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Posted by: Todd Simpson Jun 1 2019, 08:47 AM

Welcome to SHRED BOOTCAMP! I'll be your Drill Instructor! And I do mean DRILL! As in a large power tool used in slasher films and Paul Gilbert concerts. Here is were you EARN THE LIVING DEATH out of your fingers and break through any speed bumps/barriers to become a MASTER CHIEF of Shred!
QUICK TIPS TO PREPARE YOU FOR BATTLE
*Make sure you get both hands in the shot when shooting your video*Make sure you use a metronome for the first several Missions and that the metronome can be heard.*After you complete a mission, shoot me a PM and let me know it's ready and I'll give you a debrief! These are pass / fail, so if you pass you BADGE UP and if not, I'll give you some feedback and you head in to the breach once again.
*The first several missions are VERY simple. They are just to get you used to the bootcamp process.
*Most importantly, there is NEVER a speed requirement in bootcamp. I want you to push yourself to play as brisk as you can, but NEVER at the expense of precision. If you find you are missing a note here and there, slow down a bit. Speed is just a byproduct of precision so my goal is to make you a very precise player. At that point, speed just happens.

Posted by: Ybritt Jun 5 2019, 11:58 AM

Sarge Todd,

I do my practice on a nearly basis and trying to listen to my own sound recordings which is very rewarding.
I spot mistakes that I don't notice while playing. Hope to deliver some vids the coming weekend.

Over and out

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Jun 1 2019, 07:47 AM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jun 5 2019, 10:02 PM

Make a playlist on youtube for your MISSION videos. It will allow you to see your progress over time!! I recently had a student do 100 days in a row of mIssions and he broke the standing record and is now our TOP DAWG at level 102. You don't have to do one every day, just spend time with your guitar ever day. That's critical I look forward to your videos!!!
Sarge

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Jun 5 2019, 06:58 AM)

Posted by: Ybritt Jun 8 2019, 11:23 PM

Finally! It’s here. My first video on GMC.

Mission 1 so far. There are some few mistakes every now and then but anyway, here it is:

https://youtu.be/U07OVyfacNY

Looking forward to your unfiltered feedback.

Ybritt

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Jun 5 2019, 09:02 PM)

Make a playlist on youtube for your MISSION videos. It will allow you to see your progress over time!! I recently had a student do 100 days in a row of mIssions and he broke the standing record and is now our TOP DAWG at level 102. You don't have to do one every day, just spend time with your guitar ever day. That's critical I look forward to your videos!!!
Sarge

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jun 9 2019, 01:41 AM

First off SUPER CONGRATS on Your first FIGHT!!!!!! It sometimes takes a few rounds in the ring to smooth things out. Let's take the GOOD NEWS first!!
1.)I can see both hands in the shot!!2.)I can Hear your guitar and your click3.)Well lit4.)Nice Ibby!!!!

Now for the bits that need another run up the pole.

1.)Drift. Your synchronization is drifting a bit over time. It starts off locked to the click, but it starts to drift not long after. Maybe slow down a pinch and focus on making a pick strike each time you hear a click. Adjust the speed of the click track so that you are striking at each click, that way you know if you are on or off beat.
2.)Overpressure picking. Maybe using a pinch too much strike pressure on your pick hand This too can create synch issues. Try to use just barely enough force for the string to make a noise. You may have your amp a bit quite. Strike lighter and turn up just a pinch


3.)Embed VS cut paste. It's great that you have shot and uploaded to youtube! All that remains is to use the "EMBED" function. It's quite simple Click on INSERT SPECIAL ITEM iin the drop down menu. Then click INSER YOUTUBE and follow the instructions. That way the clip is actually embedded in the post, instead of being just a link. Small issue of protocol easily fixed.


In short, you are off to a good start here Soldier. A few tweaks and you are back to the FRONT!!!! Once more in to the breach!!!!!
Sarge

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Jun 8 2019, 06:23 PM)

Posted by: Ybritt Jun 11 2019, 12:15 PM

Thanks for the feedback Sarge!

