Printable Version of Topic

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 3 2014, 02:06 PM

Hello Filipe! Welcome to out thread for Gab's Army. As we discussed via PM, here we will work on developing your composition skills. Composition is related to creation and creativity, there is some magic happening there, but this are also topics that can be trained as a guitar technique, but the cool side is that the possibilities are endless.

I will copy here your message to have it as reference:

"I want to train my songwriting and style approaches. I want to learn more about certain elements of certain bands, how to portrait and analyze them. I already have a good theory background, just need to have the proper method and break free from the chains if you know what i mean"

At first I would like to share with you three methods that really work for me, tell me what you think and share with me which methods you tried to compose music...

Mode 1: Ideas library

In this mode I compose a melody or short idea that works as the release of a song.

- I search for a place that is not where I usually work or practice. A different place, that gets me out from distractions. I took a guitar that helps me to play along with my voice, if possible a guitar that I don't use very often.
- I start creating melodies with my voice over some progressions being played on guitar.
- Every time I heard something that I like, I record it to avoid forgetting the idea. I use my cellphone for it.
- In this way I create my library of ideas.
- Organize this ideas on different folders using different criteria to being able to find them later when you need an specific feeling.

Pros of this method:
- Ideas totally genuine and original, that comes from our own personality. Quality.
- Big amount of ideas. Quantity.
- I start the song from its "soul".
- It's soul is clear at first.

Cons of this one:
- Sometimes it's tricky to develop the idea to get a the song completed.


Mode 2: Sculptor technique

Using a software that allows me to record multitrack audio I start to accumulate ideas in different layers. Each new idea suggests the next one. After many layers I get something similar to the virgin wood that a sculptor has before he starts working on it to get the final shape. In this method, I believe that starting with not very outstanding ideas, I can get stuff that wouldn't have appeared if I wouldn't have done the whole process of recording layers and layers. Another way to define this second mode is as a summation of unclear ideas that give shape to a song.

-----------------------------------------------

Modes 1 and 2 can be inpired by:
- Situation of life: feeling, love, anger.
- Reading, a book, an article, newspaper.
- Song, album, show.
- Video clip, movie.

Tricks to avoid repeating the similar ideas:
- Using an instrument that you don't know how to play the chord, scale, etc. This avoids you to play the same things over and over. You will try different combination of notes.
- Using your voice instead of your instrument.


Mode 3: Direct inspiration (Analysis - Re-creation)

- I analyze many songs, compare them and then write down a list of concepts and criteria that work on a music style and use them / re-create them to compose new music.

Pros:
- This method is very effective when you need to create music on a specific style. This usually happens when you have to compose as a job.
- Fast high quality composition. It's a very fluently and fluid method.
- You can get genuine music if you re-create the concepts learnt.

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 3 2014, 02:29 PM

Hey Gab, thanks again for having me. So, using one or more of these approaches, you want me to get an idea going and than share it with you?

On the first approach, do you take an electric guitar or just a plain accoustic guitar?

I already have a spot in mind, if that's the case

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 3 2014, 05:29 PM

yes, that's the task. When I decide to force it, I take my acoustic guitar. When this happens naturally I use what I have closer, sometimes just my voice and my cellphone.

In parallel, some song analysis could be also a good idea. Could you please share here some songs that you like?

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 3 2014, 07:31 PM

Well, I really wanted to learn to analyze the band Haken, been a huge fan since their first album.



Also a great fan of Epica



And Amaranthe



Hope that helps.

I'll try to do something tomorrow than.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 3 2014, 07:58 PM

Very interesting stuff. I used some kind of template to analyze music that helps me to get the most used ideas, concepts and tricks in my favorite music. I make a table with 3 columns. This columns say: Structure, What's happening? (arrangements) and Scales and chord progressions (Theory). I first write down the structure, and then start analyzing the arrangements and theory of each section. This method is connected to my mode 3 of composing, but it is a great background to composition in general. You will incorporate the most used ideas in your favorite music.

The bands that you shared are very rich musically, and in the case of Haken, the structure is more advanced because they are progressive and the songs are usually long, so maybe you could start with one of the other songs, but feel free to start with the one that you prefer.

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 3 2014, 08:27 PM

Ok Gab, sounds good. I'll start with the Amaranthe song than. I shall have a video tomorrow with my thoughts and way of analyzing tomorrow as well as I'll just go to my ideal spot and try to come up with something.

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 4 2014, 12:47 PM

Hey Gab, as discussed, here is my first raw analysis of the song Trinity.



Structure would be:

Intro /
Verse /
Pre-Chorus /
Chorus /
Intro (Main Melody) /
Verse 2 /
Pre-Chorus /
Chorus /
Intro (Variation w/ keys) /
Solo /
Pre-chorus /
Chorus /

Very standard structure.

Chords for each section:

Intro - C#m A B (i VI VII)

Verse -A B C#m ( VI VII i)

Pre-Chorus - D E F#m (VI VII i) / Same Progression, but changed key.

Chorus (I'm struggling a bit here but it seems) - F#m E D / Bm A E / A E F#m E / D F#m E (After resolving they change the key again as you can tell by the melody changing).

That's pretty much it. The Solo I need to check but for now, that's what I've got.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 4 2014, 02:51 PM

Hi mate, congrats on this video! The analysis is brilliant. That's exactly how I would suggest to do it, combining structure, arrangements and progressions /scales used. Every single song will give you important characteristics of the composer that will let you understand their music. Be sure that, if you analyze 4 or 5 more songs of this band you will be able to combine the most significant concepts and create a lesson in their style (like I usually do). You can also keep those ideas, chord combinations, arrangements ideas or structure section for your future compositions. Being able to see the music in this way, as an overall, is like being the musician and the producer at the same time. That's how I work with my band, and everything I do.

It's good to keep the notes that you wrote here in a notepad for future checking and also remember some details about this song:

- It has a normal "pop" "rock" song structure.
- The use of modulation between intro + verse and p`re-chorus + chorus is very interesting. Check out the intervals distance between each tonality and keep it as a possible modulation for your compositions.
- There is a rhythm pattern used as the heart beat of the song. A good song doesn't need lots of rhythm ideas, if you want it to be catchy.
- Guitars are used more for rhythm and keys for melodies and high arrangements. This is an stylistic decision.


It's awesome how many things we can learn by analyzing a song, great job!!

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 4 2014, 06:19 PM

Hey Gab, thank you for the feedback, I'll get a notepad just for brain storming than .

Here's a video regarding mode 1 of your approach.



Just in case I was confusing in the video, I think my overall problem is building the arrangement and not the riffs or structure itself hence probably why I presented songs with such rich compositions.

As a side note, I'm training the intervals etude by Cosmin and started working on the Phrase Book: pre-bends by Ben today as you suggested. If all goes well, I should have a take of the latter one for tomorrow .

As well, I was browsing my old soundcloud and have a couple of old ideas that I never turned into fully fledged songs. One of them I didn't get to record as well but i uploaded the midi version I tabbed from guitar pro.

https://soundcloud.com/filipe-rocha-4/dream-of-a-shadow-midi-demo/s-Je1ND
Idea: wanted to make a djenty song but felt I lacked the skills to understand the layer composition and drum work.

https://soundcloud.com/filipe-rocha-4/youre-just-trouble-raw/s-0H3xT
idea: Inspired in Skillet and Three Days Grace, a standard rock song.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 5 2014, 11:10 PM

Hi mate! GREAT stuff! I really enjoyed your idea on the video. I can say that you already have the soul of your song, which is not a small thing. Now, it's time to work on the arrangements and other instruments. The possibilities are limitless so now it's time to take some decisions:

- Style direction
- Tempo
- Instruments to be used
- Instrumental song or song with lyrics?
- Structure

Also, I was wondering, do you have any daw to record drums, bass and other instruments? What do you use?

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 5 2014, 11:13 PM

Thanks Gab

Well, I'm a big symphonic guy and, like I mentioned in the video, I'm a big fan of Sonata Arctica's style of ballads. The doubt is if I would do acoustic guitar or just electric guitar on clean and than switch to distortion like they do. Instruments to be used, obviously to follow that idea pattern I would at least have strings.

Song with lyrics is my thing .

Structure I'd say a pretty generic one like "Last Drop Falls" from Sonata.

I have Logic Pro, Addictive Drums and I have a real bass and keyboards. Just suck at producing

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 6 2014, 01:09 PM

Cool, let's go for Sonata as a reference to produce this song. Remember that this is just the soul of the song, then you will be able to create riffs and things like that if the musical direction that you decide to use requires it.

In the case of this idea, it's a very melodic song, that seems to be suitable for a ballad, but let me say that I can imagine an ultra fast drum rhythm over this one and some synth creating melodic arrangements......

Ballad direction:






Power direction:








Where you'd like to go?

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 6 2014, 01:21 PM

Well, since I have more difficulty in creating the power arrangement, I'd say to go with that. If I have to pick a specific song to get inspired on, I'd say "My Land" would be my pick.

So, if I'm following your idea correctly, this is what I'm thinking about based on that.

- That main idea I was humming around what I'd assume to be the chorus could be used as an intro melody to establish the mood, along with the chords in a clean mode for a while.

- I usually don't like to stick to just power chords, I like to try and make things interesting although, that's not the case with Sonata Arctica who seem to leave the space for the vocals and let the keyboards do the melodies so, maybe here I'll try to do some things with the guitar and just switch them to the keyboards.

- As for drums, since I'm not really gifted at building them, I usually make a base rhythm for the mood and than try to develop it from there. Since it's power metal based, it doesn't have a lot of variations, so it should be fine.

Anything else you feel important to mention or any suggestions you may have are most welcomed

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 6 2014, 01:39 PM

Yes, that's the idea. There are many possible ways to continue now but this is what I usually do to let the things start happening.

