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Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 4 2016, 01:54 PM

Hi Leen94! Welcome to your thread for Gab's Army!

Here I'll help you with your guitar practice based on your guitar goals in order to take your guitar playing to new levels. Before we start, I'd like to know a bit more about you.

- How many time have you been playing guitar?
- Favorite guitarists, bands and musicians.
- What are your guitar goals?
- How would you like to you see yourself in 5 years (related to music and guitar)?
- How many time can you play guitar each day?
- Do you have playing live experience?
- Which are your strong and weak points with guitar?
- What do you know about music theory?
- Can you record videos of you playing?
- Share here audios and videos that reflect your current playing.

Posted by: Leen94 Jan 5 2016, 12:01 AM

Thanks, glad I could join your army

As for the questions:
- Not much, I bought one guitar last year but to be honest I haven't practised much on it.
- I like Jason Mraz, Coldplay, Switchfoot (but only their old songs), Ed Sheeran, Mumford and Sons. But I don't really have one favorite, I usually listen to songs of many different bands/musicians.
- Hmm guitar goals..I just want to get as much out of it as possible Challenging myself to take it further every time.
- In 5 years time I want to be able to play very well and have more knowledge about the theory behind music. Right now I don't have a goal to play in a band or perform. But it does seem nice...so maybe playing in a band or perform could be a goal too.
- I can practise for at least an hour every day.
- I've never played anything live.
- I don't quite know yet what my strong and weak points are with the guitar . I do have very very small hands, so it might be a problem for me to stretch far.
- Not much, I've never had any lessons on music theory. I know the 7 basic notes and that you've got flat/sharp notes between them except between the E -F and B-C. And I know how to read tabs. But that's about it
- I've got a webcam on my laptop that I can use to record videos.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 5 2016, 01:16 PM

Hi Leen, thanks for your information. In order to start working I'll assign one a first basic lesson based on open chords and a simple strumming pattern. The idea is that you learn the lesson, tell how it feels in a few days and if it's possible share a video of you playing it.

I haven't seen you playing so I'm not sure if this is advanced or not for you. Just let me know.

Also, it would really help me if you can record yourself just playing the things that you play every time you pick up guitar.

The lesson to work: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Beginners_Corner_1_Open_Chords/

Posted by: Leen94 Jan 8 2016, 06:36 PM

Hi Gabriel,

Just wanted to let you know that I'm working on the lesson you gave me. I am a little bit struggling with the speed and with the C-chord. I just have to keep practising it
I'll upload a video tomorrow to show how it goes and I will also upload a video of what I normally play on my guitar.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 9 2016, 01:53 PM

Fantastic! I'll wait for the video to give specific tips. Keep working!

Posted by: Leen94 Jan 9 2016, 11:57 PM

Hi Gabriel,

Here are the two videos
I know there's still a lot to work on but I'll just keep practising untill it's right

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 11 2016, 03:10 AM

Hi Leen! Great to find your videos!

You are changing chords very smoothly and it seems that everything sounds good. To be safe please check from time to time if each note of the chords is sounding when your press them to avoid muted notes.

The main thing to improve, based on video 1 is your rhythm. You are doing a silence between the chord changes so the rhythm stops and starts again. I recommend you to play even slower but trying to keep the rhythm / groove flowing. For this, you can use the slow backing tracks from the lesson, a metronome or even setting guitar pro at a comfortable tempo. The idea is to make the rhythm sound continuous at a slower tempo and slowly increase it until you can play the lesson at the normal tempo over the backing track. Does it make sense?

Posted by: Leen94 Jan 15 2016, 11:32 AM

Hi Gabriel,

Thanks for the feedback!
Right now I'm playing it slower with the backing track as you recommended and I notice that it really helps me keeping the rythm more steady.
I'll post a video of it soon

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 15 2016, 03:18 PM

Great! Keep the hard work!

Posted by: Leen94 Jan 22 2016, 07:53 PM

Hi Gabriel,

I just wanted to let you know that I'll post a video of my progress next week on Friday.
Right now I'm very busy with study, got a few deadlines this and next week. So I haven't practised as much as I would like to, but I will pick it up again and start practising more coming week

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 22 2016, 10:37 PM

Hi mate! This sounds good! Thanks for the update, I'll wait for your take.

Posted by: Leen94 Jan 30 2016, 12:18 AM

Hi Gabriel!

Here's the video.
I tried to do it at a slower tempo so I could focus more on keeping the rythm...hope it's better than the one before

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 31 2016, 05:07 PM

yes, this is the way to go. Now you are keeping tempo better. Sometimes you tend to play before the beat but it's getting better. Are you using metronome on this take?

