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Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 8 2009, 03:46 AM

Hey Joruus,
I am very excited to be your mentor for this program, we seem to enjoy the same styles of music and hopefully this experience will be great for both of us!

This thread where we are going to put everything related to this program...so all my lessons and advice along with any questions, comments, requests you have can go here as well..

First off, my username is a little hard to type every time, so you can just call me Matt if you'd like.

Soon we will be getting a syllabus so when we get that i will give you more information as to what the format of the mentoring lessons will look like...however, it will probably be something like this...
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=3351

If you want to know anything about me, just ask...but for now here is my Youtube and my sign up for the MTP.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vaialation1232
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=22292&pid=307539&mode=threaded&start=#entry307539

I have many questions, but for now....
1) How long have you been playing?
2) How much time do you have to devote to guitar (generally)
3) Do you have Guitar Pro?

Also, i looked through your post on the sign-up forum to check out some of the things you wanted to learn, but if there is anything else you think i should know, make sure to post it on here....as well as your preference on what order you'd like to learn things or anything like that!

I really look forward to working with you on your guitar playing in this next month!


P.S. We have a pretty big time difference (i in the US, you in the Netherlands) so it may be hard to have live chats. However, ill make sure to reply as quickly as i can!

Posted by: Joruus Jan 8 2009, 05:26 PM

Hi Matt,
I'm very happy to be matched up with you!
Last week i was just looking around on youtube and coincidently found your account there.
There is alot of Vai, Satriani, and Mattrach in there, wich all 3 i like very much
Also i really like the lessons you have there, so i bet you'll do great at this mtp aswell.
(i started learning the intro of Mattrachs canonrock from your lesson last week)

My name is Benjamin, but it may be easyer to just call me Joruus, either is good for me.
I bought my first guitar in februari '08 but really started learning around may (when i found GMC )
so i'm playing a bit over half a year now.
I play at least an hour a day, but i often try for 2 or sometimes 3 hours on weekdays, usually abit more
in the weekend.

I do not have Guitar Pro yet but i could get it if that helps


The time difference is probably less of a problem in weekends because i am awake at weird times then.


I can't wait to get started

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 9 2009, 08:52 AM

"Last week i was just looking around on youtube and coincidently found your account there.
There is alot of Vai, Satriani, and Mattrach in there, wich all 3 i like very much "

Awesome! I think my main plan is to teach you some of the techniques they use (many of which you mentioned in your sign-up post) as well as maybe a few of their riffs perhaps?

"I play at least an hour a day, but i often try for 2 or sometimes 3 hours on weekdays, usually abit more
in the weekend."

That's great! I think you will get a lot out of this program with that schedule!

"I do not have Guitar Pro yet but i could get it if that helps "

Well, you don't need to buy it for this...however, in the long run i think that it is a great program to have because as you learn songs, tabs are okay but they are almost always wrong....with GP5 you have (IMO) better tabs *although still wrong sometimes* but most importantly you have the rhythm of the song and i just like using them as a backing track as well...so, i'd say it would be a great thing to have, especially since many of the GMC lessons here have GP5 tabs to go along with them.

So, my main plan for this month is this...

-To help you set up an effective, time efficient practice routine

-To help you improve in some of the techniques you mentioned, specifically hammer-ons and pull-offs along with alternate picking. Also, i want to stress the importance (especially in the players we both like) of both bending, sliding, and vibrato to you and many of the lessons we do will have this theme in them.

-To make sure you have good habits and to help you advance as a guitar player

-To help you with any amp/tone related questions you have, as well as throwing in my own input on this area

-To answer any other questions you have

As for weekly, we will do one lesson from the syllabus (http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=23238) as well as one other, more personalized lesson (this will vary from week to week. It will mainly consist of other GMC lessons i think you would like, as well as lessons i make up). While i would like you to complete both, obviously things come up so its totally cool if you can't complete the second lesson, just make sure to try to finish the first lesson! Along with these two things, i will give you an exercise or two a week that i suggest you make part of a daily routine (a warm-up before you play is the best!). These will correspond with the techniques mentioned above....any other suggestions you have please don't hesitate to mention!

Alright, so we got our syllabus today....it looks like this for the first week

Weekly Plan


Week 1

Timing & rhythm (Part 1) -Chords to a backing track

Beginner- Strumming and Arpeggios

Goal - To play the whole lesson.

