounds great to me. If you have a limited time, you have to be very organized and methodic to get the best from your music time.

Regarding your improvisation abilities, learning licks by other guitarists, practice them and work on variations is also another way to enrich your guitar vocabulary. This also applies to GMC lessons, I usually learn lessons and then use backing tracks to practice them and slowly vary the ideas until I made them mine. Have you every tried it?

Very good approach here, suggested by Gabi and I could also add, that sorting out licks played on various other instruments, can wildly develop your skills. Especially articulation skills - saxophone lines can work wonders on that

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

Very good approach here, suggested by Gabi and I could also add, that sorting out licks played on various other instruments, can wildly develop your skills. Especially articulation skills - saxophone lines can work wonders on that

Excellent addition! Malmsteen founded a new guitar era in the early 80's, imitating and playing licks by a violinist (Nicolo Paganini).

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

Veyr inspirational thread, Jim. I might even consider making one myself to keep me hanging in there in regards to what I'm doing and trying to get a bit more structure to everything.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Veyr inspirational thread, Jim. I might even consider making one myself to keep me hanging in there in regards to what I'm doing and trying to get a bit more structure to everything.

I totally agree with the idea It keeps you on the go, as people want to read your story! Try it man

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[Jim S.]

Hi Jim! Good update. It's always important to do balances and think on next goals and direction. Working on technique and composition sounds great to me. If you have a limited time, you have to be very organized and methodic to get the best from your music time.

Regarding your improvisation abilities, learning licks by other guitarists, practice them and work on variations is also another way to enrich your guitar vocabulary. This also applies to GMC lessons, I usually learn lessons and then use backing tracks to practice them and slowly vary the ideas until I made them mine. Have you every tried it?

Sorry I'm late responding. Cosmin I'm sorting everything out, "sort of." Lol
I'll get back here soon, I'm thinking about getting up before work and practicing because I can't do it at night anymore.

Gabriel you bring a valid point and I do try to learn a lick and make it my own but I think I forget the licks after a few weeks and don't play them again. So much I have forgotten! Thanks man for the support

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Sorry I'm late responding. Cosmin I'm sorting everything out, "sort of." Lol
I'll get back here soon, I'm thinking about getting up before work and practicing because I can't do it at night anymore.

Gabriel you bring a valid point and I do try to learn a lick and make it my own but I think I forget the licks after a few weeks and don't play them again. So much I have forgotten! Thanks man for the support

The morning is a good time to exercise ear training usually, because otherwise, the body is a bit lazy - for me at least, it works like this:

- morning - I can work on ear training and maybe some writing or orchestrations
- evening - technique or recording - the body is active and it is warmed up

Try things and see how your body responds

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[Jim S.]

Veyr inspirational thread, Jim. I might even consider making one myself to keep me hanging in there in regards to what I'm doing and trying to get a bit more structure to everything.

Thanks man, Cosmin showed me The Fireball on here and his video is crazy. I do like the idea of keeping track of your goals and working toward them. Music for me is a slow process but I couldn't imagine not having it in my life.

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[Darius Wave]

Did another review of Your thread. Slowly with full focus. I realized that Your goals are tough to be done 1 year even for someone who practice everyday at least few hours. Those things come with experience. Sometimes You learn something for a half of year (one single thing only) and then You abandon it because Your not ready to use it in Your regular playing yet. Then...after a few Years something happens and You break through that border and...it starts to work. With Your amount of time I would not be able to master all those within a year. When You load Your mind with too many things at the same time You will not make a single one properly. At least I would not be able. I was always fascinated with music ans spent all my free time with guitar since 10 years old...and...it took me many years to understand what happens in all mentioned fields...yet..still feel a huge lack of abilities to use things in my regular playing. For example I'm pretty good at theory (not comparing to Matt!) but even if I understand most of mechanics of pure jazz guitar...I'm still not able to play jazz at descent level It will took me another few years to get used to things and to be able to use them "just like that". So...I'm taking single things...like just one diminished lick and instead of learning 50 diminished licks, I spend time on experiments...where can I use it.

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[Todd Simpson]

Coming along nicely! Good technique and style Adding in some more harmony bits here and wouldn't hurt and using muting on slow picked bits and fast picked bits always give a nice percussive counterpoint to legatto passages

I have been making progress, working new techniques on my picking hand and have had a couple really nice moments where I had bursts of nice speed. I have also learned that I have been taught to look at modes in very odd ways. The first is I have always concentrated on the root of the mode over the Tonic of the Key "playing d over C maj" I never concidered the qualities in the intervals in the modes. Dorian has m3, M6, b7. These are some of the qualities that give it a happier minor. I bet in E dorian, Gmaj,c#m7b5, Dmaj would sound very nice.

This is my latest video from a Dorian Phrases

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[Jim S.]

Did another review of Your thread. Slowly with full focus. I realized that Your goals are tough to be done 1 year even for someone who practice everyday at least few hours. Those things come with experience. Sometimes You learn something for a half of year (one single thing only) and then You abandon it because Your not ready to use it in Your regular playing yet. Then...after a few Years something happens and You break through that border and...it starts to work. With Your amount of time I would not be able to master all those within a year. When You load Your mind with too many things at the same time You will not make a single one properly. At least I would not be able. I was always fascinated with music ans spent all my free time with guitar since 10 years old...and...it took me many years to understand what happens in all mentioned fields...yet..still feel a huge lack of abilities to use things in my regular playing. For example I'm pretty good at theory (not comparing to Matt!) but even if I understand most of mechanics of pure jazz guitar...I'm still not able to play jazz at descent level It will took me another few years to get used to things and to be able to use them "just like that". So...I'm taking single things...like just one diminished lick and instead of learning 50 diminished licks, I spend time on experiments...where can I use it.

