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Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 22 2015, 04:57 PM

Hi Lester, welcome to our thread for Gab's Army! Here I will help you to achieve your goals as guitarist and musician with guitar routines, links and explanations as well as tasks and constructive feedback.

These are your current goals:

* theoretical knowledge: use of more chords and scales, but also recording and sound (effectswise)
* songwriting: anything that helps, also theory about chords inversions, progressions, etc.
* improvising: especially I would like to be able to improvise along the chords, not just in a key of a song. and I know only one scale...the minor natural one..
* and lastly I woud like to be able to understand and play the blues (and bluesrock)...


Have you ever composed a song? or music ideas? Do you have any stuff to share here?

Posted by: Lester Feb 23 2015, 09:49 PM

Yeah, looking forward to it!

I have been working on a little chord progression with Cosmin, it's here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJSTnLWTtgQ

It consists of 4 chords, which are then repeated with different inversions. Then I experimented with some phrasing with only root notes, 3rds and 5ths...more as part of an exercise to hear the difference, nothing fancy. An example of it is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3emr-tf7oI

And the little improvisation I did before that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT8CFdH1G2g

I've also added a song as an attachment, a little cover I did...I recorded three guitar tracks and some singing using audacity...it's a little bit higher than my comfort zone singing wise, but it was a request I did for someone so I just gave it my best

Then I've added some other jams I did on a friend's wedding recently, but we are with two guitars...but to give you an idea anyway.

 Liedje_voor_Leen.mp3 ( 5.18MB ) : 226
 4._Rio_Funk.mp3 ( 4.55MB ) : 182
 16._A_real_father_for_ya__met_Stefan_.mp3 ( 7.25MB ) : 236
 4._Rio_Funk.mp3 ( 4.55MB ) : 167

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 24 2015, 02:07 PM

Hi Lester! Great stuff!

I have to say that I've enjoyed every single audio that you shared here. You have a good musical taste, you can create really enjoyable melodies, play guitar with good tempo, and your voice is very nice to hear! You have a lot of potential and I would like to help you to get the most of it to start your own career as musician.

You said that you want to become better at songwriting, music theory, improvising and I was thinking that the best for working on it is to focus your work here on your own music. I think that it's much more productive to learn theory while making music and analyzing songs that you like than just learning it to accumulate knowledge. So it would be interesting on working on composing and arranging some original songs by you.

The first thing that you should think, if you like the idea, is the direction of what you'll do. Do you want a couple of songs in a specific genre that could take part of an album? Do you prefer to work on different styles just to experiment and learn and see what happens then? Instrumental? with vocal?

Posted by: Lester Feb 24 2015, 10:45 PM

Thanks Gabe! Apreciate it.

I just saw that I uploaded the same file twice, my bad, but you get the picture

I like your proposal, it seems the most effective to put things I learned in songs of my own

The direction is a bit harder for me to answer
This I know: I want to work mostly with vocals, maybe some instrumental songs/parts. but mostly vocals.

Other than that: I like both directions.
I would like to compose songs within the same genre...without too much of a band setting, since I don't have one at the moment. I like Jason Mraz (his early work) the best as an example, I really like him a lot and also a bit of John Mayer (mainly John Mayer trio and his acoustic work) and a little bit of Ed Sheeran kind of stuff.

But then again, I also want to branch out and be diverse in writing, especially in some blues concepts, I like some acoustic blues...sounds really tasty! and I really like Joe Bonnamassa kind of stuff too! But I would also like to write a Bossa Nova song for example

So I would prefer to do all of that. I don't have any concrete plans on making an album, but I'd definitely would like to do it. I just think I'm not ready yet. I need to learn about songwriting, but also about reording guitar and vocals as well as making backingtracks. So my plan is to put any finished stuff that I like on youtube and see how people respond. But I need better quality recordings for that, I really need to learn that

I really hope this all makes sense

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 25 2015, 01:40 PM

This sounds really good! Honestly, we are always ready for songwriting. This skill is not related to how many concepts you know, it's related to how many things you have to say. I can notice that your music direction is clear and the artists listed there are all related in one sense. This makes things easier since sometimes the direction is the thing that makes us lose focus while creating our own music.

The first thing that I'd like to ask you is to share here 10 of your favorite songs which we'll analyze as a starting point.

Posted by: Lester Feb 25 2015, 08:55 PM

Oh, this is so hard! I always like to search for new artists that could surprise me, but if I had to choose a playlist right now, this would probably be it

Not necessarily in any order and they are not all guitar songs, but I guess that's ok:

1. Geek in the pink - Jason Mraz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X_AgLfpndM

2. You Fckn did it - Jason Mraz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grK2IrVKylY

3. True Sorry - Ibrahim Maalouf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXzv7P7qGdM

4. Seven nation army - Ben L'oncle Soul

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWWZx8P9MAA

5. Neon - John Mayer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DfQC5qHhbo

6. I see fire - Ed Sheeran

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TgiH5Rr3M0

7. Stop! - Joe Bonnamassa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMXXnLSRdBE

8. Sloe gin - Joe Bonnamassa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1_6yCHnSI4

9. Goodbye - Tingsek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n699dykRXs

10. Englishman in New York - Sting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d27gTrPPAyk

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 26 2015, 02:57 PM

That's a very interesting list! Now it's time to analyze each of them to have a map of the structures, tonalities, progressions, and arrangements most found in your favorite songs. I can help you with theory stuff once we have the chords and scales used.

The idea is writing down the structure and then write a short description of each part that shares the tonality, the chord progression, and how it's arranged. Please share your results here, but if it's possible, use a real notepad for you to have this analysis there.

This is also a good excuse to learn how to play each of this songs.

Deal?

Posted by: Lester Feb 26 2015, 11:56 PM

Deal!

I'll get an example of one soon, so you can see if I did it right before attempting the rest
And I'd like to add Human Nature by Michael Jackson...I totally forgot that one, but it has some GREAT guitar versions

I'll keep you posted on the progress!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 28 2015, 01:48 AM

Ok! Sounds good, I'll wait for your news.

Posted by: Lester Mar 2 2015, 11:33 PM

Hi Gabe,

As promised a test version of the first song.
I've just uploaded two photo's of my notes, I think I've structured it clear enough, so it shouldn't be a problem and hopefully the thought process is clearer this way.

I've got a question on a few things:

I wrote down the Bbm scale on top of the page, this I know from the formula, but how about the 7ths? Is this always the same interval? I've got a D#m7, that's why I ask, I suppose it belongs in the scale.

Then, I've got some chords in the bridge, and I'm really having my doubts about the 3rd chord. according to the formula it should be F minor, but it sound more like an F to me. maybe an F5 at best. and the bridge most definitely ends with an F. I know I shouldn't get too hung up on theory rules, so can I just trust my ear on that one? I don't know what to do with the tonality of the bridge though

And I have a question about the Cm7/b5, I wrote it that way because of a chord book. This is just the same as a Cdim with a minor 7th, right? so why not write Cdim7?

Any other thoughts and feedback? Is this the way you meant it?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 3 2015, 02:53 PM

Hi Lester! Great stuff! You did a very good job with this. I can say that your notes look very good. I can see the structure and progressions used there very clearly. The overall tonality is as you said: Bbm.

About your questions, the difference between diminished and m7 b5 is that the second also includes the minor seventh. There can be a confusion there because a diminished 7 chord is a bit diifferent. This is how I describe them technically:

dim:
Root, m3, d5,

dim7:
Root, m3, d5, d7

m7b5 (half dim7):
Root, m3, d5, m7


When you are on Bbm tonality, the second chord build over C root, is m7b5, but off course you can avoid using the seventh and that's when the chord can become more mysterious since it can be one of both depending on the overall tonality and also on what's happening with the melody at that moment.

Your other question was about the V chord, in this case Fm. I can say that the chord used in the bridge is F, but this doesn't mean that you aren't on Bm anymore. The use of a major V is something very common on minor tonalities and has been used since the baroque days to give more tension to the V chord to then release to I. It can be explained as a minor key variation but since you will have to make a slight change to the scale used at that moment we can say that this chord is borrowed from Bb harmonic minor scale since it's the V chord that you get if you harmonize the scale. I can be also explained in other ways, but you just need to know two things:

- The V chord in minor tonalities is usually switched to Major to create more tension.
- Melodically you should use a minor scale that includes the major 7th interval. Besides harmonic minor, you can also try melodic minor depending on the context.

Posted by: Lester Mar 4 2015, 02:04 PM

Allright, glad you like it!

Thank you for the explanation. I understand the differences between the diminished chords and I really like the trick of making the V major

I don't really quite understand the last sentence

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 4 2015, 02:19 PM

Harmonic and melodic minor scales are scales that have a major 7th, check out the structure of each scale:

C major: C D E F G A B
Intervals: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

C Harmonic Minor: C D Eb F G Ab B
Intervals: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7

C Melodic Minor: C D Eb F G A B
Intervals: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7


So starting from a major scale, you get the harmonic minor lowering the 3rd and the 6th to minor while you only have to lower the 3rd to get the melodic minor scale.

Posted by: Lester Mar 4 2015, 10:29 PM

Ofcourse, it's so obvious

I must have been very sleepy wen reading it, thanks for the reply though

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 5 2015, 02:09 PM

Great! It's been interesting to see how you can learn new music theory concepts thanks to the analysis of your favorite songs. This is exactly the main goal of this first step in our work together. Keep going!

Posted by: Lester Mar 10 2015, 11:37 PM

Hi Gabe,

I'm still working on the next song, although I haven't finished it yet, I thought I'd upload it to see if you have any suggestions

This one is a little bit harder, especially some variations in the bridge, I do see some similarities between this song and the last on though. I'll try and finish it soon

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 11 2015, 01:57 PM

Hi mate, what version of the song are you analyzing? Because I'm checking the original one and it's in Am while you are working in Bm.

Posted by: Lester Mar 11 2015, 03:07 PM

This one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grK2IrVKylY

This is a live version, but it's on the album I bought years back...which one do you have?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 12 2015, 01:54 PM

Ah ok! I was checking this one:



Now I could play the chords that you've transcribed along with the song and it sounds great. You are on the right track with this one. It's a very interesting tune. The curios thing is how many words he uses in the verses, that's a lot!

Posted by: Lester Mar 12 2015, 10:31 PM

Right

There are a lot of versions on youtube in Am actually...Jason does it that way a lot apparently.
I've finished the song, sorry for the messy last line...I looked at a video at what he was doing and I forgot I was in Am, so I had to adjust everything

I might even like it better in Am

I guess the chord progression is pretty straight forward again when you analyze it, Jason uses the V degree in major again a couple of times, but also the IV in major (E)...which I noted as a V on the paper I see now...

I will take a look again at it tomorrow, but I think I got all the exceptions...I'm pretty tired right now

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 13 2015, 03:17 AM

Great job Lester! So this tune shows again the excessive use of the V major as well as a new idea: Using the IV major in a minor tonality. This chord is borrowed from the dorian mode so the overall tune goes dorian when this chord sounds and even more if it's followed by the Im over the one you can keep on playing dorian melodies. Try it.

Posted by: Lester Mar 18 2015, 12:01 AM

Hi Gabe,

I was working on the next song, but it's a bit more of a problem...or challenge maybe

I've divided the song into timeslots, because the structure is not very clear otherwise.
Problem is: there is not much guitar, so I'm not sure what chords I am looking for...and the song is quite complex, or at least I think it is and to figure out everything I hear will take forever...

Maybe I should choose another song? your thought?

Here's what I've got so far:

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 18 2015, 01:39 PM

What a beautiful song!! Thanks for sharing.

It's true that it's a bit complex so if you don't feel comfortable at this point, let's skip it for the future and let's work on another one.

Posted by: Lester Mar 18 2015, 09:02 PM

It is a beautiful song!
If you like this, you should check some of his other stuff, especially the "Diagnostic" and "Illusions" album.

For the assignment: I will just continue with the next song in the list, although I think I will give it a rest for this week and continue next week...I have a few deadlines for my university and for my exchange application to Finland, so It's a bit much at the moment

I'll keep you updated!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 19 2015, 02:46 PM

Hi Lester, it sounds good for me. Have you been recording new ideas lately?

Posted by: Lester Mar 20 2015, 08:25 AM

Well, I've recorded some really small ideas, but I didn't really expand on them. I would like to do so though, also the progression I've worked on with Cosmin...it's the song I've worked out the most, it's not finished yet though

Also I've worked on a lesson by Marcus Lavendell for a while now:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/three-level-solo-beginner/

I've uploaded a quick take of where I'm at now...nowhere good enough for a REC take or anything, but I'm making progress

 rock_idea.wav ( 7.06MB ) : 107
 Funk.wav ( 3.51MB ) : 137
 3rd_song.mp4 ( 67.04MB ) : 171
 Refrein_idee_1.wav ( 6.61MB ) : 141
 Intro_idee_Apr_20_23_15_39.wav ( 3.85MB ) : 150
 Three_level_solo__beginner.wav ( 9.5MB ) : 167

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 20 2015, 07:05 PM

Hi mate, good stuff! I like the clean ones (refrein and intro). I think that these are very promising and should be continued! The other ones are also ok but I'm curious to see how you continue them, what direction they take. Feel free to post the progress of these ideas here to let me hep you with feedback.