I tried the one-strike-per-click approach and it felt more under control (turned the metronome up to 220 bpm). I'll continue to practice that and then I will sedn you a new video - embedded this time.

Ybritt

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Jun 9 2019, 12:41 AM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jun 12 2019, 06:40 AM

Cool! Glad the click/strike is working I used that method myself when working on my hand synch. Being able to latch on to the click can really help. PLaying in between clicks is sometimes more confusing than helpful. Look forward to your vid!
Sarge

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Jun 11 2019, 07:15 AM)

Thanks for the feedback Sarge!

I tried the one-strike-per-click approach and it felt more under control (turned the metronome up to 220 bpm). I'll continue to practice that and then I will sedn you a new video - embedded this time.

Ybritt

Posted by: Ybritt Jun 15 2019, 12:47 PM

Hey Todd!

I got some new videos for you. I managed to squeeze in some recording between the family activities this weekend.
Ready for your merciless verdict.

Ybritt

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Jun 12 2019, 05:40 AM)

Cool! Glad the click/strike is working I used that method myself when working on my hand synch. Being able to latch on to the click can really help. PLaying in between clicks is sometimes more confusing than helpful. Look forward to your vid!
Sarge

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jun 15 2019, 11:51 PM

Well Fought Soldier! This is what I was looking for. Nice Ibby BTW! How long have you had her? Where did you get her?

MEDALS OF HONOR

*MUTE: Palm Mute is crucial to your growth as a player. You have a solid mute here and are using your thumb and finger to partially articulate the pick which is great. The only issue is that your palm is resting near the low E. Try to see if you can center it on the bridge and just tilt your hand to reach all the strings. This takes time and practice. Also, try to see if you can play missions with your guitar in classical position (guitar on the left leg instead of the right) this will help a ton in missions to come. Some people just can't play this way, but it's worth a try.

*SYNCH: The point of this Mission is to test your hand synch and let me know if there are issues wit it. The Good News is that I don't see any issues. You have very tight right/left hand synch!

*PACE: Another aspect of this mission is pace. I want to see if you can play without rushing or lagging. Nice and smooth, score!

Congrats on your first Mission in the books Soldier!!!
In short, you just.......

LEVELED UP!!!!

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Jun 15 2019, 07:47 AM)

Posted by: Ybritt Jun 20 2019, 04:43 PM

Thanks Sarge! I am happy to hear that!

So how does it work now? I continue to work on Mission #1 while I take on the next mission (#2), or do I leave this one behing (take no prisoner) and advance?

I tried to put the guitar on my left knee and it sure felt strange but offered a quite good and relaxed way of playing. My left thigh "fell asleep" though. But I'll try it some more.

Yes! My Ibby. I bought her from a Dutch student in September 2017 for about $400. It's a Prestige and I like her.

Ybritt

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Jun 15 2019, 10:51 PM)

Well Fought Soldier! This is what I was looking for. Nice Ibby BTW! How long have you had her? Where did you get her?

MEDALS OF HONOR

*MUTE: Palm Mute is crucial to your growth as a player. You have a solid mute here and are using your thumb and finger to partially articulate the pick which is great. The only issue is that your palm is resting near the low E. Try to see if you can center it on the bridge and just tilt your hand to reach all the strings. This takes time and practice. Also, try to see if you can play missions with your guitar in classical position (guitar on the left leg instead of the right) this will help a ton in missions to come. Some people just can't play this way, but it's worth a try.

*SYNCH: The point of this Mission is to test your hand synch and let me know if there are issues wit it. The Good News is that I don't see any issues. You have very tight right/left hand synch!

*PACE: Another aspect of this mission is pace. I want to see if you can play without rushing or lagging. Nice and smooth, score!

Congrats on your first Mission in the books Soldier!!!
In short, you just.......

LEVELED UP!!!!

Sarge

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jun 21 2019, 03:04 AM

You can add these Missions to your warm up routine, but once you get it badged up, it's time to move on and attack the next one. So Forward Soldier!!!
Keep trying to play in classical position if possible. It will release a lot of tension on your hands and allow you to have better reach and play with more presicion/speed. Also prop you left foot up on stomething. A stack of books, anything. Just get it about 6 to 12 inches off the ground. This will create the correct angle for the guitar neck and make playing things a bit easier.