Purpose - practice timing and sense of rhythm. If this lesson gives problems - it will be a useful discovery. Dealing with the problem will help progress to the next level.

instructions - A Video showing progress should be provided playing with the backing provided (slower backings can of course be used)

So, this is a really good lesson by Muris that focuses on chords and arpeggios (picking the notes of chords). I'm not sure how you feel about your chord playing/knowledge, but tell me if this is something you really want to work on! The other important aspect of this lesson is the timing and rhythm, which is definitely a KEY aspect of ones playing because no matter how perfect you play the notes of a song...if its out of time nobody will enjoy it very much. So, i would suggest playing with a metronome or the backing tracks provided (work your way through them from slowest to full speed). To be honest, I think backing tracks are a lot more fun to play along with, however metronomes are much easier to manage because you can change their speed to suit you.
Here is a link to an Online Metronome i like to use...
http://www.metronomeonline.com/

Now, as to the lesson itself. Most of the chords are fairly standard, however, i remember the F chord used to always give me trouble when I was learning it. So, if you have any trouble with this chord let me know! Also, i'd imagine that the second half of the song (with the mostly up strums) may be a little awkward if you aren't used to it, so let me know if this is the case.

If i were to practice this lesson I would probably learn all of the chord shapes first and not worry about the arpeggios until i was fully comfortable with playing the chords themselves in a row (so including switching from one to the other). Then, after your fingers "know" where to go, it shouldn't be too difficult to focus on the arpeggios because the most difficult part about them is the right hand picking. Again, let me know if you have any questions or need help on this lesson...


Now, as for your other lesson, i would like you to try this one i made...It is based off of Joe Satriani's Cool #9 and will help me see what you need to work on (as it focuses on some problem areas guitarists often have like vibrato, some bending...it also has a few hammer-ons and pull-offs). Since it is the first week, i wanted to start off with something fun. I know i always wanted to have a reason to practice the techniques i was learning, otherwise what is the point? So, hopefully playing this song (and other riffs i give you over the next month) will motivate you to practice your techniques and exercises! I explain all of the notes in the lesson, however if you would like a tab i could make you one..don't worry if the "feel/groove" of the song is tricky, just try to play it as accurately as you can..i would also prefer for you to alternate pick it, but if you don't feel capable of this for the whole song, we can work on this together!



As for exercises...i would like to start with one hammer-on and pull-off one i used to do all the time. (Also, so can you do hammer-ons/pull-offs a little? or are you not able to and need help with how to do the technique?) I wouldn't do it too much as it may be painful (especially on your pinky). Work with the metronome as well, or drum machine is even better! It's pretty straight forward so hopefully not much explaining necessary in here (i go slow in the video, tell me if you want tab though!)..you can do this exercise anywhere on the neck, although i prefer at about the 5th fret...simply go 5h6, 5h6, 5h6, 5h6, 5h6, 5h6 from E to high e...then 6p5, 6p5, 6p5, 6p5, 6p5, 6p5 back to low E using your first two fingers. You then repeat the exercise using your second and third fingers, then third and fourth, then any other combo you want to try....make sure to practice accurately, and that all of the notes sound around the same volume...this exercise (along with others) will help your fingers build strength to do hammer-ons/pull-offs all day long!



*You don't need to make a video of this, i'd just use it as a warm-up or maybe have some 2 minute sessions where you do this exercise*

Since this is new, i don't know what kind of workload i should give you....so....if the weeks assignments are too much/too little work, please tell me so i can adjust them!

Finally, i know that personally I have more time to practice on the weekends, so i will try to have these lessons up by Friday night (Saturday morning for you) so you have the weekend to start practicing and then Friday (for you) as a deadline (obviously i understand if a week is busy and you cannot make this deadline). As for what to do, i'd like for you to do two videos a week to show that you practiced both of the lessons. Depending on the difficulty level, full speed may be unattainable so as long as you are pushing yourself, any speed you play them at is fine. I would also like to have some time in the chat (on weekends) to talk in real time as this is easiest...so maybe Saturday at 10:00 (for me), 19:00 for you? If this doesn't work please suggest something else...

We'll end with some more questions...
1) What would you consider your best area of guitar playing?
2) Worst?
3) What techniques do you want to learn (just for reference in this thread really, i read your sign-up)
4) Any interest in learning some basic theory? This i will leave entirely up to you ATM, but i would definitely suggest it in the long run, improvising and writing is much easier with this info...even just some really basic pentatonic work is good. However, i have found that forcing theory on someone is not the way to go as they will likely not care/understand anyway and it will waste both of our time(trust me when i was first playing there was nothing i thought was more boring than theory lessons...other than the metronome of course!) Truthfully though, were not talking anything too hard or confusing, just some basic scales/shapes (mainly the ones i like cause Satch uses them) that will help you improvise, write, be creative, etc.

Keep in touch, good luck!

