GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
You've got the ECON and a good bit of speed going here soldier! Super congrats on that. This one really is all about being able to do that two down stroke, econ picking group. It's almost a short sweep type thing. Econ picking can prepare your hand for sweep licks in that it gets you used to doing more than one down stroke while move up the strings. When you transition to sweep picking, it's more a "rake" type motion but moving the pick in the same direction without reversing the direction of the pick is something that gets in foundation in licks like this. Also, you do very well on the metronome synch here. If the synch drifts, it all falls apart but you keep the synch nice and tight!
Th ONE ISSUE I hear is that once you speed up, it sounds like your mute on the E isn't quite solid as I can hear an open E string Each time you strike the first note and head to the next string. It keeps happening each time. Granted this is only one note and it's not the focus of this mission so it's not going to keep you from moving forward. It's worth trying to isolate this though as it will come up again. When you play this video back can you hear the open E string ringing? See if you can hear it as well.
As for now you just.. LEVELED UP!!!
Onward! Sarge
QUOTE (tflava @ Feb 14 2021, 05:05 PM)
He Sarge,
Last week i practiced the bootcamp mission again after a one week break
Here is mission 15 with the economy picking. I tried to get the maximum speed out of it but still keeps the note seperated.
Experienced Tone Seeker Posts: 765
Joined: 28-June 13
From: Den Helder (Holland)
Hey sarge. i can hear it ringing. I think its because of the sweep movement i lose attention to muting. Next excercise i will focus on muting againg. thanks.
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Just something worth noting. I'm sure you'll sort it!
Sarge
QUOTE (tflava @ Feb 15 2021, 04:44 PM)
Hey sarge. i can hear it ringing. I think its because of the sweep movement i lose attention to muting. Next excercise i will focus on muting againg. thanks.
Experienced Tone Seeker Posts: 765
Joined: 28-June 13
From: Den Helder (Holland)
Hey sarge,
Here is my mission 16. I focussed on also palm muting the low E string. I noticed that from 100 bpm everything is harder to keep clean and is hear more guitar noise. This recording day wasnt my best day but i think that this excersise really helped my economy picking
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Well fought Soldier! This one is all about the ECON picking. Shapes like this combine several elements at once which is what makes it difficult to play. The most important thing is the econ picking on this one. Without Econ, this lick gets much more awkward to play. With econ picking, it's a lot more smooth. It's built so that the fretting hand will need to use the pinky, which you do well! It's also built so that econ works better than alt picking. Econ picking can feel very odd at first, but once your hand gets used ot it, it can really open your playing. The only issue I see/hear is that your palm mute seems to be allowing a bit of string noise to get through but when one speeds up, muting and everything else get more difficult. The angle of your hand might be the issue. See if you can pull your guitar around to the left a bit more so that when your hand plants on the bridge, its' easier to get it flat on the trem and do a more complete mute. You've got this one sorted. Time to move forward!
You just..
LEVELED UP!
Onward! Sarge
QUOTE (tflava @ Feb 22 2021, 02:21 PM)
Hey sarge,
Here is my mission 16. I focussed on also palm muting the low E string. I noticed that from 100 bpm everything is harder to keep clean and is hear more guitar noise. This recording day wasnt my best day but i think that this excersise really helped my economy picking
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Very well fought Soldier!!! There are a lot of moving parts in this one bit. We are using every single string on this one which is a good way to show me if there are any gaps in your mute. Also, this one focuses on synch and use of the pinky. These three elements are something we will come to time and again as they are all three critical in becoming a better player. Let's break kit down.
PALM MUTE: Your palm mute technique has improved quite a bit since you started Bootcamp. It's very solid. No string noise or random gaps in your mute. You keep it centered and avoid too much up down movement as you traverse strings. Also your pick hand is opened up a bit which allows the hand to mute more of the strings. When palm muting with a close fist approach, it's very hard to get everything muted. Nicely done!