Posted by: Leen94 Feb 8 2016, 05:48 PM

No I think I used the backing track, but very quiet because otherwise it was louder than my guitar

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 10 2016, 05:18 PM

Ah ok, please try to set your backing louder the next time!

Posted by: Leen94 Feb 16 2016, 01:04 PM

Okay I will
Should I just keep practising this in this tempo and post another video of it?

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

yes please!

Posted by: Leen94 Mar 19 2016, 01:26 PM

Hi Gabriel,
I'm sorry I haven't posted a video in a really long time....I have to admit that I neglected playing the guitar for a little bit.
I find it hard to stay motivated because I can't do that much yet. But I will pick it up again, cause I really want to learn it:)
So next Friday I will post a new video

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 20 2016, 07:29 PM

Hi friend! I'm sorry to hear this! What's the main reason? Lack of time or lack of motivation?

Posted by: Leen94 Mar 25 2016, 10:50 PM

I think it's a combination of those two. I have been very busy with school (exams) but I also find it hard to stay motivated because I progress so slow. I just have to get through the beginning phase I guess

Here's the video of me playing the chords with the metronome

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 28 2016, 02:17 AM

Nice video! I can notice progress here! Congrats!

Let's try to find the way to make this funnier! Please write here a list of 10 popular songs that you'd like to learn to play.

Posted by: Leen94 Apr 6 2016, 09:28 PM

Yaay thanks ! I'm so glad you see progress cause sometimes it feels like it's not getting better
And I really like the new assignment, I'm going to think of those 10 songs and let you know soon!

Posted by: Leen94 Apr 6 2016, 10:00 PM

Okay so here are my 10 songs. I"ll probably come up with more songs during this week that I wished to have also put on the list but these came to my mind quickest

James Bay - Clocks go forward
John Mayer - Say
Jason Mraz - Hello, you beautiful thing
Jason Mraz - Song for a friend
Ed Sheeran - I see fire
Switchfoot - Learning to breathe
Switchfoot - Your love is a song
Switchfoot - Dare you to move
Switchfoot - You
Coldplay - Magic

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Apr 7 2016, 04:25 PM

Cool! What about starting with I see fire?

Let me know if you can use this video to learn the chords:

Posted by: Leen94 May 11 2016, 07:00 PM

Oh oh been way too long since I've been here...But I'm excited to learn I see fire, really like that song!
The video works good for me What do you want me to practise? Just only the chords first?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 12 2016, 11:37 PM

Great! Yes, you can start with the chords at first. Please keep me updated.

Posted by: Leen94 May 17 2016, 09:24 PM

Okay I'll start working on it, and I will keep you updated

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 18 2016, 10:30 PM

Great! I hope to hear from you soon.

Posted by: Leen94 Jun 1 2016, 12:49 PM

Hi Gabriel,

I'm practising the song and almost all the chords are going well because I already practised those in the exercise you gave me
The only chord that is still kinda hard is the Bminor. Also I can't play the chords in the right tempo because it takes me too long to switch from chord to chord, but it's getting better.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 1 2016, 04:42 PM

Hi Leen, great to hear from you! Is there any video of you playing the chords to let me check?

Posted by: Leen94 Jun 7 2016, 09:06 PM

Hi Gabriel,

I will post a video next week, want to practise the chords a little bit more

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 8 2016, 08:41 PM

Ok! Thanks.

Posted by: Leen94 Jun 28 2016, 01:48 PM

Hi Gabriel,

I'm sorry I haven't posted the video yet...right now I'm writing my Bachelor theses and I kind of forgot about it
I will post it this Friday

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 28 2016, 04:19 PM

Ok! Good luck with it! Thanks for the update.

Posted by: Leen94 Jul 5 2016, 08:53 PM

Thanks

Sorry again for being late. Internet isn't working since thursday (perfect timing )
But I managed to upload it now using my mobile phone. If I'm right then those are the chords I have to practise for the song.
I find the B minor very difficult and the C is also a little difficult still.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 7 2016, 02:17 AM

Hi Leen! Good job! It's great to see you changing chords smoothly! Your hands look comfortable with the different finger positions and from what I can hear, all the strings sound clear on each of the chords. Congrats!

Now that you can play all the chords from the song, you could start practicing the rhythm (right hand strumming). You could start staying on one chord as a loop to get used to the right hand motion, then slowly start to add chords. You can for example play two chords as a loop keeping the rhythm, in order to get used to the different chord changes.

Are you in?

Posted by: Leen94 Aug 8 2016, 09:09 PM

Hi Gabriel,

Thank you!! Happy to hear that the practise has some result
I'm definitely in, already practising the strumming pattern. Shall I practise for two more weeks and then put up another video?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 9 2016, 07:37 PM

Yes! In around 10 days would be ok!

