Bleez's Mentoring Thread Options

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey mate!

I can see progress indeed! Congratulations and stick to doing what you are doing, because it looks like it is taking you on a good road

Now, in order to improve things, I'd focus on one thing - the left hand. You have solved the large movements of the right hand, but your left hand fingers are still moving around a bit too much.

Please focus on practicing these patterns at a slow tempo and stick to keeping your left hand fingers as close to the neck as possible and then, while gradually raising speed, try to keep them close to the neck as well.

In that way, you will form a good habit - it'll take some time tho, so please be patient with yourself, deal?

Let me know how it goes and why not, make a video with these patterns and the left hand drill - see how far you can get with the speed, while keeping the fingers close to the fretboard

hey duder
Im still working away hard at various things, been learning a couple of songs and solos of late as well as trying to write some more interesting proggy riffs anyway, I thought Id post up this recording of my alt picking progress because when I watched it back I kinda surprised myself. Even 6 months ago I was miles from playing these patters at this tempo.
Its not musical at all, just 2 patterns, one starts on a downstroke and the other pattern starts with an up, both patterns use 2 strings so you have that jump to the higher string to deal with. I play it slow first and then at my top speed, there was a gradual build up in-between but I didnt record that!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[bleez]

thanks dude
When Im playing those patterns I start of at 130 bpm, probably takes about 25 minutes of slowly increasing the speed before I get to the tempo in the vid which was 170. I just like to finish the session off by pushing the tempo as much as I can for a quick blast.
Its a real battle to try and reduce the amount of movement from my fingers. I can even see it as Im playing and Im like 'dude, what the hell.... just stop it!' especially my pinkie, that just seems to be independent of all brain function!
you would think it would be a natural thing for your fingers to move less as you increased speed..... mine seem to want to do the opposite

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Cosmin Lupu]

That's exactly why I want you to focus on this idea mate

So - let's do it like this:

- a warm up
- 50% speed
- 75% speed
- 100% speed
- outbound speed

Please record a movie having the same pattern taken through all these stages and then, let's look at what's happening with your fingers - deal?

thanks dude
When Im playing those patterns I start of at 130 bpm, probably takes about 25 minutes of slowly increasing the speed before I get to the tempo in the vid which was 170. I just like to finish the session off by pushing the tempo as much as I can for a quick blast.
Its a real battle to try and reduce the amount of movement from my fingers. I can even see it as Im playing and Im like 'dude, what the hell.... just stop it!' especially my pinkie, that just seems to be independent of all brain function!
you would think it would be a natural thing for your fingers to move less as you increased speed..... mine seem to want to do the opposite

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[bleez]

That's exactly why I want you to focus on this idea mate

So - let's do it like this:

- a warm up
- 50% speed
- 75% speed
- 100% speed
- outbound speed

Please record a movie having the same pattern taken through all these stages and then, let's look at what's happening with your fingers - deal?

no probs

what is 'outbound speed'?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hehe, maybe it's not the right expression I was referring to the speed which you get to immediately after passing your maximum speed at which you can play relaxed - if you can play at 130 BPM 16th notes while being relaxed, when you get to 135 BPM and you can still play - that's the speed at which you find yourself when you go over your personal threshold - am I making any sense?

Let me know how it feels and let's see a vid featuring all of these

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[bleez]

okay duder, I recorded stuff from this mornings session. In hindsight I could have played less of the patterns as the vid turned out to be 5 minutes worth, sorry. Im sure you will be able to skip through the patterns though.
I included another pattern I usually play which goes over all the strings, its a short one and I cant play it at the same tempo as the other two but I think its quite a good one for me to practice.

Ive played each pattern at 50%, 75%, 100% and then a bit faster. I never play them 50%, it was really difficult!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey matey,

It's a good thing I had a lot of space and time in the movie to analyze things

You need to play more at 50% and start focusing on moving less from that point forward. Please take some time to watch the vid and see the largeness of the left hand movement at each and every speed.

The thing is, you need to pay attention on moving lesser and lesser from the neck - I think this will be a drill that will definitely improve your speed in everything you do in respect to playing.

So, if you are to ask me, at this point, this should be the main focus in order to elevate your technique - the patterns sounded good, but it's clear that you are struggling and we don't want that? Do you feel tension when you get close to higher speeds, or is it just me?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[bleez]

Hey matey,

It's a good thing I had a lot of space and time in the movie to analyze things

I play those patterns for about 40 minutes every day, it felt like I only recorded about 2 mins worth at the time

My thoughts on the subject....
firstly I really do notice how much my left hand exaggerates movements and I do get more tense as I try to play faster, although I try to relax when I feel it coming on but it is quite difficult.
my most comfortable speed on those patterns is definitely around 75%, that's when Im most relaxed and I feel like I can affect the movement of my left hand. When Im at 100% Im just basically along for the ride and just trying to stay in time.
I hate playing at 50% it feels horrible!