The lesson is evolving ok but it obviously needs practice to polish all those phrases and licks, just keep going!

Posted by: Lester Mar 24 2015, 09:48 PM

Hi Gabe,

The "Intro" idea is actually the inspiration for the inverted chords progression I made with Cosmin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJSTnLWTtgQ

But I should take some time to turn it into an actual song, preferably with lyrics as well...I still feels a bit like a guitar song to me

Anyway,

I have finished another song, here it is:

There is a V major, returning to a I again, and the song is in minor again! I guess that tells me a bit about myself and my preferences?

In this case, the IV is major as well, not sure why that is.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 25 2015, 02:44 PM

Hi Lester, great job with this one. It's cool to notice that the songs that you like more use similar concepts like minor tonalities, but with IV and V major chords. I already explained the reasons why this chords can appear when you analyzed previous songs, and the same is happening here. The V comes from E harmonic minor scale, while the IV is borrowed from E Dorian mode. The use of D# during the solo shows the use of E harmonic minor during the solo and it is surely used because V major is used in the progression.

About your musical idea, its really interesting, you should try to create some vocal melodies over it and record them, to start to see it as a vocal song and not only an instrumental guitar tune. What do you say? Can you try it?

Posted by: Lester Mar 26 2015, 08:00 PM

Right,

I remembered the V from harmonic minor, I forgot for a minute that the IV major was also happening in last song

I can definitely try and record some vocals over it, tweak the song a bit here and there. Maybe the chords change a bit fast to create a vocals that are nice to listen to, but then again: I don't have to change the vocals every time a chord changes...that's what I usually tend to do

I will try to come up with a basic structure, try some of the principles from the songs I analyzed. Stay tuned

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 27 2015, 12:48 AM

Hi Lester, yeah! The IV also appeared before! and it's a very nice trick. I think that your plan sounds great. Try singing over the pre recorded guitar to put all your focus on the vocal melodies and forget about guitar playing for a moment. We didn't empathize the vocals analysis but it wouldn't be a bad idea to pay a bit of attention to what's happening in the songs that you analyzed regarding:

- Vocal melodies rhythm
- Use of silences
- Relation between chord changes and rhythm.
- Relation between melody notes and chords sounding.


You don't have to do a deep analysis but some attention on those things can bring new ideas.

Keep me updated.

Posted by: Lester Mar 30 2015, 08:48 AM

Hi Gabe,

I think I understand most of it, except: how do you measure rhythm of vocal melodies? Do you mean the speed? or time signatures?
And also for the rhythm and chord changes...do you mean that the rhythm might change when a chord does?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 30 2015, 02:19 PM

QUOTE (Lester @ Mar 30 2015, 04:48 AM)

Posted by: Lester Mar 30 2015, 08:18 PM

Got it, thanks!

I think I'm going to let the song rest a little bit till next week, I have a few busy days left and I leave on Thursday for a long easter weekend with my girlfriend

I hope I can manage to finish analyzing another song though, it shouldn't take too much longer. I don't think it's a good thing to try and rush songwriting. Am I right? I'll have some more time next week!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 31 2015, 06:40 PM

No, it's better if the process is natural. Unless you have a label asking for the album finished, there is no hurry, it's better to enjoy it.

Posted by: Lester Apr 8 2015, 10:34 PM

Hi Gabe,

I've finished another song, instead of Neon by John Mayer, I opted for Stop this train, also by John Mayer...I like that one better

It was a little bit confusing with the chords, I usually use an app for finding out the chord name, but these where somewhat complicated chords so the app gave a lot of possible chord names...inversions and stuff...and also there where a lot of single notes played in between with the chord, which made it harder. Anyway, here it is

I am still working on the songwriting, I will upload my progress soon.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Apr 9 2015, 03:35 PM

Great analysis! It's awesome to see how he stays on one key but uses lots of elements to make the progressions sound more interesting. The use of inversions and extended chords is the lesson learnt on this song. He adds lots of colors to simple major chord progressions thanks to this use of it.

You could use GMC lessons archive and theory board to explore more about this...

Posted by: Lester Apr 15 2015, 05:12 PM

Hi Gabe,

I've been working on the songwriting assignment you mentioned and here is what I've got so far:

 Verse_and_Choru_with_lead.wav ( 12.03MB ) : 136


The sound of the acoustic guitar is a bit strange, but I had some trouble exporting a decent sound from guitar rig 5...I am not sure how to get it to sound more natural

Basically the soundfile is an intro, verse and chorus...the F, G chord part at the end might be to return to the verse. I'm not sure if I will sing.
The lead guitar is probably going to be replaced by singing, but mostly the same melody.
I have to say that it's quite harder than I thought it would be...but hopefully that will improve with time
The problem now mostly is that I get lost in the number of directions I could go...when I try a different chord progression or rhythm, it's a different song entirely. Than I jam for three hours and get a lot of ideas but I can't decide and end up with nothing

How do you write? any suggestions?
I kinda feel like I suck at this at the moment

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Apr 16 2015, 03:49 PM

This is turning beautiful!

Songs are born different and there is no an only way to get a song that we love when it's finished. I have composed lots of songs for my band and I could say that there are some songs that appear naturally by once, some others take time to be completed while others take lots of time and versions until I get the one that I like.

When I'm composed I let my intuition decide and if I have options to continue, I go for the one that I feel fits better, there is always time to discover that we were wrong, but in the progress we learn, and what's more important, we don't stuck / block. And this is important because many times, the idea that we have in mind and try isn't the right one to continue it, but it works as a creative bridge to get the right one. So keep moving is better than nothing.

Another thing that really helps is another person's opinion so if you have to ways to continue a part and you'r missed you can show both to a person in who you trust and know his opinion. Many times a "fresh mind" can hear and notice things that we don't while we are creating.

Posted by: Lester Apr 17 2015, 02:04 PM

Right, that sounds logical I tend to be very critical of initial ideas and that prevents me from expanding on them. I like the creative bridge concept!

I am still not too enthusiastic about the verse part, but I do really like the chorus...I will just keep on taking time every week to write and expand on it...as well as keeping analyzing the songs

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Apr 17 2015, 03:14 PM

So there we have the change you need to do if you want to become more creative and productive. Don't kill ideas too early.

Posted by: Lester Apr 23 2015, 02:38 PM

Allright

So I've analyzed another song, it has a lot of chords with just a few notes of them, like playing just 3 strings of the 6 e.g.
It's in minor again, other that that I don't really see anything really strange here. The power of the song I guess is in the orchestra and the deep drums at the end. and of course the fancy guitar theme in the intro

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Apr 23 2015, 08:16 PM

Nice song! Yeah, it's a simple song, and the power is put on the melody, the warm vocals and guitar sound and arrangements. That's what makes it so powerful and expressive. It's awesome how the song grows thanks to the overall arrange, it's a killer production. It's not bad to pay attention and learn concepts from this too while analyzing songs...

Posted by: Lester May 7 2015, 10:23 PM

Hi Gabe,

Sorry for not posting anything in a while, it's been really busy on the university...so it took me a while to finish something
Anyway, I'm progressing through the song analysis nicely, this is the 7th:

There are more V degrees borrowed from the harmonic minor and IV from the Dorian mode...and the song is in minor again, so there is a pattern

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 8 2015, 03:32 PM

Hi Lester, that's a very interesting analysis and song. I love the progression used for the chorus. It's very cool how the movement Vi - V7 - Im - IV, sound. Everything we discussed on previous songs is happening here. I can suspect that you are starting to notice how helpful is analyzing the songs that we like....

Posted by: Lester May 11 2015, 08:53 AM

I do! And I never thought there would be so many patterns to be honest. I always believed that if I liked a song or not was pretty random I'm not saying that I would like all songs in minor with pieces from the harmonic minor and Dorian scale, but it still tells a lot about my musical taste. Which is pretty cool!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 11 2015, 04:06 PM

QUOTE (Lester @ May 11 2015, 04:53 AM)

I do! And I never thought there would be so many patterns to be honest. I always believed that if I liked a song or not was pretty random I'm not saying that I would like all songs in minor with pieces from the harmonic minor and Dorian scale, but it still tells a lot about my musical taste. Which is pretty cool!

Posted by: Lester May 12 2015, 10:43 PM

Hi Gabe,

So I finished another analysis, a little quicker this time...it was a fairly easy one

Although there is one problem with it: I don't know the tonality...It has got chords from both Dm and D, and also a C, which has no place in either of them. So I'm guessing it's some kind of mode...(probably blues)...any thoughts on that?



I guess in Sloe Gin that I really like the build up with the soft piano and the raw, verrryy nice guitar sound over it.. which is powerfull, lot's of distortion or overdrive I don't know how to describe it otherwise
And then the build up when they all go full power, I guess that covers the dynamics and the tone, like you mentioned. Oh, and also that Joe plays soft and then hard all of a sudden a lot.

The articulation on the guitar part would be short and powerful, with a lot of speed bursts and differences between.

I think the time signature is 4/4, but correct me if I'm wrong...and last but not least...how do you describe something like a groove?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 13 2015, 03:42 PM

That's a beautiful tune, with a lot of feeling, it has a slow groove and the drummer seems to give this the intention of going a bit after the beat, so sound like delayed. It give a slower feel to the whole tune. Very interesting.

I analyzed the progressions and most of the time it's in D minor with the addition of the IV chord borrowed from dorian. There is a moment in which it modulates for some measures to Bm, but then it gets back soon to D.

I didn't notice where this can become C, where do you think?

Posted by: Lester May 14 2015, 04:24 PM

Allright, thanks for the input!

I didn't mean that the tonality became C, but that the C chord didn't fit in the Dm or D tonality...
But that was my mistake, I double checked my notes, which said it should include a C#, I made a mistake in the intervals

It makes sense then, I will add the tonality and the degrees to the paper.

Thanks again!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 14 2015, 04:31 PM

yeah, C is the VII chord of D minor tonality so it's part of it. By the way, it's a very interesting lesson, and the solos are epic!

Posted by: Lester May 15 2015, 03:00 PM

Indeed, I love his guitar sound and the dynamics in that song!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 15 2015, 04:43 PM

QUOTE (Lester @ May 15 2015, 11:00 AM)

Posted by: Lester May 27 2015, 11:11 PM

Took me a while, but here is another song analysis, quite an easy one this time, I must admit
And it's in major for a change! although there are some chords there in the middle that I cannot quite place within either major in minor key...

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 28 2015, 04:15 PM

Good job! It's a very interesting tune. I like how it keeps a similar bass movement on verse and chorus but in different parts of the scale. It's basically and "blues" or "classic rock" idea of I - IV. The verse is on I and the chorus moves to IV, and around this chords there is some kind of chords riff idea that is repeated.

I noticed the use of the 7th chord minor, this is something commonly used in popular music, since it is close to the diminished but sounds less dissonant, so we are used to it.

Posted by: Lester May 29 2015, 10:40 AM

Right, I didn't analyze it that well...but I also felt that the mood changes from the verse to the chorus, which I think is very beautifull.

The verse really sounds like he's telling a story that happened in the past and then he brings it to present time and draws a conclusions...which go great with the lyrics.

I don't know I that makes any sense, but it's my interpretation

Good to know about the 7th chord in minor!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 29 2015, 02:39 PM

Hi mate, so we have some new concepts here!

I didn't noted the lyrics structure, good job noting it! It's a cool idea.

Posted by: Lester Jun 3 2015, 10:33 AM

 Three_level_solo__beginner.wav ( 11.69MB ) : 96
Hi Gabe,

I just recorded a little take on Marcus's lesson and I was wondering if you have some feedback and if I should go for a REC take

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 3 2015, 02:50 PM

Hi Lester! Good job with this one, you're on the right track. There some details that I would like to comment:

The original lesson has more expressive details that give the overall solo some extra feeling. You should continue practicing but listening again the original take and paying attention on:

1. Articulation: How phrases and notes are articulated. You will notice that some notes are muted before you do, while others are longer. I note the use of staccato in some parts, while other notes are long with wide vibrato.