Give it a shot!
Sarge

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Jun 20 2019, 11:43 AM)

Posted by: Ybritt Jun 25 2019, 02:03 PM

Sarge! Here is my first vidéo for M2.
I am planning to crank it up a little bit but first I want your assessment.

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Jun 21 2019, 02:04 AM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jun 26 2019, 10:25 PM

Well Fought Soldier! You may be using just a bit to much pick pressure on your pick hand, so focus on only using as much pressure as it takes to get the string to make a noise. Also, if you are not already, try to use a 1.0 mm thick pick with a sharp beveled point. Wads of vendors make sharp thick picks these days. Try a few to see what you like. I used to have to carve my own in to a point with a knife back in the day. Focus on only striking with the very tip of the pick. Don't let the pick go to deep toward the body of the guitar. Just strike with the very point of the pick. This will help you as your speed increases. Let's Debrief! There are certain things I look for in each Mission and you got all of them.
MEDALS OF HONOR
*FORM: You are displaying solid technique here Soldier. keep it up! Muting, hand synch, clean strikes. Nice!
*TEMPO: Not rushing or lagging, Spiff!
*AGGRESSION: Jumping in with aggressive style!!

Best of all I can see both hands in the video and I can hear the click. You've got the production technique sorted. On to Mission 3! You can keep using each mission as a warm up and keep working up the speed, but don't let that stop you from heading to the next mission. Each one will help you on your way to where you want to be so don't get stuck on any particular one.
You just.....
LEVELED UP!!!!

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Jun 25 2019, 09:03 AM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 10 2019, 03:06 AM

Have not seen you in the trenches Soldier! Hope you didn't not get taken by the Enemy!
Sarge

Posted by: Ybritt Jul 14 2019, 09:28 PM

Thanks for checking on me Sarge! I had to lay low and in order to not blow the cover I had to act as a family man and husband as it is summer vacation time here in Sweden. But I made it back alive and here are two new videos to report back.

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Jul 10 2019, 02:06 AM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 15 2019, 01:36 AM

Welcome Back to the Fight Soldier!! Good to see you mowing them down on the field of BATTLE! Being a Family Man is Noble tour of Duty to be sure. It's a tough balancing act sometimes I'm sure. Your playing here is top notch. You clearly have not lost a step due to your time away from the front!!! Let's Debrief!
MEDALS OF HONOR

*PICKING TECHNIQUE: The first thing I'm looking for here is solid picking technique. I like to see a firmly planted right hand that moves at the fingers and the wrist, not at the elbow. You have very good form here. Your technique is spot on. It will serve you well in complex bits to come!

*MUTING: Second thing I want to see is your palm mute. If your mute is too light, you get string noise, if it's to heavy you flatten out the strings. Your mute is just right. NOICE!!!

*SYNCH: The last thing I'm looking for is hand synch. There is no gap in this lesson and really few gaps at all in Missions to come. So being able to play with tight synch is crucial. Your synch is like a weapon of war glued to a stop watch!! On the mark and deadly.
Well Fought Soldier!! you just..


LEVELED UP!!!!

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Jul 14 2019, 04:28 PM)

Posted by: Ybritt Aug 31 2019, 10:02 AM

Hey Sarge!

You probably thought I was gone MIA by now, but hell no. I have been out there all the time and I’m now reporting back on Mission #4.



Ready for your assessment.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Aug 31 2019, 04:41 PM

Welcome Back to the Fight Soldier!! I can see you've earned some speed!!!!!

Let's Debrief
HALF YOUR SQUAD GOT KILLED

SYNCH: Your hand synch is perfect. It's the synch with the metronome that has me holding back on your badge. I hear you playing around the beat instead of with it. if the metronome were not on, it would barely even be noticeable. But, I can hear clearly with the click track. Maybe slow the pace just a pinch, just for the Mission vid. Also, for some of these, using only one type of click, not click/click/click/clack, just click click click click on the metronome works better since you can synch eash pick strike to a click sound. Let me know if this makes sense. I appreciate you playing near the edge of your ability, for mission vids, it's better to play just under the edge of ones ability as the bar is always set high.