- I record a simple drum loop based on the groove that I will use. In this case you can go for "My land"'s rhythm and loop it.
- I record the chords, very simple (Sonata or punk style), just to have the progression happening there.
- Sometimes I also record the vocal melody.
- If it's possible I get the whole structure in this way, if not, I start with intro, and then see what happens.
- Once I feel that I can't continue the song, I start arranging the parts. Try more interesting guitar riffs, lines, ideas, synth, rhythm variations that then can be followed by the drums.

It's very important to let the things happen, instead of blocking with thoughts like: this is not very interesting, this is so simple, this is not original, this is weak, just record it, and then, record another idea over it, use many layers, applying a bit the second mode of my composing modes (sculptor).

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 6 2014, 09:16 PM

Ok Gab, here's an update.

I used the My Land drum track and just start riffing. From the version you are going to hear, I'd like to point out that before the second verse, I made a mistake on the D5 with my vocals since I was expecting another chord, which I will change .

The vocal melody I hummed at the intro is probably gonna be done by synth , I still have to check.

I did a quick solo after the chorus just like Sonata do in which I speeded up the riff (it was the original riff) which I had to double for the intro. I still have to add some chords since I didn't do all the passages and the chorus passage from F#5 to D5 was too quick for the vocal melody I wanted to do.

Other than that, things are moving on and I'm quite happy. Let me know what you think.



Hope my bad vocals don't make your ears bleed

Anyways, what I did was the following.

Clean Intro - F#m Dsus2 E C#m

Intro - same as clean but with power chords.

Verse - F#5 A G# / F#5 / F#5 with Amaj7 arpeggio.

Pre-Chorus - D5 B5 C#5 A / D5 B5 (Played c#5 but wanted to go to A)

Chorus - F#5 D5 E5 followed by pre-chorus with variation at the end.

Solo section is the same as the Intro but double speed. Probably gonna do a modulation for keyboard solo and than return to Verse, Pre-Chorus, Chorus and than a different section.

P.S: Do ignore my hand, it had a life of its own xD

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 7 2014, 12:25 AM

Hi mate! It's really cool to see how the song is starting to take shape! The structure fits perfect with this progressions and melodies. The next step would be to record the key solo section, copy there the last pre and choruses and then work on the outro. There can also be a variation in the last pre-verse, you could make it longer, or something, it can be also a variation in instruments and arrangements. Then we will see.

By now, focus on finish the basic structure and then start polishing each section, record keyboards, bass, more precise guitar arrangements, drum fills and let's see how it evolves.

You are doing a very good job!

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 7 2014, 01:59 PM

Ok Gab, here's an update.

I haven't added other instruments yet because I was busy developing the full song structure which I've just finished and I must say, it turned out a lot different than what I expected.

Structure:

Clean Intro
Intro
Verse
Bridge (aka Main Melody Riff that is used a load of times)
Verse II
Bridge
Chorus
Bridge w/ Variation
Solo
Intro (Modulation)
Verse III
Bridge
Chorus (Back to original key)
Bridge
Break Section
Verse IV
Bridge
Intro Riff Variation for quick solo
Break Section II
Clean Guitar Strumming
Bridge
Chorus (Modulation)
Bridge
Ending

 Until_It_s_Paid__Guitar_and_Drums_Only_.mp3 ( 7.05MB ) : 333



Seems a lot, so if you have a better way for me to name it, It would help

Anyways, let me know what you think. Some things still need polish and I barely changed the drums, just did cuts to suit my structure a bit more.

I'm gonna play around with the other instruments after this.

Cheers

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 7 2014, 03:51 PM

Hi mate! It's cool to see how this one get shape! I think that you created many parts and variations for this one. I not totally convinced of some modulations and some groove changes, but the best is to polish the structure and section then, as I said, "cleaning after" instead of "blocking before". For this reason, I think that the best would be to continue working on arrangements, and on making the connections between parts smoother.

Next steps:

- Record a voice with melodies as reference.
- Work a bit more on the drum grooves, and the fills that take from one part to the other.
- I can't hear the bass, I notice that there is something there but very low. Please equalize the bass and increase frequencies on 1.5 Khz or/and 2.5khz, to make it more present, and maybe put it higher.
- Add keyboards.
- Polish guitar arrangements, and make some riffs (mostly from the break sections) more interesting.


And also, please put the time for each part on the structure to let me follow the structure better.

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 8 2014, 02:27 PM

Hey Gab , here's an update.

I decided to cut some sections off and make the arrangement simpler. I recorded everything again until the chorus. I don't know where my microphone is atm so I recorded the vocal line with a guitar patch.

Regarding the bass, I know why you couldn't hear it. Because it wasn't there the bass frequencies where from the guitar probably .

Right now here are two mp3s for you to check it out. One with the vox line and one without it for you to hear the arrangement better.

 Until_It_s_Paid__Till_Chorus__w__Vocal_Line.mp3 ( 1.8MB ) : 231


 Until_It_s_Paid__Till_Chorus__no_Vox.mp3 ( 1.8MB ) : 272


Structure is probably going to be:

Intro
Verse
Bridge
Verse II
Bridge
Chorus (with the bridge to tie up at the end)
Solo
Verse III
Bridge
Chorus
Break Section
Verse IV
Bridge
Chorus (Modulation) <- Have to find a better way to tie the riffs together to make the transition, despite it being a cliche.

And that's it. Let me know what you think

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 8 2014, 04:00 PM

hehehe now it is starting to become very enjoyable to listen! and also, I understand why I couldn't hear the bass!! haha

The guitar arrangements, the keys and the vocal line are sounding really cool. I can say that this one can be a top level Power Metal song! Now that we have the vocal melody I feel that the tempo is a bit low, but this is not necessary to fix it yet.

Do you have a bass guitar or a vsti to record bass? If not, try Trillian, it's great. Adding bass will make the whole mix sound fuller and more defined, and it will give you more place to experiment a bit more with guitar arrangements.

So, this first section is great, please continue polishing the following parts to see how the breaks and solos start to take shape.

You are doing a killer work man. Do you have previous experience composing complete power metal songs?

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 8 2014, 04:07 PM

Hey again. I have a real bass which I did use to record now. Like I said before, I'm just a newbie at mixing and mastering. Never really got into the production side of things.

I have composed power metal stuff before but I never finished a song with everything polished and to my like but it's always been the style I've heard the most from Sonata Arctica to Galneryus.

Tomorrow I should have the whole structure recorded with the all instruments (at least the basis of it) hopefully. I'll post a take of it for you to check it out to see if the structure fits now and to get a better idea of it.

As for the vocal line, it was what I first had in the acoustic guitar so that might be the problem. I'll take a listen through my power metal library to see if I can develop something else or if the tempo change is the next step to go.

Thanks for the kind words

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 8 2014, 10:00 PM

hehehe that mysterious bass!! Try using an EQ as I said previously to make it appear (if it's recorded! I'm still confused ). Once you have the whole arrangement and the whole song, we will dedicate some time to polish the mix and mastering just to make your demos sound a bit more professional. You will be prouder of your tracks, and who knows? maybe in the future you can produce your own music.

So I'm proud to know that this thread is motivating you to finish your compositions and to increase your level. I'll be waiting for the new update!

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 9 2014, 03:39 PM

Hey Man, here's a quick update for you.

Notes:
- To explain the bass part. There was no bass on the first track I showed you. You commented on the bass on that one. Than I put a second one and that one had bass but you thought it didn't, probably because there was no EQ.

- There are some sections that still need polish, as does the solo but I'm just doing the layer thing as you said. Had great fun doing small variations on the track and learning the chords on the keyboard and trying to do different voicings.

- Speaking of the keyboards, there are some sections (solo and break section) that I'm not sure what to do with them. I'm open to suggestions or to songs on which I can get inspired to do some .

- This is just an update with the full base song. Still need to change the drums and make the riffs tighter and better but overall, I HAVE THE FULL STRUCTURE OF THE SONG DOWN, now it's just a matter of polish and mixing .

- I tried to add the EQ to the bass as you said. I set it to parametric (I wasn't sure if that's what you meant) but I figure you wanted peaks on those frequencies to enhance the bass. Hope it sounds better to you.

Let me know what you think.

 Until_It_s_Paid__Base_Complete_.mp3 ( 6.59MB ) : 150



Cheers

- Filipe

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 9 2014, 10:10 PM

Hi mate! This is fantastic!! The tune is there and it's very enjoyable to hear.

Let me share all the thoughts that come to mind:

- I love the intro - verse - bridge and chorus. Everything makes a lot of sense, it's totally connected and the arrangements are starting to polish.

- Keys are ok, but I think that you could orchestrate the track much better. I don't know if you like them, but I think that Nightwish keys and orquesta arrangements are excellent. Their keyboardist and composer is great combining modern sounds with orchestral arrangements. You tend to play long chords all the time with the keys, that's not bad, but I think that some more interesting counterpoints and arrangments could take you song to a new level. As everything we work here, the first thing that I recommend you to do is to analyze some songs. You can check songs by Nightwish, Royal Hunt, Symphony X, Angra, Epica and Rhapsody among others...

- I'm not totally convinced with the part starting at 2:42, I think that the groove change is a bit aggressive, it needs to be smoother. I don't know exactly how to fix it but please focus on it and see if everything can become more natural... you could start it with cuts? instead of starting directly with the drums, or maybe avoiding the section? Experiment!

- I have the same feeling at 3:30...

- Starting at 03:30 to the end, I think that everything is very cool, I like how each part works withe the previous and the other. The moment at 4:30 is epic, it really needs a better orchestrated arrangement.

- There are off course mix and eq things to improve but by now, let's focus on music.

So, in other words, this track is evolving very naturally, and I can say that it is becoming a song that could be part of a prime class Power Metal album, congratulations!

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 10 2014, 02:35 PM

Hey man, thanks for the wonderful feedback once again.

I've been doing some changes to the drums, just wanted to let you know.