Posted by: Leen94 Sep 12 2016, 08:12 PM

Hi Gabriel,

I will post a video this Thursday It takes a little bit longer than expected because I'm not so happy with my progress so far, so I would rather practice for another few weeks

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 13 2016, 07:42 PM

Hi Leen! Nice to hear from you! Thanks for the update! I'll wait for your take.

Posted by: Leen94 Sep 15 2016, 03:43 PM

Here's the video

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 16 2016, 01:38 PM

Hi Leen! That's looking really good!

I can see that you are getting more and more comfortable with those chords, and the changes! The next goals should be to make the chord transition smoother, and to improve your left hand rhythm.

While practising, I recommend that you practice at a slower tempo, in order to be able to play the whole thing with a smooth rhythm and avoid going fast when the chord is player and stop rhythm when you have to change the chord. Does it make sense? It's better to practice slower but keeping the tempo regular.

Regarding your left hand, I recommend you start giving some attention to it, and strum the string stronger, trying to make all strings of the chord sound clear. Your strumming tends to sound weak.

Ok Leen, I hope that my comments help to know where to put your focus on the next days of practice.

Keep on the good job!!

Posted by: Leen94 Sep 28 2016, 08:43 PM

Hi Gabriel,

Thank you!

Yes that makes sense to me, I will practice it at a slower tempo

I was also wondering if you could help me to start learning about the theory of music/guitar playing?
I would really like to know more about that

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 29 2016, 03:12 PM

Hi Leen! Sure, I can guide you with that! What do you already know?

Posted by: Leen94 Oct 4 2016, 08:39 PM

Great
To be honest I've never had any lesson, so I don't know much about it.
I know that you've got different chords from A to G and I know that the notes of the strings are called E,A,D,G,B,E.
But that's about it.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 5 2016, 08:46 PM

Ok! At first, please read this post and share here what you get from it. Make an abstract here with what you understand, the most important concepts:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=3860

Posted by: Leen94 Nov 15 2016, 09:15 PM

Hi Gabriel,

It has been way too long since I replied or posted something, sorry
Just finished my preMaster so the last couple of weeks were quite busy at the university.
I will post a video in 2 weeks, so I can practice a little bit more, and I will also make an abstract of the theory you gave me

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 16 2016, 05:52 PM

Hi Leen! Nice to hear from you!

Ok! Thanks for the update! I'll wait for your news.

Posted by: Leen94 Nov 25 2016, 11:03 PM

Hi Gabriel,
Here's my summary of the theory and the video

Summary
There are 7 different notes in a scale, some notes are split into half. It starts from an A to a G, and then back to an A again. The notes with the same name are an octave apart and are the same notes only a little higher or lower.
There are half notes (or semi tones) between every whole note except between E,F and B,C. We can call those semitones 'sharp' when we are stepping up half a tone or a 'flat' when we are stepping down half a note. So there are actually 12 semitones in an octave.

There are 6 open strings on a guitar, the notes of those strings are E, B, G, D, A, E. When you move up one fret you move up a semitone, that's how you can figure out where the notes are.

A scale is an arrangement of notes and underlies everything we do musically since we derive fitting chords and notes out of it. There are many different scales, so we tend to organize them in families. The most common scales are the Major, Minor and Minor Pentatonic.
A key is a scale family type along with the note you are starting the scale from. A key defines the tonal centre of a piece of music, it is the chord that the song keeps returning to. A chord is a number of notes that are played together at the same time. '

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 26 2016, 09:50 PM

Hi Leen! Nice to find news from you here!!

The theory summary is perfect! Here I'll share the next steps that I suggest covering and then again writing your thoughts here.

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Beginners-Corner-13-C-Major-Scale/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Beginners-Corner-19-Chords-Theory/

About your video, I can see that you are starting to feel more comfortable with the chords. The next step here is to make the chord transitions smoother, mostly when you go to D chords which seems to be the one that feels trickier for you.

As you need to continue playing this, and I want you to keep entertained I'd like to suggest you start working on this lesson:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/picnic-panic/

In this one, you need to first learn the 4 chords, and then the different rhythms shared.

What do you think?

Posted by: Leen94 Nov 28 2016, 09:54 PM

Hi Gabriel,

Thank you:)
The lesson looks really nice and I'm excited to start working on it!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 29 2016, 12:24 PM

Great!

Posted by: Leen94 Jan 19 2017, 09:35 PM

Hi Gabriel,

How are you?
Just wanted to let you know that I'm still working on the new assignment
Is it alright if I"l post a video in two weeks?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 20 2017, 01:04 AM

Hey Leen! How are you?

That's great! I'll wait for the video!

Also, I think that you'll enjoy this lesson: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Ed-Sheeran-Style/