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GMC Forum _ PRACTICE ROOM _ Had An Idea
Posted by: Phil66 Sep 22 2016, 09:09 PM
I'm going to put my current lesson https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/A_Minor_Blues/ onto my iPod and play it in the car on the way to work and back. Hopefully it will help me really get to know the piece so I can learn it more quickly.
What you reckon? Have any of you tried this? If you have, did it help?
I use https://www.downloadhelper.net/ to convert the videos to MP3, I can only get it to work in Firefox though but it is good.
Cheers folks.
Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Sep 23 2016, 09:55 AM
Yes sometimes I do something similar when I need to learn something in a short period of time. It does work!
However it's like a double edged sword - you can also get tired and bored of what you are trying to learn if you over-listen to it.
Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 23 2016, 12:10 PM
That's a funny thing 
It does not work for me at all I'm a type of human, who learns things while he sit, and says to himself "Now, I'm learning". Otherwise I can listen to a song dozen times and not remember it because my mind does not treat it with any kind of priority But that's an interesting topic. I guess it works for some, and for some doesn't
Posted by: Phil66 Sep 23 2016, 12:40 PM
I have a strange memory system. Example: The other day I received an email and needed to tell a colleague something about one of our components. The part number is 1014xc835. I walked down the workshop saying "1014xc835, 1014xc835 " over and over so I didn't forget it. Halfway there some said "what you doing? " I told them and immediately forgot the number. Two days later, I was in a restaurant with my wife and I suddenly said "1014xc835" and explained to my wife that I couldn't remember it a few seconds after reading an email but can remember it days afterwards.
Maybe this is why I struggle to learn things just during my lesson. This is why I'm thinking of doing this to internalise the piece 
Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 23 2016, 01:58 PM
Hi Phil, I think that it's ok that you try this method and see if it works for you. Every person is different so it's a good plan to discover it by yourself.
By the way, Darius comment about attention when listening is very important, as well as Kris's thoughts about getting bored of the lesson. So have both things in mind when listening to the lesson. Ijn your example, you are talking about memorising numbers, here we are talking about making music which is very different.
Posted by: Phil66 Sep 23 2016, 02:07 PM
Thanks Gab,
I know what you're saying, but I have the same issue remembering the note sequence so I was wondering that if I got to know the piece "inside out" I wouldn't have to think about the phrasing so much, just the execution of it and the note sequence. I was thinking that by internalizing it, it may come to me easier as I have one less thing to remember.
Hope this makes sense
Posted by: klasaine Sep 23 2016, 02:49 PM
If I have the time, I always listen to stuff I need to (or want to) learn in the car before I sit down to actually 'learn' it.
Usually that type of listening/learning is just so that I know the form or structure of a piece. Like is it a blues form or something else? How many times do you play each part? Is there a key change?, Etc.
It's easier for me to learn a solo or a melody if I already understand the motion - harmonic and rhythmic - underneath it.
*It's really important for musicians of any level to be able to hear chord changes. Not the exact pitch (unless you have perfect pitch) but just whether the chord is a I or a IV or a iii or a V etc.
It's amazing the amount of work you can get done away from your instrument when you can hear basic chord progressions. In fact, that's a great thing to practice while your driving. Try to figure out the chord progressions to songs.
Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Sep 23 2016, 03:20 PM
It works for me but I do this only in the day when I receive the new task with the new lesson. But I do this from 2 reasons:
1 - I usually avoid to use tabs for lessons and this thing helps me to keep my ears in a good shape. Also it's cool when I have a new lesson and I pick up my guitar to already know the song.
2 - I like to listen and find the details from lesson by ear before to see them in video. It's like a contest. If I discover more than 80% from details I will give myself a prize, if I discover under my expectations I always have a punishment prepared for me.
It's good to mention the fact that I never get bored to listen (or to practice) in an obsessively way, a lesson/song that I like. Of course keep in mind that I will never play a lesson/song which not resonate with me
Posted by: klasaine Sep 23 2016, 03:42 PM
1 - I usually avoid to use tabs for lessons and this thing helps me to keep my ears in a good shape. Also it's cool when I have a new lesson and I pick up my guitar to already know the song.
2 - I like to listen and find the details from lesson by ear before to see them in video. It's like a contest. If I discover more than 80% from details I will give myself a prize, if I discover under my expectations I always have a punishment prepared for me.
It's good to mention the fact that I never get bored to listen (or to practice) in an obsessively way, a lesson/song that I like. Of course keep in mind that I will never play a lesson/song which not resonate with me
This is why your progress is so dramatic.
I also believe it's why you play with 'musicality', as opposed to just displaying technical ability.
Being able to hear it in your head gets you inside the music.
Posted by: PosterBoy Sep 23 2016, 03:52 PM
Works for me, I have to be able to sing it, to play it especially if there is tricky timing.
Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Sep 23 2016, 04:43 PM
I also believe it's why you play with 'musicality', as opposed to just displaying technical ability.
Being able to hear it in your head gets you inside the music.