Posted by: Joruus Jan 9 2009, 06:22 PM

I'm not very good with making long posts, but ill try to reply to everything in your post above in about the same order.
I hope i don't forget anything


I just bought GP5 and will try it out later today

The plan looks great!

I really do need an effective practice routine, now i don't really have a routine except for starting with a little warmup.
But with this mtp it will be alot better cause i'll know what to focus on instead of trying different random things all the time.

I will like the help with tone alot aswell, i know abit about what each knob does, so i can edit my tones somewhat, but i can't make my tone sound like something i have in mind, starting with nothing.
I usually download a tone for my podxt to go with a song im trying to learn a part of and sometimes change it a little bit.

The idea of a second, more personalized lesson is great too!
Can't wait to get started with Cool #9


Week 1:
I did this 'Strumming and Arpeggios' lesson before (for test mtp), so with these chords i wont have too much trouble anymore, except the F-chord, because we were allowed to do a 2nd Dm in its place.
My chord playing/knowledge is really bad, i know only the chords that are needed for this lesson, i know i have to learn my chords more sometime, but i think it isn't the most important thing for me to work on yet.

The second lesson looks really cool
I hope i can learn it with the normalspeed backing track.
I do always alternate pick everything.
Also in the video you mention slides, i do like slides and i'd love to improve on those aswell.


I can do Hammer-ons and Pull-offs, they just don't sound really good yet.
That exercise will help alot im sure.


Chat saturday at 10.00/19.00 sounds good


The questions:
1) What would you consider your best area of guitar playing?
Not sure if you mean techniques or playstyle, so ill answer something for both.
I best play solos.
I think my alternate picking, vibrato and slides are ok.

2) Worst?
Im bad with chord/rythm playing.
Hammer-ons and pull-offs are bad.


3) What techniques do you want to learn (just for reference in this thread really, i read your sign-up)
I want to learn every technique i need to be a good guitarist.
Especially i'd like to get better at the techniques mentioned above, but there are probably more that i still need to learn.

4) Any interest in learning some basic theory?
I would really like to learn theory, i just never took my time to read the theory forum yet.
I only really know theory about guitar hardware


Now im gonne get started on trying these lessons out

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 10 2009, 12:48 AM

"I really do need an effective practice routine, now i don't really have a routine except for starting with a little warmup.
But with this mtp it will be alot better cause i'll know what to focus on instead of trying different random things all the time."

I will show you how i have my schedule (although some days i am all for the randomness too) and you can see if you like that..basically i tried to find a balance between too much chaos vs too much boredom with my schedule...so we will get to that soon (maybe in chat)

"I will like the help with tone alot aswell, i know abit about what each knob does, so i can edit my tones somewhat, but i can't make my tone sound like something i have in mind, starting with nothing.
I usually download a tone for my podxt to go with a song im trying to learn a part of and sometimes change it a little bit."

Sounds good, just ask if you want advice. Pods are cool for tones, and easy as well.


"I did this 'Strumming and Arpeggios' lesson before (for test mtp), so with these chords i wont have too much trouble anymore, except the F-chord, because we were allowed to do a 2nd Dm in its place.
My chord playing/knowledge is really bad, i know only the chords that are needed for this lesson, i know i have to learn my chords more sometime, but i think it isn't the most important thing for me to work on yet."

Alright, well then hopefully it'll be pretty easy then. Are you gonna try the F this time? Also, i agree about the chords for this month at least.. while some people are really into pop-rock songs and strumming chords when they first start, I think that the basic chords are something you can easily study when you feel you want to. As your song/theory repertoire goes up, so will your chord knowledge anyway. So, while chords are certainly important overall, we don't necessarily have to focus on them for this month. However, i do suggest that you learn the names and shapes of the basic open chords soon (this lesson covers some) as they are fairly simple. I think that as you are able to play chords, your timing/rhythm as well as overall control of what your fingers improves. Also, depending on who you play for, some people may prefer a simple chord progression over shredding and its nice to be able to entertain that crowd as well.

"The second lesson looks really cool
I hope i can learn it with the normalspeed backing track.
I do always alternate pick everything. "

Good, i never alternate picked when i first started and this was a major disadvantage for me! Did you find the backing track or would you like me to attach it here?

"Also in the video you mention slides, i do like slides and i'd love to improve on those aswell."

Cool, slides and bends are definitely my favorite things to do....i got some good exercises and examples for both i think so well be sure to check those out

"I can do Hammer-ons and Pull-offs, they just don't sound really good yet.
That exercise will help alot im sure."

Yeah, it should. Really its just repetition until your fingers acquire the strength to do them easily...then things like tapping will be possible as well

"Chat saturday at 10.00/19.00 sounds good "

Alright, cool.