2. Bending: The use of bending is also majestic on this one. Sometimes it's fast, other times it's slow. For example check how delicate is the one at 00:05 (pre-bend). Analyze each bend. Also be careful with pitches (around 00:24 and 00:26)

3. Polish fast sections. Some licks like the one at 00:12 are not sounding clear and clean.

4. Vibrato. The use of vibrato in the original lesson is killer, get most of it. Play along with Marcus.

5. Dynamics: The original lesson has a very good control and manage of dynamics, in other words, Marcus picks with different intensities using it as an expressing tool.

Posted by: Lester Jun 3 2015, 07:01 PM

Thanks for the feedback, I'll get right on it!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 4 2015, 01:43 PM

Great Lester! Looking forward your next take.

Posted by: Lester Jun 4 2015, 09:41 PM

In the meantime, I've analyzed the last song on the list...It was fairly easy, although I don't really understand the context of some of the chords, like Gdim in this case.

So that was it with the songs I guess, what do we do next? or should I focus on Marcus's lesson first?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 5 2015, 01:52 PM

Hi Lester, interesting analysis. Could you please tell me the name of the song and artist? It doesn't appear in the photo...

The next steps for this composing workout are:

- Start applying these concepts in your own music.

Create your own compositions applying some of the concepts and cadences learnt thanks to this analysis. If you are not totally inspired, start by combining concepts from different songs. For example, take the structure of one, the tonality of other, the progression of other, take some concepts that you liked from another song.... some kind of collage to keep your mind working, and your ears being trained. Then, you can continue modifying and developing the ideas, make some chords longer, some others shorter, change rhythm, etc.
Record the ideas, create a folder, share the ones you like, and off course create melodies and lyrics over them...


- Expand the analysis of each song.

You've analyzed structure and theory. Now it's time to analyse melodic work and arrangements. Start with the first song analyzed and try to find out if there are some repeated concepts regarding the melodies note choices. Are they using mostly chord tones? which notes notes are the most used? what's the relationship with the chords sounding? What about the melody rhythm?

And also, analyze the arrangement. How is the guitar played? Are there more instruments? what are they doing at each moment? How is each part arranged?

Posted by: Lester Jun 9 2015, 07:49 PM

Sorry Gabe, totally forgot to answer...I am moving this week to a different city, so got lost in the organisation a little bit

It's Englishman in New York, by Sting.

I will start analyzing the melodic work and arrangements as soon as I've settled in my new place, probably next week somewhere. I will also try to be more consistent in songwriting. I keep having a hard time to really form a routine and write and play on a consistent basis

But studies are almost done for this year, which should help me I guess

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 10 2015, 03:13 PM

Hi Lester, nice to read this. This kind of changes usually bring some new inspiration so I'm sure that great things are coming. Take your time to organize yourself and feel comfortable in the new place and start thinking on your next steps.

Posted by: Lester Jun 25 2015, 09:04 PM

Hi Gabe,

So I finally settled in my new place, ready to go!
It will be for two months only, I'll be moving to Finland soon for a couple of months, but for the time being I can play/study again.
I am working on new analysis, stay tuned & thanks for your patience

Lester

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 26 2015, 03:39 PM

Hi Lester, thanks for your update. I'll wait for your news.

Posted by: Lester Jun 26 2015, 10:34 PM

Allright , Here is a melodic analysis of the first song.

It's obvious that only notes from the Bbm scale are used, I am not sure if you can pick notes outside of the scale and if it would still sound good, can you?

Jason picks at least one note from the actual chord in the melody he plays when the chord sounds and he switches between using root notes in the melody at the start of the chord, or not.

Then there is hardly any D# (IV) in the intro and verse, but a lot more in the chorus and bridge. And there is not a lot of F#(VI) in the melody, while there is in the chords. There is also quite some switching between adjacent chords, that are close to each other and then all of a sudden a bigger jump. At the end of the bridge is the only time the Cm7b5 chord is used

The Guitar is played with a lot of muted strumming, I think its a 16 measure bar? But I am not sure, I mostly do rhythm on "feel", I can't really explain it. The only other instrument would be the conga.

In the intro and chorus the guitar plays quite constant, while in the verse the chords are only played on the first beat of the measure and then muted for half the verse and then it goes back to constant. There is a notable rhythm switch in the bridge, Jason doesn't really mute the chords there, but rather plays a lot of them really soft and short and then one loud stroke...it's an 8 measure beat in the bridge I think.

Do you think I missed anything? other things I should analyze?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 27 2015, 05:19 PM

Wou mate!! That's a killer analysis!! It's awesome how much you'll learn by analyzing many songs in this way. The is superb!

It's interesting to note on which notes focus at each moments, which are the most used notes and which ones are the less used because this gives you guidelines to construct your own melodies, it gives you ideas on how to start. However, at the same time you are training your ear a lot with this, so I think that after some months of this kind of work you will have both the theory and the skill to compose killer music.

About your question regarding using notes outside the scale. Yes, this is possible and usually happens in some songs but as it gives a different feel, maybe you'll find it more on jazzy tunes, bluesy or maybe on more metal stuff. The use of chromatic notes as passing notes around the chord tones is very used to improvise and create melodies. The way to make it work is starting on a note from the scale and ending on a note from the chord sounding. You can experiment with your guitar.

Check this lesson: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/jazz-soloing-neighbour-notes/

Posted by: Lester Jun 29 2015, 05:43 PM

Glad you like it!

Oh, and congrats with Argentina's win in the Copa btw...I have a lot of friends from Colombia, they were not so happy, at least there is someone I can congratulate now

I will just go on with analyzing other songs and try to apply some ideas to my own songs...I like Muris lesson also, I'll try and do it once I finished Marcus's lesson

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 2 2015, 02:15 PM

Great Lester! Thanks mate! I also have cool friends living at Colombia, but football is football... We're on the finals!

Looking forward your new analysis...

Posted by: Lester Jul 7 2015, 09:24 AM

Hi Gabe,

So I finished the second analysis, these take quite a bit longer...it's a lot of work...but rewarding
I've made a PDf scan this time, which is probably easier to follow.

So the melody starts sometimes with the chords root note and sometimes it doesn't...all notes are used quite equally, but small intervals, probably because it's rap...sometimes the intervals are bigger, but that's more an exception

The entire song is in 4th notes and the playing style is pretty constant

 Melodic_analysis___You_fckn_did_it.pdf ( 200.36K ) : 132



Sorry about the finals btw, that sucks...

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 7 2015, 04:38 PM

Wou! You did another killer analysis Lester. As this tune has lots of notes in the melody, each note has less importance and the ones that really matter when composing are the first and last of each phrase. These are the ones that give the direction to the melody.

One important question, while you learn and analyse this songs, do you also sing along with them?

Posted by: Lester Jul 7 2015, 06:38 PM

I do

I just check the song for reference, to make sure I have the right notes.
Usually I just sing the line and play along with my own singing, rather than the song

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 8 2015, 06:38 PM

QUOTE (Lester @ Jul 7 2015, 02:38 PM)

I do

I just check the song for reference, to make sure I have the right notes.
Usually I just sing the line and play along with my own singing, rather than the song

Posted by: Lester Jul 9 2015, 08:19 AM

Yeah, you're right, I will pick up the songwriting again. It's probably best to divide the days into analyzing, songwriting and general playing. Otherwise I always find myself not doing one of them.

Other than songwriting I'm still working on Marcus's solo, although I need some refreshing, I didn't play too much when wrapping up the academic year, so I need to gain some speed and precision again

After that I'd like to work on the lesson you mentioned.

I'll keep you updated

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 9 2015, 07:53 PM

Perfect plan! I'll wait for your news.

Posted by: Lester Jul 15 2015, 10:00 PM

Hi Gabe,

So I've been doing a little bit of songwriting, here's what I've got so far:

I already had this chord scheme from earlier songwriting with inverted chords with Cosmin, but I've got a new idea:

The subject of the song is change in life, although I haven't got lyrics yet.
The first verse got some different sounding chords, which are not exactly in the Am scale, I don't really know in what I am writing there, but there is a change in mood when the chorus starts, not only in the chords (which are all in Am this time), but also in the picking pattern. The notes I am accenting are different.

This is supposed to express that change happens suddenly. I was inspired by events in my own life, I was doing pretty much the same thing for years, then I decided to move to the other side of the country to do a master's degree, I met my girlfriend and we are going to do an exchange semester in Finland in august, after which I am going to propose to her...so much change in such a short time, I love it!

The imagery of this concept that I have in my head is a man climbing a mountain, he can't see the changing landscape until he reaches the summit. But when he gets there, everything changes. So that's maybe where I will go with the lyrics.

I've added the chord scheme and a video, although I have to get used to the picking pattern a bit still. The video is here:

https://youtu.be/zHYHCjRxnYY

I am not overly happy with everything yet now, but at least it's a start and I will just keep on writing and tweaking. if you have any feedback or input it would be much appreciated

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 16 2015, 03:45 PM

Hi Lester! This is really cool! When you said "man climbing a mountain", the track got back to the verse progression which seems to be telling exactly that. The progression and the arpeggio there makes me see that scene so clearly. I also think that the chorus shows that change that you said, I feel that the chorus is the guy at the top of the mountain being able to see how much he achieved...

It's really good to see how you are being deep with your composing practice because that's the main reason why we compose.. to express something that we feel, something that happens to us or that has happened...

I think that you are on the right track, now I'd like to hear some melodies and words over this...

Posted by: Lester Jul 18 2015, 04:06 PM

Cool! Nice to hear you can get the same picture as I do
I will have to start writing the lyrics soon, it just seems that songwriting goes so slowly
Let's just hope the results are worth it

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 18 2015, 08:17 PM

QUOTE (Lester @ Jul 18 2015, 12:06 PM)

Cool! Nice to hear you can get the same picture as I do
I will have to start writing the lyrics soon, it just seems that songwriting goes so slowly
Let's just hope the results are worth it

Posted by: Lester Jul 21 2015, 06:39 PM

Good point! I am on my vacation tomorrow for about 10 days, so I'll continue after that

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 22 2015, 02:02 PM

QUOTE (Lester @ Jul 21 2015, 02:39 PM)

Good point! I am on my vacation tomorrow for about 10 days, so I'll continue after that

Posted by: Lester Aug 3 2015, 04:52 PM

Thnx! I just got back yesterday...I'll get back to work

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 3 2015, 06:03 PM

QUOTE (Lester @ Aug 3 2015, 12:52 PM)

Thnx! I just got back yesterday...I'll get back to work

Posted by: Lester Aug 5 2015, 09:38 PM

Hi Gabe,

I just finished another analysis of a song, seven nation army, this version by Ben L'oncle soul:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWWZx8P9MAA

I only transcribed the melody line in the verse, because there is no singing in the intro and bridge and in the chorus it's more like a few repetitions of what has already been sung. more like freestyling so to say.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 6 2015, 07:49 PM

Hey mate, what a killer version you've found!

It's curious to see how much a song can grow by working on the arrangements. The original song is very simple but still really cool. This version is full of stuff but keeps the feel and spirit of the original one, but makes it sound so big.

This analysis should give you ideas on how you could arrange your songs for a full band, so the comparison between the original and this one is also a essential part of the analysis.

Congrats on the choice and the good job!

Posted by: Lester Aug 11 2015, 08:59 PM

Hi Gabe,

Here's a first draft of the lyrics for the verse of my song, I'm progressing slowly, but it does go somewhere
Here it is:

https://youtu.be/DcLWQO0dq7s

The singing is very sloppy since I just came up with the melody I need some time to practice it.
These are the lyrics and the melody notes:



What do you think?

I'll practice it and come up with a better version soon! Although it might take a little longer, I'm moving to Helsinki for my studies, so I will also be busy settling at my new place

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 12 2015, 01:40 PM

I love it mate. The melody is wonderful and the words fit really naturally on it. You have something really cool here. Try to get the words for the chorus to then start focusing on vocal interpretation.... this is really promising!

Good luck with the move.

Posted by: Lester Aug 24 2015, 02:51 PM

Hi Gabe,

What's going on?
I've completed my move to Finland and settled in my new house, ready to get back practicing
Although I have one problem: I couldn't bring my acoustic guitar
I found out at the last moment that I need a hardcase for it, but I didn't have one.

So I'll be limited to my electric guitar for a couple of months, we can still work on the songwriting assignment, but it might not be the best sound quality if I use an acoustic simulator for my fender.

Anyway, I'll get back to work

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 24 2015, 03:43 PM

Hi mate, congrats on your move.

Don't worry about guitar, it can be refreshing to experiment with it even for the style that you are interested nowadays.

Keep me updated.

Posted by: Lester Aug 29 2015, 05:41 PM

Hi Gabe,

I wrote a chorus for my song, but I just thought about something...I cannot make a take with singing while I'm here..
Because I can't make a quick take with my phone, since I play on MIDI interface and not an amp...and I do not have a mic for my MIDI interface.