As for the sections you mention. I do feel the same way since there is a tempo change but I'm also trying to find ways to make it smoother since I think that rhythm change is a good way to introduce some variation to the song.

As for the keys, I've been trying lots of sounds while hearing keyboard covers on youtube (and yes, I'm a big nightwish fan). I went for arpeggiated lines, piano runs but it just doesn't seem to click for me so I'm a bit at a block now.

Here's an update for the drums until the chorus. Just made them more consistent with the song. Also I thought about doing the synth with guitar line at the intro to a less agressive feeling to it but I'm not sure.

Hardest part so far.

Let me know what you'd recommend. I'll keep hearing keyboard parts to see if I get any inspiration.

 Until_It_s_Paid_drums_altered.mp3 ( 1.77MB ) : 126


P.S: Also, do you know how to make multiple channels on Cubase for the same VST? I created a software instrument track for my keyboard sounds and wanted to use others without having to haveanother software instrument track with the same VST.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 10 2014, 03:26 PM

Hi again mate! It's awesome how some better arrangements can make a song much cooler! I loved how you worked on drums now, it's more enjoyable now, it makes me feel more in a song than a demo. This is definitely the way to go with each instrument.

About the keyboards. The first thing that I note is that your patch is a bit "slow" so it's good for long chords but it's not suitable to create more orchestral melodies. Also, you are using the same patch with the same idea all the time, so it doesn't have effect once the listener gets used to is, it's very predictable. So, analyzing Nightwish arrangements I can mark that this are the two more important differences:

- There aren't keyboards and arrangements all the time.
- Besides the slow strings or choirs, they add more marked ideas (use of staccato and fast melodies).

Your song is more related to the style of Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius, so maybe that's why you find trickier to add keys variations but just have this in mind, keep on listening to Nightwish arrangements and experiment, there is always time to delete.

Check this one:

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 13 2014, 04:31 PM

Hey Gab

Just wanted to let you know that I took a trip for some days and I got back yesterday night. Today I dedicated the day to practicing but tomorrow I'll be sure to check out some keyboard arrangements and I'll let you know my current status

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 13 2014, 04:52 PM

Ok! A relaxing trip is always a great thing! Welcome back and thanks for the update.

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 14 2014, 04:09 PM

Hey Gabriel, here's the update as we discussed.

Still discovering a lot about the orchestral instruments and how they connect with each other. The Dark Chest of Wonders piece gave me the idea that the bass parts do simple arrangements and that the high strings emulate them with some variations. The Violins, Violas, Cellos are mostly the same, just in different octaves to complement the track I presume. Gonna look around a bit.

It sounds emptier now but with time, I'm sure I'll understand what sections should do what and what instruments are more suited for what I want however, it's a step in the right direction I believe.

 Until_It_s_Paid_Different_Keys.mp3 ( 1.77MB ) : 154



Let me know what you think

Cheers

- Filipe

EDIT: Just noticed I only used one speaker to adjust the volumes so they might be screwed up...I'll check in a minute

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 14 2014, 10:16 PM

Hi mate! This is awesome!!

I'm starting to like this tune too much. It's taking shape!! I'm impressed of how much the song evolves from version to version. You are growing as a composer and arranger very fast!

I think that the orchestral arrangements are now on the right track. You are starting to make them sound richer and more connected to the examples that I shared before. Let me comments the things that I like as well as the things that I would continue working:

- I like the fact that the intro's melody is now played by strings. However, I feel that the part is a big empty regarding orchestral arrangments. I think that the strings need at least a lower octave, and something else the second round: another instrument playing other arrangement, some strings harmonizing the main idea?

- The string arrangements from the verse, those staccato ideas are brilliant!! Put them louder in the mix! I can also imagine a slow melody that creates tension played by a piano on that part, or maybe a more electronic synth.

- Pre-chorus: It is opened with long chords, it contrasts very well with the previous section.

- Verse II: In this second verse I would mark with some agressive choirs ahh those two cuts at 00:53.

- Chorus: I like the chords and the sound used. I think that the chorus would sound great with some staccated ideas close to the ones that you used on verses.

- Orchestral sound: Your amazing arrangements are starting to deserve better orchestral VSTi. I would consider it!


That's all for this one, I think that you are doing a killer work mate, congratulations!!

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 19 2014, 12:18 AM

Hey man, sorry for not being as active as I usually am. Been having too many birthday parties over the last few days

Also, my computer had some problems so I had to erase everything and just got it back working. Gonna have to install my things again and re-do the project but hopefully in one or two days I should have something new to show you by taking into account the feedback you gave me.

Hope that's ok, I'll post a new take as soon as I can

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 19 2014, 06:03 PM

Hi mate! I'm sorry about the PC issue, but happy for you because of the parties!

Thanks for the update, I'll wait for the new version. Cheers!

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 26 2014, 01:48 PM

Hey Gab

I want to apologize for the delay but after a party week I had a revelation week. Just got accepted at a post in H&M, got accepted into a Uni for computer science and my cover band just found a full line-up. Between that and guitar practice, plus the other mentor tasks I haven't come around into recording the full piece again.

Therefore I decided to record a video stating some aspects I'm having some doubts about now that I have the lyrics, the vocal melody more and less arranged for the track.

I also address the tempo sections that you had some doubts as well. Hope you can enlightenment me with your expertise .

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 27 2014, 03:44 AM

Hi mate! Interesting video. You have many cool and creative ideas to arrange the guitars for this one. Let me answer some of your question with my opinion.

1. I like the major7th arpeggio that you are using there, as well as the power chords movement (A - Ab5). I would use both off course, but let the arpeggio just for the 4th repetition to connect this part with the bridge. I think that the arpeggio can make disturb a bit the vocal melody so we have to then re-check if it works good there, but I think that the last measure of the verse could have no vocals and just the arpeggio enhanced by some violins.

2. I think that it's a killer idea to add a dominant chord there! It's so tricky to use 4 notes chords on metal songs, so every time you find a place where it sounds good, go for it! It will always make your songs sound richer.

3. I honestly think that both options could work but the 8th notes sound more interesting for me at first.

4. (at 4:00) Here you gave me three options to connect both parts. I like the first option, which sound more classical, (very Malmsteen) but I also like the third option which sounds a bit less predictable. So, my opinion is that both are great, but if you want to be more unique, go for the third option.

5. (6:37) This two options are really good but for any reason I feel that the first one connects smoother with the following riff. I know that is more predictable, but it's so natural, I would go for it.

6: (8:00) As I feel that the idea is original I would try to keep on experimenting with drum groove and tempo settings to make it sound more natural in the demo. It sounds smoother when you play it without drums so maybe you're right and the problem is more related to the recording and the way you set tempo. Keep on experimenting a bit more with it.

7. About the way to connect with the verse again,,, it's a tricky question. I think that it's totally connected with the previous question. If you find the way to make the previous connection smoother this one will be the same. Don't you think so?

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 12 2016, 03:01 PM

Hey Gab,

First off, I'd like to apologize for my absence. Sometimes I have to attend some priorities over the years and I lay my guitar down for some time. I started to get back now that I moved to a new city and would like to discipline myself again to practice a bit as well as still work on some composition aspects. Would like to know if this slot is still available and if you're still up for some mentoring for me.

Let me know

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 13 2016, 07:36 PM

Hey mate! Welcome back!! Sure! What's you plan? What are your current short and long term goals?

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 13 2016, 08:13 PM

Short Term Goals:
- Work on (at least) one lesson per week for REC purposes while cycling through phases. For example, I did a rhythm lesson for Rec so I have to go through an AP, Legato or Chord one for the next in order to develop something else. I'm saying one to start off slow in order to build discipline. The way I thought about it was I have "the one" I have to do and the optional ones if I want to or have time for. Trying to do daily updates to see the current status of the practice.

Long Term Goals:
Hasn't changed since the last time. I still want to develop songs and pop them off. I have develop a method of doing the whole song first structure and chord wise, I do chord sheets like on ultimate-guitar with the lyrics and chords above them and than I tab the whole song on Guitar Pro. I studied a lot of drumming and pianos for quite some time so I have develop my composition aspects on those instruments and have a better sense of how every instrument can contribute to the part.

In short, I want to have complete songs popped out for the world to see

Here's the tab for the last thing I did if you want to see.  The_Story_of_the_Travelling_Girl.gp5 ( 56.52K ) : 88


Also, as a reminder, my legato is still awful

Cheers

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

The plan sounds good. Fromm my experience here, I'd like to suggest to work on blocks of 10/12 days for each new lesson. I think that one week can be a short period of time to master new lessons. I've been working on 10/12 days assignments and we are having good results with students. This would mean around 3 lessons per month.

I'll check the GP file later at my studio.

Regarding the lessons, do you have a list of lessons that you'd like to work? I can expand that list with my suggestions inspired by the lessons from your list.

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 14 2016, 07:15 PM

Sure, no worries. I only want discipline so we can work with that period

The lessons I was currently picking were these ones:

Rhythm: Finnish Power Metal III: Nightwish
Legato: Ben's Land Of Legato
Alternate Picking: Alternate Picking Workout #5
Chords: Chord Melody Technique

I choose these areas because I didn't want to go over the top again but if you feel there are lessons than I can work that can help, let me know.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 15 2016, 03:01 PM

ASSIGNMENT #1:

Goals:

- Legato Practice
- Vibrato Practice
- Blues improvisation


TASK 1:

- Learn and practice this lesson: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Bens-Land-Of-Legato/


TASK 2:

- Learn at list the first 00:40 seconds of this lesson: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/BB-King-Blues/
- Improvise over the backing track of BB's Blues lesson using the concepts learnt in the lesson.

Exam and deadline:

By September 27th you'll have to share 3 videos:

- A video playing legato's lesson (4 coins)
- A video playing the part learnt from BB's blues lesson (3 coins)
- A video improvising over the backing track. (3 coins)

Each of these 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".