"4) Any interest in learning some basic theory?
I would really like to learn theory, i just never took my time to read the theory forum yet.
I only really know theory about guitar hardware "

Okay, a month really isn't that much time for this kind of thing unless you want to constantly be drilling it. Basically, my hope is that i can give you some scales (and licks i like as well) to be able to play over your basic blues jam track (like cool #9 for instance)...nothing too fancy, and we will be following Andrew's theory lessons as they are very good tools to use..We will start this next week okay?

Good luck with the lessons and post em when you can!

Matt

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 10 2009, 02:08 AM

Heres the Cool #9 Backing

 satriani__joe_cool_number_9.mp3 ( 3.74MB ) : 213

Posted by: Joruus Jan 11 2009, 10:11 PM

Here is the tab i made to check if i got it right.

 tab_cool_9.txt ( 1.84K ) : 212
(not sure if i write tabs right but i think you ll get it )

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 11 2009, 10:37 PM

QUOTE (Joruus @ Jan 11 2009, 01:11 PM)

Here is the tab i made to check if i got it right.

 tab_cool_9.txt ( 1.84K ) : 212
(not sure if i write tabs right but i think you ll get it )

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 14 2009, 02:48 AM

Hey Joruus,
I just wanted to request that you make a really quick video tomorrow or whenever you get this, so i can critique it before you make the final vid for Friday...this may really help me identify any issues you may have, so don't worry if its not perfect because thats not the point of it...a rough draft really

Thanks,
Matt

Posted by: Joruus Jan 14 2009, 12:58 PM

Ill make a video for both lessons later today

Posted by: Joruus Jan 14 2009, 03:16 PM

Ok here they are


Lesson 1:

For some reason i played a Em chord instead of Am at 0:40 (that doesn't usually happen )




Lesson 2:

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 15 2009, 03:35 AM

Hey Joruus,
Good job on both videos...some comments on both


Video 1-Very good, not much to critique here other than just little suggestions...you mentioned one thing already (chord change)..the only advice i have is that on a couple of the last two upstrums you some hear muted notes, not really clear ones....and then some of the picked arpeggios are really quiet on my computer, so maybe turn your amp up a little...this is probably just youtube's conversion though that messes with some volume...other than that though really good job on all the chord switching and playing...also, i think the F variation fits in very nicely and your strumming of the chords (except aforementioned muted ones) is perfect...timing is the key in this video, and you are perfect there so thats a huge key!!

Video 2-Ok, so you play all of the notes in the right spot and even got the pull-offs right. That is the main practice you needed to do, so its almost perfect. The only thing is that timing wise you start on a different beat than i did, so the backing and you are not aligned...basically to fix this all you need to do is watch/ listen to my video a few more times, then practice with the backing track just snapping or something when you are supposed to start playing (so in the BT there is a little bit of a pause before you start playing, however make sure to start after the the LOWER sounding piano key (around 18s, 24s, etc.)....this pause/lower piano key is your signal that you should start playing on the next beat....let it run a few times (like you did) as this helps you catch the timing). I admit that the timing is hard to catch because of how it loops, also there is no count in and theoretically the first beat is the correct one...so....i will make a count in if you would like so that you can just start on the first beat instead of letting it run through a few times.....If you need more help with the timing, be sure to ask (because timing is the whole focus of this week anyway!)....however the playing of it was really good! Basically, if you start on the right beat, it should sound exactly like mine (as long as you stay on time of course, you may have been a little fast through some parts) However, staying on time is much easier when you start on time and can listen to the backing track for a count...

Also, is there any way for me to buy a shirt like that??

Posted by: Joruus Jan 15 2009, 05:29 PM

Hi Matt,

I got my shirts this week
http://www.cafepress.com/gmc_shop
I got the $18.99 ones, one Black and one Navy (navy looks black on youtube.... )
They seem to be great quality.


I thought the little weird sound in my backingtrack was where in your vid is a pickscrape sound, so i started after that
without listening more closly.
Now that i know i should be able to figure it out.


I'll work some more on both lessons and get the new vids up tomorrow

Posted by: Joruus Jan 16 2009, 12:06 AM

The Explaination about the backingtrack helped alot
I think i got it right now, i also notice now that the little drumpart is right between
end of first part and start of second part as it should be.

Now that i think i got the timing right i notice that the last note of that first part (with the vibrato on 3rd string)
dies pretty quick, am i doing something wrong or is there just not enough sustain on my guitar/low volume?
It doesn't die so quick at the last note of 2nd part, vibrato on 4th string..