Do you know any other way that I could still do this? or should we focus on something else for the time being?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 30 2015, 10:13 PM

Hi Lester, I don't really get the problem, could you please go deeper about what you are using regarding hardware and software to create your recordings?

Posted by: Lester Sep 1 2015, 03:15 PM

Sure!
I have a MIDI interface and a webcam for recording...When I recorded Ideas before, they where made with my phone, just to give an idea of the acoustic guitar work and the singing.
I cannot do the phone anymore, because my acoustic guitar is not here, only my Fender...I cannot capture it with my phone, because I have no amp here...only MIDI interface.

Another option would be using a mic with the MIDI interface, but I do not have a mic here..

So I use:
Tascam US-144 MIDI interface
Fender strat
Webcam

An that's it

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 2 2015, 04:15 PM

Hi Lester,

I've checked that Tascam, and it's a soundcard that includes midi. You can connect your guitar directly and use it to record it but you can only record vocals with a mic. I think that this video can help you:

Posted by: Lester Sep 3 2015, 11:16 AM

Thanks for the video, I will check it out once I get home
I don't have a mic, so I can't record vocals for my songwriting assignment now...so maybe we should focus on something else while I'm in FInland?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 3 2015, 02:59 PM

yeah, what about some guitar practice? Are there any techniques or styles that you'd like to learn or adjust?

Posted by: Lester Sep 3 2015, 06:10 PM

I do! I stated it when we started: I woud like to be able to understand and play the blues (and bluesrock)

I am having a little bit of trouble with my guitarrig software btw...the PC usage gets too high sometimes, so it starts stuttering
It's a problem when I want to run a GMC video and guitar rig at the same time for example...
I never had this problem, so I think it has something to do with windows 10 or something. I also didn't find any solutions online

I might try to experiment with some other software, like the Reaper and amplitube in the video, although it seems a lot harder than guitar rig as a standalone
Could you recommend anything else? I am kind of hoping that I can still fix guitar rig, which I like a lot

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 4 2015, 02:32 PM

Hi Lester, this can be related to your soundcard too. If your PC is relatively new (I3, I5, I7) you should be able to use an amp emulator and videos. I would try using Reaper and maybe Poulin plug ins that are softer than Guitar Rig. I also have issues when using Guitar Pro stand alone and internet videos, so it can be a solution.

Here you can learn more about Poulin: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=52512

Please try it and let me know if it solves the issue.

Posted by: Lester Sep 4 2015, 07:35 PM

I've updated the ASIO drivers and reinstalled the Tascam drivers and it seems to work now!
I will also try Poulin, maybe nice to experiment with something else for a change. So what lesson will we do?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 4 2015, 09:53 PM

Ok! It's been a while since I've seen you playing electric guitar soloing, so I'd like to suggest one of these two lessons:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/BB-King-Blues/
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Bendy-Blues/

Posted by: Lester Sep 5 2015, 01:13 PM

I find good bending difficult sometimes, so I'll go with the bendy blues one

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 7 2015, 04:30 AM

QUOTE (Lester @ Sep 5 2015, 09:13 AM)

I find good bending difficult sometimes, so I'll go with the bendy blues one

Posted by: Lester Sep 9 2015, 11:52 AM

That full 2-tone bend is hard!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 9 2015, 03:08 PM

QUOTE (Lester @ Sep 9 2015, 07:52 AM)

That full 2-tone bend is hard!

Posted by: Lester Sep 15 2015, 08:19 AM

Right, very unfamiliar

I have a question though about the scale used in the lesson.
It says A blues mode, but there is also a Blues major and minor scale.
I have no idea what exactly a mode is, so I don't know if it's a useful question at this point since I haven't learned the major and minor blues scale yet.
But is there a general difference between a scale and a mode?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 15 2015, 01:19 PM

Hi Lester,

No, there is no difference, you can say A major mode or A major scale and it would mean the same. However, you'll find that the word scale is more used when referring to major and minor and the word mode is used when referring to the mode names like Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian. However, if anybody says, let's use Mixolydian scale and it's right, it's the same than saying Mixolydian mode. Does it make sense?

When playing blues, there are many possible scale choices: blues minor scale, blues major scale, blues mode, Mixolydian, Dorian, Dominant arpeggios. And all these scales can be combined on the same solo! If you do it cleverly. Blues mode is like a blues minor scale but with the 6th instead of the 7th. It gives a more jazzy sound to the phrases.

Posted by: Lester Sep 16 2015, 08:14 PM

Right, thanks for the explanation! I think I got it!
Because there is a 6th instead of a 7th in blues mode, I got a bit confused, since I thought modes and scales where the same thin

But that's just for the blues scales and modes then

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 17 2015, 01:50 PM

QUOTE (Lester @ Sep 16 2015, 04:14 PM)

Right, thanks for the explanation! I think I got it!
Because there is a 6th instead of a 7th in blues mode, I got a bit confused, since I thought modes and scales where the same thin

But that's just for the blues scales and modes then

Posted by: Lester Sep 18 2015, 08:05 AM

Sounds good to me! I'll get back to practicing, the bends are becoming more accurate!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 18 2015, 01:06 PM

Excellent!

Posted by: Lester Sep 28 2015, 09:06 PM

Hi Gabe,

Thought I would give you an update on how it's going
I have mastered the first 4 vids of the bendy blues lesson quite well I think, just a matter of practicing to make it less and less sloppy.
That 5th video is killing tho I find the fast licks after those bends very challenging, I'll just keep trying

-Lester

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 29 2015, 02:17 PM

Hi Lester! Thanks for the update! I'm glad to know that you are focused working hard. Feel free to share a video to let me check your progress.

Posted by: Lester Sep 29 2015, 09:34 PM

Sure, here it is:

https://youtu.be/uFX4E1AnccQ

The first part is just working to get better timing and less sloppy, but it's easy to see where it goes wrong
I really don't like that type of hand movement for some reason, the more I should work on it ofcourse

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 30 2015, 01:44 PM

Hi Lester, thanks for the video!

Please remember when bending that you can use the other fingers of your right hand to help the one that is bending. I notice that your bending is weak, and I suspect that this is the reason. Check out some guitar videos and see how guitarists use the other fingers to help the one that is bending.

Besides this, yes, timing, and a more consistent vibrato are the next steps. Keep on the hard work.

Posted by: Lester Sep 30 2015, 02:34 PM

Hi Gabe,

Thanks for the feedback!
I am not exactly sure how my other fingers could support my bending finger, so I suppose you are right
I will go and check how others do it

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 1 2015, 02:11 PM

Please check this video, and include the exercise in your diary practice:

Posted by: Lester Oct 1 2015, 08:02 PM

Yeeeahhh!

I was just playing and I thought to myself: why don't I use the other fingers as well?
It seems so obvious, but I never thought of it!
Then I went on the forum to tell you how stupid I feel, and there is the video of Ben telling me the exact same thing

Anyway, that helps! Thanks!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 2 2015, 02:04 PM

Great!! Keep on practicing!

Posted by: Lester Oct 28 2015, 02:46 PM

Hi Gabe,

What's going on?
Although it has been quite for a while, I do have been practicing a lot
I thought I would post a few takes, including the bendy blues one, but also two others I was working with.
These are the Muse style lesson and the beginner solo lesson by marcus Lavendell.

I have uploaded them before, but I think I have improved quite a bit so I thought I might do it again.
Do you think they are ready for MTP?

Muse style:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4EWxtwNzGk

Beginner solo, level beginner:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB2SrZGcJCs

The bendy blues one is definitely not yet ready for MTP, but I thought I'd post the progress.
I know now the entire scale by heart, but I got to go and learn the major pentatonic as well, since he rotates between them.
I have been practicing bending with more fingers, which really helps me in all of my playing actually.
The blues lesson is still a bit sloppy, especially the last few licks are hard with timing, but I do have more power in bending I think.
It's at 90 percent of orginal speed right now, but I'll keep on practicing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmZHFfw2oM8

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 29 2015, 02:22 PM

Hi Lester! Cool update! Great to see you working hard! I think that you refer to REC instead of MTP. Remember that every take is good for REC because the main goal there is to get feedback from different instructors, who can give different points of views and solutions to your guitar playing issues.

Muse lesson is sounding good. You can play the whole thing at tempo and the overall sounds clean and clear. There are some little parts that could sound a bit more defined, like the part at 00:30 or at 00:58, so some more days of practice could be a good idea.

About the beginner solo, it's on the right track but there are mostly three elements to focus during the next days of practice: vibrato, bending and timing. I notice that your vibrato is not consistent, it's irregular and sometimes weak. Your bending doesn't reach the correct pitch, and timing issues appear at different parts of the lesson (for example in the first phrases).

In order to adjust the previous lesson, your work on the bendy blues will be very important. As you already said, you still have some work to do to make this lesson sound good. Your bending doesn't reach the right pitch in many parts, some licks are not sounding consistent, and your vibrato could be better so please keep on practicing focusing on this elements. Playing along with the original lesson can be a good idea to emulate the way instructor manages dynamics, vibrato and bending.

Ok mate, these takes show that you are working and progressing so keep going!!

Posted by: Lester Oct 29 2015, 07:22 PM

Yeah, I was definitely meaning the REC It's true of course that it's always ready, but I do like to get to a point where I'm quite content with what I got.
After that instructors can hear better than me what needs improving I guess

I will keep working and post some new takes soon! Thank you for the feedback! I don't know exactly what you mean with more defined in the muse style lesson, is it about more clean with less noise? because I think it might be my guitar sound in this case...anyway, I'll try and get that more defined
It's actually true that I sometimes forget to listen to the original lesson for a while and then create my own version basically

I've got trouble with hiccups in my Guitar Rig again btw, and it's getting worse. Now I have to restart my pc every few minutes sometimes to be able to play again.
I downloaded your Lepoulin patches, but my virus scanner immediately removes all of them, so I can't do anything with it really.
Is there another way you could recommend that I could start creating some own sounds?

I've met an Argentinian the other week here in Finland btw, kind of looked like you actually and also plays guitar
I don't know if it applies to all Argentinians, but I love the way you guys speak Spanish.
I've been learning it for a couple of years now and I know that Mexicans, Colombians, Peruvians, Venezuelans and Spaniards all speak differently, Argentinian way is quite easy for me to understand

Anyway, I'll get back to practicing!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 31 2015, 05:04 PM

Hi Lester! Nice post.

About "defined", yeah! I meant more consistent and cleaner. Maybe that's now the best word to describe it...

About creating your own guitar tones, maybe you can change the settings of your virus scanner... I use poulin, guitar rig, amplitude, revalver and overloud depending on the tone that I need. Try them all! There are free trials...

Cool to know that you've met an Argentinian! yeah, we look similar but we also look similar to some europeans... all my grandparents are from Europe... about language, yeah, we have really different ways to accentuate words, even in the same country...

Posted by: Lester Nov 3 2015, 07:23 PM

Allright, I think I know what you mean with defined then

About the vibrato on the beginner solo lesson: I have the habbit of just going up and down with my fingers as fast as I can and then lose power quickly so it slows down.
Is that what you mean with inconsistent? That I should keep the same speed throughout the vibrato?

Haha I can't follow most of that video...Unfortunately I think I speak Spanish fairly well, but every time somebody comes along that speaks so fast that I cannot follow it anymore

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 4 2015, 01:44 PM

QUOTE (Lester @ Nov 3 2015, 03:23 PM)

Allright, I think I know what you mean with defined then

About the vibrato on the beginner solo lesson: I have the habbit of just going up and down with my fingers as fast as I can and then lose power quickly so it slows down.
Is that what you mean with inconsistent? That I should keep the same speed throughout the vibrato?

Haha I can't follow most of that video...Unfortunately I think I speak Spanish fairly well, but every time somebody comes along that speaks so fast that I cannot follow it anymore

Posted by: Lester Nov 27 2015, 10:15 PM

Hi Gabe,

What's going on?

Just to give you an update: I am still practicing the three lessons I posted earlier, just took 5 days of on a holiday, but now I'm back at it
I was just wondering: is it normal to improve so slowly? I don't know if you would have expected me to finish the blues song by now?
Becaiuse I think I will need a while longer

I thought I'd share my practice routine:
I basically practice 4-5 days a week, because I'm not always home on Wednesdays and am not home most of the weekends.
I do practice it's usually 45-60 minutes. I start of with some metronome work, just basic chromatic patterns to try and improve my speed and accuracy
Then I go and practice some songs I used to do with my band in Holland and move on to the lessons, playing along with the video and backingtrack

Could you give ay suggestions that might help me speed things up?

-Lester

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 28 2015, 04:17 PM

The most important thing is that you note improvement. How fast you improve is not as important as how much you assimilate the elements that you are learning.