Thank you for your kind words
It's the only way how I like to learn lessons/songs. You have perfectly right when you say " Being able to hear it in your head gets you inside the music". I always thought that if you learn a song after tabs, you will turn music in a math and you will loose the feeling which composer wanted to express. Obviously I wasn't good at math in school so, I prefer to use my ears
Posted by: Phil66 Sep 23 2016, 08:18 PM
I'd love to be able to work things out by ear but at the moment my ear isn't good. I have an amazing friend, I haven't seen him for a few years though but he'd never heard any Steve Vai, he was at my house, I put "For The Love Of God" on, after a minute he grabbed my guitar off the wall and said start that again, he played each phrase while listening to the next one, right up until the wammy bits start about 1 minute in (He'd only ever played a Les Paul). So he listened to a bit and played it while listening to the next bit and played that while listening to the next bit.
I then put Satriani's "Surfin' With The Alien, he asked if he could borrow it. He called me the following night a played the entire "Surfin With The Alien" track on his Les Paul, the wammy bar bits sounded odd but he played all the notes that Satch plays but obviously without dipping the bar.
He's has the most incredible ear and skill for picking up music by ear that I've ever seen. I think he is part of the reason for my impatience 
Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 23 2016, 10:07 PM
Developing your "ear" is a CRUCIAL bit of becoming a better player IMHO One simple way to do it is to just put on a tune that you like. Grab your guitar and literally move your hand around the neck search for matching power chords, notes, etc. The more you do this, the more your ear will know where to go on the neck when you hear a given note/key.
It takes time to be sure. Once you notice that it's starting to work, you can put on a song, and grab your guitar and your hands will go to the notes almost without thinking. It becomes a reflex. IT's pretty handy when it does become a natural instinct At that point you experience the music a bit differently IMHO. It just sorta flows in to you and your fingers start working almost, by themselves.
The same thing happened to me for creating solos. Eventually, you don't even have to think, your fingers are almost doing it themselves. I can close my eyes and solo all over the neck and just respond to the track I'm listening to with music. It's almost a "Zen" sort of thing that becomes a sort of meditation.
keep in mind I've been playing for many, many, many years. So it's not something that happens quickly, but it does happen
Todd
I then put Satriani's "Surfin' With The Alien, he asked if he could borrow it. He called me the following night a played the entire "Surfin With The Alien" track on his Les Paul, the wammy bar bits sounded odd but he played all the notes that Satch plays but obviously without dipping the bar.
He's has the most incredible ear and skill for picking up music by ear that I've ever seen. I think he is part of the reason for my impatience
Posted by: klasaine Sep 24 2016, 12:23 AM
Even the most novice player can develop an 'ear'.
You just have to do it. Start with something easy.
Posted by: PosterBoy Sep 25 2016, 10:27 AM
My ear is better than my technique by a long shot, and that's due to singing from an early age.
Singing the notes as you practice scales and triad/Arpeggios slowly is a good way to connect hearing the note in your head and the note on the fretboard. You can then test yourself by playing a note, singing a fifth or third interval from it and then playing the note to see if you got it right.
It's also a good way to improve your singing pitch too, so many people can't sing on pitch correctly because they aren't hearing the note in there hear properly.
Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 25 2016, 10:28 PM
Some more great advice Developing your ear really is that important to becoming a good player. Start on something easy. Even, playing improv while watching tv/movies etc. is a good way to work on it without having to stop what you are doing to go woodshed
Todd
Posted by: Phil66 Sep 26 2016, 06:57 PM
I can "sing" the whole of Surfin With The Alien but I can't play it 
seriously though, I remember note lengths and rhythms but not pitches. I can be using TAB and know if there is an error like an incorrect note but it takes me ages to find the right one 
Posted by: Sensible Jones Sep 27 2016, 01:41 PM
I used to do a similar thing when learning new songs with whichever Band I was in at the time. I'd listen to it on repeat as I was going to bed so as there was no distractions and all I could hear was the song going around and around. It was almost like Self-hypnosis!
Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 27 2016, 08:15 PM
Yup You got it. "Take me forever to find the right note" is how it goes at first for most folks. That's the hard part about developing your ear. Like guitar, it can take years. The good news is, that once you get your ear somewhat trained, you can jump in and play lead/solo/rythm etc. on pretty much any track/soundtrack/jingle etc. just from listening to it. It's one of the marks of a well practiced player. Being able to just jump in and not play out of key. It is frustrating, especially at first, and it does take time.
I'd say it's well worth it though. As you are making the journey to become a better musician, I'd suggest that you work on your ear training when you can. The benefits far outweigh the pain in the neck factor Grab your guitar while watching a movie, even if you need to put on ear buds, or a single ear bud if you need to hear other things while watching. That way you can start to find notes that fit along with the score and it doesn't feel like tedious practice as much. Works with anything, tv shows, music, movies, etc. It's something you can do while doing something else so it doesn't seem as much like tedium. Eventually your ear will adapt, and upon hearing music you will go "oh, he's A, no problem".
Todd
seriously though, I remember note lengths and rhythms but not pitches. I can be using TAB and know if there is an error like an incorrect note but it takes me ages to find the right one Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
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