DRIFT: Your timing is drifting just a bit. I realize this lick is NOT an easy 4/4 thing to play. So doing it over a 4/4 click/click/click/clack is going to be hard. Thus my sugestion about using one type of click and matching it to each pick strike to ensure you stay on target and in synch with the bpm.

I hate to send you back to the battlefield on your first Mission back!! It'll be worth it though Soldier. This is a KEY part of moving forward. It only gets harder from here!! You can dot it!!

Sarge

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Aug 31 2019, 05:02 AM)

Posted by: Ybritt Sep 6 2019, 04:04 PM

As promised, new reports from the field

Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 6 2019, 08:40 PM

This is what I"m talking about Soldier!! Well done on the Metronome!! You set it to clicks only and have one click per pick strike. It's a great way to work through bits that seem a bit tricky. I use this same technique myself all the time. Let's Debrief!!!!
MEDALS OF HONOR

*PALM MUTE STEADY ON: Non stop string traverse makes these licks prone to non stop string noise. So the first thing I'm looking for is a good mute to keep the noise at bay. SCORE!!!!

*PICKING STEADY ON: Next thing I'm looking for here is smooth and consistent picking. If you let it rush or lag based on which part is easier or harder, the bits fall apart. The good news is you played with control and precision and didn't rush or lag at all. NICE!!!

*ENDURANCE: Perhaps the most important thing I"m looking for in this Mission is sheer ENDURANCE. This is why these licks are built this way. To force your hand to play note after note, over and over to see if your hands burns out. Keeping from tensing up is key. If you tense up, the hand / arm will just give out. Not so here! You don't tense up, you use just enough pressure and keep it going. NICE!!!

*You are still in the "FOUNDATIONAL" Missions and you are doing well in them. You are more than ready for the CRAZY Missions to come!!!


In other words you just.... LEVELED UP!!!!

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Sep 6 2019, 11:04 AM)

Posted by: Ybritt Sep 18 2019, 12:22 PM

Hi Sarge!

Ready for the first debrief on M#5.
To give myself some feedback when listening to the take I can maybe be a little softer on the string picking, I don’t know what you think? I try to work on this but sometimes I forget myself.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 18 2019, 08:29 PM

Soldier you got this lick down, I notice that on the first lead in it takes a moment for you to lock step to the metronome, but that's ok. The point is you can play this and play it well. It's a "Stepping Stone" lick. It leads to many other licks that will follow which incorporate "PEDAL POINT" (Neo Classical) technique, as well as muted alternate picking which is the key to getting a "shreddy" sound. let's Debrief!!

MEDALS OF HONOR

*ALTERNATE PICKING: Alternate picking is a tricky thing and you do a fine job of keeping it nice and TOIGHT!!!

*PACE:It's tempting to rush or lag these bits based on which sections feel easier or harder. You play very evenly which is what I like to see.

*ARTICULATION: You are not picking from the elbow which is great. It's easy to stiffen the entire arm and elbow pick which is a bad habbit and hard to break. You are articulating the pick very well. I would suggest trying to reduce the overall range of pick motion just to keep things as minimal as possible which reduces the amount of time required to make the next pick strike.
You ticked every box I was looking for on this one. you just......

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Sep 18 2019, 07:22 AM)

Posted by: Ybritt Sep 18 2019, 09:17 PM

Sarge! Thanks for the feedback - and for believing in my playing. It means a lot. Especially when I, every now and then, feel that progress I weak and that I’m not able to practice as much as I want to.

Even though I levelled up, I noticed that what I thought was mission #5 actually is mission #6, and that I skipped the real #5! Not good! I will go back and complete my duty Sarge, rest assure!

Ybritt

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Sep 18 2019, 07:29 PM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 18 2019, 09:39 PM

Yup! I just noticed it as well. Just do the other one for next time Your playing is getting more confident with each vid. Keep going!!