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 16 2016, 08:05 PM

Hey Gab,

I normally don't do this but as a way of being motivated to be consistent on a daily basis and going against my perfectionism I decided to do a video of my first recorded take. I practiced a few times, still know there is room for some timing corrections among other things but I plan on doing a better one for REC. Tomorrow I'll try to get the legato one and/or the improvisation in.

Let me know what you think.

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 17 2016, 11:44 AM

Hi again man,

Here's my update regarding the current state of the tasks.

Ben's Land of Legato
At full tempo, I have muting problems in two sections so I decided to play at slower tempo for now. Do you want a video of it a slower tempo, do you want a video at full tempo regardless of the status it's in for you to get the idea of what needs to be fixed or do you want a take that I am happy with in the near future?

BB Blues Improv
The key things I applied to my improv from the lesson were: breathing space, repetition of the Q&A and applying rakes.
I feel that sometimes I abused the rakes and that I lacked some direction at the end. Also I tried not to deviate much from the minor pentatonic sound although I used the occasional modal note here and there. I missed a double stop and a bend which I wasn't very found of doing but here it is for you to tell me what you think




BB Blues Lesson
Been listening a bit more to it to check the timing of certain licks but going to wait for your input on the previous video before advancing


Gonna practice Ben's lesson a bit more in the afternoon after the soreness of my fingers stop

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 17 2016, 09:45 PM

Hi Rated! Great stuff here! Thanks for the update.

About your question regarding Land of legato lesson, I prefer that you submit a slower take that sound tight and clean. It's much more important to play well and to play fast.

The improvisation sounds VERY good. Your phrases are clear, and the whole thing has a very defined structure. It's a very cool one. You can continue polishing your technique, making your vibrato more consistent, your bending more natural, and develop more your dynamics. But this take obviously passes.

Bb blues lesson: This one is also very good. There are only some details that you could have in mind during the next days of work.

- Vibrato: I'd review your vibrato technique on this one. It's not bad but there is some room to improve it. Sometimes you make it too soon while it's better to let the note sound and then add it gradually. Other times it's irregular, while others it would be wider.

- Bending: Just a few that aren't perfect (the first two ones, and the one at 1:05).

- Dynamics: Put some attention to the different intensities used in the original lesson.

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 18 2016, 07:29 PM

Hey Gab,

Thank you for your input, I've already started to implement it on my practice and will do a new take on the next few days.

Ben's Land of Legato
It is the first time I've recorded something that requires a lot of legato because it's something I've always dodged. I haven't seen my fingers' skin become like this for a long time so it was a great practice. Even though I recorded it at 75% speed, I still fail some muting mostly because of the way I place my fingers. Looking at the video, it looks really painful the way I do it .

Also, I feel like I'm rushing a lot which might suggest that I should maybe record a take at 50%, what do you reckon?

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 19 2016, 09:16 PM

Hey Gab, here's Monday's update.

BB Blues
Here's a new take. Here I was more concern about the dynamics and fixing the little details like the bends. I was also playing a lick with a wrong note which I corrected. The last bending was doing it on the wrong fret and regarding the first ones I didn't see they were a full step so hopefully, I should have improved them a bit at least. As for the vibrato, it can still come out a bit out of control since when I was playing trying to focus on vibrato and dynamics at the same time, I would screw one up

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 21 2016, 02:37 PM

Hi mate! Great job with both lessons!

BB king blues sounds much better than the previous one. I note improvements on each of the concepts that I've listed previously and now it's very close to sound perfect. The things that I note that need more work are the same that you've noted and commented in your post so you are definitely on track.

Land of legato is also ok, but it obviously needs more days of practice to feel the patterns more natural and be able to play everything with better tempo.

You still have more days for this assignment so keep working!

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 24 2016, 07:55 PM

Hey Gab, here's my update:

Ben's Land of Legato
I've been dedicating at least 25 minutes per day to practicing this lesson. I can notice the improvement and I've been changing my hand positioning to understand better the muting that needs to be done. Here's a take of the current status, at full speed now.




BTW, there's like a glitch second that was from my phone entering battery save mode

BB Blues
Should try to record my REC take tomorrow taking into consideration the vibrato training I've been doing as well. Of course will wait for your input to see if it's already worthy of being REC of if there is something else I should focus on or still have to clean up.


Let me know what you think.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 24 2016, 10:58 PM

Hi mate,

Your legato is better, sometimes timing is irregular, but I think that it's just a matter of time. About the other lesson, sure, feel free to share it here first.

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 26 2016, 03:47 PM

Hey Gab,

Ben's Land of Legato
I decided to push this take ahead because of something I decided to try. Since I was having timing problems, I decided to try and do something inspired by Petrucci's approach to learning a lick so I played the whole lesson with AP, than Legato than Ap again and so on to see if that would help.

Did that yesterday and recorded a take today after the warm up.



BB Blues
I figured i'd go for a more faster vibrato and without the thumb pressing behind which is something I just thought about after watching the video carefully. So i'm going to practice that a bit more before posting a new take.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 28 2016, 01:41 AM

Hi rated, that's awesome. Timing is much better on this one, and both the hammer and pull offs sounds stronger and clearer.

Congrats on the great job!

Where is the video of Petrucci sharing that idea?

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 28 2016, 06:44 PM

Hey Gab,

BB Blues
Nothing much to add, let's hope I've done well



About the Petrucci Video, it's not actually per say, it's one of his "learn how to play fast" videos where he starts to show the ap approach, than the legato one, than combines both and I just got the idea of playing alternate styles to complement each other.

Btw, the deadline was yesterday so sorry for the late take, hope things are good enough to go through

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 29 2016, 03:10 PM

Beautiful take for the BB blues lesson man! You did a killer job! Could you please share the 3 final videos for the assignment in the same post so we can move forward?

Posted by: Rated Htr Sep 29 2016, 06:13 PM

Thanks Gab, here's the three videos

BB Blues


BB Blues Improv


Ben's Land of Legato

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 2 2016, 10:28 PM

Hi Rated, you've done a killer job! Congratulations man! Your take on BB king lesson and your improvisation are totally on spot. There is some room for improvements, but I think that your vibrato is very good, as well as your timing, and that the way you've incorporated the licks learnt in the BB king lesson in order to create your own improvisation is just perfect.

Based on your work on this assignment, these are your results:

ASSIGNMENT #2:

Goals:

- Bending Practice
- Vibrato Practice
- Improvisation


TASK 1:

- Learn and practice this lesson: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Beginner-Bending-Workout/


TASK 2:

- Improvise over the backing track of the lesson focusing on bending and vibrato.


Exam and deadline:

By October 12th you'll have to share 2 videos:

- A video playing Bending lesson (5 coins)
- A video improvising over the backing track. (5 coins)

Each of these 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".

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 3 2016, 05:35 PM

Hi Gab, thanks for the notes and the new assignment

Bending Workout
Here's a quick first take, right after I finished learning it so this is how it came naturally. At first glance a couple of bends that need work (0.23, 0.30 for example, maybe 0.49 going slightly under), going over the pitch as you mentioned to be the problem, still wondering if it's a matter of tone of bending missing when it begins to be harmonic (by that I mean the double stop bends)and also, since you mentioned Vibrato Practice, am I suppose to do vibrato? Darius doesn't seem to be doing in the lesson, probably to avoid cheating. Also I missed one lick of connection before it repeats the double stop lick upwards.

Here's the take anyways.



Tomorrow I'll try one with a bit more depth and analysis.

Have a good one.
Filipe

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 5 2016, 08:01 PM

Hi Rated, good first try! There are bends to fix but I think that you have half of the lesson or more already done! Forget about vibrato, it's not required for this assignment.

Isolate the wrong bends and work on them, mostly the double string ones that need more work.

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 6 2016, 04:40 PM

Hey Gab, here's my update

Bending Workout
Tried to focus mostly on the double stop bendings. Been very tempted to use vibrato but keep telling myself not to use it in any case and I think I'm improving because of that The recording sounds to me a bit out of tune, probably should have checked it out before doing it but didn't want not to share something.



Bending Improv
Decided to be a bit more agressive on this one. Since I couldn't use vibrato for the lesson, I went Wylde (get it ) for this one. After a while, I started to lack direction of what I wanted to do but since I wanted to do the whole extend of the backing track, I kept going.



Let me know what you think, I'll keep practicing.
Filipe

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 7 2016, 04:19 PM

Hi mate! This is going really well! And you still have 5 days of practice to end the assignment.

The bends on the bending lesson are getting more and more precise! There is more room for them but the improvements is awesome compared with the previous one. Well done!

And the improv... hey Zakk? Is that you??

GREAT vibrato man! This is definitely the right track for both techniques! It's also great how you incorporated the licks from the lesson into your own phrasing. And also, cool ending repetitive lick.

KEEP ON ROCKING!

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 8 2016, 05:32 PM

Hey Gab, thank you for the kind words. I've been working every day and I'm very happy that I'm maintaining my discipline regiment and I can tell I'm doing the work by the way my fingers are getting so thank you for spending the time from your busy schedule to help me.

Bending Workout


Still trying to work out on the double bends. It's on lessons like these that I see how much I "cheated" my way out of doing them right using vibrato. I know that the ending ones still need some work because I'm worried about the fingering. The principle ones I wanted to get right here are the ones where the double bend on the same fret (14th) happen and the two ones after that.

Gonna keep working.

Cheers mate
Filipe

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 10 2016, 02:02 PM

Hi mate! Yeah, I can see in your videos that you are working hard! This video shows it too. I also note that the part that need your attention now is the double string bending section. Isolate this licks and work on them. The other parts are sounding good.

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 10 2016, 04:10 PM

Hey Gab,

I did a video to show my approach and my doubts about the section, hopefully that will clear everything out and I can make this sound tight .

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 11 2016, 07:30 PM

Hi Rated!