One thing that I consider important is to work on small blocks instead on long sections. I personally have better results when decide to work on just a few licks of a lesson during a week instead of playing the whole thing over and over. A good way to choose what to work is to identify the parts that give you more problems and work on them, isolate the licks, and create sub-licks dividing also each of them in shorter exercises. Practice slow, at a speed that you can think what you are doing, and focus on perfection and effortless playing. Repeat, and repeat... that's the best way for me. This is not a secret to improve faster, but it's a secret to become a master on the long term.

Posted by: Lester Nov 28 2015, 07:37 PM

Ah yes,

well maybe I should just focus on small parts then, I know I find it greatly annoying when I have to play something partly or slowly
But!...I will listen and do as you say

Thanks!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 30 2015, 01:21 PM

Try it for some weeks and take your own conclusions.

Posted by: Lester Dec 14 2015, 03:14 PM

Hi Gabe,

Well I've finally done it! I broke my 2nd string in about 10 years Damn those bendy blues
Anyway, my studies in Finland are almost over, so I have some more flying and moving to do.
Christmas break is around the corner, so my aim is to spend the two weeks after next week to get some new takes out. It's about time

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 15 2015, 05:24 PM

Hi Lester! Congrats on your first broken string!!

Thanks for the update friend, looking forward your new videos.

Posted by: Lester Jan 3 2016, 02:35 PM

Hi Gabe,

What's going on?
I have a bit of a different question at the moment:
My fiancé, Marleen, has just joined GMC and as she is a total beginner, she could definitely use a mentor.
Could you help her get started?

This is her:
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showuser=21519

If you're still taking students, I will give her the link to this thread, or any other way you prefer it.

AS for myself: I'll try and have new takes by the end of the week. Sorry it's taking so long

Cheers!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 4 2016, 04:28 AM

Hey Lester! It's been a great idea to suggest her to start being mentored. I've just sent a PM.

Cheers!

Gab.-

Posted by: Lester Jan 4 2016, 10:44 AM

Awesome, thanks Gabe!
I'm looking forward to jamming with her already!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 4 2016, 02:02 PM

She acepted so we are already working!

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=56461


We can have a thread for creative works for you and her together.

Posted by: Lester Jan 4 2016, 03:47 PM

Awesome!

a dual thread would be great!

Did you have anything practical in mind? I could definitely help her with a few things as well!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 5 2016, 01:10 PM

Sure! I was thinking on doing some jamming workout where I post different backings and you both record improvisations over it. As you are a bit more advanced could help me mentoring her there besides sharing your inspirational ideas. I believe that it's very positive to start making music at early stages.

Posted by: Lester Jan 5 2016, 10:23 PM

Sounds good to me!
If Marleen is in as well, I'd say let's do it!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 6 2016, 01:47 PM

Let's give her some time to start working and then we can plan something like this. Ok?

Posted by: Lester Jan 8 2016, 03:18 PM

Sure! I'll upload some new takes on the bendy blues and beginner solo tomorrow

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 9 2016, 01:52 PM

Ok mate.

Posted by: Lester Jan 9 2016, 10:52 PM

Well, here is the one with the beginner solo:

https://youtu.be/NxR2evuN89I

I was trying to do the bendy blues as well, but I didn't get a take I was happy with and my fingers are getting tired.
SO I'll try again later

Let me know what you think!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 11 2016, 02:59 AM

Hi Lester,

Good job with this lesson. You can play the whole thing and now it's time to focus on some details to polish your playing:

- Bending: There are many bends that don't reach the correct pitch so you need to put extra attention to this and practice bending exercises diary.

- Vibrato: Your vibrato tends to be too fast most of the times and this makes your phrasing sound like "nervous". Compare your vibrato with the original lesson and try to imitate a bit how Marcus makes the vibration sound more natural. I refer to the rhythm of the vibration and also width evolution.

- Cleanness: Some of the faster licks don't sound totally clean. Isolate them and practice.

- Tone: I think that your tone would go better with this solo if you set EQ to make it sound warmer, and drive to make it sound with some more sustain.


Please let me know if the feedback is clear and shows you the next steps to do.

Keep on the good job!

Posted by: Lester Jan 12 2016, 10:19 AM

Hi Gabe,

Great, thanks for the elaborate feedback!

Indeed, vibrato and especially bending are quite hard for me still.

I'll get working on it!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 12 2016, 04:38 PM

Ok, keep on working and share a new take in 7 days if it's possible.

Posted by: Lester Jan 13 2016, 04:32 PM

Allright, I'll try and have it by the end of next week.
In exactly 7 days is my sisters wedding, so that won't work

Posted by: Lester Jan 13 2016, 09:36 PM

I do not have something called drive in the current setting btw...I am not sure if distortion would do the same thing.
Which ones should do the trick?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 14 2016, 02:40 AM

Yes! Adding more distortion to that Cat emulator will give you more sustain, try it and let me know if it works.

Posted by: Lester Jan 22 2016, 11:05 PM

Hi Gabe,

As promised here are some new takes today

I'll start with the Muse style...I recorded some audio both yesterday and today...but the main point I was focusing on, as you suggested, was making
the point in 0:30 and 0:58 more defined...

this was the old take:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4EWxtwNzGk

Here is the audio for two new tries...does it make any sense what I'm doing? I am not sure if this is more defined or not?
And do you mean that it should cut through the mix more? or just cleanness in playing?

<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/243293304&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false"></iframe>

<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/243293440&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false"></iframe>

I'll upload the other takes shortly

Let me try that again for some reason I cannot edit previous post

this was the old take:




Here is the audio for two new tries...

https://soundcloud.com/lester-moorman/muse-style-take-22-01-2016

https://soundcloud.com/lester-moorman/muse-style-take-21-01-2016





Well, that's weird...now it has merged the posts!

Posted by: Lester Jan 22 2016, 11:51 PM

And here are the ones for the beginner solo:



and the bendy blues:



Honestly, I'm not overly happy with either of them, but my hand is hurting so bad right now...I can't manage anything better.
I have been practicing very consistenly the past few weeks, I guess I need a little rest. I am doing the stretching ofcourse

let me know what you think!

P.S. I know that bendy blues is especially bad, I can do better...

The hard parts remain speed with multiple bends and bend pitch I guess

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 24 2016, 06:35 AM

Hi Lester! Great to find these takes from you!

Let's start with Muse lesson. The old take wasn't bad at all, but the new ones are even better. I think that your tone fits better now, and that you are playing the riffs and also the final arpeggios smoother and tighter. The last octave chord could be a bit tighter but it's not bad, just a little detail to tweak. Well done!

QUOTE (Lester @ Jan 22 2016, 07:51 PM)

And here are the ones for the beginner solo:



and the bendy blues:



Honestly, I'm not overly happy with either of them, but my hand is hurting so bad right now...I can't manage anything better.
I have been practicing very consistenly the past few weeks, I guess I need a little rest. I am doing the stretching ofcourse

let me know what you think!

P.S. I know that bendy blues is especially bad, I can do better...

The hard parts remain speed with multiple bends and bend pitch I guess

Posted by: Lester Jan 25 2016, 11:37 PM

Thank you for the kind words, mate!

It's nice to hear that, I have been practicing consistently now...which I haven't done in a long time
It's actually the first time that my hands and arms start hurting, but I can also feel that when I've had some rest that my fingers become stronger

I will upload one last Muse take soon, directly into the REC forum, I think we have discussed it thoroughly now, haven't we?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 26 2016, 05:01 PM

Great to read this mate! Keep going!!

and yes! Go for the rec with Muse's lesson.

Posted by: Lester Jan 27 2016, 08:52 PM

And at last...here it is!

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=56542&b=1&st=0&p=0&#entry0

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 28 2016, 01:44 PM

Well done! You have an 8 from me.

Posted by: Lester Feb 3 2016, 04:05 PM

Thanks mate!

I just did another take for the music theory workout, I'll upload it there now.
I also got working on Kris's lesson on first phrases and implemented some ideas into that take.

Next I will look into the other ones you suggested there, since they can be applied in the music theory workout.
In the meantime I'll just keep working on the beginners solo and the bendy blues

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 4 2016, 03:05 PM

Great mate! I've just commented your new take at the theory thread. Check it out!

Posted by: Lester Feb 11 2016, 09:46 AM

Hi Mate,

How was your vacation? Hope you enjoyed it!

I was listening to a song yesterday from buckethead that I would like to add to my practice routine:



But before I do, I figured I need some lesson to introduce me to the proper technique, I guess it's alternate picking all?

Here is the tab:

 buckethead_magellans_maze.gp5 ( 46.79K ) : 74


Could you suggest a lesson that would get me going?

The video doesn't show in my feed, here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=magellan%27s+maze

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 11 2016, 01:37 PM

Hi Lester, cool choice!

yes, the tricky parts of this song are played with alternate picking + palm muting. It's mostly a riffing song so you need to train your metal rhythm skills. There is a part where I think that he is also using hybrid picking which combines pick with fingers.

This is a good lesson to start: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Megadeth-Made-Easy/

Posted by: Lester Feb 11 2016, 10:28 PM

Thanks Gabe,

I'll get working on it!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 12 2016, 02:05 PM

Great! Keep me updated.

Posted by: Lester Feb 24 2016, 08:37 PM

Hi mate,

I was wondering something about my practice routine:

After the first assignments of the Applied theory workout I started practicing some more lessons to help me improvising:

First phrases by Kristofer Dahl
and the Rhythm workours by Stephane Lucarelli.

I am also still practicing muse, bendy blues, beginner solo and the Megadeth lesson.

So I started the next series of exercises of the applied theory workout, a little bit late, I admit
But I would rather understand all the theory that's there first...do the exercises to memorize the fretboard and such..
But also in that way I can never make the deadline.
Do you mind if I take those and do them at my own tempo and then upload the assignments here at a later time?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 25 2016, 02:00 PM

Hi Lester,

that's perfect! Don't worry about guidelines, take your time to work on each assignment and also to get back to an old one every time you want. You can post your works here but also at the thread even when you are sharing something based on an old assignment. It can encourage other students to share their work.

Posted by: Lester Feb 26 2016, 09:14 AM

Great, thanks!

I'll upload some new takes soon, I think I've made some good progress

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 26 2016, 02:11 PM

Great!

Posted by: Lester Mar 3 2016, 10:29 PM

Hi mate,

some updates on the bendy blues and beginner solo, let me know what you think
The timing on both of them is not optimal, I'm not in my best form tonight...but on the beginner solo I really tried to get the bends on the right pitch.
Something that didn't go very well in the bendy blues, but I just need a little bit more power in my hands in that lesson to get it right, I'll get there







Hmm..I don't see the videos appear...they are here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4OnE1rJ0wA&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0umfwrm7uig

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 4 2016, 07:26 PM

Hi Lester,

Great to find new videos from you here. I have to say that your bends on the bendy blues lesson are really good! I notice that you have been working this technique in the right way. The next step is to polish some of those licks that are not sounding tight or consistent. There are many parts that aren't clean or defined so you need to isolate the tricky sections on work on them.

The other lesson is not bad but I would give it another chance. I think that the timing issues are the main issue so you need to work at a slower tempo to be sure that you can play each lick correctly. Focus on timing and the sound of each note.

Posted by: Lester Mar 7 2016, 09:50 PM

Thanks for the feedback mate!

I will focus more on the timing and tightness/cleanness of playing. Were the pitch of the bends in the beginner solo lesson o.k. though?
Then I know that my ear is not fooling me because I thought the pitch in the bendy blues lesson was still a little bit off at times, I was quite happy with the beginner solo lesson with the bends

I'll get back to it

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 8 2016, 02:17 PM

yes, most of the bends are on pitch, but some are a bit below the pitch (but very close).

Posted by: Lester Mar 19 2016, 02:52 PM

Haha good, someday I'll get there with those bend pitches

I was practicing "Still got the blues" the other day and I must say I can really notice the improvement. Also in other solo's I used to do before, so these are great exercices

Sorry for being a little less active btw, I am trying to graduate for my masters degree, so I don't always find the time I'd like to practice.
I do have learned myself a new habit of practicing at least 30 min a day to rehearse all the lessons and play all of them about 5 times.
It doesn't necessarily always make me feel like I;m progressing that much, but then at least I'm not getting any worse

But then again, I'd like a little bit more time to dig into theory and jam a little bit with the applied theory course, I'll try and pick that up again after the deadlines

What would you say about those practice routines? do you have separate days for theory?

Lester

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 20 2016, 07:33 PM

Hi Lester, I understand and I think that keeping the habit of diary practice is an EXCELLENT plan to keep your playing improving. The improvement will be slow because of the amount of time but it is "progress", which is totally positive. I don't think that you need to cover everything every day, you can work on 1 topic each day, and play at least once or twice other stuff that you are also practicing to keep your playing in shape.

About theory, maybe you can read about theory when you are traveling or at places where you can't play guitar. Is it possible?