Sarge

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Sep 18 2019, 04:17 PM)

Posted by: Ybritt Oct 22 2019, 09:10 PM

Finally, here are the videos of the real number 5. Long time since last time but I have been practicing. Let me know your thoughts, Sarge.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 23 2019, 04:39 AM

Well Fought Soldier! I can tell you are pushing the edge of where you can still catch the metronome but you are keeping pace! Let's Debrief!
MEDALS OF HONOR

*TRAVERSE: String Traverse is a tricky thing. It's easy to stumble on it. You play it clean and confident. Well done!!
*PACE:It's tempting to rush or lag these bits based on which sections feel easier or harder. You play very evenly which is what I like to see.
*ARTICULATION: It's easy to stiffen the entire arm and elbow pick which is a bad habbit and hard to break. You are articulating the pick very well. I would suggest trying to reduce the overall range of pick motion just to keep things as minimal as possible which reduces the amount of time required to make the next pick strike.


You killed this one, you just......


LEVELED UP!!!

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Oct 22 2019, 04:10 PM)

Posted by: Ybritt Jan 17 2020, 10:49 AM

Happy new year Sarge!
It’s been a while, I know, but here I am, ready to continue my journey with a newly recorded take of Mission #7.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jan 17 2020, 04:35 PM

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Jan 17 2020, 05:49 AM)

Posted by: Ybritt Jan 17 2020, 05:01 PM

Thanks Sarge!
Regarding mission 6 I think that it was the one I first posted as mission 5 (see post 21). Here it is again anyway

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Jan 17 2020, 03:35 PM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jan 17 2020, 07:51 PM

Looking back at Mission 5 (Actually Mission 6 Pedal Point) Just noticed you are playing 3 notes in between the pedal tone instead of 2 on lesson 6 but honestly it's really not that important. The importan thing is to keep is nice and steady which you did so SCORE!@ Settled. Now let's move on to Mission 7!!!
MEDALS OF HONOR
ALTERNATE PICKING MADNESS - Alternate Picking is the core of these drills. If your alt picking is weak, this will show it. Good news is your alt picking is quite strong. Nice!!

TRAVERSE IN STYLE - In addition to Alternate picking, this requires nearly non stop string traverse. Each time you switch strings, you risk missing the strike, or catching the pick on the string and missing a beat. Not you!! Licked it!

SILENT AS DEATH - Palm muting is always critical. Any gaps in the mute and string noise raises it's ugly head. Not here!! Quiet as a mouse!!
Score!!!!!
In other words you just ..
LEVELED UP!!!

Welcome back to the fight Soldier! I'm thrilled to have you back!!

Posted by: Ybritt Jan 31 2020, 05:38 PM

Hi!

Time for Mission #8. I give you quite a long take. Some minor mistakes but you’ll be the judge if I pass or fail. 😊

Have a great weekend!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jan 31 2020, 10:29 PM

Well Fought Soldier! I'll use the take toward the middle as it seemed the most clean. I appreciate you pushing the speed on the last take. There is always a value in pushing to the edge. Even if there are some mistakes, it's the only way to push to a new level. It's in that spot where we are not quite sure if our fingers can keep up that we often make progress. let's use the middle version for our debrief. The first couple have a few issues but they can count as warmups. I'm impressed with your endurance as this is a non stop drill and you play it for quite a while!
let's Debrief!!1
MEDALS OF HONOR


TRAVERSE OF KINGS You may have noticed that these licks have a LOT of string traverse. This is a foundational skill that requires practice. We start with just a couple of strings to traverse. Eventually we will traverse every single string and back at speed. By then, you will be well prepped for such things. Good job on traverse here! It never lets up and you keep it steady.

SOLID PACING Any looping lick like these is about pacing. It's really just bait to get your hand to let itself drift on pace. You hand stays on pace. Nice!

ALT PICKING FROM HELL Pretty much non stop alternate picking. This is a "shred lick" so it's a good one to work up speed on. You can try it in bursts or keep steady on. You are well on your way Soldier!!
This is a great hand drill. Good for warm up, good for building speed. Works on any fret/string. Put it in your warm up and run it a few times each session. You will noticed speed just starts to happen.
You just..

