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GMC Forum _ Gabriel Leopardi _ Echoshill's Thread

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 4 2016, 04:40 AM

Hi Echoshill! Welcome to your thread for Gab's Army.

Here I'll help you with guitar works, plans and routines in order to take your guitar playing to a new level based on your goals as musician. We've been talking via PM about your playing and future goals but it would be good to have everything here for future reference so please share again here some relevant info about your guitar goals, experience and musical taste.

It would be really helpful if you share any video recording of you improvising over a GMC backing track.

Thanks!

Posted by: Echoshill Jan 15 2016, 12:54 AM

Hi Gabe,

Pretty sure you already head me play (guessing that is a standard greeting up top). If not, check out www.marksnyderguitar.com and there is a link to sounds with (2) songs. Like I said, pretty sure you already listened..

So here is what I am hoping for. About (2) years ago I was playing Shrek for a touring Broadway company when I bumped in to the music director for a local theater group. He offer me a spot playing full time with them, and like an idiot, I turned down my dream job. I then spent (2) years away battling PTSD and depression. As luck would have it, they reached out again in the last few days to see if I wanted the job again. They even invited me as a guest to the theater last night to watch.

What I am hoping for is a 30 day boot camp to get my major/min chords (Root 6/5/4) along with the Maj7, Min7, and Don7 shapes back under my fingers. I also would like to move ore toward movable single octave scale shapes and pile triads in there.

This is a complete departure from my previous way of playing and learning. I no longer have to play jazz or sight read charts. They mostly write their own musicals using popular cover songs. So i need to re-familiarize myself while building back speed and articulation.

Thoughts?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 15 2016, 02:45 PM

Hi mate, thanks for sharing your info here.

So, if I understood well, your plan for this month is work on:

- CHORDS (Inversions/Drops): major/min chords (Root 6/5/4) along with the Maj7, Min7, and Dom7
- TRIADS
- SCALES / MODES

You also want to train your fingers to get them in shape for speeding and phrasing.

Am I right? How much time per day can you practice?

Posted by: Echoshill Jan 16 2016, 04:05 AM

I am looking to spend 1 hour per day minimum.

I have a lot of years behind me playing. And also a lot of bad habits. It sucks that I lost (2) years, but it is good that I get to start over, sort of, from scratch.

I will handle the chord shapes. If there is one thing a jazz player knows, it is a ton of chords. So, my new approach is going to be to run diatonic chords in cycle 4/5 with minimal change in position. Maybe 7 fret area.

So I will leave the single note stuff to you. How do I practice all 7 standard modes, overlapping pentatonics and triads in a way to get them back under my fingers and work on technique at the same time? Do you like the ideas of using octave shapes of the scales rather than running 6 string shapes? Learning to start each mode off of finger 1,2 and 4 with minimal position shifts.

So to recap, if I can handle getting the chords and Triads under my fingers, can you please give me a way to build speed, articulation and familiarity with scales? Practice Cycle 4/5? Do you like the (1) octave scale system?

****Remember, just dumping thoughts.

Mark

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 18 2016, 12:14 AM

Hi Mark, this sounds good.

I think that the best you can do for this is practicing using a method called "Pitch Axis". Maybe you've heard about it but it is basically playing over a vamp that keeps the root and playing the different modes starting from the same root. For example, you can start with F#. You can record your own backing track using a drum loop and a bass / keyboard playing F, some kind of Steve Vai / Satriani Vamp.

The first exercise would be to play the scales up and down with alternate picking in this order:

Ionian
Dorian
Phrygian
Lydian
Mixolydian
Aeolian
Locrian

Always starting from F#, and covering the whole fret board but 1 position each time.

This exercise will help you to re-learn modes, and it's also a good technique exercise.

Then, in order to make the exercise more demanding you can work using sequences and patterns. For example, groups of 4, groups of 3, and same other patterns that like (1 2 3 - 4 5 6 - 7 1 2) or (3 1 2 3 2 1). Things like that. I'm sure that you know lots of sequences, but I can share some links if you need some ideas.