From what I can see and hear on your video, you are doing the things in the right way. The target pitches are correct so you just need to keep on repeating the bends in order to get familiar and always hit the correct pitch, as well as connect everything smoothly.

About the double string bends, I think that your second approach is the right one. The idea is to pick he string while bending in order to give the bend effect sound, and to do the transitions between bends, the smoother possible. The is some kind of silence in between but it's the minimum possible.

Other than that, I don't find anything else to fix, you just need to keep on getting familiar with the licks.

I hope that I understood and answered your questions. If not, keep on asking!

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 13 2016, 02:52 PM

Hey Gab, here are my submissions for this task. Thanks for picking a lesson that made me be more aware of such a flaw.

Bending Workout


Bending Improv

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 13 2016, 11:41 PM

Hi mate, the improvisation sounds killer! It sounds very tight and expressive! The first video is not working. Could you please check it?

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 14 2016, 01:23 PM

Sorry Gab, was missing a letter from the ID. It's fixed now

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 14 2016, 01:57 PM

Great! You are doing a very good job with this lesson. I think that this work will have a very important impact in your playing. The lesson still show some pitch issues in a few bends, mostly in the last section. I think that it would be a good idea to keep on working on this lesson during this weekend in order to polish all the bends.

What do you say?

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 14 2016, 02:58 PM

Sounds like a plan Gab, I'll keep working on it!

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 14 2016, 09:30 PM

Hey Gab,

Since the take wasn't fresh and I wanted to show you a take from my practice session of the day, here's a new update. I didn't record video because it was late at night so I hope this will suffice for now

https://soundcloud.com/filipe-rocha-4/bending-workout-take-5/s-wmwHg

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 15 2016, 04:24 AM

Awesome! This is much better! Be careful with the bends at 00:32 and the double string ones.

I suspect that you'll master this one by the end of the weekend.

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 15 2016, 01:25 PM

Hey Gab, here's my morning update. I finally figured out why I was having problems with a certain double stop. I was doing a out-of-scale bend. Once I switched the fret, it sounded much better in my opinion but I'll let you be the judge of that

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 17 2016, 03:52 AM

Good job man! This is much better. The bends that still have room for improvements are the ones at 00:35, 00: 45, 1:03. Practice them and you'll master this one perfectly.

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 17 2016, 07:41 PM

Hey Gab, thank you for pointing out the times. It helped a lot. I tried my best to get in a good take today. I'm very proud of the muting evolutions during the double stop bends and I think I've managed to improve a bit more. I actually struggled more today getting the first part well than the second one. Did more than like 30 video takes but here's one for you to judge



18TH OCTOBER EDIT

Hey Gab, woke up today and decided to give it a new go.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 18 2016, 07:12 PM

Hi Rated! Great job! This is much better!! There are just a few details but we can consider this a pass! If you still feel motivated to play this one focus on the first double string bends which are very close but there is a small difference.

If not, let's move to the next step.

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 18 2016, 07:23 PM

Tell you what, give me a new assignment and I can keep going at this meanwhile since I want to post it for REC

19th October EDIT:

Here you go Gab! Very happy with this one

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 19 2016, 09:25 PM

That's close to be perfect. Congrats mate!!


ASSIGNMENT #3:

Goals:

- Bending Practice
- Vibrato Practice
- Melodic blues phrasing


TASK 1:

- Learn the first 30 seconds of this lesson: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Melodic-Bluesy-Phrasing/


TASK 2:

- Improvise over the backing track of the lesson focusing on bending and vibrato.


Exam and deadline:

By October 31th you'll have to share 2 videos:

- A video playing blues lesson (5 coins)
- A video improvising over the backing track. (5 coins)

Each of these 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".

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 20 2016, 04:39 PM

Hey Gab, thank you for picking this beautiful lesson. Really enjoyed doing a take on it.

Here's the first attack right of the bat for your wise analysis.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 22 2016, 07:31 AM

Good job man! Just two comments:

- Your vibrato could be more regular.
- I would try with a cleaner tone which will bring more dynamics.


That's all by now, keep the hard work!

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 24 2016, 02:01 PM

Hey Gab, here's an update taking into consideration your comments.



And here's an improv

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 26 2016, 01:22 AM

Great job! The lesson sounds much better both your playing and the guitar tone. The improvisation is also a good first one! As a part of the exercise I recommend you to do some analysis of the longer notes used in the original lesson and how this notes relate with the chord sounding at each moment. Then, apply some of this to your own improvisation.

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 28 2016, 07:56 PM

Hey Gab,

My apologies for the lack of videos lately, had some university work to attend to. Also sorry for the audio quality of this take. My phone was charging so I decided to record with my tablet for the first time but the audio recording is not so good as it seems, although I uploaded it because I still feel it's perceptive to hear what i'm doing.

My approach this time was to use more semi-tones close to scale tones (trying to focus the 2nd and the 6th) to give it a bit more bluesy feeling. I struggled a lot to limit myself to that and that's why I shorted this improv to 30 secs as well to see if I grasped the concept you were trying to pass on to me.

I also tried not to distance myself from the ideas I had before but rather to add to them to see if they improved for the improv concept.

Let me know how it went.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 28 2016, 11:57 PM

This is EXCELLENT. Your solo is much more connected with the backing's chords now. This is the direction, keep working!

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 31 2016, 05:10 PM

Hey Gab,

Thanks for the input. Once again I apologize for the video, messed up the angle. Lately the logistics have been killing me
Anyways, here's a full track improv.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 1 2016, 03:00 AM

I like the work of your invisible right hand! hahaha

Another cool improvisation mate. This is getting better from take to take so this is definitely the way to go.

I think that we are ready for a new lesson, what do you say?

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 1 2016, 08:00 AM

Sure, bring it on

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 2 2016, 12:02 AM

The real question is, new lesson or finish the current one?

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 2 2016, 12:09 AM

I'm fine either way man, I'll leave that up to your criteria

If you think it's beneficial for me to finish the lesson we can do that, if you feel i'd benefit more from focusing on something else, that's fine too.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 2 2016, 12:18 AM

Both things are equally beneficial. Maybe it's a cool idea to finish it and share it at REC program. What do you say?

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 2 2016, 12:43 AM

Sounds like a plan. I'll get right on it

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 2 2016, 07:46 PM

Perfect!

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 3 2016, 12:51 PM

Hey Gab, I give you the return of the invisible hand

Here's my first full take on it. There are a couple of licks that I think I can get them to become more fluid (talking about the ones that involve fast slides).

Here you go

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 3 2016, 02:27 PM

Awesome! This is so close man. It will take much less that what I thought.

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 4 2016, 02:01 PM

Here's a morning take for you Gab

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 4 2016, 03:58 PM

Beautiful! We definitely can go for a new lesson.


We've worked on:

- Land of legato
- Bending Workout
- BB King Blues
- Melodic Bluesy Phrasing



ASSIGNMENT #4:

Goals:

- Bending Practice
- Vibrato Practice
- Melodic blues phrasing


TASK 1:

- Learn this lesson: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Bendy-Blues/


TASK 2:

- Improvise over the backing track of the lesson focusing on bending and vibrato.


Exam and deadline:

By November 16th you'll have to share 2 videos:

- A video playing blues lesson (5 coins)
- A video improvising over the backing track. (5 coins)

Each of these 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".

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 8 2016, 12:15 AM

Hey Gab, here's a late night attempt. Sorry for the lower sound but because it's night, I had to keep it low

It was very interesting learning this. It was really hard to capture most of the details and I still feel I can get some more accuracy on certain points. I took the liberty to correct some bends with some slight vibrato (specially the one at the end where I realized it was going sharp) so I hope that's ok. I missed the harmonic note on the third lick (only hit one note) but it will be there on the next take

Let me know what you think



And here's an improv. You might have noticed that I never passed so much time doing blues as I am now with you but I did try my best to get the bluesy feeling coming across although sometimes I can tell I'm too harsh and could work on more dynamics.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 8 2016, 02:53 PM

Hi mate, this is going really well!

Both videos are very good, and I think that you already commented which are the things that you could work in order to take this two vids to a new level. Your playing is tight and consistent, but there is some more room to give this more feeling by the use of dynamics, vibrato and some other expressing techniques that you can learn from the lesson.

You still have more days to polish this one so keep working!

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 8 2016, 07:54 PM

Hey Gab, here's a fresh take of my attempt to polish some dynamics and some other details



And here's a new improv, I tried to keep things simpler to focus more on dynamics and feeling.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 9 2016, 05:21 PM

Nice ones mate! I can notice big improvements regarding the elements that we've talked about. This guitar has active pick ups, doesn't it? I think that's one of the reasons why getting the right dynamics for this lesson is a very tricky job. However, I think that you are getting a nice feeling on this one, and that if you continue experimenting in this direction, this will impact in your overall playing.

On the other hand, we could consider this assignment passed and done, unless you want to keep on practising it.

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 9 2016, 09:15 PM

Yes Gab, it does

I have a fender strat back at my hometown that I can consider bringing to my new house for the next works .

I would rather have something fresh now if you think we can move forward, I really spent more time with this one than the other ones. To be fair, I found out that I underestimated myself for quite sometime. Normally, if I didn't have to submit an assignment I'd think this was to hard for me due to all the details I had to consider, but I feel like I did a decent job so kudos for challenging me like this

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 10 2016, 02:22 PM

We've worked on:

- Land of legato
- Bending Workout
- BB King Blues
- Melodic Bluesy Phrasing
- Bendy Blues



ASSIGNMENT #5:

Goals:

- Dynamics
- Ionian phrasing


TASK 1:

- Learn this lesson: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Ballad-Soloing-Dynamics-And-Phrasing/


TASK 2:

- Improvise over the backing track of the lesson focusing on bending and vibrato.


Exam and deadline:

By November 22th you'll have to share 2 videos:

- A video playing blues lesson (5 coins)
- A video improvising over the backing track. (5 coins)

Each of these 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".