HAND SYNCH: With so many notes and so much traverse, there are plenty of chances to miss a single note and wreck the entire thing. You make it all the way through up and down and don't miss anything. Nice!!! Your synch has also improved with each mission. keep it up!! It's gonna get trickier!
PINKY POWER: Great to see you are using the pinky and not relying on just the first three fingers. On the mid and lower frets its very important to use the pinky. It's the weakest finger so the more work you give it the better. It's responding well to your intent!!!
With so much back and forth and traverse, it's easy to get lost in this lick and mess it up. Thats why it has so many notes and so much back and forth and traverse. I want to see your hands talking to each other over a very long note sequence to see if any problems show up. Smooth as glass Soldier!
I also liked your lick at the end. You play it very well! I did notice one bit that might need a pinch more work. The final note is a vibrato ring out. Your vibrato technique here is a bit shallow and tepid. Ideally it should start almost still, then swell up to a very wide and deep vibrato. You can work on your vibrato by just focusing on a single note and working your vibrato. Record it, watch it back, see how it's going, and repeat. The best way is to watch yourself and see what it sounds like when you are not playing it at the time. I see you are using a one finger vibrato technique. I use this often as well. here is a recent solo of mine where I use quite a bit of single finger vibrato. Watch this video carefully and see if you can tell the difference between our vibrato technique. See if you can emulate what I'm doing here.
You just... LEVELED UP!!!
Onward!! Sarge
QUOTE (tflava @ Feb 28 2021, 04:24 PM)
Hello Sarge,
here is my mission 17. The last bit was a bit too fastbut i wanted to give it a try. I also recored a pentatonic lick which i practieced this week.
Experienced Tone Seeker Posts: 765
Joined: 28-June 13
From: Den Helder (Holland)
Hé Sarge.. Thanks a lot. I will continue with the next lesson 😁
About the vibrato. In the original lick there is nog vibrato but its one of my weakest techniques so ill try to use it when possible when practicing. My vibrato is better than before but not where i want it to be. You have a real good vibrato and ill keep working on it and try to use it with my hand like you do. Thanks.
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
It's a good idea to throw some vibrato in whenever possible. It's a technique that can always use a bit more work. So even if it's not mentioned in the tab, if you can find a spot for it, please do throw in some vibrato!
QUOTE (tflava @ Mar 1 2021, 07:36 AM)
Hé Sarge.. Thanks a lot. I will continue with the next lesson 😁
About the vibrato. In the original lick there is nog vibrato but its one of my weakest techniques so ill try to use it when possible when practicing. My vibrato is better than before but not where i want it to be. You have a real good vibrato and ill keep working on it and try to use it with my hand like you do. Thanks.
Experienced Tone Seeker Posts: 765
Joined: 28-June 13
From: Den Helder (Holland)
Hello Sarge,
Here is lesson 18. I'll have to say that i didnt practice this lesson a lot. I was quite buissy with some other things. I just made an improvisation where i lived in the moment. but im also working on the synthwave collab. Is it ok to move on to the tapping lesson
Experienced Tone Seeker Posts: 765
Joined: 28-June 13
From: Den Helder (Holland)
Hey Sarge,
Here my bootcamp mission 19.
You forgot to check my latest but Ive been moving on 😊 Ill have to say that this isnt my best tapping example but didnt have much time this week. But i also have a nice book with tapping licks and basics and will put it in my routine one of these days.
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Sorry for the lag Soldier!! This is quite good! You stay on beat and in key the entire time. That's what I'm really looking for here. Can you play some solo bits for a good long while and not start repeating yourself, not lose synch, not play off beat, not play out of key. Also, it's a chance to use some of the licks we have been working on in a musical context which is the entire point of BOOTCAMP! We are here to get you ready to express yourself musically without any limitations. You do a great job on this Soldier. I see you throwing all manner of licks at this including bends and your bends are to pitch which is one of the biggest hurdles any player has to face.
WELL FOUGHT SOLDIER!!
You just...