LEVELED UP!!!

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Jan 31 2020, 12:38 PM)

Posted by: Ybritt Mar 5 2020, 10:44 AM

Greetings!

Back again after a minor absence. Mission #9 ready for review.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Mar 5 2020, 08:43 PM

It's great to see you back Soldier!! It looks like you haven't lost a step which is great. I can see the practice in your playing and it's good to see this kind of precision along with a strong mute technique and solid hand synch. This drill is a good warmup to get your hands moving. Keep it in your bag of tricks!

Let's Debrief!!

SNIPER The first thing I'm looking for is SNIPER level precision. No missed notes, no rushing or laggin. You've clearly had sniper training!! It's good to see! Never hitting the wrong strike, always making a clean hit. keep that up!!
CONSISTENCY Secondly, as this is a loop, I'm looking at your consistency. Can you repeat a lick and not drop the ball at some point. This is the most important thing you can do and your doing it well. Being able to play with consistent pace, strikes, hand synch, is crucial. SCORE!!
MUTE TO KILL Lastly I need to see a good mute. Without a solid mute, string noise is a real problem. A good mute is one that covers the entire bridge so that you dont have to lean on the left hand for muting strings. This way you can play open string licks and wads of other things without worrying about string noise. Nice!!

You are clearly ready for the harder Missions Soldier. BTW NICE IBBY!!!!!!! Love seeing that thing in action.

You just..

LEVELED UP!!!!

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Mar 5 2020, 05:44 AM)

Posted by: Ybritt Apr 4 2020, 11:44 PM

Sarge!
I do hope that you are OK during these hard times.
Here are two versions of Mission #10. I am not too happy with them but the will do. This lesson was the hardest so far.
Ybritt

Posted by: Todd Simpson Apr 5 2020, 06:23 AM

Well fought Soldier! I was about to send you back to the woodshed after watching the first vid but you redeemed yourself on the second vid. This is my favorite scale inversion. So I thought, hey! Let's run it up the neck just to make it crazy hard to play!!!! I"ve recently found myself moving to florida in the middle of all the crazy virus stuff. They closed the state the same day and put sheriffs on the road to stop northerners. It's a bit nuts. I hope you and yours stay well and safe!!

Let's Debrief!

MEDALS OF HONOR

*SYNCH OR SWIM: First up I wanna see tight hand synch! Your second vid has very good synch and it's tight with the beat. Bingo!!

*MUTE OR DIE: Secondly I wanna see good palm mute! Otherwise string noise will be just insane. You keep a very solid mute the whole time!

*AGGRESSIVE STYLE: This is meant to be hard. It's a road block that has to be pushed through with pure hostile intent. Well done!!

In short you KRUSHED IT!!! Onward!

You just..

LEVELED UP!!!

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Apr 4 2020, 06:44 PM)

Posted by: Ybritt Jun 5 2020, 04:25 PM

Finally I got my act together and recorded Mission #11. But I have not been inactive since the last post. Anyway it feel good to be back in the trenches.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jun 6 2020, 05:49 AM

Welcome back Soldier!! I see you have not lost your touch!!!! This is a great looping drill that works well as a warm up or cool down. It works well pretty much anywhere on the neck that you want to give your fingers some time to get used to the fret board. Start it up past the 12th fret to get used to tight spaces. Let's Debrief!

MEDALS OF HONOR


LOOPY: You may notice that I have you play licks often in a "Loop". This is so that you focus on the lick itself. Also, it allows me to see your playing over a distance of ground. If you rush/lag, it will stand out. So I'm giving you plenty of rope to hang yourself with! The good news is you never waver. Always stead on and clean. Nice!

NON STOP TRAVERSE: As with a few others, this lick traverses strings and frets non stop. Partially to build endurance, partially to get your hands accustomed to playing long sequences of notes. Building endurance is key and being able to play at the same pace for long periods is a big part of being able to play extended scale runs in a controlled manner.

ARTICULATION: You are doing a very good job of articulating the pick and NOT picking from the elbow! it does however look like you may be going a bit deeper on each strike, past the plane of the strings, than you need to. Learning how to pick in a shallow manner is crucial to being able to shred. On the next mission, see how shallow you can make your strikes and still have them work.