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 16 2009, 12:35 AM

QUOTE (Joruus @ Jan 15 2009, 03:06 PM)

The Explaination about the backingtrack helped alot
I think i got it right now, i also notice now that the little drumpart is right between
end of first part and start of second part as it should be.

Now that i think i got the timing right i notice that the last note of that first part (with the vibrato on 3rd string)
dies pretty quick, am i doing something wrong or is there just not enough sustain on my guitar/low volume?
It doesn't die so quick at the last note of 2nd part, vibrato on 4th string..

Posted by: Joruus Jan 16 2009, 10:40 PM

Here are the videos for this week








(I used alot of light and it looked great in quicktime (the original file), but when i convert it to youtube or even any other filetype, everything gets alot darker, luckely my guitar stays light)

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 17 2009, 09:21 AM

Very impressed with the first video, no complaints there and i think you got the main points of the week completely (rhythm and timing)

Second video sounds much better this time as it has improved timing. If i were to be critical, i would say that you are maybe fraction of a second behind the beat still, but this is noticeable for me as Cool #9 is one of my favorite songs, mainly you got the concept of the timing well, it is just a hard song to get a feel for...that being said, playing was really good and the "dying out" of the sustain wasn't a problem i don't think


Overall, excellent job this week, you accomplished everything that i asked you to (also the lighting for the videos is very good, probably better quality than mine are )

So, if you would like we can stick to the syllabus, but i believe you have tried some/all of them...so i decided to try something else for the first lesson (talk to me tomorrow if you wanna change this...)

Lesson 1

I picked David's Slow Melody lesson, and i want you to try the first :40 seconds or so...
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/slow-melody-lesson/

It is a great lesson to really focus on bending, timing, and vibrato..the timing is difficult so i would suggest listening to it a few times before trying it....as always, ask if you need any help


Lesson 2
As for the second activity, i would like you to look over Andrew's theory lesson on the G Minor Pentatonic Scale
It can be found here-http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=5023

Your goals are as follows
1) Learn two boxes of the A Minor Scale (i know his is G minor...this forces you to think about it yourself) Although, really all you have to do is shift G minor 2 notes (from 3-5, etc.) Hopefully you understand the concept that the boxes stay the same shape/pattern in all of the keys, they just shift where they start from (if that makes sense)...this makes it easy for us to learn only one scale and really basically have an idea about all the other ones (in minor pentatonic i mean)
2) Be able to play them up and down
3) Know where the root notes are (all A notes, so 6th string-5th fret is one)
4) Be able to connect the 2 boxes (will talk about this later in post)
5) Know the notes of the A minor scale (remember 3 2 2 3 2)

As for an activity...i would like you to improvise for 30+ seconds over this backing track
*it is in A minor
*When i say improvise, i don't mean you have to "wing it"...i just mean compose something yourself instead of me just assigning you somebody else's licks...now heres some tips to help you...
TIPS
1) Starting/Ending a phrase with root notes is a safe bet! Many famous phrases do!
2) Sliding is a good way to connect two boxes, bending works as well (will make a video of how i like to do this)
3) Make sure to not play the notes straight up and down in order...as this shouldn't be like an exercise
4) Don't be afraid to have silent breaks in your playing....this is blues and sometimes less is more
5) Also, blues playing uses a lot of repetition/recurring themes...so i don't mean play the same exact lick for the whole 30 seconds...but maybe play the lick and then add a couple variations (note choice, maybe an ending one would be good) each time...just a suggestion, however if you don't have any repeating licks for the listener to, it isn't likely that it will grab their attention


Exercise
An exercise GP5 tab is attached to this..
Just some basic alternate picking exercises..

 Alternate_Exercises.gp5 ( 3.58K ) : 117

Posted by: Joruus Jan 17 2009, 10:22 PM

Thanks

Sorry i didnt read this intim for the chat.

But the new lesson seems great

(have to go now so its a short reply)

Posted by: Joruus Jan 19 2009, 06:51 PM

Oops, i didn't notice the post edit before..

This will sure be an intresting lesson, i haven't seriously tryed to improvise before yet


I have a few questions already:

Do the bends in Davids lesson go up 1 semitone from 11to12 and 2semitones from 14to16?
(the tab doesnt tell how far to bend)

When i can play two boxes up and down, should i make a video of it?
And for the backing track for improvising, do you want me to find one myself or will you post one?

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 19 2009, 08:13 PM

QUOTE (Joruus @ Jan 19 2009, 10:51 AM)

Oops, i didn't notice the post edit before..