LEVELED UP!!
Onward! Sarge
QUOTE (tflava @ Mar 7 2021, 04:26 PM)
Hello Sarge,
Here is lesson 18. I'll have to say that i didnt practice this lesson a lot. I was quite buissy with some other things. I just made an improvisation where i lived in the moment. but im also working on the synthwave collab. Is it ok to move on to the tapping lesson
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Well Fought Soldier!!! This is a very tricky tapping lick that adds in an open string in addition to using three fingers on the left hand. This is a very advanced tapping style. The regular van halen style usually has just two fingers doing most of the work and doing so on a fretted string. Being able to work with open strings is a great way to expand your style. It requires a good skill with muting since you have to use bits other than your palm to keep string noise at bay.
You do a great job on this one Soldier. If this is your first time doing a 5 note tap, you really adapted to it well. Your fingers are light and keeping noise at bay. Well Fought!!
You just.. LEVELED UP!!!!
Onward! Sarge
QUOTE (tflava @ Mar 14 2021, 01:42 PM)
Hey Sarge,
Here my bootcamp mission 19.
You forgot to check my latest but Ive been moving on 😊 Ill have to say that this isnt my best tapping example but didnt have much time this week. But i also have a nice book with tapping licks and basics and will put it in my routine one of these days.
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Soldier I know you can play this stuff. That first lick is something you can clearly play. However, right away you start playing ahead of the beat and drifting from synch. It sounds like you may have just started the metronome at too slow a pace? 70 bpm is evidently just too slow for your hand to play. This is perfectly ok, just speed up the metronome to where it feels comfortable. Any pace, no matter how slow, no matter how fast is just fine, as long as you are playing on the beat and in synch with the metronome. One way to make sure it's always correct is to speed up or slow down the metronome to allow a pick strike to happen on each click. You can also get rid of the "clack" if you like so that it's clicks only. Sometimes this can be helpful. Give me this again and focus on playing a pick strike on top of a click to make sure you are not drifting. Being able to play in time as at least as important as playing in key!!
Once more in to the breach!
Sarge =]
QUOTE (tflava @ Mar 21 2021, 04:05 PM)
Hey sarge,
here my mission 20. The slide lick was more difficult then the other.
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
At the faster speeds as well it starts well and then drifts and then locks in again. But What I want to hear is it being locked in to the beat from start to finish. This isn't a "shred" lick, it's not built for speed. It's a lot of string traverse designed to make it hard to play on the beat. What I'm looking for is your ability to lock in to the beat despite the lick being tricky. Find a mid range comfortable speed and just practice at that speed. Id say forget about doing several tempos on this lick.
As for the "strike once hammer many" lick at the end, it sounds ok but almost like you reduced the amount of gain/distortion you were using on your tone? Perhaps it's just from stronger muting but sounds a bit different. This one is tricky as well, but try to play it with a metronome as well. It can be played as a 4/4 lick. You can change the metronome to clicks only (only one type of sound instead of click click click clack) which can make the second one easier to play with a metronome.
This entire mission is just about playing one note per beat an being able to keep your playing steady despite having to think about whats being played. I know you can do this Soldier!!
Sarge
QUOTE (tflava @ Mar 22 2021, 02:44 AM)
Hé Sarge.
I hear what you mean. And the higher speed later on in the recording? Or else i Will shoot one more at one tempo later today
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
This is great work Soldier! It's precise, it's on point. I knew you were able to play with this level of precision. I've seen it in action. This is a tricky lick that is mostly about making your fingers work like crazy without missing a note. The lick is too complex to shred. You'll notice as you go through bootcamp that some licks are more simple, more symmetrical, and built for speed. Some licks are just way more complex and are about pure precision.
You've got this down Soldier! You just... LEVELED UP!!!
Onward! Sarge
QUOTE (tflava @ Mar 22 2021, 06:12 AM)
I think this is better.
This lick isnt that hard but i think i focussed to much on driving up the speed.