I think my issues are a combination of hand synch and the exaggerated movement. I need to reduce the movement for sure but my hands are only synchronised up to a point either way.
So I need to play slower to try and reduce movement but I think I also have to spend time pushing for faster tempos to improve hand sync, as long as Im in time.
that's the theory Ive been working on anyway

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey Scott!

Your theory is very correct, so revising:

- playing very slow and being able to observe your body's reactions and working on fixing what you need to fix: hand synch combined with as little movement as possible. You can only do this at very low speeds because otherwise you have no control over the thing and you can't notice yourself.

- raising the tempo up to superior speeds, while being AWARE of your body and focusing on keeping the same relaxation and control over the aspects above at a high speed.

Working on the patterns CORRECTLY will get you where you want to arrive at, but working on them without noticing the things above, will only keep you where you are That's my theory and I will be arriving in Scotland for the first time, on September 22nd

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[bleez]

thanks dude, I'll keep on working at reducing the movement.

man, that's not long at all before you'll be in Scotland, I hope it lives up to your expectations I still find it a bit surreal that you're going to be over here! Let me know if you will have some time on this trip to hang out, Im sure you'll have a million things to do though.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey mate Please do keep working on it and focus on the things above - keep them close in your mind and don't stray if you wish to achieve good results quicker

I have no expectations It's INCREDIBLY hard, but I'm trying not to - come whatever may and I will be there to meet it. There will be plenty of time to meet up there, so it is not that surreal

thanks dude, I'll keep on working at reducing the movement.

man, that's not long at all before you'll be in Scotland, I hope it lives up to your expectations I still find it a bit surreal that you're going to be over here! Let me know if you will have some time on this trip to hang out, Im sure you'll have a million things to do though.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[bleez]

yo Cosmin, Ive been playing around with some riffs and wondered if you'd take a quick listen. I was trying to get a little bit of a proggy vibe and this would either be just the intro or maybe the intro + verse (beginning at 0.57).
Id be curious to hear your thoughts on it so far. also, Im not too sure where to go next, any suggestions? even if the suggestion is 'play something much better!'

https://soundcloud.com/bleez666/proggish

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[bleez]

yo Cosmin, Ive been playing around with some riffs and wondered if you'd take a quick listen. I was trying to get a little bit of a proggy vibe and this would either be just the intro or maybe the intro + verse (beginning at 0.57).
Id be curious to hear your thoughts on it so far. also, Im not too sure where to go next, any suggestions? even if the suggestion is 'play something much better!'

https://soundcloud.com/bleez666/proggish

as it happens I had a bit of an idea and added a bit to the end

https://soundcloud.com/bleez666/proggish2

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey Scott! This is a very good start and I think you captured a nice direction here - the verse part takes my mind to Mostodon - which is good!

Anyway, as a first impression, I would shorten every part up so that things won't become repetitive and then I would think of a structure - since you haven't experimented that much with writing yet, I'd go for a classic A B A B C B structure. A = verse, B = chorus, C = middle/solo.

Now, for the details:

- up to 0:22 things are ok, but I'd make the final drumbreak a bit more explosive - see some of Danny Carrey from Tool's work - he has the sort of stuff you need here

- I'd shorten up the part from 0:22 - 0:57 and make a prechorus out of it

So, changing the order a bit, I'd go from Intro into the part beginning at 0:57 and then into the part beginning at 0:22 which should continue into a chorus The last part - I think you can place that one on the side for the time being, as you need a chorus right now - at least that's what I think!

Keep me updated about this and as inspiration, I'd totally go for some Mastodon or Tool stuff in order to get the creative juices flowing.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[bleez]

dude, firstly... the Mastodon reference is awesome, that made me smile. That is totally the vibe I was trying to get Ive recently picked up on these guys, never been a fan before but I got their latest album 'once more round the sun' and it blew me away. Ive listening to that album every day for the last month!

Thanks for breaking the song down and giving it a listen. The section you propose as a pre-chorus, I would never have thought about trying that. Its a cool idea, I can totally hear it in my head now that you've mentioned it.
I'll rearrange it with your suggestions, try to add in a chorus and see how it goes Thanks dude, Im really fired up to work some more on this now.