Posted by: Lester Mar 21 2016, 11:40 PM

Yeah, keeping the daily practice really helps in gaining strength in the fingers and endurance. Most of the times I play up to 45 minutes or an hour, but the very minimum at least is 30 mins.

I was already trying to divide the topics, like the applied music theory, rhythm workouts by Stephane combined with the jamming and first phrases Lesson by Kris.
The thing is that I do notice that it really takes more than 30 mins to dig into some new concepts...

I do try and read when I have the time and I do travel a lot by public transport, thing is that I am already reading research papers most of the time

We'll see...I guess I am on the right track, I'll just take my time and post some new takes when I'm ready or have a question. Thanks!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 22 2016, 02:37 PM

Great! Keep me updated.

Posted by: Lester Apr 28 2016, 12:53 PM

Hi Gabe,

Sorry for not posting in a while, I have been very busy on the university.
Like we discussed earlier, I do still practice everyday and I hope to have a take ready soon that I'm happy with.
The main problem is that I don't really take time to learn anything new lately, because it takes more time then just rehearsing what I already know.
But I hope I can pick that up again soon and post some new stuff here.

I've also started a blues band in the meantime with a few friends, we hope to play a small gig in a few months.
Would you mind if I post some of my practice progress on the songs for feedback?

Cheers,
Lester

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Apr 29 2016, 01:46 PM

Hi Lester, nice to hear from you!

It's important to at least keep practising every day your current routine and add new stuff as soon as you find some extra time to learn it. It's also a great idea to start playing with a band, it's very motivating and there are things that you learn with bands that you don't learn from lessons. I'm totally open to check your songs and give feedback.

Posted by: Lester May 2 2016, 01:15 PM

Great!

We are in fact a coverband, so we will play a few existing (mostly blues) songs.
Our first 2 songs we are rehearsing are Mountain climbing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qJ8bT3W1D0

I am focussing on the solo at 2:48

And then we are playing Still got the blues by Gary Moore, but I will focus on the rhythm part there and the other guitarist will take the lead guitar.

I'll try and have something to show soon!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 2 2016, 09:50 PM

Both are killer tracks! Looking forward to hear you playing them.

Posted by: Lester May 10 2016, 10:21 PM

Hi Gabe,

So I was working on the Mountain Climbing song by Joe Bonamassa and the solo is doable, except for the last part, which is way too fast for me.
I've added the tabs and I am talking about the part after where it says "bar x6 full"

Do you have any suggestions on how to make something doable out of that? is there a logical approach? or just try a little bit?

Also, how could I figure out which scale this is?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 11 2016, 12:47 AM

Great to know that you are working on this song! I like the groove of it and the solo is killer as many Joe's solos.

The last part is full of fast licks played in Pentatonic scale. This kind of patterns are very used in blues rock and require to be worked over metronome for some time to be able to play them fast. I recommend you to isolate it and work on this patterns in different parts of the neck to incorporate the idea to your own solos and also to use economic technique that allows you to play fast.

There are some lessons that can help you:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/pentatonic-sequences/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Killer-Pentatonics-Zakk-Wylde-Style/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/extended-pentatonics/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/pentatonic-licks-advanced/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/pentatonic-substitution-lesson/

Posted by: Lester May 11 2016, 05:28 PM

Great, thanks a lot! Some hard lessons there!

What exactly is economy technique? I think I've heard it before somewhere, but I forgot what is was

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 11 2016, 05:37 PM

It's a technique in which you cross strings picking as a sweep, in the same direction. This lesson should clarify it:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Economy-Picking-101/

Posted by: Lester May 12 2016, 02:56 PM

Cool, thanks!

I guess I'll give that one a try first as well!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 13 2016, 12:19 AM

Let me know how it feels!

Posted by: Lester May 30 2016, 11:26 PM

Hi Gabe,

So like I said I've been working on this solo from Joe Bonamassa in mountain climbing.
The last pentatonic run is just way to fast for me, so I came up with some improvisation of my own which is a bit slower.
I do need to refine it still though, here's what I've got so far:

https://soundcloud.com/lester-moorman/mountain-climbing-solo

Could you give me some feedback? Thanks!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 31 2016, 02:20 PM

Hi Lester, good job learning this one.

You already know each part, the notes and the rhythm now it's time to polish it. I think that it would be better to play over the backing without Joe's playing now, however I don't know if you have the backing version of this one. Some elements that you need to have in mind when practicing are:

- Adjust bending: Your bending is not targeting the pitch with precision, sometimes it's close but not there, other times it seems that you search for the correct pitch too much.

- Unwanted noises: There are noises here and there between licks. Try to minimize them.

- More vibrato: This style requires wider vibrato. Exaggerate it a bit while practicing to then be able to manage it as you wish.

Posted by: Lester May 31 2016, 03:26 PM

Thanks for your feedback

Unfortunately I cannot find a backingtrack only, that would have been nice.

The most notable mistakes for me is the pitch of the bending. Many times I think I have it when I play and then I listen later and it's not quite there.
Am I correct that my bending is usually slightly too low in pitch?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 1 2016, 03:53 PM

Hi Lester, yes, most of the times you tend to play it lower than the correct pitch.

The first exercise from this video is great for bending:

Posted by: Lester Jun 6 2016, 02:25 PM

Cool video! That should be really helpful!

I actually recorder another take last week on the beginner solo lesson, but I didn't put it up here yet.
The reason I mention it is that I noticed that I am far less satisfied with it now then I was when I just recorded it.
Is it a good idea to always wait a little bit before submitting to evaluate it better? hope that makes sense

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 7 2016, 01:29 AM

Hi Lester, it's a good idea to give you some time to analyse your own recordings, it's not fundamental but I think that it can be good to train your ears.

Posted by: Lester Jun 23 2016, 02:16 PM

Hi Gabe,

Just wanted to let you know that I am quite busy with rounding up the school year and some other stuff going on.
I do practice, but I do not really have a lot of time to try new stuff or record anything.

I'll be back in a couple of weeks!

Lester

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 23 2016, 03:34 PM

Hi Lester! Great to hear from you!

Thanks for the update. I'll wait for news.

Posted by: Lester Sep 12 2016, 08:49 PM

Hi Gabe,

What's going on? I realize I haven't been on here in a long time, too busy with studies, work and doing a blues concert. Sorry for being so quiet!
The concert was last Saturday, so now I should have some more time on my hands to try some new stuff.

Are you still available for mentoring?

Cheers,
Lester

P.S. I got a video from someone filming, if you'd like to have a look:

https://www.wetransfer.com/downloads/6908ec085f7bf49594a2a285478f8e2c20160911152236/7d72335aeef36d24a90a094f30a42bed20160911152236/67e464

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 13 2016, 07:44 PM

Hey Lester! Welcome back friend! Sure, I'm available for mentoring!

I'm downloading the vid. Thanks for sharing!

Posted by: Lester Sep 14 2016, 09:00 AM

Awesome! Looking forward to learning some new stuff!

I have to say that the things we did earlier really helped me play that concert!
This was a new project that I started and we did a blues concert, which involves a lot more bending than my previous band, which was mainly funk & soul

So especially the bendy blues lesson really helped me get a lot of those bends much more accurate

What I'd like to do this time around is improve in improvising.

I currently know all positions of the minor natural scale, but when I improvise I usually only use the first 2.
I'd like to improve on that with some lessons and practicing with backing tracks.

I'd also like to be able to expand my possibilities with learning to use the minor pentatonic, major pentatonic and major natural scale.

Maybe the best would be to start with pentatonics?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 14 2016, 05:38 PM

Hi Lester! I couldn't download the video. It's very heavy and it fails. Do you have any link to watch it online?

About improvisation! Sure! Let's work on it. Pentatonic is the best to start. Could you please record yourself improvising over a blues backing track? That video would be our starting point.

Posted by: Lester Sep 15 2016, 08:33 AM

Hi Gabe,

Sure, I've uploaded it to youtube in the meantime, here it is:



I will upload a take this evening (it's about 09:30 A.M. at here at the moment )
I actually haven't used the minor pentatonic in years and have never used the major pentatonic before.
Can I use both over a blues backing track? My theory knowledge in that respect is pretty poor I'm afraid

Posted by: Lester Sep 15 2016, 07:43 PM

I actually can't find the Major pentatonic scale in the scale generator...does it even exist??

Posted by: Lester Sep 15 2016, 11:38 PM

Here is my take! I am completely not happy with it, way too boring, but I guess that's the point..that I improve from here

https://soundcloud.com/lester-moorman/take-1-bleus-improvising-a-minor-pentatonic-september-2016

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 16 2016, 01:50 PM

Great! That's a good starting point mate, let's start working.


ASSIGNMENT #1:

Goals:

- Blues Phrasing
- Pentatonic minor improvisation over Blues progression.


TASK 1:

- Learn this lesson: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/BB-King-Blues/
- Improvise over the backing track of this lesson trying to create your own variations.


TASK 2:

- Read and work the concepts shared at 1. Blues Scale Theory and Application (from 1 to 1.5) from the https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=50470.

Exam and deadline:

By September 28th you'll have to share 3 videos:

- A video playing the lesson (4 coins)
- A second video improvising over the lesson's backing track (3 coins)
- A video explaining the concepts learnt at the blues guitar theory guide (3 coins)

Each of this videos will be evaluated (check the coins value below). You need to get at least 7 coins to pass. If you pass, we can continue, if you don't you will have a second "call" that would be the last one.

Posted by: Lester Sep 16 2016, 05:06 PM

Great, deadlines are a good idea I think, forces me to some action

I'll better get practicing

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 17 2016, 08:31 PM

Great!

Posted by: Lester Sep 27 2016, 06:25 PM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 16 2016, 02:50 PM)

Posted by: Lester Sep 27 2016, 10:18 PM

Here is my take for the video!

It's still a bit sloppy and the bends are not always on point, especially the quick ones, but that will improve over time.
Sorry for the bad video quality. There is something wrong with my Logitech webcam and the new Windows update.
I couldn't fix it yet, but hope I will soon

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 28 2016, 01:58 AM

Hi Lester, I agree with you. This take is good but there are some details to adjust yet. However, I think that you've done a good job during this days of work so I'd like to extend the deadline to give you time to adjust this lesson and do the other tasks.

What about October 7th?

Posted by: Lester Sep 28 2016, 11:02 AM

Thanks Gabe!
Sure, I'm on it!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 29 2016, 02:38 PM

Perfect!

Posted by: Lester Oct 6 2016, 09:46 AM

Hi Gabe!

Here is my video for the blues theory, I will upload the BB's Blues lesson soon!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 7 2016, 04:44 PM

Wou! That video is awesome man! It will be a good help for other guitarists as well! Great job!

Posted by: Lester Oct 7 2016, 09:44 PM

Awesome, thanks!

Here is my other take on BB's Blues:

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 10 2016, 01:38 PM

Hi mate, great job working on this one! I can see that it's getting better, but also that there is still work to do in order to polish the lesson and your overall playing. The things that need your attention are:

- Bending: Some bends don't reach the correct pitch. You tend to stay a bit before the pitch.

- Cleanness: There are some moments, mostly when bending where there are unwanted noises. Be sure to mute the closer strings to the one that you are playing, with the first finger of your left hand. (for example at 00:29)

- Timing: There are some phrases that aren't played tight. It's not dramatic but your could adjust it. Check the first phrases, compare them with the original lesson.

- Vibrato: Your vibrato is not totally consistent. Remember that you can use the other fingers to help your finger 3 when doing vibrato.

- Notes length: This element is usually called articulation (articulation refers to the direction or performance technique which affects the transition or continuity on a single note or between multiple notes or sounds.). You are missing some staccato notes and some duration are not natural with the phrases. Re-check this with the original lesson.

Posted by: Lester Oct 11 2016, 10:05 AM

Hi Gabe,

Thank you for the feedback!
Bending is usually a problem, I am able to hear it, but just lack the finger strength at this point I guess to consistently hit the correct note.
When I do reach it, I usually have trouble with the timing of the lick that follows it, because I use too much power on the bend

Anyway, that will improve with practice.
Shall I upload an minor pentatonic improvisation by the end of this week and this another take on this lesson by the end of next week?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 11 2016, 08:06 PM

Yes please.

Posted by: Lester Oct 14 2016, 02:45 PM

Allright!

I've recorded an improvisation, here it is:



Personally, I am not too happy with it.
I really struggle to make it sound less repetitive, I find the variation in the blues lesson hard to achieve in improvisations.
Maybe with more practice?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 15 2016, 04:21 AM

Hi Lester! Great to find this improvisation here!

There is a lot to do but we have a good base here. I think that more practice and focus on specific areas is the key. Here are some ideas:

- Your bending and vibrato are not precise. This is obvious since you still need to work on this techniques over the original lesson.
- Try to feel more relaxed while improvising. Breath more, play less notes, and more defined phrases.
- Try more rhythm variation.
- Use the call and response idea for phrasing.