You've clearly got this one sorted, you just..

LEVELED UP!!!!

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Jun 5 2020, 11:25 AM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jun 9 2020, 09:03 PM

It's great to see you back in the fight!!! I love that IBBY!! It's a treat to see it in action. I think you are more than ready for the next few lessons. I can't wait to see them!!!

Sarge

Posted by: Ybritt Jul 1 2020, 01:06 PM

So here is M#12.
Can’t wait to hear your feedback in this one. I found it kind of hard to play this slowly so I hope I’m not doing it sloppy. Also I was uncertain on whether to use the metronome or not, finally I decided not to. Let me know if I should.
Brand new strings on the Ibby as well 😊
Cheers!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 2 2020, 03:47 AM

Impressive work Soldier!!!! You are playing it faster than I am in the Demo Video!! I think it's one of the fastest and cleanest passes I've ever seen in bootcamp. It's meant to be played briskly to show you that your hand can slide down the neck at speed as long as your picking hand can keep up! For you it's no problem!!

Let's Debrief!!

MEDALS OF HONOR

ALT PICK OF DESTINY: Alternate Picking is at the core of this lick. It's the first thing I'm looking at in this Mission. The good news is your alt picking is solid as a ROCK!!!! Nice and even, smooth as glass, no rushing or lagging. SCORE!!

TRAVERSAL OF FORTUNE: Non stop fret traverse is required on this one. It NEVER stops moving on the neck. It forces your hand to adapt and you adapted well!!! You are shredding the living daylights out of this!! NICE!!!

PINKY TIME: Good use of the pinky here! On the lower frets, Pinky Power is crucial. Lastly, I want to see your use of the pinky. IF you don't use the pinky on this Mission, I will usually send the soldier back for a second try. Your pinky is up to the challenge!!

BTW: Always a treat to see that fine Ibby!!!!!!! Spiff.

You KRUSHED it and ..

LEVELED UP!!!!

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Jul 1 2020, 08:06 AM)

Posted by: Ybritt Jul 27 2020, 12:07 PM

Hi Sarge!

Thank you for that feedback! It strengthens my confidence.
Summer holiday and I have brought my gutar with me. Wokring hard to nail M#13 and it is a pretty tough one i must say. But I do progress. Funny enough I find the double strike per note hardest to get right, I don't know why. But even that one is getting better.
Hope to post the result soon.

Take care!

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Jul 2 2020, 03:47 AM)

Impressive work Soldier!!!! You are playing it faster than I am in the Demo Video!! I think it's one of the fastest and cleanest passes I've ever seen in bootcamp. It's meant to be played briskly to show you that your hand can slide down the neck at speed as long as your picking hand can keep up! For you it's no problem!!

Let's Debrief!!

MEDALS OF HONOR

ALT PICK OF DESTINY: Alternate Picking is at the core of this lick. It's the first thing I'm looking at in this Mission. The good news is your alt picking is solid as a ROCK!!!! Nice and even, smooth as glass, no rushing or lagging. SCORE!!

TRAVERSAL OF FORTUNE: Non stop fret traverse is required on this one. It NEVER stops moving on the neck. It forces your hand to adapt and you adapted well!!! You are shredding the living daylights out of this!! NICE!!!

PINKY TIME: Good use of the pinky here! On the lower frets, Pinky Power is crucial. Lastly, I want to see your use of the pinky. IF you don't use the pinky on this Mission, I will usually send the soldier back for a second try. Your pinky is up to the challenge!!

BTW: Always a treat to see that fine Ibby!!!!!!! Spiff.

You KRUSHED it and ..

LEVELED UP!!!!

Onward!!

Sarge

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 28 2020, 02:35 AM

Always good to bring your guitar on Holiday! Glad to hear you are still fighting on summer break! M13 is a bit tricky to be sure. it's worth working through to gain the skills that will come from it. All of these skills will start stacking up as you move through. Multi picking, single and double and triple and quad, is a great thing to add in to your solo work. It makes a lick sound like there are a LOT more notes than are actually happening. Looking forward to your Mission Soldier!!