Work on sequences using alternate picking, legato, and hybrid picking.

Posted by: Echoshill Jan 18 2016, 09:57 PM

Pitch axis is a great idea. First time I ever heard that , or realized I was hearing it, was in the middle section of Satch Boogie.

I was formerly a strict alternate picker, but toward the end, like two years ago, I went all to economy. It was a lot of work to play very very VERY slowly and improvise only with odd numbers of notes on each string. For the trickier picker, I worked pentatonics which are mostly 2 notes per string.

Yes, links would be good.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 19 2016, 01:57 PM

Well, at first you could do a work similar to this one:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/alternate-picking-thirds/

But based on pitch axis.

And here you have more ideas for sequences and patterns: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Sequential-Patterns/

Let me know if the task is clear.

Posted by: Echoshill Jan 30 2016, 12:56 PM

Hi. I think this is going well. It's strange, I wonder why anyone just works on scales or chromatic exercises when you rarely deploy a straight scale run. So, my work had really focused on these patterns and diatonic single string work for accuracy. It has been a very revealing process. Looking back at my old logs, it looks like the best I ever hit alt picking was 160bpm. Then again, that was with a metronome and in the woodshed.

Have you any feelings in a ladder system? Although I'm no great fan of Tom Hess, I line his theory on developing speed. Though his ladder requires way too much time.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 31 2016, 05:43 PM

Hi mate,

All the scales and chromatic works for shredding comes from the 80's shredder who used to play that kind of passages and more "predictable" runs. Then, with the grown in popularity by fusion shredders like Greg Howe, and nowadays Guthrie Govan, shredders started to pay more attention to "jazz" approaches to phrasing and practicing technique. That's why working on sequences and patterns is a good first step but not the only thing you should do if you want to be able to play uncommon phrases at fast speed. The secret is being able to combines different patterns (and maybe techniques) on the same run. I don't think that "speed" trainers are really successful for this, but they are a good starting point to make our technique more effective.

I think that the best way is to create your own exercises taken from solos and licks that you like and can't play fast, repeat them and create variations. Does it make sense?

Posted by: Echoshill Feb 15 2016, 08:41 PM

It does. Tell me, what sort of ladder do you recommend? So if your max speed is X bpm, how far below it do you start (x-10?) and then step up by how many bpm till you eventually push past?

Also, how in the world do you turn off the quote initial thread in a response? I always have to delete it.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 17 2016, 07:14 PM

Hi mate,

When building speed, I start at a comfortable tempo and increase by 2/5 bpm until I notice that I cannot play the things perfect. When I detect that tempo, I get back 5 bpm, and start practicing. As soon as I feel comfortable enough I increase 2/5 bpm. If I cannot play it right I get back 2 bpm, and so.... there is not one way, but it's very important to avoid practicing at a tempo in which you can't play the exercise clean and clear. Practicing something played wrong is a very bad idea.

"Also, how in the world do you turn off the quote initial thread in a response? I always have to delete it. "

I don't understand what you mean...

Posted by: Echoshill Feb 29 2016, 11:31 PM

Ok, I follow what you are saying.

I have been working with the straight up scales to get them under my fingers before messing with the patterns. I am wondering why I, and so many players, focus on playing scales when they are so uninteresting even at tempo. The patterns, I think, could even become predicable and mundane. I have also een spending time practicing primarily eco picking. Just improvising very slowly to get the flow of changing strings and odd/even pick attacks per string depending on whether or not I am changing directions. I think, hope?, that things are coming along.

I am having a very hard time only practicing 1 hour. It has been more like 1:45 to 2.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 1 2016, 06:53 PM

Hi mate, yes, I understand what you mean and I think that you are right. To much patterns and scale practice can make our lines sound as exercises. That's why we always say that it's very important to practice improvisation over backing tracks, and also to use GMC lesson to create your own variations and ideas. This is the way to develop our own voice on guitar.

Jazz and fusion players are great at playing uncommon and unpredictable phrasing so it's also helpful to learn licks from them.

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/25-Jazz-Fusion-Licks/