This will sure be an intresting lesson, i haven't seriously tryed to improvise before yet


I have a few questions already:

Do the bends in Davids lesson go up 1 semitone from 11to12 and 2semitones from 14to16?
(the tab doesnt tell how far to bend)

When i can play two boxes up and down, should i make a video of it?
And for the backing track for improvising, do you want me to find one myself or will you post one?

 Blues_Backing_In_Am.mp3 ( 3.36MB ) : 173

Posted by: Joruus Jan 21 2009, 09:36 PM

Hey Matt,

I made a video of Slow Melody Lesson, so you can see if its going alright before i make
the real video friday



I think the improv is going good aswell but im not ready to make a video of that yet.
Also i'm working on the last part of Cool #9.

I hope i get everything done before friday

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 23 2009, 05:44 AM

Hey joruus!

Very impressive take on the slow melody lesson...the playing itself is flawless...just tiny timing issues (and since this is the theme of the past 2 weeks, i will point it out)...after the initial bend of each part, you go slightly too fast to the next note...so either hold the bend a little longer or just wait before the next note...also, sometimes other parts are a little rushed as well, so, just listen to the song a few more times, (the main thing is the bend needing to be longer)...other than that it was perfect, very good! Those bends can be hard, but you hit them very well IMO! Looking forward to the improv...

Matt

Posted by: Joruus Jan 23 2009, 04:54 PM

Thanks Matt

I hope to get the vids up tonight!

Posted by: Joruus Jan 24 2009, 12:02 AM

I didn't get alot of practice time today, so i hope i got it right now with the timing on the melody lesson.

Also i'm not sure about the timing with the improv, its a bit hard cause normally i listen when the teacher starts to play, in what spot of the backing, but now i need to find that out myself
I think i may need some more work on this one to get timing better.

I really enjoyed making my own licks and playing them ^__^
I started with 1 main lick with alterations and then a 2nd lick just played once and an extra bit to connect it back to the main lick (does that make sense? )
It got to over a minute long cause i couldnt stop at just 30 seconds

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Jan 25 2009, 03:17 AM

Great work and effort !
I already analyzed both videos in chat so I won't go into further detail here.
Keep practicing, you are doing great work man

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 25 2009, 06:53 AM

Hey Joruus,

The first one is very good...perfectly played and the timing is almost perfect (i think actually a little late this time...but much much better sounding this way)...no complaints with any of the bends (except one could be a little longer )
Overall very good!

Improv was exactly what i asked, showed knowledge of the two boxes...the more you do it the more creative and easy it will be....timing wise i think some parts fit while others didn't, but this will also come with time....nice licks as a whole though...great job!!

Lesson pLan will be up soon!

Posted by: Joruus Jan 25 2009, 06:58 AM

Thanks Pedja and Matt!

It was great to work on those lessons, can't wait for the new ones
(and offcourse will keep dsoing the ones ive had sofar)

I actually wrote down on paper a list of things to do every time i practice, kindof like a practice routine i guess?
including all lessons i had from mtp and the excercises you gave me in order from warmup to more difficult

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 26 2009, 07:13 AM

Alright here is the week 3 lesson plan! (sorry, 2 gigs this weekend so im a little late...take until the weekend if you want..)
[size="3"][/size]

The theme for this week is soloing, so im going to give you some bluesy solos to try

Lesson 1
Ok, so the first lesson is Hisham Al-Sanea's Blues lesson...its very cool and you should be able to play all of it *except one part that is very different from the rest, you'll know when you hear it....ill figure something out for that....
Also, this is just a personal preference kind of thing, but in my opinion it would sound better if you are a little gentler on the whammy bar than in the video, think of it like how you would vibrato on those notes...Good luck! It is in the A minor blues scale you should now be somewhat familiar with
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/standard-blues-beginners/

Lesson 1
The second lesson is David's Slow Pentatonic Lesson...it is on the syllabus and i would like you to do at least up to 33 seconds...try any other parts if you have time of course! I really like David's lessons, this one is a great alternate picking exercise (as well as more scales)....

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guitar/slow-pentatonics-lesson/


Any changes/suggestions would be great! Your doing an awesome job! Its awesome that your making a warm-up routine...i will give you another exercise soon (probably video tomorrow/tab)

Also, tomorrow i have no school, so PM me if you want to chat!

Thanks and have fun!

Posted by: Joruus Jan 26 2009, 08:01 PM

Those lessons look great!

I love the part where he switches to higher position in the Standard Blues lesson
And it will be my first time using whammy bar for a lesson

You mean the part at 0:54?

And in the scale pictures (bottom of lesson) there are no dots on the first string,
is that just because this lesson doesn't use the notes there?



edit: What does this mean in the tab under video 7? "5--<>7b"

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 26 2009, 08:33 PM

QUOTE (Joruus @ Jan 26 2009, 11:01 AM)

Those lessons look great!

