Original lesson: Smooth Rock Licks by Guido Bungenstock

These licks just want to morph all the time, I already have 20 own versions of each one :)

Hi Emir!

You chose a really beautiful lesson. Your playing is cool and overall your take sounds very pleasant. But... there are some details that require a little more work.

0:12 - you do not play this part exactly the same as Guido. You skipped playing a note and you also added a slide.

0:28; 0:34 - in these spots you need to play on G string 2 very fast down bends. These tiny details will add an awesome flavor to this part and will avoid sounding square.

0:37 - 0:45 - I would like to hear this particular part played better from the dynamic point of view. To have here the contrast that you need, you should put stronger accents. Also, respect the pauses that you have between some notes. Even if you play that notes shorter, if you do not mute the strings, you will not be able to achieve the same kind of groove. Look closer at Guido's right hand and you will understand what I am talking about.

0:49 - don't play the first note so long because you change the lick rhythmically.

1:08 - on the last arpeggio you not played the F note from the E string. You wanted to play it (I can see this) but it can't be heard.

0:59 - 1:12 - be very careful at this part because you play totally wrong from the rhythmical point of view. Count the beats. Even the last arpeggio is played on the wrong beat (you started this earlier than it should have been).

You are a very good player and I'm sure you can fix all the details that I pointed out. Today you get a 7 from me.

Thx for covering my lesson! ;-)

I had to take a hard listen to be able to come with concise feedback - because your playing is veery tasty here!

There is an audible difference in what I would describe as playing 'authority': your timing is a bit more hesitant whereas Guido plays the notes exactly where he wants them, and that translates to more musical playing.

The most concise / obvious areas of improvement here is your vibrato though.

For example the sustained note at 00:14 -

Here you have caught the phrasing of that ending slide, but you miss the gradual buildup of the oscillations. Also it seems you rely on finger muscles to generate the vibrato which does not offer nearly the same depth as when arm muscle is used.

That sustained note is the climax of the lick - so given how well you play up until this point it seems you might not be prioritising vibrato practicing currently? If so we might have found some low-hanging fruit - add killer vibrato your style and you will blow us all away!

You get an 8 from me!



They've triggered your creativity! 👌

Additional video response with some vibrato tips:

Hello Emir!

It's interesting what you say about the number of versions these phrases can have. This speaks to the fact that they allow a lot of development of the expressive elements such as dynamics, micro-timing, micro-tone, and also the use of vibrato and articulation of notes.

You do a good job in all of these aspects, but I think you can explore and experiment with them more. A good way would be to compare Guido's version with yours and see what elements could be improved in your version.

Your performance is good, everything sounds coherent and where it should sound. Now it's time to keep working on the details that will give you more possibilities so that your phrasing becomes even more expressive.

Keep up the good work!

Pass: 7.7