Sarge

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Jul 27 2020, 07:07 AM)

Posted by: Ybritt Aug 22 2020, 12:13 PM

Finally!
Reporting back from the field, eager to be debriefed. When doing the four strokes per note I know I am off synch with the metronome but I think I am keeping a consisting tempo though. Anyway, it’s up to you to judge.

Ybritt

Posted by: Todd Simpson Aug 22 2020, 08:15 PM

Well Fought Soldier!!! It's more important that you play with consistency than you lock step with the click. I can tell you are playing in a consistent manner which is they big takeaway in this mission. You play the single in good synch with the click so I can see you can play with a click. I'm guessing you were having a good take so you just kept playing rather than go over and change the metronome 3 times in a row to find a click that matched up with your multi picking. As long as your internal metronome is good enough to keep you on beat, you can skip the click track. It's just there to help you stay on beat after all.

This is NOT an easy Mission. Single pick all the way through Quad Pick and with a complicated way of running a scale that really confuses the fingers. You did all of it in one take. I'm guessing you had a few takes that you scrapped before this? Usually, folks break this up in to several takes and edit them together. I'm impressed that you were able to play all of it in one go. This way of running a scale (inversion) can be applied to any scale and so can multi picking! multi picking is a great way to make any scale based lick sound much busier. To the listeners ear, it sounds like a TON of notes being played when in fact it's mostly the same notes being repeated. They are repeated because of the inversion and they are repeated in multi picking. Try to use multi picking in a solo while it's still fresh on your mind. It can add a lot of density to any solo.

Lets Debrief!!!

MEDALS OF HONOR


*TACTICAL PRECISION: The first thing I look for on this is your pick precision. This requires a TON of traverse picking (moving the pick between strings) and it's very easy to get tripped up due to the pattern being insane and due to the multi picking. You keep it tight and smooth. Nice!

*STEADY PACE: The second thing I want to see on this is a steady pace of play. Your internal metronome is doing a great job. It allows you to ignore the click when it doesn't suit the multi pick and still stay consistent in terms of your timing. The external click doesn't distract from your timing once you start using your internal metronome which is great. Double Score!

*QUIET AS DEATH: With all of the constant string traverse, this lick can get very noisy, very quickly unless one keeps a good mute. So I'm looking for a good mute the entire time. Your mute doesn't drift a bit. Solid as a rock. Triple Score!!!

This is a very tough Mission and you KRUSHED it!

Well fought Soldier! You just..

LEVELED UP!!!! Also, you just got your Second Chevron on you Badge! Congrats!!!!

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Aug 22 2020, 07:13 AM)

Posted by: Ybritt Sep 4 2020, 01:37 PM

Hey Sarge!

Thanks for the great feedback on M#13. I must admit that I am continuing to work on M#13 in order to polish the technique over other scale positions. But that hasn't prevented me from attacking M#14 with ferocity. Yesterday I felt that the time was right to make a first recording of it in order to report back.

Have a good weekend!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 5 2020, 11:39 PM

Well Fought Soldier!! This is a very tricky bit to play and you nailed It makes a cool solo lick as well as long as you are playing in one of the open string keys. For example if a backing is in A minor, just play this lick on the A string. The open string licks are great for drills and solos!

Let's Debrief!!

MEDALS OF HONOR

*PICKING-This is all about single string picking technique. It's easy stumble due to the odd picking patter but you didn't miss a beat!!! NICE!

*TIMING-Timing is crucial in this lick. If the timing is off at all, the lick falls apart. You keep it high and tight on every single string!!!!! KILLER!

*DIFFERENT STRINGS-Being able to pull this lick off on different string shows that you can traverse to new strings without losing control of your technique.That's a big part of what this one is all about. Being able to play it on every string and not get a bunch of string noise or skipped notes. DOUBLE SCORE!!

In short, your picking is really impressive here. Great hand synch and blazing speed with precision!! You just..

LEVELED UP!!!!

QUOTE (Ybritt @ Sep 4 2020, 08:37 AM)