Tadas Bootcamp, Earn every step in Blood!! Options

[Todd Simpson]

Welcome to SHRED BOOTCAMP! I'll be your Drill Instructor! And I do mean DRILL! As in a large power tool used in slasher films and Paul Gilbert concerts. Here is were you EARN THE LIVING DEATH out of your fingers and break through any speed bumps/barriers to become a MASTER CHIEF of Shred!
QUICK TIPS TO PREPARE YOU FOR BATTLE
*Make sure you get both hands in the shot when shooting your video*Make sure you use a metronome for the first several Missions and that the metronome can be heard.*After you complete a mission, shoot me a PM and let me know it's ready and I'll give you a debrief! These are pass / fail, so if you pass you BADGE UP and if not, I'll give you some feedback and you head in to the breach once again.
*The first several missions are VERY simple. They are just to get you used to the bootcamp process.
*Most importantly, there is NEVER a speed requirement in bootcamp. I want you to push yourself to play as brisk as you can, but NEVER at the expense of precision. If you find you are missing a note here and there, slow down a bit. Speed is just a byproduct of precision so my goal is to make you a very precise player. At that point, speed just happens.

MISSON #1

THE MISSION

1.)Your mission is to go all the way back to the very start. The base of the mountain.

LESSON 1. http://bitly.com/gmclesson1

Which you will play SUPER PERFECT!. Speed it up bit by bit until you feel your ready to take it to WAR (Any speed, it's up to you, no points for speed, only points for playing in a precise manner as speed is simply a byproduct of precision) Shoot a video and post it as a reply to this post. Make sure to EMBED the video by clicking on INSERT SPECIAL ITEM above the smiley face and then you'll get a drop down menu. Click on INSERT YOUTUBE VIDEO and follow the instructions in the Pop Up Menu. I'll then offer a constructive and brutally honest critique.

THE AFTERMATH

Upon nailing the crap out of lesson one at a speed you didn't think possible, and playing it a clean as a freshly waxed floor, you will be given your first insignia of Rank in BOOTCAMP! You will then proceed to Lesson #2 and so forth. Here is the link to the entire 400 plus Lesson Library. https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/inde...rtal:Techniques

Here is the link to your own PRIVATE HOUSE OF PAIN!...Er I mean.. SHRED!
https://bit.ly/tadasbootcamp
Practice!
Sarge

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This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Nov 25 2020, 01:27 AM

[Tadas]

Hi Todd, here's my attempt at lesson one. This was at 160 BPM and that's roughly the speed where I start getting tense in the forearm.

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[Todd Simpson]

Welcome to BOOTCAMP Soldier!!! As your first Mission this is the first chance for me to see you play. The good news is that I"m very impressed. You have a very good hand synch going on and you are playing with authority and passion. I do notices that your hand is just a bit stiff which is something we can work on as we go. Also, your mute is lifting off of the bridge when you alt pick, but that too is something we can work on as we go. try to plant the back part of your hand on the bridge and keep it from moving. This will seem very strange at first. It will get better over time. You can use your thumb and first finger to articulate the pick and you can use part of the hand and wrist. This is a technique that takes time to master but it allows you to play open string licks that won't work any other way. You are more than ready for Mission 2!!

You just..

LEVELED UP!!!

Sarge

Hi Todd, here's my attempt at lesson one. This was at 160 BPM and that's roughly the speed where I start getting tense in the forearm.

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[Tadas]

Here's mission 2 (1/8 notes at 180 BPM). It was quite hard to keep the lower strings silent while palm muting the high strings, so there's quite a bit of noise.

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[Todd Simpson]

Well Fought Soldier!! I think you did a fine job of muting here. I'm looking for good hand synch and yours is quite good. Also, your mute covers all the strings which is great. Let's debrief!!



MEDALS OF HONOR

*FORM: You are displaying solid technique here Soldier. keep it up! Muting, hand synch, clean strikes. Nice!
*TEMPO: Not rushing or lagging, Spiff!
*AGGRESSION: Jumping in with aggressive style!! Score!!

You are ready for the next Challenge!
You just..
LEVELED UP!!

Onward!!
Sarge

Here's mission 2 (1/8 notes at 180 BPM). It was quite hard to keep the lower strings silent while palm muting the high strings, so there's quite a bit of noise.

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This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Dec 2 2020, 04:27 PM

[Todd Simpson]

Watch this vid. IT's a great demo on how to palm mute while articulating the strings. Now, this guy is using his fingers and his pick and a great deal of hammer on/pull off/legato, but focus on his palm mute. Look how he is keeping his mute while he picks. He doesn't lift, doesn't move the entire hand off the bridge. Also, he mutes firmly but doesn't choke the strings.