Posted by: Lester Oct 17 2016, 09:19 AM

Thanks for the feedback Gabe,

I will improvise each day for a couple of minutes in my routine and try to implement your feedback.
First focus will be on submitting a better take of the original lesson by Friday, after that I will upload a new improvisation take!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 17 2016, 01:39 PM

Excellent!

Posted by: Lester Oct 18 2016, 07:10 PM

Hi Gabe,

Could we postpone these for a week?
I have been really busy on the university this week and it's a little bit too much for me at this point.
Then I can give it the time it deserves and make something decent hopefully!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 18 2016, 07:22 PM

Ok! Good luck with University stuff!

Posted by: Lester Oct 28 2016, 06:29 PM

Hi Gabe,

So here is another take on BB's blues lesson:



I have to admit that I didn't spend as much time on it as I would have liked to, but I did try to apply your comments and I hope it makes a difference.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 28 2016, 11:54 PM

Hi mate, video isn't working.

Posted by: Lester Oct 31 2016, 11:10 AM

Sorry about that! I was away for the weekend, so I didn't check...apparently it wasn't processed correctly

Here it is:

Posted by: Lester Oct 31 2016, 01:22 PM

So this popped up on the home screen:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Phrase-Displacement-Exercise/

This seems to be like the exact thing I would need to avoid sounding repetitive in improvising isn't it?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 1 2016, 02:57 AM

QUOTE (Lester @ Oct 31 2016, 07:10 AM)

Sorry about that! I was away for the weekend, so I didn't check...apparently it wasn't processed correctly

Here it is:

Posted by: Lester Nov 2 2016, 12:11 PM

HI Gabe,

Allright, I'll keep on working on it!

Usually I think I have the pitch of the bend quite well...sometimes I don't have enough power though to quite get there.
Maybe I should try to bend higher than I think I should go? I need to fix this bending thing!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 2 2016, 07:59 PM

Work diary on the first exercise from this video: https://youtu.be/JNDyI5b3Fh8

and you'll fix it in a short period of time.

Posted by: Lester Nov 3 2016, 10:35 AM

Allright, thanks! will do!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 3 2016, 02:02 PM

Great.

Posted by: Lester Nov 14 2016, 09:29 PM

Hi Gabe,

Just wanted to let you know that I am still working on this, but I am very busy graduating for my master's degree and planning my wedding, searching a job and house.
So I am working on it, but I have to prioritize and it might take a while before I can post something here again.

-Lester

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 15 2016, 06:15 AM

Hi Lester! All great news.

All the best with those projects mate. Enjoy every minute, and take your time to share here your progress or whatever you want! Pictures from your wedding or new house are also welcome.

Posted by: Lester Nov 16 2016, 07:06 PM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Nov 15 2016, 07:15 AM)

Hi Lester! All great news.

All the best with those projects mate. Enjoy every minute, and take your time to share here your progress or whatever you want! Pictures from your wedding or new house are also welcome.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 17 2016, 03:45 PM

Cool!

Posted by: Lester Feb 1 2017, 11:12 PM

Hi Gabe!

What's going on? I have just graduated from my master's degree and ready to devote more time to playing guitar again.
I have to admit that I was so busy the last 3 weeks of my studies that I didn't play guitar, or do pretty much anything at all other than studying

Anyway, I would like to pick it back up again and continue working on those scales. Would that be o.k.?

Lester

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 2 2017, 12:43 AM

Sure mate! What's the plan? What lessons are you planning to continue working? It would be really helpful if you can share here all the GMC lessons that you've worked and the current status. It would be a great reference to see where we are now.

Posted by: Lester Feb 2 2017, 11:07 PM

Great!

Well, I was hoping you could help me create a better practice schedule.
Because I usually do the same thing over and over again, sometimes just to be able to say that I did practice that day. and I think I could progress better and it gets boring as well

So here's what I usually do:

- Warming up, stretching hands (the exercises you showed me once) and do some chromatic runs and string skipping runs.
- Alternate picking exercise, I am learning this one:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Alternate-Picking-Workout-1/

- All of the lessons I am working on:

Muse style lesson:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/rhythm-guitar/muse-style-lesson/

Three level solo, beginner:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/three-level-solo-beginner/

Bendy Blues:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Bendy-Blues/

BB's Blues:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/BB-King-Blues/

Megadeth made easy:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Megadeth-Made-Easy/

Sometimes I also improvise a little bit or play old songs that I learned earlier from previous bands.

My problem is that I cannot keep up with everything I want to do...
I also play acoustic and usually rehearse old songs but I never get to actually learning new songs for example.
This is what I would like to do simultaneously:

- Rehearse old lessons/songs both acoustic and electric to improve on them
- Learn new songs on both guitars. Not lessons, actual songs.
- Learn to improvise in the basic scales as we did a video on earlier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI9vLa_yTeg
- Improve on cleanness of playing and bending.

And in doing that I need to keep it interesting. I usually want to do new things, but then I am afraid that I won't progress in other area's I am working on. Do I make sense?
So how can I sucessully mix it up and still progress?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 5 2017, 03:55 PM

Hi Lester, that's a GREAT post. It's very helpful to have those clear goals write down. We can definitely create a routine based on them. The first thing that you should write is a list of at least 10 songs (ordered from easier to more difficult) that you'd like to lean. You can write two lists if you wish, one for the electric and another one for the acoustic guitar.

Then, we can build from it. What do you say?

Posted by: Lester Feb 8 2017, 11:03 PM

Sure! It was more challenging then I thought at first, but here they are

Electric Songs:

1. Happiness - Allen Toussaint
2. Moving on & Getting Over - John Mayer
3. Hey, Floyd! - Jamiroquai
4. That's the way the love goes - Norman Brown
5. stop loving you - Toto
6. Ain't no sunshine - John Mayer
7. Still got the blues - Gary Moore
8. Thrill is gone - Joe Bonamassa
9. Sloe Gin - Joe Bonamassa
10. Just got paid - Live - Joe Bonamassa

Acoustic:

1. I see fire - Ed Sheeran
2. Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel
3. Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
4. California dreaming - Bobby Womack
5. Goodbye - Tingsek
6. Something like Olivia - John Mayer - ACoustic version
7. Stop This train - John Mayer
8. Dear Marie - John Mayer - acoustic version
9. Speak for me - John Mayer - acoustic version
10. Neon - John Mayer

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 9 2017, 02:07 PM

Hi mate, thanks for the list. It will be our reference for the song section of your routine.

I would organize diary routines with this structure.


Routine 1:

- Warming up (5 minutes)

- Technique Work (25 minutes)

- Electric Song Practice (45 minutes)

- Improvisation topic + Jam (45 minutes)



Routine 2:

- Warming up (5 minutes)

- Technique Work (25 minutes)

- Electric Song Practice (45 minutes)

- Improvisation topic + Jam (45 minutes)



For the warming up, you can do the Petrucci's massages and then start with some chords. It can be a good idea to use this moment to practice new chord shapes: drop 2, drop 3 etc.

In the technique work section, the idea is that you work on 1 topic each day from this list:

- Bending
- Alternate picking
- Vibrato
- Legato
- Hybrid Picking

And work on exercises that can be taken from any technique book, from my Intensive technique book, Todd's Shred course, from GMC lessons, licks from songs. I recommend you to create a folder where you save exercises labeled with the technique and take one from there every day for practicing.


During the song practice, the idea is that you focus on learning the song. You can use your ear, tabs, youtube and everything else to learn it. I think that you can work one day on electric song and the other on the acoustic, or maybe you can focus each week on one guitar, and the following one on the other, but playing at least once or twice the song that you've learnt the previous week.

Finally, for the improvisation topic, the idea is that you work on the different concepts like scales, arpeggios, triads, following the chords, double stops, modes, etc. You can continue a bit with blues, but you could get into rock, metal, funk, and fusion. Jazz Standards are great for this too, since it makes you play over the changes. The first step would be to decide which program you'll follow. This can be taken from GMC lessons, from our theory section, or somewhere else.


Please write down these ideas, and expand each one. Prepare all the material you'll need in order to make the practice time efficient.

Posted by: Lester Feb 14 2017, 12:08 AM

Hi Gabe,

Thank you for that great post, I think it will be really helpful to me!

About the warmup, what do you mean with "drop 2, drop 3 etc."?

As for technique lessons, I had the following plans:
I don't own any technique books and I am not sure if I know what your intensive technique book is?
So for now I have selected GMC lessons.

Bending:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/take-control-of-your-bends/

Alternate picking
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Alternate-Picking-Basics/#

Vibrato:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/vibrato-lesson1/

I am not sure about this vibrato lesson, I prefer something a little more easy. But Ben's vibrato odyssey has a different type of vibrato then I like to use.
I'd rather move my finger up and down, whereas Ben moves horizontally or in a circular motion. Do you have any suggestions for this?

Legato:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/legato_and_picking_beginner/#

Hybrid picking:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/hybrid-picking-beginner/

For improvisation I will first practice being less repetitive with the minor pentatonic scale and then learn to apply the other scales used in blues and try to mix them up.
You already gave me the theory I need, now I just need to practice it more

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 14 2017, 01:02 AM

Hi mate! Nice to know that the post helped.

Here are two suggestions for vibrato:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Beginner-Vibrato-Workout/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Bens-Vibrato-Odyssey-5/


By drop 2 and 3 I refer to chord shapes. Check these lessons:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/rhythm-guitar/drop-2-chords/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Drop-3-Chords/


Finally for technique, this is my ITC: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=42832&view=findpost&p=567344

Posted by: Lester Feb 15 2017, 08:12 PM

Awesome! Thanks Gabe!

I'll get started implementing my new routine and let you know how it's going!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 17 2017, 01:28 PM

Great!

Posted by: Lester Mar 1 2017, 08:04 PM

Hi Gabe,

As promised an update on how the new practice schedule is going

At first I was struggling quite a bit to really stick to the schedule, so I decided to get organised and organised all the lessons in a folder.
It helps me to have everything in a single place and I can switch to a new part instantly!

So now it's going better already.

Sometimes I really struggle with perfectionism when playing. When I don't feel especially fit, or I don't have 2 hours, but only 1 to practice, I tend to do nothing at all because I get frustrated with myself or my playing.
I am trying to get that out of my system, as it stops me sometimes from really enjoying to play or improvising freely.

So all in all this new schedule is helping me progress, which I good

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 2 2017, 08:49 PM

Yes, that's really good!

Try to relax and enjoy the sessions. Don't judge yourself and your playing every time you hold on the guitar. It can be very frustrating to judge our playing at every minute. Give yourself some time to assimilate the material.

Posted by: Lester Mar 28 2017, 08:52 AM

Hi Gabe!

I've been away from the guitar for about two weeks, but for a good reason:

Your other student (Leen94) and I got married!

I remember promising to send you some pictures, so here they are






Now I'll return to practicing

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Mar 29 2017, 02:58 AM

Nice news!! I'm so happy for you! Congratulations!!

Posted by: Lester Jul 29 2017, 11:56 AM

Hi Gabe,

What's going on?
Hope you've been well! I haven't posted here in ages, hope that's ok
I thought I'd give you an update on what I am up to and a progress vid as well

So the last thing we were doing was working through a new practice routine which involves 5 min warmup, 25 min. technique, 45min for a song and 45 for improvising daily.
I really enjoy the routine and I am practicing more than ever, but...I usually don't do the improvising, because I cannot always free up 2 hours.
And another thing I noticed is that I usually start the week very disciplined and then end the week less so, probably because of other activities with friends, but because of that I do not practice all techniques equally.

This I can solve by just being more disciplined, but I also try to catch up a day in the weekend if I missed one...which I can do now, because I don't travel to stay with my girlfriend in the weekends anymore
For improvising I decided to devote less time to it...so I spend 5 min. less on technique and also 25 min. less on improvising. I hope this helps me do all parts of practice, because it's easier to find 1.5 hours daily

I recorded a video of the bending technique lesson by David Walliman, some pitches are still a bit off I guess, but I'd like to know what you think:



Best,
Lester

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 9 2017, 05:30 PM

Hi Lester! Great to hear from you!!

I think that it's essential to edit your own routine to make it fit in your schedule and also to keep it motivating. The current plan sounds good for me. I think that the structure will give you good results. The key is also to have some guidelines on what to work each week in order to make a wise use of the different blocks.

This is also applicable for the improvisation section in which you could focus on 1 concept each day or week. By concept I mean a very wide quantity of elements that include both techniques and music theory.

How are you building the internal stuff in your blocks?