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 14 2016, 05:19 PM

Hey Gab,

I feel this is, by far, the hardest lesson you've given me yet. So many little details and so many things I don't normally do or use. It's been a great practice, I feel like I still have to work a lot on it, but here's a take for you to get an idea of how I currently am. I'm missing some notes because I have some fingering to correct in some licks as well which causes some timing issues and some less fluid movement.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 15 2016, 05:53 AM

Yeah! I know and that's why I suggested playing this one. It's a killer lesson full of beautiful details. I think that this is a good first entry for this one and it can be our reference to see how much you can improve your expressing techniques as well as how much you can polish your bending, and dynamics.

There are many element to adjust, and many licks that can sound smooth, but I'm amazed of how fast you learn the lessons that I assign you. You are a hard worker mate!

Keep going!

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 16 2016, 07:30 PM

Yeah I understand

Hopefully, I have them more smooth now. Tried to add a bit more of those micro-bends and better movement as well as more agressive picking where I saw Darius using it.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 17 2016, 03:54 PM

Hi Rated, this is fantastic! I can see how your playing becomes more and more expressive after each new take. I can note important improvements, and I can also see that there is more room to give more feeling to the use of dynamics, and groove. This is something really subtle, but I can see that you still have headroom for it, so it's not a bad idea to keep on practising this one.

Also, sending this take to Darius could be good to have some extra feedback from him since he is the one who composed this amazing piece.

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 19 2016, 01:55 PM

Hey Gab,

Thank you, it's been a busy week for me but I'm still trying to practice every day despite not posting a video every day this time. Specially considering that I trust it's more about incorporating nuances in my playing than the licks themselves. I haven't spoken to Darius yet but I'll slide in this take I just did. In this one I focused more on getting the ornaments that Darius used that I wasn't using. Still having a bit of trouble finding the sweet spot about that bend with the volume roll but still, it's going

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 20 2016, 01:48 AM

Cool! That video shows improvements regarding those expressive elements and techniques. I'm really curious to know what Darius has to say about this new vid.

And also, where is the fender strat?

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 20 2016, 02:12 AM

I've sent a PM to Darius and am waiting for his response

About the Strat, still back at my house. I ended up not coming by car so I couldn't bring it with me

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 20 2016, 03:04 PM

Great!

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 21 2016, 08:02 PM

Hey Gab,

Darius was super helpful and gave me a lot of pointers for me to watch for (Random picking patterns, some wrong notes, some wrong volume knob accents and asked me if it was possible to record the audio directly).

I've had loads of problems since I don't want to get lost in the process of editing, syncing audio and all that which in turns diminishes my music time but I think I've managed to do a decent method while being able to record the audio directly so hopefully, it will become clearer to evaluate my takes in the future.

I struggled a bit more with timing this time, mostly because I was trying not to play a random picking pattern so it kinda threw me off a couple of times

I'm not used to recording with headphones and I'm still not quite sure if it's just a syncing or latency problem but I will find out. Maybe it's just the guitar that's too loud now Anyways, here it is


EDIT: Just noticed there's a bit of lag during the video. I apologize for it, will try to correct it in the future.


NEW EDIT:

Hey Gab, here's a new take I did today. I spent more time fixing the recording stuff but hopefully I managed to pull it off
Different take with different mistakes but hopefully, the right idea.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 23 2016, 02:28 PM

Hi mate! This is great! I'm happy to know that Darius comments really helped. I can hear that this new take is much more expressive than the previous ones. It's true that it presents some issues, like pitch problems, but you already can bend well, now you are focusing on making your playing more expressive.

I think that you could keep this one in your diary practice but that we can start with something new, what do you say?

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 23 2016, 02:46 PM

Yeah, sounds good... I actually like the lesson a lot because of the details so I'll keep this one close to home

Onwards captain

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 24 2016, 01:42 PM

Why note the second part?


ASSIGNMENT #6:

Goals:

- Dynamics
- Ionian phrasing


TASK 1:

- Learn this lesson: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Ballad-soloing-dynamics-phrasing-2/


TASK 2:

- Improvise over the backing track of the lesson focusing on bending and vibrato.


Exam and deadline:

By December 19nd you'll have to share 2 videos:

- A video playing the lesson(5 coins)
- A video improvising over the backing track. (5 coins)

Each of these 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".

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 30 2016, 09:13 PM

Hey Gab,

Sorry for the lack of communication. I've been having a very very busy week at university with exams and haven't been able to focus as much as I want on the guitar as I wanted.

Friday is my last assignment so if we could restart the deadline from there, I would appreciate it

Thank you for understanding.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 2 2016, 01:51 PM

Sure mate! I've just edited the deadline! All the best with your last exams.

Posted by: Rated Htr Dec 5 2016, 03:36 PM

Hey man,

Just started learning the lesson today and I can already tell it's going to do wonders

I've recorded a video from the point I've gotten till now because I'm struggling to pass the chord section part. I reckon it's m7 chords but with the open E note and it's giving me a hard time in terms of fingering since I usually use my thumb for the bass note and do the rest with the fingers. Any suggestions here or is it a matter of just isolating the chords and going for that fingering?

Thanks in advance

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 6 2016, 02:37 PM

Hi Rated, this is VERY promising. I can hear that you are already making some of those line sound really tasty! I'm impressed of how much more expressive your guitar playing is becoming mate.

Take your time to master this one, it's very cool. Also, remember to improvise over the backing creating variations of the ideas.

Posted by: Rated Htr Dec 7 2016, 08:27 PM

Hey Gab

Yeah, I really like this lesson. It's one of those things I'd think I couldn't play without a lot of training. Here's a new take, still has a couple of mistakes in some licks, specially in the last one where I missed part of it but I wanted to show you how it's going

Some things I still have to do. I didn't think about dynamics at all for the take. I'm still in that "learn the lesson" phase and want to get all the licks spot in since they have a lot of things I normally don't use (which is good ofc). Some rhythms I still need to isolate and practice better (Darius has a different way of doing them probably because his style kinda shows off my random picking patterns )

Anyways, here it is. I'll be back better later on during the week



EDIT:

Hey Man, I tried to record a new take today with proper audio but for some reason it loses sync half way through it :S I really have to buy a new camera so it seems but i'll still leave it here.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 9 2016, 06:31 AM

Hi mate! That's nice! I think that you are getting close with this fantastic lesson. You already know the things that need more attention once you feel comfortable with the different parts of the lesson. Continue practicing the lesson the following lessons and slowly start polishing everything and thinking about dynamics.

Keep on the great job!

Posted by: Rated Htr Dec 10 2016, 12:33 AM

Hey man,

Don't have a video today because still trying to set up an easy, quick and good system with what I have available but that doesn't mean I don't have anything to show you If I'm not mistaken, I only made one obvious mistake which was in the slide before the last arpeggio lick.

This time, since the licks are getting better, I tried to focus a bit more in dynamics and volume knob turns.

https://soundcloud.com/filipe-rocha-4/phras...-and-dynamics-2

https://soundcloud.com/filipe-rocha-4/phrasing-and-dynamics-2

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 10 2016, 04:45 PM

Hi Rated, great job. This one sounds with much more feeling and dynamics. Even with the details to adjust, I've enjoyed this take a lot. It was like a journey to listen to it. You are definitely on the right track, not only because of your playing, also because of your great tone. Well done!

Posted by: Rated Htr Dec 13 2016, 05:10 PM

Hey man,

Not very happy with this improv, made a lot of mistakes and some transitions between licks could have been better but I wanted to do something where I applied things of what I've been learning in order to force myself to adapt them to my play so hopefully, at least that will come through

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 14 2016, 02:13 PM

Hi Rated,

there are nice ideas happening there! You need to continue practicing this in order to feel more comfortable and be able to relax while playing. Your playing sounds like "nervous", vibrato is fast, and phrases tend to go before the beat. This give a nervous or anxious feel that it's surely how you feel while improvising at this point over this backing.

Take a deep breath and keep on jamming over this one!

Posted by: Rated Htr Dec 18 2016, 02:04 PM

Hey Gab,

Here's a new improv. I tried to maintain most of the ideas, polished some and tried to be more on the beat and do slower vibrato.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 19 2016, 02:54 PM

Hi mate, good job!

This improvisation sounds really nice. I can notice that you've got the feel of the lesson even before mastering it. That's the main goal of the work that we are doing here. Well done!

I hear some pitch issues when you play on higher frets. Are your strings old? Or maybe, your guitar needs some adjustment?

Your phrasing is interesting. Keep on practising in order to become more and more comfortable with this backing and type of phrasing.

Also, be careful with bending pitch.

Posted by: Rated Htr Dec 19 2016, 07:18 PM

Hey Gab,

Yeah, a new set of strings might be in order I'll be sure to take care of that in the following days . So, just to be clear, want me to keep attempting new improvisations and still record a new take of the lesson itself?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 30 2016, 09:42 PM

Hi mate, I'll be back at home this weekend. How was your practice? Any news?

Posted by: Rated Htr Dec 30 2016, 09:48 PM

Hey man Like I said in the Vacation post, I got a new camera. Since I didn't have any idea of what to do I just started picking some other lessons to jab my teeth in. Mostly rhythm to also get encouraged to record with the camera and sync with the audio. From now on I want the audio and the recordings to be full quality so it gets me more encouraged and facilitates your work.

As for the lesson we were discussing,same thing applies. I can record a new video to show you how it is if you'd like Just let me know if it's the actual lesson, improv or both .

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 30 2016, 11:29 PM

Hi mate, congrats on your new camera!! That's a great investment for your guitar practice!

Great to know that you've been working on some new stuff, which lessons have you picked?

About the current lesson, it would be great if you can provide both things, the actual lesson and an improvisation. It's a beautiful lesson so I think that you'll enjoy polishing it, don't you think so?