I usually play around with riffs which I record then file away. I have a bunch of half finished 'almost something' songs. The last thing I completed was a straight up stoner rock song, really fuzzy I dont know if its your sort of thing but if you are bored and have a few minutes, have a wee listen - I thought I done okay with the lead guitar. When I get better I can probably go back and play something else but as a current snapshot, I thought it wasn't too bad.
https://soundcloud.com/bleez666/stoner2

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

This post has been edited by bleez: Sep 7 2014, 11:21 AM

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey Scott!

Glad to hear I nailed it with my thoughts and the fact that the song took my mind to Mastodon I am looking forward to hearing the next evolutionary step in your composition and about the stoner tune - man, you nailed this one really nicely! I mean, it's clear that you like this style a lot, because you have the right sound and approach - I like it a lot! It's indeed, not my actual favorite style But I have a few friends practicing it - they have a band called Roadkillsoda and they are pretty much our only known stoner band.

I've been to their guitarist's wedding last Saturday and he had a huge pool party to celebrate, while inviting a greek stoner band to perform Hah! That's all I can say

If I'd change something, but then again, that's my opinion - I'd shorten things up with the beginning riff - the one lasting till 01:22 Because of the fact that there are no vocals recorded, to me it seems that some of the parts are spanning over a time interval which is too long.. The leads are the thing - I wouldn't change those at all, as they fit the scenery just fine Is it meant to be instrumental or will you have someone record vocals?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[bleez]

Roadkillsoda! I know those guys well.... Ive heard them. theres a youtube channel I subscribe to who post up a lot of doom / stoner bands. I remember a track of theirs that was posted. They are really good. I saw a pic of the guitarist and he had a shaved head, big ass beard and a les paul..... so I immediately knew the guitars would be cool I'll need to check out more of their stuff.
Sounds like a cool wedding though, the only greek stoner bands I know are 'planet of zeus' and 'nightstalker' it wasn't either of those was it?

As for my stoner song attempt, I actually do envisage vocals in it. That might be why some of the sections sound too long because when I hear it Im imagining the vocal. So if the verse is maybe 6 times around the riff, Im hearing 2 without vocal and 4 with vocal.
Thanks for listening to it dude, I appreciate hearing your opinion.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hah! Guess what, last evening when I was returning from the fencing training, I went by in front of the bar in which he is working and he spotted me, so we stopped to chit chat a bit and I told him about you He was very, very happy to hear that someone from Scotland knows about his and his mates' music! Planet of Zeus came here 2 weeks ago and Roadkillsoda opened the gig But, yeah it was neither of the two bands you mentioned, it was a banf called Tuber:



Anyway, I think that this stoner/Mastodon inspired music you are doing is definitely a direction that suits you stylistically, so keep pushing man! Also, keep me updated when you write more music - I enjoyed listening to it

Roadkillsoda! I know those guys well.... Ive heard them. theres a youtube channel I subscribe to who post up a lot of doom / stoner bands. I remember a track of theirs that was posted. They are really good. I saw a pic of the guitarist and he had a shaved head, big ass beard and a les paul..... so I immediately knew the guitars would be cool I'll need to check out more of their stuff.
Sounds like a cool wedding though, the only greek stoner bands I know are 'planet of zeus' and 'nightstalker' it wasn't either of those was it?

As for my stoner song attempt, I actually do envisage vocals in it. That might be why some of the sections sound too long because when I hear it Im imagining the vocal. So if the verse is maybe 6 times around the riff, Im hearing 2 without vocal and 4 with vocal.
Thanks for listening to it dude, I appreciate hearing your opinion.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[bleez]

Hah! Guess what, last evening when I was returning from the fencing training, I went by in front of the bar in which he is working and he spotted me, so we stopped to chit chat a bit and I told him about you He was very, very happy to hear that someone from Scotland knows about his and his mates' music!

LOL! that's really surreal and kinda cool!
Ive been playing them on youtube, they have a couple of cool videos. I'll need to download their album from bandcamp.
Ive not heard Tuber before, that's a great bass sound they have on that track. They really should get some vocals.

Anyway, I think that this stoner/Mastodon inspired music you are doing is definitely a direction that suits you stylistically, so keep pushing man! Also, keep me updated when you write more music - I enjoyed listening to it

Thank ye kindly sir

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Cosmin Lupu]

Tuber is purely instrumental and they have very long songs - I mean, I kinda got bored at some point because there was this same riff going over and over again - but that's their things, so, who am I to judge?

Anyway, I am looking forward to see more recordings from you and by the way, what are you currently working on aside the songs?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!