I love the part where he switches to higher position in the Standard Blues lesson
And it will be my first time using whammy bar for a lesson

You mean the part at 0:54?

And in the scale pictures (bottom of lesson) there are no dots on the first string,
is that just because this lesson doesn't use the notes there?



edit: What does this mean in the tab under video 7? "5--<>7b"

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 30 2009, 03:06 AM

QUOTE (Vaialation1232 @ Jan 26 2009, 11:33 AM)

Posted by: Joruus Jan 30 2009, 05:13 PM

I will need atleast till saturday..

Slow Pentatonics lesson is going good.

Standard Blues really not
Alot of problems:

Part 1: This one is going ok but the bend at 7 with holding 5 sounds horrible, for now im practicing just the bend without holding the other string, that sounds close to the video.. is that ok?

Part 2: I can play this with the part video but then in the main video im still not sure what happens,
He seems to skip half the last part, or play it super fast.

Part 3: I can't play as fast as this, and its hard to practice it slow with video cause in the slow part he skips
the last 5-7-5-7.

Part 4: This part is going good..

Part 5: the part thats really too hard as you mentioned with the lesson plan

Part 6&7: i haven't really tryed these yet because of the trouble with the rest, but i think 6 first half is too fast,
and i can do 7

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Jan 31 2009, 08:11 PM

QUOTE (Joruus @ Jan 30 2009, 08:13 AM)

I will need atleast till saturday..

Slow Pentatonics lesson is going good.

Standard Blues really not
Alot of problems:

Part 1: This one is going ok but the bend at 7 with holding 5 sounds horrible, for now im practicing just the bend without holding the other string, that sounds close to the video.. is that ok?

Part 2: I can play this with the part video but then in the main video im still not sure what happens,
He seems to skip half the last part, or play it super fast.

Part 3: I can't play as fast as this, and its hard to practice it slow with video cause in the slow part he skips
the last 5-7-5-7.

Part 4: This part is going good..

Part 5: the part thats really too hard as you mentioned with the lesson plan

Part 6&7: i haven't really tryed these yet because of the trouble with the rest, but i think 6 first half is too fast,
and i can do 7

Posted by: Joruus Jan 31 2009, 08:37 PM

If you think you can help me to play this for next week, id really like to play this one.
But im not sure if i can get that fast part (part3) done in just one week.

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Feb 1 2009, 04:24 AM

QUOTE (Joruus @ Jan 31 2009, 11:37 AM)

Posted by: Joruus Feb 1 2009, 10:48 PM

so sorry for delay.. but i had to go somewhere this afternoon/evening and thought i'd be back in time to record,
but it took a bit longer then i hoped, now its too late to record something with amp on >_>

I will sure have a video up tomorrow around 7pm my time, hope thats ok!



Sounds good about the other lesson!
Maybe you could play a take of it with backing, without the part that doesn't work, so i can play over that to practice if that isn't too much work?
Or maybe it isn't needed if i get the right tabs

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Feb 2 2009, 05:19 AM

QUOTE (Joruus @ Feb 1 2009, 01:48 PM)

so sorry for delay.. but i had to go somewhere this afternoon/evening and thought i'd be back in time to record,
but it took a bit longer then i hoped, now its too late to record something with amp on >_>

I will sure have a video up tomorrow around 7pm my time, hope thats ok!



Sounds good about the other lesson!
Maybe you could play a take of it with backing, without the part that doesn't work, so i can play over that to practice if that isn't too much work?
Or maybe it isn't needed if i get the right tabs

Posted by: Joruus Feb 2 2009, 06:51 PM

Here is the video for slow pentatonics lesson

QUOTE (Vaialation1232 @ Feb 2 2009, 05:19 AM)

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Feb 3 2009, 06:12 AM

QUOTE (Joruus @ Feb 2 2009, 09:51 AM)

Here is the video for slow pentatonics lesson





It was a non-mtp, hardware related question, Muris helped me in chat
You may see in the video what it was about
That's also the reason why i wasn't at home yesterday in time to record.

Posted by: kaznie_NL Feb 3 2009, 04:36 PM

Sorry to bump into your forum, but about the timing, isn't it latency? The timing seems to be off the whole time, and about the same amount. That tells me it's just latency issue.

Posted by: Joruus Feb 3 2009, 05:17 PM

QUOTE (Vaialation1232 @ Feb 3 2009, 06:12 AM)

QUOTE (kaznie_NL @ Feb 3 2009, 04:36 PM)

Posted by: Joruus Feb 3 2009, 09:20 PM

I finally got to recording Cool #9 lesson fully today

I still love to play this everyday specially now i can play the ending too.