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This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Dec 4 2020, 11:31 PM

[Tadas]

Wow that's some inspiring technique in that video, thanks for sharing! The hardest thing about it for me so far is that the picking angle is not quite what I'm used to when palm muting on the high strings, but I think I'm making some progress there. Also it's much easier to accidentally choke the high strings, so that happens a lot to me.

Here's my shot at mission 3. Only noticed how badly I'm rushing in the beginning after recording but I can't shoot another video at the moment.
Let me know if it's passable, going to continue working on this one either way, I feel like it's a great pinky workout.

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[Todd Simpson]

WELL FOUGHT!!! It's great to see you making GAINS!! We are still very early in the process and already you are improving. This is great to see! Let's Debrief!!

MEDALS OF HONOR:

ALT PICKING: Your doing great on your Alternate Picking here. It's consistent and that's what I'm looking for.
Being able to pick in a consistent manner is crucial for moving ahead in bootcamp. You rushed it just a pinch but that's typical when diving in to a tricky bit of play. You quickly synched in to a groove and it was very smooth.

MUTE: Very solid work on the palm mute. Also critical. If you can't mute, you will get string noise. A bit part of bootcamp is trying to get the picking hand to be able to do a full mute of all the strings and be able to pick at the same time. The goal is to be able to mute all the strings without using the fretting hand to catch the high strings (which is what the hand wants to do). Nice Mute!

SYNCH: Right/Left hand synch is the core of this drill. If your synch is off, the entire thing will fall apart. Again, not a problem here! Synch is crucial to shredding. If you lose hand synch, you can't play with precision. if you can't play with precision, you can't play fast. Playing fast without precision is just sloppy playing. You have very solid synch and precision.

You've got this. Your pinky made a strong showing as well! This makes a great warm up/cool down drill. Keep it in your bag of tricks!!

You just...

LEVELED UP!!

Onward!
Sarge

Wow that's some inspiring technique in that video, thanks for sharing! The hardest thing about it for me so far is that the picking angle is not quite what I'm used to when palm muting on the high strings, but I think I'm making some progress there. Also it's much easier to accidentally choke the high strings, so that happens a lot to me.

Here's my shot at mission 3. Only noticed how badly I'm rushing in the beginning after recording but I can't shoot another video at the moment.
Let me know if it's passable, going to continue working on this one either way, I feel like it's a great pinky workout.

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This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Dec 7 2020, 11:41 PM

[Tadas]

Mission 4 attempt:

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[Todd Simpson]

This is your best work to date Soldier!! You are starting to put it all together. The toughest part to these early Missions is the traverse. You must not only traverse strings, but also frets. It's very easy to have a bit of a hiccup when moving between strings to re start this sequence. It's also easy to lose ones place and miss a single note. The reason I have you loop these is to give you enough rope to hang yourself with as it were. I want to see your playing over a distance of ground to see if small mistakes will magnify over time. The good news is you keep it high and tight Soldier. You've got a good handle on all of the basic techniques that are required to prepare you for what lies ahead. Picking, muting, traverse, timing. BAM. Soldier you are ready to move deeper in to the YAWNING CHASM OF DOOM!!!!!!!!

You just...

LEVELED UP!!!!

Onward!
Sarge

Mission 4 attempt:

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[Tadas]

Mission 5:

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[Todd Simpson]

This is very well played Soldier. It's under control and you don't miss a beat. It's great to see progress like this!! Make sure you create a playlist on youtube with your missions so you can track your progress. There is no string noise so your mute is very solid, you are keeping the muting hand planted which is great to see, your using your pinky which is also great and you don't stumble or studder, it's smooth as glass. You clearly have this sorted. I think you could probably push the speed a bit before it started to fall apart. Feel free to include a faster version in vids even if it's got errors. It can give me a chance to see your hand in action when playing at, what will be, your future level/pace. I don't grade the last pass, it's just for previewing where your goin. It's not a requirement, and you don't have to do it. Just a suggestion. You played well Soldier and you are ready for what is coming next!! Like many of these licks, this one can work great at one position on the neck. Loop it and find your max pace, then move it around again. It will feel odd that the hand doesn't want to play as fast sometimes when fret traverse comes back in to play, but it will eventually. This is a "shred lick" as it works in a loop with the same picking pattern. I use it as a warm up lick to this day.

You got this sorted, you just..

LEVELED UP!!!!

Onward!!
Sarge

Mission 5:

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[Tadas]

Mission 6 was quite tricky. Still not very consistent but much better than what I started with. I had to change it to triplets to keep the accents easy to track, hope that's fine. Here's my attempt:

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[Todd Simpson]

Very well fought Soldier!! This is a "Shred" lick. It doesn't have any string traverse so you can focus on straight line speed! You show a great deal of progress here on your ability to play in a precise manner and at a brisk pace!! You have made great progress in terms of your precision and your speed. Also, you are NOT picking from the elbow which is great to see. You are using the wrist and a bit of thumb. Nicely done! This lick works great as a warm up lick and as a way to work on your straight line speed. Keep it in your routine and you will be able to keep gaining speed. You'll start building up a collection of licks that you can play faster and faster and then start being able to use them in solos. See if you can use this in our current GMC collab!!!

