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Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Jun 27 2015, 09:25 AM

We have discussed various possible improvements of our REC functionality in http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=54491.

As a first step, we will change the passing grade from 7,5 to 6.

Also, instructors will use the whole grading spectrum to a greater extent. This will make it easier for students to track their progress, and it should make the higher grades even more desirable.

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Instructors will look at the following aspects to grade your takes:

1. Rhythm placement: Overall ability to play in rhythm and keep a steady tempo. This aspect should take into consideration the groove factor of certain lessons such as topics involving shuffle or swing type of rhythm.

2. Cleanliness: The cleanliness factor evaluates the student's ability to play something with clarity and precision. This is indicative of the overall level of playing as well as the amount of practice of this particular lesson

3. Feel: The feel factor determines if the student shows comfort in the chosen musical piece. Several factors are included in the feel criteria such as rhythm placement, posture and overall lesson execution.

4. Posture: Posture determines if the student is holding the instrument correctly and shows comfort while playing. Good posture is a necessity for good overall technique.

5. Sound: The sound factor will grade the student's tone and ability to play a piece with a similar type of sound. This section will not give advantage to students with more expensive gear, it is more of a general way to see if you can chose an appropriate tone to the lesson you're working on.

Each of these points represent 2/10 of the total grade, and the final grade will be a sum of them. A total sum of 5.5 will be rounded off to 5.

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Finally I want to remind you that we have all been on the 'lower end' of the spectrum. So getting a lower REC grade does not mean you are a hopeless case, it simply means you arrived to the right website. We are here to help you progress! REC is a progress- and motivational tool.

Posted by: Marek Rojewski Jun 27 2015, 10:42 AM

Im curious to see how it turns out. It seems like a big change, I already wrote in the discussion topic, that I think Posture or Feel are not as important as Rhythm and Cleanliness. Also would like to point out that maybe Memorisation of the lesson is missing. I've seen quite a few takes (some of my own) that play some parts of the lesson differently, missing some notes, or playing some parts slower/faster. I think that learning all the small tricks and "tasty little things" should be taken into account. A person with a better technique can "blaze through" a lesson, and play it in a relaxed and clean way, but maybe another person can study the lesson longer, see that there are some small slides/picking technique changes, and will play the lesson in a less relaxed/clean way, but maintaining all the small things that are included in the lesson.

But overall I think this is a step in the right direction, so thumbs up! \m/

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Jun 27 2015, 12:09 PM

I think that in most cases where posture is problematic, so will rhythm and cleanliness be. So these things are closely related.

And to me feel is the most important criteria. This aspect stands for all the little things that makes all the difference - and that will turn your take from something you practice in your room to something people will actually enjoy.

Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Jun 27 2015, 12:20 PM

From my point of view 6 passing grade it's too lower and probably again will pass lesson which don't deserve. I think that a change from 7.5 to 7 for passing grade it was a much better choice to appear visible improvement in REC takes.

Also I'm agree with Marek about Memorisation. Really, if I had a penny for every lesson that I saw was passed and was played with wrong notes I will be a rich person To play correctly a lesson should be the basic rule for REC section.

About relaxation in playing. This thing it's a little subjective. First of all If I can chose a very hard lesson and play hard passages very relaxed I will not be just a student. The second thing is that some players even if looks very concentrate they feel a relax in playing. Serious, Eric Johnson is one of the players which IMHO don't show at all relaxing in playing. From this point of view he will not pass our lessons from REC?

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Jun 27 2015, 12:44 PM

Please remember that while lowering the passing grade, we are also now stricter with the grading. So the biggest difference probably lies in getting the highest grades - which should now be harder than ever. So Monica, do you accept the challenge?



Well I don't think it's that bad in Eric's case, though I can see what you are referring to. However the REC grading guidelines are not aimed towards grading the guitar elite, and for people starting out - bad posture is a very common and limiting problem.

If you don't have that problem - good for you because you'll have 2 points guaranteed for every REC you submit.

Posted by: Darius Wave Jun 27 2015, 01:04 PM

Some aspects will be approved by some of You while other won't. It's natural due to our different expectations and different personality. One would like to get a hard kick in the a$$ while other feels more motivated getting some good words on his work. According to some of our conversations it has a lot to do with the way we've been judged at school. Different places in the world have differnt grading scale and different passing rate. Most of people I know had something like above 50% means passing the exam. That's why I feel grading at 6 in scale to 10 is a good proposition. We have to get some headroom to judge those takes which were made extremely well. That's why would those 7-10 grades be for.

Relax while playing is totaly different story. Hard to tell. Even John Petrucci l;ooks tensed and uses whoile of his arm at some fast picking licks. Doesn't look relaxed though. But at some point it is possible to judge which parts are available to achive proper relax state and which are not. It's all subjective - remember. That's why there are at least 3 grades from 3 different people needed to judge the take. We need to get the average of ferw grades.

Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Jun 27 2015, 01:12 PM

OF COURSE... when you say challenge I'm in My instructor trained me for this kind of harsh "fight"

I already work very hard at a lesson for REC section. It's almost done, just few things to be polished. I'm not hurry with it because I still want highest grades and who knows maybe I will be lucky

Posted by: Daeron Jun 27 2015, 02:08 PM

Great ! I can't wait to have a new lesson ready to be posted in the REC section !

Thank you for all !

Posted by: MisterM Jun 27 2015, 05:46 PM

Hi Kristopher,

Cool, eager to see the grade of my next take.

Posted by: Mudbone Jun 28 2015, 01:32 AM

I think 6 is too low. That means instructors will have to be willing to give out 1s and 2s.

I think the overall musicality of the lesson should play a big factor. I've seen some takes on lessons that weren't executed very accurately, but the overall feel and musicality of it was pretty good. If it was playing in the background I wouldn't have noticed something was amiss

Posted by: Marek Rojewski Jun 28 2015, 06:51 PM

Oh, I have question concerning REC:

Is it still "prohibited" to upload REC takes of "original" material, like Miracle Man solo? The lessons that have no tabs, just video.

Posted by: Caelumamittendum Jun 29 2015, 04:30 PM

Nice changes, looking forward to seeing them in use

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jun 29 2015, 09:58 PM

You can shoot famous song lessons for the REC section as long as you provide the backing track (due to licensing reasons).

Posted by: Fran Jul 2 2015, 11:49 AM

Glad to see REC rolling again

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Jul 7 2015, 08:28 AM

Exactly. So in other words - we cannot allow you to download the backing track for cover lessons.

However a work around is just to have the backing track play in the background and record your take over it.

It might sound strange but those are the rules, the license we have don't allow downloading of cover songs.

Posted by: Caelumamittendum Jul 7 2015, 02:15 PM

Peculiar rules!

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Jul 7 2015, 08:57 PM

Well actually it's not that strange licensing is different for downloads (downloads enable keeping the files infinitely and sharing them).

It gets strange when applied to the GMC concept though, unfortunately those licensing rules were not designed with us in mind.

Posted by: Phil66 Jul 8 2015, 07:59 PM

I actually don't think the new system is far off the ball. I think 6 is the new 7.5 What I mean is, I think it will be as hard to get a 6 as it was a 7.5 because the instructors are now using a lower (1) starting point. This also gives more scope in the upper scores. If you're not happy passing on a six, you don't have to stop there, you can always try again for a 7, 8, 9, or 10

Posted by: tflava Oct 20 2015, 03:37 PM

Hello Guys,

I think the program like this is better.
I think there are a lot of ways to learn. Some people learn from taking a song and master it complete. The perfectionists.

Other people learn by taking songs and play a lot. The play it good but dont master it completely.
I think for the second group its better that the passing grade is lower so they keep motivated to pratice new stuff and dont get bored of 1 song and stop practicing.

I say this because i consider myself as the second group of people.

I learn to play a lot of different things and keep motivated of learning new things. Then after a couple months if i play the same thing again i see that i improved my playing.
So i dont master the songs completely but still learning.
If i have to work months on a song my motivation is gone.

I think everyone has an own learning style but i'm happy with this change.

Greetz Tim

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Oct 21 2015, 11:28 AM

Agreed, hopefully this change was optimal for everybody!

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Nov 8 2016, 09:52 AM

I am bouncing this topic as a reminder for instructors to remain realistic with their grades.

I know it is very tempting to reward a student who has been working hard with a higher grade. However we should encourage with words, and try to grade as consistently as possible. Here are some recent examples where I think the grades are a bit high considering the mistakes that have been pointed out:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=57391

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=57404

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=57320

I try to visualise a perfect take which would warrant a 10. In my world that means 8 or 9 should be damn good as well - otherwise we set the bar too low, which means students 'graduating' from GMC won't be as good as they could have been.

Posted by: Phil66 Nov 8 2016, 10:13 AM

I clicked through that list with trepidation expecting to see my Gary Clarke Jnr take in there, now I'm sitting thinking you've missed it

Thanks for keeping an eye on things Kris, it's good to know that you want to keep everything as consistent as possible. It's not easy with subjectivity.

Cheers

Phil

Posted by: Rated Htr Nov 8 2016, 12:12 PM

I really believe Kris has a point. I believe a 10 should be a perfect take. I know it's important amongst guitarists and any other area for that matter not to get discourage over harsh feedback however, I believe the instructors do a fantastic job to use words that reveal an empowering statement and a support position from their side. A grade is just an evaluation of the current state of practice. If one doesn't pass, it's because there is work to do and we'll have all the pointers on the feedback so it becomes just a matter of time.

Posted by: Darius Wave Nov 8 2016, 01:35 PM

Thanx for the feedback. We'll increase our attention

Posted by: Todd Simpson Nov 11 2016, 07:53 PM

Now that I think about it, I've never given out a 10. Not one as far as I'm aware. I"ve seen some really good 9 takes! But I've yet to give out a perfect 10. 10 is almost there for reference. As if to say, perfection is possible. I"m not sure I'd give myself a 10 on a Rec take