Printable Version of Topic

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 20 2014, 04:56 PM

Hi Simone! Welcome to your customized thread for Gab's Army. Here I will help you to achieve your guitar and music goals and motivation.

At first, I would like to ask you some questions to have more info from you:

1. How old are you and how many time have you been playing guitar?
2. Why do you play guitar?
3. Influences? Favorite musicians.
4. What are your guitar goals? What would you like to be able to play?
5. How do you see yourself in 5 years? Playing in a band? Giving private classes? Recording albums? Just playing for fun?
6. What do you know about music theory?
7. What things motivate you to play guitar?
8. Are you able to film and post videos of you playing here?

Posted by: Simone11 Jun 20 2014, 05:16 PM

Thanks Gab, here we go:

1. I'm 19 years old and I've been playing for 1 year and a half (started playing on January 2013).
2. I play guitar because I love music and specially the sound of an overdriven/distorted guitar, and also because since I've started playing I became addicted and can't generally live not even a day without picking up my beloved guitar and play it.
3. My favourite bands are Sonata Arctica, Rhapsody of Fire, Vision Divine, Secret Sphere, Stratovarius, Labyrinth, Hammerfall, Galneryus, Iron Maiden, Dragonforce, Lacuna Coil, Luca Turilli's Rhapsody, Symphony X, Dream Theater, Korpiklaani. My top favourite musicians are Jani Liimatainen, Luca Turilli, Olaf Thorsen, Aldo Lonobile and John Petrucci, not only as guitarists but also as awesome composers. Regarding non-guitarists I love the composing style of Tony Kakko.
4. I would like to become a neoclassical shredder/power metal/progressive metal guitarist but also a composer (of the same genre).
5. In 5 years I'd like to be playing in a band, giving lessons and recording albums.
6. Very little. About up to page 36 of GMC Theory Grimoire and some little more, like the duration of notes
7. Things that motivate me to play are watching my favourite guitar players' videos and also listening to my favourite bands.
8. Yes I am able to film and post videos of me playing here.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 20 2014, 05:32 PM

Great stuff! I think that we will have a great time working together. I assume that you've already seen my 40 power metal bands in 1 song yet, haven't you? It's full of those bands that you like.

Our first step here would be to chose a lesson that you like, if possible that combines soloing and rhythm, learn it, record a video and post it here to start working on details and to summarize the things that your guitar routine should cover.

Do you have any ideas?

Posted by: Simone11 Jun 21 2014, 04:01 PM

Yeah I've seen it, it has been the video that brought me here on GMC Altough I can't play at that speed yet
I've been working these 2 days on the Neoclassical Solo for Beginners by Emir Hot (http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/neoclassical_solo_for_beginners/)

Here is my take: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkA073IgQqk

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 21 2014, 09:56 PM

Hi mate, the video is set as private.

Posted by: Simone11 Jun 21 2014, 10:01 PM

Not anymore

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 22 2014, 09:01 PM

Hi Simone, thanks for setting it as visible. I think that this lesson is a good to see the things we have to work in the next weeks to start polishing your soloing techniques. You have a good sense of tempo while you play, that's a very possitive thing. Based on the playing of this one, the first things that we should work on are:

- Vibrato
- Bending
- Alternate Picking
- Legato

I will suggest you lessons for each technique to be worked this week. The idea is that you learn the lesson, read the suggestion made by the instructors and try to emulate the way they use the technique.

Vibrato: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Bens-Vibrato-Odyssey-5/
Legato: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Bens-Land-Of-Legato/
AP: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Alternate-Picking-Workout-2/
Bending: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Beginners-Corner-21-String-Bending/

It would be great if you can dedicate 20 minutes to each technique every day during the next week, starting with a 7 minutes warming up that could include these stretches and massages, and some chord progressions.




This would mean a 90 minutes routine. Then, it would be great if you dedicate 30 minutes to musical lessons, playing songs that you like and jamming.

What do you think?

Posted by: Simone11 Jun 22 2014, 09:53 PM

Alright Gab, that's great, I'll work on these lessons this week.
I mostly use Directional Picking, can I use the Alternate Picking lesson and practise it with my picking style?
Also usually I find myself with the guitar on my hands more than 2 hours per day, should I dedicate more time per exercise, just dedicate more time to jamming or dedicate some time to music theory?
And in the last case, how should I approach theory learning?

Thanks Gab

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 23 2014, 02:16 PM

Hi Simone! Great to know that yo like the plan. If you have more time for practice, you can increase the time for each technique but not more than 40 minutes for each technique. Then, dedicate to jamming, composing or just playing along with songs you like.

Two questions:

What do you exactly call "directional picking"?
Please give me a list of things that you know clearly about theory and how you apply them to music.

Posted by: Simone11 Jun 23 2014, 03:56 PM

Directional picking, or economy picking, the one you don't stay strict to alternate's down-up-down-up motion but use a downstrike when changing to a lower string (in terms of tone) or an upstrike when changing to a higher tone string.
About theory I know that the A minor scale is formed by A-B-C-D-E-F-G notes and so does C major, i know that you can move a scale shape on a new root note to play that scale in that key, i know the notes on the fretboard altough I'm not immediate in it and have to count by open string note up to the note i need to name, i know note duration and how they are represented graphically... not much indeed

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 23 2014, 05:24 PM

Well, there are some guitarists like Frank Gambale that uses only economy picking and it works for them. If you like how it sounds and want to limit your playing to that technique, if you that's your thing, it would be ok. If you want to expand more your playing, I think that Alternate picking is one of the basic techniques for electric guitar so it would be good to master it. The sounds that you get with Economy is a bit different compared to Alternate so I find interesting to be able to achieve both "colors".


Regarding theory, let's fix the fret board knowledge and start with Intervals.

Fret board: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=48919
Intervals: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=48905&st=0#entry644329