Posted by: Rated Htr Dec 31 2016, 06:23 PM

Fine by me

Here's a full take. I corrected some minor things I found that where different from the actual licks. I still feel a bit bad that I get so nervous in front of the camera that I play things worst than I can actually do (at least that's how I feel when I'm recording) but anyways, I'll get there.

Here's the link, happy new year mate

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 1 2017, 06:11 PM

Nice! Yeah, I can note that you are not totally relaxed but it's a matter of practice. Maybe you could record your whole practice routines in order to get familiar with the situation and make it normal.

I think that the whole take is ok, but that it can sound with more feeling, groove and dynamics. I'm sure that part of this is related to the REC thing, but maybe a part not. Besides this, the last 30 seconds of the solo has some things to polish regarding pitch, bends, and timing.

Posted by: Rated Htr Jan 3 2017, 01:15 AM

Hey man,

Tried to do as you said. Decided to put the backing track on Reaper multiple times and just repeat the take after finishing one even if I made mistakes so it kinda constitutes a practice session.

I also tried to take in to consideration moving more and feeling the music more although sometimes it made me lose track of what I was suppose to do (more on this on the last take as I'm sure you'll notice )

Anyways, let me know what you think

P.S: Next time, I'll turn the face detection off

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 3 2017, 07:13 PM

I can get the groove now mate! That's the feel!! This is definitely the direction. Your takes on this video are much more enjoyable than the previous ones.

Posted by: Rated Htr Jan 4 2017, 11:03 PM

Hey Gab,

I'll reckon I'll keep doing it this way than. Just wanted to know. Do you still want me to record another take on the lesson, just an improv and or still both?

I'd like to have more specification if possible of what I should still do since I get a bit lost

Anyways, I'm still working hard at the lesson, so no harm no foul

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 6 2017, 01:06 AM

What about two last videos in 2 days and then move forward? Lesson and improvisation.

Posted by: Rated Htr Jan 6 2017, 11:18 PM

Hey Gabriel,

Here's a new take. Gonna be honest, not happy about it. For some reason, I started failing on the beginning instead of the other way around. I uploaded the take regardless because I think it's the best "ending" part I've recorded so far.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 8 2017, 05:24 PM

Hi mate, that's not bad at all! You can play most of the parts at tempo with precision, the next step is to give this more feeling adding more dynamics and making everything sound groovier, as we've already discussed previously.

However, this can only happen once you are totally familiar with the different licks so you'll need more days to polish the lesson. By the way, if you agree we can move forward and you keep this one in your diary practice. What do you think?

Posted by: Rated Htr Jan 8 2017, 08:43 PM

Hey man,

We can do as you said however, I'd be happy to try to record one more take so I can have some peace of mind

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 9 2017, 11:38 PM

Ok! One more take to go!

Posted by: Rated Htr Jan 12 2017, 02:29 PM

Hey Gab,

Here's a new take as we discussed. Let me know what you think and what's the next challenge
I changed the tone, still did two obvious picking mistakes but overall, I'm starting to get happy with the flow of it.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 13 2017, 03:51 AM

Hi mate! This is brilliant! Your playing is top level in this video. There are just a few very little timing issues (for example at 00:23) where you rush a bit, but this is very small, the overall is flawless. Also, I think that the new tone fits perfect with the backing track. I'm starting to enjoy this guitar for this style of playing. Well done!


So we've worked on:

- Land of legato
- Bending Workout
- BB King Blues
- Melodic Bluesy Phrasing
- Bendy Blues
- Ballad soloing 1
- Ballad soloing 2


here we go:

ASSIGNMENT #7:

Goals:

- Fusion Phrasing
- Dorian Phrasing


TASK 1:

- Learn this lesson: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Scofiled-Blues/


TASK 2:

- Improvise over the backing track of the lesson focusing on bending and vibrato.


Exam and deadline:

By January 22h you'll have to share 2 videos:

- A video playing the lesson(5 coins)
- A video improvising over the backing track. (5 coins)

Each of these 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".

Posted by: Rated Htr Jan 16 2017, 03:10 PM

Hey Gab,

Here's my first take. I can tell that sometimes I rush and sometimes I go slower than the groove demands. Also some licks can get polished so I know what to work on. Just wanted to give you an update of my status with the lesson

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 17 2017, 12:21 AM

Good job man! Yeah, I think that timing, polishing some fast licks and dynamics are the elements that you need to work on this lesson. However this first submit is very promising. Keep working!

Posted by: Rated Htr Jan 17 2017, 01:28 PM

Hey man, here's a new one. Usually I don't like playing this sort of thing (I like hearing though) but been having fun. It's different for me

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 18 2017, 01:26 AM

Hi Rated,

it's great to see how open minded you are. Playing this type of phrases will make your own playing richer. I don't mean that you have to take the fusion direction, but just by getting used to this stuff your mind will be expanded.

The lesson sounds good, please put more focus on groove when playing even the slower parts, those that include bends and vibrato. There is groove even on each vibrato.

This is also a good week to listen to some funk fusion music, maybe some Scofield, or Benson?

Posted by: Rated Htr Jan 24 2017, 10:26 AM

Hey Gab,

Sorry for the absence. Forgot to tell you that I went on a trip and will only be back home probably by the end of the week. In the mean time, I'm taking the chance to do as you said and listen to some funk fusion. Benson has been more my thing than Scofield although I've tried to listen to both

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 24 2017, 09:56 PM

Hi friend! Thanks for notifying! Nice to know that you are on trip and listening to cool music. Enjoy it!

Posted by: Rated Htr Jan 30 2017, 12:07 AM

Hey Gab,

Just to let you know I'm back and will have a new video tomorrow for you

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 31 2017, 02:36 AM

Welcome back friend!

Posted by: Rated Htr Feb 1 2017, 04:46 PM

Hey Gab,

Did you check out this video yet?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 2 2017, 01:11 AM

Hi mate,

well, I can see very important improvements in your playing regarding dynamics, and your timing / groove. I notice that you are now making your whole body go with the beat which is a great thing. There is more room in this direction, but you are on the right track.

I think that more groove, dynamics lessons would be great for you. I also think that this funky side can be a good exercise for you, and that this work will be then reflected on everything you play.

Posted by: Rated Htr Feb 4 2017, 01:12 PM

Hey Gab,

I'm all up for what you think is best

Here's a new take. I've been trying to use my body to get into the groove but I notice that because I'm adding an element (the head swinging or something else) I tend to lose track of the timing and I speed up some parts and slow down on others. If you have any suggestions on how I can correct that, I'd appreciate.

Here's the video.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 5 2017, 04:44 PM

Nice! At this moment, your head / body movement doesn't look natural, so I think that you need to continue practicing until you feel the groove natural. Maybe, you could practice at a slower tempo, no because you can't play the licks, but because you can't feel the groove and play the licks at this tempo. It can sound weird, but I think that it will help.

As soon as you don't have to think on your body, you'll be feeling the groove naturally and you won't be rushing the licks.

Posted by: Rated Htr Feb 5 2017, 07:14 PM

Hey Gab,

Here's a quick take of each tempo

63BPM

72BPM

81BPM

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 7 2017, 04:51 AM

Nice! I would continue practicing at these 3 tempos for some days focusing on groove and dynamics. 3 days would be ok. Deal?

Posted by: Rated Htr Feb 7 2017, 09:56 AM

Ok Gab, so what I'll do is post a video in each speed in three days, including the original.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 7 2017, 02:04 PM

Great! I love your energy and motivation mate.

Posted by: Rated Htr Feb 20 2017, 10:20 PM

Hey man, sorry about the absence. Should have a new video tomorrow for you to see

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 22 2017, 01:04 PM

Hi mate, nice to hear from you. Ok!

Posted by: Rated Htr Feb 22 2017, 07:36 PM

Hey mate, let's get back on the wagon

Here's a take. Feel more relaxed playing it and swinging a bit more to it in my opinion but I'll let you be the judge of that. Also I played around with the chorus effect and I find it more enjoyable (or funny depending on the perspective :lol) this way.

Let me know what you think

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 24 2017, 01:12 AM

Hi mate, that's very nice! I also find the chorus effect cool. It sounds more like 80's fusionists. Your playing is much more expressive on this take, and the overall groove is a lot better comparing this one with the first take you've done for this lesson.

I think that we are ready to move forward.

So we've worked on:

- Land of legato
- Bending Workout
- BB King Blues
- Melodic Bluesy Phrasing
- Bendy Blues
- Ballad soloing 1
- Ballad soloing 2
- Scofield Blues



What about working on this one?

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Stoner-for-Strat-rhythm-solo/

Posted by: Rated Htr May 15 2017, 07:09 PM

Hey Gab, long time no speak.

I want to apologize once again for the long absence without saying anything. I've been to a seminar recently from Tony Robbins where I had the opportunity to get in touch with myself a bit more and realized that I had an act to leave when I was getting demotivated. This Stoner for Strat Lesson was really hard and I'm still struggling with it but I realize now that this is the point where I have to improve and I want to do it right no matter what so I've been playing it a lot recently and decided to record a video. Still have a lot to work on but just wanted to say that you can count on me for serious this time. I want things to be spot on even if I have to record them at lower speeds and do multiple takes so I can post them for REC.

Hope that it is alright with you, I feel like mentally I'm more ready than ever to dedicate myself without giving up under hard situations



Cheers
Filipe

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 16 2017, 01:22 PM

Hi mate, I can imagine that these are really important days in your personal life. I'm happy to know that you've connected with yourself in this way.

I can say that the results can bee seen in your new video. Your playing is really good and expressive. I remember your first takes in this style of playing that were lacking a lot of dynamics and other details. Now you have a really good base!

I've checked the video many times without re checking the original lesson and I didn't note any relevant issues on this one. Are there?