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Feb 4 2009, 01:29 AM

Hey Joruus!

First off, is that a new guitar??? It's nice!

Alright, now for videos...

Slow Pentatonics-This one was great! First off, it sounds good...although i'd add a little delay and use neck pickup (you may have?). PLaying-wise it was almost perfect, although at :12 seconds or so you play a part one fret to low...but im sure this is just a one time thing....then, at around :18s or so you change something (he slides and plays less notes) but what you did sounds good, just pointing it out...i'd just leave it how you are doing it....finally, around :24s he does 5h7 on the first string instead of just 7....its very quick but adds a cool little vibe to your playing....anyway very good job!

Cool #9-Like before, the playing is very good...the end part is played perfectly (even the tricky double-stops) and just the one double-bend (end of main theme, not the end) gives you a little trouble...timing-wise i think you are getting closer, although still not perfect *anybody who didn't do a video on it and listen to Cool #9 all the time couldn't tell though* The main theme is almost there, just you start every part a little late and then by the 3rd/4th note you are perfectly in time...so just start a little earlier than you think you have to....then the end part, you are a little fast to some of the parts so just watch my video and compare the two to find any discrepancies (mostly just holding the chord a little longer).....very pleased though and its great that you enjoy it, thats really what its all about!!


Also, obviously itll be hard to do 2 vids by friday...so well have a shortened syllabus this week...itll be up shortly!

Posted by: Joruus Feb 4 2009, 01:58 AM

Hey Matt

Thought you would like the http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=24156 ;D

I did play on the neck pickup, i have barely use bridge and never used middle sofar.
I will try to work on the tone a bit.

And strange things often happen when i turn on the camera, like forgetting a note or just playing on a wrong fret,
i didn't notice it this time though (the 0:12 part that is, the others i just play that way for some reason.. ill look into it)


Looking forward to the new lesson!

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Feb 4 2009, 02:08 AM

QUOTE (Joruus @ Feb 3 2009, 04:58 PM)

Hey Matt

Thought you would like the http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=24156 ;D

I did play on the neck pickup, i have barely use bridge and never used middle sofar.
I will try to work on the tone a bit.

And strange things often happen when i turn on the camera, like forgetting a note or just playing on a wrong fret,
i didn't notice it this time though (the 0:12 part that is, the others i just play that way for some reason.. ill look into it)


Looking forward to the new lesson!

Posted by: Joruus Feb 23 2009, 10:16 PM

Here is my video for R2D2

I played with Mattrachs video low volume on headphones for timing now, i think i'll make another recording
later this week with it on speakers, i guess that would sound better.

The buzz at the end of the long slide doesn't always happen
but i couldn't re-record because its too late now to make noise..

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Feb 25 2009, 04:57 AM

QUOTE (Joruus @ Feb 23 2009, 01:16 PM)

Here is my video for R2D2

I played with Mattrachs video low volume on headphones for timing now, i think i'll make another recording
later this week with it on speakers, i guess that would sound better.

The buzz at the end of the long slide doesn't always happen
but i couldn't re-record because its too late now to make noise..

Posted by: Joruus Mar 2 2009, 10:30 PM

New video

I did R2D2 with backing and Cool #9 again.
Recoring didn't go very well today but i hope its ok

I seem to be picking pretty hard in some parts of R2D2 so you hear the picking when im playing close to cam.
Is this normal or should i try to pick it less hard?

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Mar 6 2009, 02:57 AM

QUOTE (Joruus @ Mar 2 2009, 01:30 PM)

New video

I did R2D2 with backing and Cool #9 again.
Recoring didn't go very well today but i hope its ok

I seem to be picking pretty hard in some parts of R2D2 so you hear the picking when im playing close to cam.
Is this normal or should i try to pick it less hard?

Posted by: Joruus Mar 25 2009, 11:30 PM

Hi Matt,

Sorry for the much too long delay!
I havn't played much guitar for a bit more then a week, but im back to it now (since monday)
and practiced vibrato with the video.

Here is a video of just practicing vibrato on 1 note, 'oscillating' the pitch 1 semitone, at different speeds.

Posted by: Vaialation1232 Mar 29 2009, 06:08 PM

QUOTE (Joruus @ Mar 25 2009, 03:30 PM)

Posted by: Joruus Apr 10 2009, 04:35 PM

Hi Matt!

Do you have any new homework for me?
I can't wait to get new lessons


Your 4 youtube uploads of last week are cool btw, especially the way you play Surfing with the Alien in music store!
And the pic with you and satch