The video is good. I can note pitch issues here and there, so there is still more work to do. I think that it would be a good idea to dedicate at least 3 minutes every day to the first exercise of this video:

Posted by: Lester Aug 9 2017, 09:51 PM

Hi Gabe,

Thanks for the feedback! I hope you had a great holiday

So this is how I build up my blocks:

For warming up, I do chromatic runs, string skipping and the advanced power chord lesson from Muris.

In technique I usually just play the lessons for the technique section. Bending on Monday, vibrato on Tuesday, etc.
So if I memorized vid's 1 & 2 of any lesson within the 20 minutes, I add 3&4 the week after. And when I have memorized all of it, I try to play it as accurately as possible.
Right now I have memorized all the technique lessons fully, so I will try to add a new round of lessons shortly, while I keep on practicing the current ones. What could other guidelines be for the technique section?

For the songs, I print out the lyrics and chords if available, or otherwise I figure them out and write them on the sheet. Next I write down the degrees of the chord progression. Like I , IV, V, etc... and then I learn how to play it.

As for improvising: I have only done minor pentatonic and minor natural scale thus far. I just put on a backing track and start to play.
I can't really think of concepts to focus on each day or week, other than learning a new scale. Do you have some suggestions which I might work on?
I did analyze the BB's blues lesson I did before, since it's in minor pentatonic and I tried to apply those licks and variations of it to another backing

Thanks for the vid! I'll start working on it!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 10 2017, 02:03 PM

Hi Lester! That sounds very good! The technique section is exactly how I would organize it. You can add exercises that you find like the one that I've shared from Satriani, to expand your work for each day. It's important to always incorporate new exercises into these sections.

Regarding the improvisation section, I'll send you some info via PM. Check it out in a moment.

Posted by: Lester Aug 10 2017, 04:03 PM

Allright, glad you like it! I was watching some good youtube video's the other day and subscribed to channels like Paul Davids and Shut up & play.
Do you have any particular channels you'd recommend?

I checked my inbox, thank you for those files!
So the first one is G major scale, 3 notes per string. Is there any particular reason to play it that way? what is the advantage?
Usually I would play the positions in boxes of 4 frets

I guess playing it like this can also help in legato runs?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 11 2017, 05:39 PM

QUOTE (Lester @ Aug 10 2017, 12:03 PM)

Allright, glad you like it! I was watching some good youtube video's the other day and subscribed to channels like Paul Davids and Shut up & play.
Do you have any particular channels you'd recommend?

QUOTE (Lester @ Aug 10 2017, 12:03 PM)

I checked my inbox, thank you for those files!
So the first one is G major scale, 3 notes per string. Is there any particular reason to play it that way? what is the advantage?
Usually I would play the positions in boxes of 4 frets

I guess playing it like this can also help in legato runs?

Posted by: Lester Aug 14 2017, 07:20 PM

Allright, sounds good! I had a look and subscribed to some of them

I'll continue practicing and record a progress video soon!

Posted by: Lester Aug 14 2017, 09:49 PM

I had another question about those 3 notes per string improvisations

When playing the major scale for the first time, I noticed that it's the same as the E minor scale, but the root notes are in different places, as are the positions. (G minor, position 1 starts at the 3rd fret, 6th string e.g., but that same G is in the 2nd position of the G major scale)

I have to really try to not land on the wrong notes, to only be playing a E minor scale, instead of a G major. Do I make any sense? And do you have any tips on how to tackle major scale when you are only used to minor scale? or just practice?

Also, is this why the 3 nps runs are stretched out over that many frets? because in minor scale you can start to play 3 nps over 4 frets only.
And should I practice the minor scale in the same way? Because usually when I cannot play 3nps within 4 frets, I just switch to 2 nps.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 15 2017, 04:01 PM

Hi Lester, that's a good question.

The best way to find the strong notes of a scale is to be able to see the chord inside of it. That's why you'll also find the CAGED system shapes. The trick is to see G major chord (root, maj 3rd and 5th) while playing the scale. These 3 notes are the strong notes in which you'll want to stay to make this sound major.

A more advanced approach is to also visualize triad shapes like in this lesson: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/ionian-mode-harmonized-with-triads/

Ionian mode is what we are calling Major scale here.

Posted by: Lester Aug 17 2017, 02:50 PM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 15 2017, 05:01 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 17 2017, 04:42 PM

QUOTE (Lester @ Aug 17 2017, 10:50 AM)

Sounds good! I have read about the CAGED system, but never really mastered it. I'll give it a go, thanks!

Posted by: Lester Aug 27 2017, 05:30 PM

Hi Gabe!

So since I have memorized all of the previous technique lessons and am working on polishing them, I went ahead and selected a new bunch of lessons.
Instead of a vibrato lesson, I chose one on the subject of trills, since I really would like to develop that and also I guess I need more time on the current vibrato lesson.

I also tried to do lessons in the major scale, since I am doing the major scale in improvisation topics as well.
In bends and trills I chose two Jimmi Hendrix lessons, I think that will also help me a lot in blues improvisations. Much like the bendy blues and BB's blues I did previously.
And...it's cool to be able to play like Jimmi

These are the lessons I picked:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/jimi_hendrix_string_bending/

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Hendrix-Trills/

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

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/legato-lesson/

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Acoustic-Hybrid-Picking/

Any thoughts or suggestions regarding these lessons?
I'll try to upload a progress video on all the previous technique lessons in the coming week!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 28 2017, 06:34 PM

Hi Lester,

I love each of the lessons that you've picked, and I usually recommend them to students so I have to say that you've done a great research and choice. That's a lot of material so be wise organizing your time to get the most of each technique and lesson. I'll be here waiting for your updates.

Posted by: Lester Aug 30 2017, 10:05 PM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Aug 15 2017, 05:01 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 1 2017, 05:00 PM

Hi mate,

There are different approches to this and it's not a simple thing to explain in a paragraph. Also, it can be confusing at first so let's go slowly with this. At this point let's see Blues theory as a different thing. On the other hand, we have diatonic chord progressions wich are based and related to a major scale. In other words, these progressions are based on chords that are build from a Major scale. In this cases, you can keep the same scale along the whole progression, and it will sound good. However, some notes will sound better than others over each chord (chord notes).

Please get into this: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=47852

Posted by: Lester Sep 5 2017, 07:02 PM

Thanks for the feedback!

I guess you are referring to the formula for major scales?
With the intervals WWHWWWH, and chords I,IV,V major, VII diminished and II and III minor?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 6 2017, 02:29 PM

QUOTE (Lester @ Sep 5 2017, 03:02 PM)

QUOTE (Lester @ Sep 5 2017, 03:02 PM)

Posted by: Lester Sep 12 2017, 10:08 PM

Hi Gabe,

I promised to upload a progress vid for the first round of technique lessons, so here it is!

I didn't have a lot of time, so it's not as polished, since I did all of them in 1 or 2 takes
Most of the lessons are going o.k. I guess, but I do still have a lot of trouble with the vibrato one, it feels more like bending to me

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 13 2017, 02:40 PM

Hi Lester! That video is GREAT! It's very cool to see you playing and working all those lessons. This will give you killer results if you keep your diary practice!

You are doing a good job with all of those lessons. There are basically a few issues to polish:

- The pitch of your bending. I could say that 50% of those bends are reaching the right pitch while the other 50% is not precise. It would be a good idea to isolate those bends and practice playing first the target note and then the bend.

- Vibrato: Your vibrato is not regular yet. The vibrato lesson needs more work as you've said, and the more you polish it, the better this technique will be in the other lessons (as for example the last one on this vid).

- Cleanness: The unwanted noises appear on legatp + picking lesson. Try to find out the way to mute the strings that your are not playing. It can be tricky when crossing strings since you need to do a combination of right hand muting with the use of your index finger tip and "body" as a bare. Check out this: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Muting-Unwanted-Noise/


Ok mate, I hope to be able to see more videos like this one from you soon.

Posted by: Lester Sep 19 2017, 09:49 AM

Thanks, glad you like it! I am really satisfied with the progress thus far as well, so I'd say the new practice routine you helped me with is working!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 19 2017, 02:35 PM

Hi Lester! Thanks for the update. I'm glad to know that the routine is helping and showing results!

Posted by: Lester Oct 9 2017, 08:34 AM

Hi Gabe,

Just a quick update:

I have taken a break for two weeks from my regular practice schedule to prepare for an upcoming audition.
I submitted a vid and was invited to come and play two songs with them upcoming Saturday!

It's a band called Heartbeat Worship and they play on the major Christian festivals in the Netherlands, so I am quite exited

After this week, I'll get back to my regular practice routine

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 9 2017, 02:26 PM

Wou! That sounds really good!!! All my best wishes to you. I hope to find news here soon.

Cheers!

Posted by: Lester Nov 7 2017, 11:34 AM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Oct 9 2017, 03:26 PM)

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 7 2017, 02:17 PM

Hi Lester! Nice to hear from you! Everything is always welcome as a part of the journey, and as experience for the future, so don't worry.

Let's get back to practice! What things are you planning to work during the next days?

Posted by: Lester Nov 22 2017, 08:58 PM

Hi Gabe,

Sorry for replying so late I am still working on these lessons:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/jimi_h...string_bending/

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Hendrix-Trills/

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guit...picking-thirds/

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/legato-lesson/

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Acoust...Hybrid-Picking/

They are going way slower than the previous batch, but that makes sense since they are a lot harder

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 23 2017, 04:39 PM

Hi Lester, nice to hear from you!

That's a very inspiring list of lessons. How are you organizing your practice?

Posted by: Lester Nov 24 2017, 04:30 PM

Well, I am basically trying to practice five days a week and I do one of these "technique" lessons each day.

Something like this:

5 min. warm-up
25 min. technique
30 min. playing a song, or doing some theory. --> I currently really want to learn turnarounds and arpeggios

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 24 2017, 05:57 PM

Great! It's helpful to have some kind of structure when practising. Then, you can improvise and change things along the way, but it's the best way to achieve desired goals.

What's your current arpeggios knowledge? and what made you want to learn it?

Posted by: Lester Nov 30 2017, 10:30 AM

Well, my current arpeggio knowledge is zero, actually

I bought a new amp last week, this one:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BluesJrLT

I bought a used one through the Dutch version of Ebay so to say
And by total coincidence I bought it from my first guitar teacher, which is like 15 years ago.
He was playing a little bit and I was quite impressed and asked about what he was doing to know his fretboard so well and his advice was to learn turnarounds and arpeggios...so that's why!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 30 2017, 07:28 PM

Nice! The link is broken but I google this one: https://www.google.com.ar/search?q=BluesJrLT&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJ7rGe9ubXAhUGGZAKHT8RBGYQ_AUICygC&biw=1920&bih=974

Congrats mate! It will bring some new ideas and inspiration!

We have a cool Arpeggio Workout here: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/lessonseries/Arpeggio-Workshop/

Posted by: Lester Dec 1 2017, 03:17 PM

Yes, that's the one!
I am really happy with it, I bought a Fender George Benson Hot Rod deluxe a couple of years back, but with it 40 Watts, it was just too loud for at home.
It was even too loud for most gigs I was playing at

So now I have an amp that I like better, which cost me about half the price of my previous amp!


That arpeggio workout looks like the exact thing I need! Very cool, thank you for the suggestion. I will keep you updated on how it goes!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 3 2017, 08:06 PM

Nice!! Congrats again on the new amp!

Please keep me updated about your progress with the arpeggios. Cheers.

Posted by: Lester Feb 5 2018, 09:02 PM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Dec 3 2017, 09:06 PM)

Nice!! Congrats again on the new amp!

Please keep me updated about your progress with the arpeggios. Cheers.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 7 2018, 02:43 PM

Hi mate!

In part 6, you'll find those 4 examples that are related to the backing tracks. The examples show the different triads that you'll have to play over the backing.

- The first thing that you need to do is to identify each triad and play it. I've marked each triad with a green.



The triads that appear in order are: C - Dm - Em - F - G - Am - Bdim

Play them in order as it's showed by the instructor in the video with other "examples".

- Then you can practice this over the backing track. If you listen to the backing track, you'll notice that it's the progression related to the triads in the same order. Example 1 backing is: C - Dm - Em - F - G - Am - Bdim, so you have to play each triad over each chord of the same name. At first you can play it up and down, then you can mix note and try to be more creative.



Is it clear?

Posted by: Lester Feb 7 2018, 03:48 PM

Hi Gabe,

Thanks for the elaborate explanation, I think it's clear now!

I noticed that the example you picked are the triads from the C-Major scale with their root note first, starting with a C.
So, I tried to do the same with the other examples, could you check if I am right?

Example 2: C-Major scale, starting with Am and with an inverted 5th:



Example 3: C-Major scale, starting with an Em and with inverted 5th:



Example 4: C-Major scale, starting with a C and with inverted 5th:



-Lester

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 8 2018, 09:11 PM

Exactly!