Posted by: Rated Htr May 16 2017, 01:50 PM

Hey man

I'm still concern about some muting aspects that I can do better, also I feel like there are some timing issues that can be improved. I'll post this take to REC and see what the other instructors say

EDIT:

Hey again man!

I just got wonderful feedback from Kris regarding my take and I decided to follow him up on what he said. You had expressed "concerns" about my attitude while playing and so what I did this morning was change to a tone I like, even if it doesn't fit the lesson, disregard what I feel that should improve (muting and certain passages) and just go blast on!

There are some licks which my mind froze and I figure those are the ones I have to work the best but I reckon this is a great approach for me to get out of my head and just play with my heart, what do you feel?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 18 2017, 02:58 PM

Hi mate! I've first found Kris's thread so this is what I've commented there:

"This is a very interesting discussion! I've been working with Rated for some months at the mentoring program and I could see the impressive transformation of his playing. We focused on expression techniques like dynamics, vibrato, bending, tone, and groove. Just give a look at the first vids shared there and you'll see his inspiring improvements.

Regarding this new take, I think that it's exactly what Rated playing is needing to move to a new level. At first it can be a bit less precise but it's much more expressive, and with practice it will be supreme. I think that increasing the energy to a higher level to then find the balance is very effective, and that our whole body has a big impact in our playing.

I prefer the new take because it transmits me more. I always prefer passion over perfection. However I know that Rated still has room to go for both passion and perfection. Keep going mate!"

Posted by: Rated Htr May 18 2017, 06:00 PM

Hey Gab,

Thank you for the kind words It has been great to receive such feedback and I really feel like I've found what I need to work on the most. Here's a new take, trying to be a bit more balanced between the two previous takes.



I found out it helps me a lot if I close my eyes and just try to let the music and my fingers guide me.

I would also like to ask you for a suggestion for a practice model of 30 minutes. I have been practicing just the lesson and than when I record a take, I tend to not know what to do next

Let me know what you think

Filipe

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 20 2017, 05:05 PM

It's just perfect man! I love it! I listened to your take with my eyes closed and it's pure coolness.

About the practice plan. The work on this lessons gives you technique practice and vocabulary. I think that it would be a good complement to dedicate some time to improvisation concepts, as well as chords.

By improvisation work I mean to cover stuff based on the caged system: pentatonics, modes, triads, arpeggios and combine everything over chord progressions.

By chords, I think that learning some new progressions or chords every day would be a good idea. You could cover dop 2, drop 3 and other ones and apply them to different chord progressions.

So the 30 minutes workout would be:

10 minutes - Lesson work + improvisation over the backing with your own licks and variations from the lesson.
10 minutes - Practice any new improvisation element, for example major triads.
10 minutes - Apply the concept over backing tracks.

What do you think?

Posted by: Rated Htr May 20 2017, 09:07 PM

Sounds good to me man

I'm in my hometown at the moment but I'll be back to work on Monday morning with the new practice workout

Posted by: Rated Htr May 21 2017, 09:22 PM

Hey man, here's a recording of my practice session

I talk a bit on the video at some parts to know if you approve but if you don't want to see the whole video my questions are:
- On the lesson should I practice it across all tempos if I make mistakes?
- I picked on the video mixolydian arpeggios in position 1 and 4 as improv, does that apply or did you want me to learn chords?

The way I was seeing it was:
- Warm-Up with either Petrucci warm-up or GMC warm up stuff.
- Practice lesson in full speed, if mistake happens, than lower down the tempo.
- Fretboard Skills (chord or scale practice, choosing 2 positions and practicing them for 1 week for 10 minutes along the fretboard).
- Pick a backing track and make the things I picked the main element while mixing them with other stuff.

And of course, record them all since I can



Let me know what you think

Cheers
Filipe

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 22 2017, 02:39 PM

Hey mate, this is fantastic. I watched random parts of your practice video and I can say that it's so good! This approach is very effective and will have a very killer impact in your playing is you keep this for many months. I recommend you to have a notepad where you write the plan for each week, and any relevant reports about how the session was if it's necessary.

About your questions:


- On the lesson should I practice it across all tempos if I make mistakes?

Definitely! Being able to play the licks at any tempo is a very good training. Sometimes we can play thing at tempo but not at slower ones so it means that we couldn't play similar things over slower backings.


- I picked on the video mixolydian arpeggios in position 1 and 4 as improv, does that apply or did you want me to learn chords?

I would learn everything related to those 2 shapes that you choose each week: chords, triads, arpeggios, extended chords, scale sequences.

Posted by: Rated Htr May 22 2017, 04:25 PM

PRACTICE SESSION - 22ND OF MAY 2017

COMMENTS:
Decided to use my topic as my own notepad so that way you can keep track of what I'm doing and thinking about and that way it's logged

1ST PART - LESSON PRACTICE (STONER FOR STRAT)
Played once each tempo, starting from slowest to highest.
Played highest tempo one more time.

2ND PART - FRETBOARD SKILLS
Since I picked the two arppegio positions, I'm going to add Dominant 7th chords on the same position and the mixolydian mode on the same positions.

So,

2-4 minutes of Dominant 7th Chords in position 1 and position 4.
2-4 minutes of Mixolydian Arps position 1 and 4.
2-4 minutes of Mixolydian Mode position 1 and 4.

3RD PART - IMPROVISATION

Picked this track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibdMDfUP1XY

Than played over it the arps, the chords, and the mixo mode.

I'm thinking about after all of this trying to record a take of the lesson I was practicing again so I keep wanting to improve and get a better REC Score.

How does that sound?


Cheers
Filipe

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 23 2017, 02:14 PM

Hi Filipe! The report looks great! Everything is on track here, and the backing track chosen is really cool, I'll jam over it too.

Posted by: Rated Htr May 24 2017, 02:38 PM

Hey Gab, how are you?

Still going at it, decided to only post now when I have something relevant to add. The improvisations are turning out to be fun

I've been talking to Darius by private message to get help on the tone and wanted your input as well . No video this time, just recording, but once I feel it's there, I will record one for sure

https://soundcloud.com/filipe-rocha-4/stoner-for-strat-tone-2

Cheers
Filipe

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 26 2017, 01:10 AM

Hi mate, nice stuff!

I'm not at my studio so I'm checking your recording with a par of sony headphones. From what I can hear here, your tone is close to Darius take. I can get a Strat feel from this one but I can add to much more about EQ balance which seems ok here, as well as the drive and sustain that you've got.

About your playing, it's getting better and better, keep going!

Posted by: Rated Htr May 28 2017, 07:04 PM

Hey Gab, here's a new take I just posted for new REC evaluation

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi May 30 2017, 01:28 PM

Hi mate,

I can note progress on this one. There is still room to adjust pitch / vibrato but the overall is getting better and better. Your vibrato tends to start too early or to sound a bit like nervous.

The good side is that this is a groovy take, and that your tone fits great with the backing and style. Work a bit more on vibrato and dynamics and this will be a 10 take!

Posted by: Rated Htr May 30 2017, 07:07 PM

Here's a new one, following some more on Darius' suggestions

https://soundcloud.com/filipe-rocha-4/stoner-for-strat-tone-testing-2/s-vd6ym

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 1 2017, 03:45 PM

Nice! I can notice improvements regarding dynamics, and the use of vibrato! Please dedicate some more time to adjust groove/timing and this will be a flawless take.

Also, your tone is so good!!

Congratulations.

Posted by: Rated Htr Jun 9 2017, 01:38 PM

Hey man,

Just to give you an update since it has been a while. I've been mostly focused on learning about the tone and configurations and been in constant chat with Darius to get there and I've learned a lot. I count on having a video tomorrow to present as a final take in the stoner for strat lesson

Hope you're doing well, see you tomorrow

Cheers
Filipe

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 9 2017, 06:21 PM

Hi mate! Thanks for the update!

Nice to know that Darius is helping you to get the right tone for this lesson! Are you using poulin plug ins?

Posted by: Rated Htr Jun 11 2017, 02:56 PM

Hey man,

Darius says it's almost there. I sent him my chain of effects and he corrected me on some pedal position.

No, I don't use any plugins. I use an AXE-FX II directly to USB

Btw, can you give me another lesson to work on? Starting to feel a bit bored just working on this and the improv

Cheers
Filipe

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 12 2017, 12:19 AM

Great!! What about one of these?

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Hendrix-Trills/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Blues-Grooves/
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Mateus-Asato-Licks/

Posted by: Rated Htr Jun 12 2017, 07:23 PM

Hey man!

I think I'll go for the Blues Grooves, of all the lessons it was the one that scared me the most and the one I thought "damn, I can't play that!" so I figure, it's exactly the one I should go for

I'll get you updated soon enough

Cheers
Filipe

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 13 2017, 02:27 PM

haha good reason!

Posted by: Rated Htr Jun 22 2017, 10:35 AM

Hey Gab

Finally, on holidays so that means more time yay

The lesson is presenting a huge obstacle for me but it's different from what I was expecting. It's not about the speed of the licks, it's not even the occasional hybrid picking. It's the timing that's messing with my head. In lower tempos it's even worst

Still, here's a glimpse of how it's going for you to see.



Also around the 22sec mark, that lick is giving me a hard time because I either don't mute the strings like it happened on the video or I miss the timing of the pre-bend so it's something I'm gonna try to isolate to improve.

I'm trying to go around this lesson in blocks so I want to learn the 1st minute right before going to the next or do you think I should learn everything at least and than attack one block at a time?

Cheers
Filipe

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 27 2017, 04:43 AM

hehe yeah, slow tempo + blues licks + 6/8 can be a killer combination. I don't think that you are far but there is definitely more work to do in order to feel more comfortable with the timing and give more groove to these cool licks.

How to practice? It's up to you. Maybe you can try playing the whole thing over the original lesson for some minutes before playing it alone with the backing. Working on small fragments as loops always help too.

As you've posted this video some days ago (I missed it!), I think that maybe there is an update coming very soon.