Very nicely said Darius. You nailed it and I myself just read the list of goals and they are scratches on the surface. Maybe this blog in general is good to keep focused on something or remind me to get focused on one thing instead of 15. I'm realizing more about where I am and what id like to be and that each piece needs individualized attention. Having access to the internet can be hurtful because of endless possibilities always thrown at you. Thank you for your words and experiences man.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Did another review of Your thread. Slowly with full focus. I realized that Your goals are tough to be done 1 year even for someone who practice everyday at least few hours. Those things come with experience. Sometimes You learn something for a half of year (one single thing only) and then You abandon it because Your not ready to use it in Your regular playing yet. Then...after a few Years something happens and You break through that border and...it starts to work. With Your amount of time I would not be able to master all those within a year. When You load Your mind with too many things at the same time You will not make a single one properly. At least I would not be able. I was always fascinated with music ans spent all my free time with guitar since 10 years old...and...it took me many years to understand what happens in all mentioned fields...yet..still feel a huge lack of abilities to use things in my regular playing. For example I'm pretty good at theory (not comparing to Matt!) but even if I understand most of mechanics of pure jazz guitar...I'm still not able to play jazz at descent level It will took me another few years to get used to things and to be able to use them "just like that". So...I'm taking single things...like just one diminished lick and instead of learning 50 diminished licks, I spend time on experiments...where can I use it.

I used to do the same thing 8 hrs schedule and aiming to cover EVERYTHING Guess what... at the end of the day, I remembered nothing. I think it requires an incredible focus power and memory and playing in real contexts - this is the most important aspect, if you are to ask me - in order to master a great deal of things in a relatively short period of time. But as Darius says, less is more

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

Sorry I'm late responding. Cosmin I'm sorting everything out, "sort of." Lol
I'll get back here soon, I'm thinking about getting up before work and practicing because I can't do it at night anymore.

Gabriel you bring a valid point and I do try to learn a lick and make it my own but I think I forget the licks after a few weeks and don't play them again. So much I have forgotten! Thanks man for the support

You can feel that you forget them but I believe 3 things:

1. You won't forget your favorites.
2. If you do this exercise diary, it works as a mind training so you will start to feel different results.
3. I have the hypothesis that this licks are not deleted, they keep there in our unconscious.

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[Jim S.]

Coming along nicely! Good technique and style Adding in some more harmony bits here and wouldn't hurt and using muting on slow picked bits and fast picked bits always give a nice percussive counterpoint to legatto passages

Hey Todd I missed your addition and thanks btw. Looking in my phone is a whole different beast. I will keep your advice

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[Cosmin Lupu]

3. I have the hypothesis that this licks are not deleted, they keep there in our unconscious.

Very good point here Gabi - even after not playing something for some time, if I listen to a recording, I usually re-pick things up pretty quickly, especially if it's something I like a lot. The little frustration comes in when you think 'ah, THAT one!' and you immediately expect yourself to play it like you used to.. well, you have to practice it a bit before it becomes natural again sometimes At least that's what happens to me..

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

Very good point here Gabi - even after not playing something for some time, if I listen to a recording, I usually re-pick things up pretty quickly, especially if it's something I like a lot. The little frustration comes in when you think 'ah, THAT one!' and you immediately expect yourself to play it like you used to.. well, you have to practice it a bit before it becomes natural again sometimes At least that's what happens to me..

yeah, but not as much as the first time you learnt it.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

yeah, but not as much as the first time you learnt it.

Correct!

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[Darius Wave]

Very nicely said Darius. You nailed it and I myself just read the list of goals and they are scratches on the surface. Maybe this blog in general is good to keep focused on something or remind me to get focused on one thing instead of 15. I'm realizing more about where I am and what id like to be and that each piece needs individualized attention. Having access to the internet can be hurtful because of endless possibilities always thrown at you. Thank you for your words and experiences man.

I believe once upon a time the is a prodigy born that can do all those things in such a short period but...as soon as we realize we're not one of those, whe have to handle the "normal way" of getting skills For me it was always about being perfect at what I do at the moment. I practrice sweeps if I plan to use those in one of my songs...but...sometimes I can find myslef not using any sweep or even not a single tapped note for even a half of Year! Just because I don't feel I need it. Lately I have the arpeggios experiments period...so I left some of the other techniques. But when I need those...I just make a few days of intense practice to get my skills back IMHO it's most relaxing and healthy for the mind to keep assigned to one thing at the same time

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[tonyk]

The 'less is more" approach to learning is interesting.I seem to forget quickly licks Ive learnt when I move onto a new one.Maybe focusing on a few licks and adapting to different situations is a better approach

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[Todd Simpson]

You've got a good plan and that's a good place to start But as has been mentioned, it's easy to overshoot a bit on planning and easy to "overpractice" and even injure yourself. So focus on how much you actually get out of each hour of practice and find how much is best for your. Everyone is a bit different, but having an ambitious plan is certainly no sin Just adust as needed and along the way you will find a "practical plan" that takes over for the "preliminary plan"

Todd

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[Jim S.]

This is a little tone demo of my new pickups and some improvisation. Darius will probably have me hanging because of the reverb, sorry man.

https://soundcloud.com/jim-seekford-music/dave-mustaine-livewire-metal


I wanted to see how these active pickups with the thicker gauge strings held up to some crunch. I think it sounds pretty cool and darkly

Toward the end I have some sweeps and a little bit of tapping licks I have been working on too.

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This post has been edited by Jim Seekford: Feb 28 2014, 05:19 AM