Congratulations Soldier, you just..


LEVELED UP!!!

Onward
Todd

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[Tadas]

Mission 7:

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[Todd Simpson]

You are starting to get the foundations of SHRED Soldier!!! This is great to see. You have good control over your pick and your not over picking things. Putting too much pick pressure in to the mix is a bad thing. It's good to see your pick hand is not putting too much pressure on things. Keeping a light touch is key for learning to keep enough gas in the tank to allow for extended periods of full bore shredding your brains out. Same goes for the left hand. Finding the balance point where you are using the dead level minimum of effort is crucial. You are working towards it every Mission which is great to see. Also you are doing great on being able to palm mute while you are alt picking. This is the trickiest bit and stands as a huge barrier for many a soldier. It just takes practice and I can see the time put in your videos. This one is no exception. It's all high and tight until the last bit which is still ok as I like to see you push yourself and I think you could do it at 120 with a bit more practice. The previous playing was top notch and good enough to get you to the next badge. Congrats! You just..

LEVELED UP!!!

Onward!
Sarge

Mission 7:

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[Tadas]

Hi Todd, thanks for all the tips and encouraging feedback! Here's mission 8. Not very clean at faster tempos but I think I'm starting to get comfortable with some more speed.

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[Todd Simpson]

It's great to see you making progress like this Soldier!!! Things are coming together and your playing is seeing the gains!!! Your pick angle is good and your hand synch is solid. You are doing a great job on your picking here and you keep the speed up all the way through 140! Things start to get loose at 160bpm but that's ok since it's just the "pushing the edge" take which I do like to see. The previous takes are more than enough to badge you up and get you moving to the next mission.

FOR NEXT TIME:

PALM MUTE: In the next mission, try to be a little more heavy handed on the mute to give it a more metallic sort of sound. It's a fine line between using a heavy mute for note separation, and muting too much which chokes the note. You have a solid mute here! I would just like to see it a bit heavier to give it more note separation and more of a muted crunch tone. So much of our tone comes directly from the fingers and from how much or how little mute one uses.

SIT FOR THE WIN: For next time, I want you to try to sit in "Classical Position", with the guitar on your left leg instead of side saddle with the guitar on your right leg. This is a HUGE change and it will feel strange. It's worth it though. It will change the angle of your picking hand and of your fretting hand. There is a reason classical players sit this way, it's the most efficient angle to place the guitar for the hands. Also, put a few books or something under your left foot to raise that leg up about 10 inches. Once you find this resting position for the guitar, put your guitar strap on, adjust the strap so that the standing and seated position is the same for the placement of the guitar. You can eventually drop the guitar to you knees like slash, or play side saddle again, etc. For Bootcamp, try to switch to Classical position permanently. It will help your playing in a huge way.

You just...
LEVELED UP!!!!

Onward!!!
Sarge

Hi Todd, thanks for all the tips and encouraging feedback! Here's mission 8. Not very clean at faster tempos but I think I'm starting to get comfortable with some more speed.

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[Tadas]

Hi Todd, here's mission 9. Classical position still feels super uncomfortable but I'll keep at it.

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[Todd Simpson]

Top notch work Soldier!! This is one where you gotta dig deep and start doing serious fret traverse. the shape does not change so that you focus all of your attention on the actual traverse. This is a basic shape that we started with way back when. The difference is that this time it's not stop movement up the neck. In earlier missions, you worked on looping this lick in one position. You now have taken the next step and added fret travel. This is all to prepare your hands for playing long scale runs that start low and travel up the neck. These are the licks that are on the way. However, until a soldier can play the same shape moving up the neck, there is no way he can play various shapes up the neck. The good news is that you have clearly put your time in the woodshed soldier!! This one has no gaps at all and any drift or skip sticks out. The same would be true if you were playing a real scale run.

The hand mechanics are in place. You've got a solid mute, good hand synch, clean strikes, and brisk pace. you've got all of the elements that Im looking for up to this point. super congrats on making it this far soldier!! It's going to be a bit harder and hairier from here but you are ready!!!

Im glad to see you sitting in Classical Position Soldier!!! I know it feels odd, especially at first. Your body will adapt and it will help you make gains!! Ideally, your guitar should be at the same spot whether you are sitting or standing.

You just..

LEVELED UP!!!

Onward!
Sarge

Hi Todd, here's mission 9. Classical position still feels super uncomfortable but I'll keep at it.

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This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Mar 3 2021, 08:45 AM