Mirba's Bootcamp, Earn It, Own It!!! Options

[Todd Simpson]

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!

MISSON #1

THE MISSION

1.)Your mission is to go all the way back to the very start. The base of the mountain.

LESSON 1. http://bitly.com/gmclesson1

Which you will play SLOWWWWWWLLY, very SLOWWWLLLLYYYY until you master it at a crawl (As You'll Do With Each Mission, and focus on left hand FORM! Make it SUPER PERFECT!). Speed it up bit by bit until you feel your ready to take it to WAR (Any speed, it's up to you) Shoot a video of you playing the bit along with a METRONOME or DRUM click in the background so that I can hear if your on beat or not, and embed it as a post it as a reply to this post. I'll then offer a constructive and brutally honest critique.

THE AFTERMATH

Upon nailing the crap out of lesson one, and playing it a clean as a freshly waxed floor, you will be given your first insignia of Rank in BOOTCAMP!

After that proceed to MISSION #2. Here is a link to all of the missions. All 400+ of them. Our highest ranking Soldier is currently at LEVEL 30.
http://bit.ly/twtgmc

Here is the link to your own PRIVATE HOUSE OF PAIN!...Er I mean.. SHRED!
http://bit.ly/mirbasbootcamp

Practice!
Todd

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[Mirba]

Reporting for duty!

I picked the exercise at 150bpm. I feel if I would go faster, that would tighten up my right hand/arm.
Maybe if I warmed up before recording I could play it at 160bpm, but higher than that wouldn't be possible while trying to maintain a relaxed right hand.

Even at 150 bpm i'm kinda resisting the urge to move from my elbow. There is still some movement from my elbow, i'm interested in how you feel about this?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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[Todd Simpson]

WELL FOUGHT SOLDIER!!! Welcome to the Fight!!! You are doing well on this Mission. You dont have too much ELBOW PICK going on which is good. Let me stress yet again how UNIMPORTANT speed is in these initial missions. I"m just trying to train your hand to play certain bits in certain ways that will make harder bits easier to play a bit further down the road There are more than 400 missions. Don't get hung up on playing them Briskly. It's understandable of course, I wanted to play briskly as well when I started out It took me years to learn that such things can get in the way of your long term goals. Just focus on note by note precision. The speed will just happen over time. I get that one wants to make as much progress as possible, as quickly as possible, and take the best approach possible so as not to "waste time" and get the most out of...... etc. Bottom line, the best thing you can do is just not quit playing. That alone will eventually turn you in to the player you want to be. Impatience is too often the reason folks just give up and become one of those folks that say " I always wanted to play guitar" instead of one of those folks who play guitar well

I'd like to throw a challenge at you here on your first mission as it looks like this is just too easy for you. I"m a bit fan of MULTI PICKING (Picking more than one strike per note) and I want you to try this pattern as DOUBLE PICKING. E.G. Just Pick every note, twice. That's all Sounds simple eh? Also, slow down just a bit, to see if you can focus a pinch more on articulating the pick with your finger and thum and a bit less with the wrist. This is a single string lick, so the wrist should be less of a factor than with a traverse string lick IMHO. A very good take to start things off!! You are officiallly on DETACHED SPECIAL DUTY!!!! Black Ops Soldier. Fight on!!

Sarge

Reporting for duty!

I picked the exercise at 150bpm. I feel if I would go faster, that would tighten up my right hand/arm.
Maybe if I warmed up before recording I could play it at 160bpm, but higher than that wouldn't be possible while trying to maintain a relaxed right hand.

Even at 150 bpm i'm kinda resisting the urge to move from my elbow. There is still some movement from my elbow, i'm interested in how you feel about this?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

[Mirba]

WELL FOUGHT SOLDIER!!! Welcome to the Fight!!! You are doing well on this Mission. You dont have too much ELBOW PICK going on which is good. Let me stress yet again how UNIMPORTANT speed is in these initial missions. I"m just trying to train your hand to play certain bits in certain ways that will make harder bits easier to play a bit further down the road There are more than 400 missions. Don't get hung up on playing them Briskly. It's understandable of course, I wanted to play briskly as well when I started out It took me years to learn that such things can get in the way of your long term goals. Just focus on note by note precision. The speed will just happen over time. I get that one wants to make as much progress as possible, as quickly as possible, and take the best approach possible so as not to "waste time" and get the most out of...... etc. Bottom line, the best thing you can do is just not quit playing. That alone will eventually turn you in to the player you want to be. Impatience is too often the reason folks just give up and become one of those folks that say " I always wanted to play guitar" instead of one of those folks who play guitar well

I'd like to throw a challenge at you here on your first mission as it looks like this is just too easy for you. I"m a bit fan of MULTI PICKING (Picking more than one strike per note) and I want you to try this pattern as DOUBLE PICKING. E.G. Just Pick every note, twice. That's all Sounds simple eh? Also, slow down just a bit, to see if you can focus a pinch more on articulating the pick with your finger and thum and a bit less with the wrist. This is a single string lick, so the wrist should be less of a factor than with a traverse string lick IMHO. A very good take to start things off!! You are officiallly on DETACHED SPECIAL DUTY!!!! Black Ops Soldier. Fight on!!

Sarge

Hey Sarge,

I gladly accept the challenge I lowered the speed like you reccomended. It's at 120bpm now. Also because the exercise is a little harder now. The thing that i'm currently working really hard on is relaxing the right hand while playing en not letting my elbow take control. It's still really hard for me to do, I have to keep focusing on relaxing.
I'm not sure what you mean about articulating the pick more with my thumb and finger? Isn't that called circle picking, or is that something completely different ?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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This post has been edited by Mirba: Nov 10 2016, 03:14 PM

[Todd Simpson]

CONGRATS SOLDIER!!!! YOU TOOK THE CHALLENGE AND KRUSHED IT!!!



Some really fine playing here. Let's debrief!!
MEDALS OF HONOR

1.)Maintained splendid palm mute / right hand control.

2.)Maintained tight and precise picking.

3.)Maintained control of each strike and it's timing.

These are the check boxes to tick off or this mission and you NAILED THEM!!!

Congrats Soldier, you just ...

LEVELED UP!!

and Got your first MISSION BADGE!

Sarge

Hey Sarge,

I gladly accept the challenge I lowered the speed like you reccomended. It's at 120bpm now. Also because the exercise is a little harder now. The thing that i'm currently working really hard on is relaxing the right hand while playing en not letting my elbow take control. It's still really hard for me to do, I have to keep focusing on relaxing.
I'm not sure what you mean about articulating the pick more with my thumb and finger? Isn't that called circle picking, or is that something completely different ?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Nov 11 2016, 07:32 PM

[Mirba]

Hey Todd,

Sorry for the long wait. I'm kinda busy with school related stuff.

Mission 2 was a little bit more difficult than the first one. I played this mission at 110BPM.
I feel like i'm still struggling to keep the motion going from the wrist and to prevent my elbow from taking over.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

[Todd Simpson]

Nicely done!!! You really are killing it Soldier!!!! I do notice just a pinch more hand wag that is optimal perhaps, but given the speed of play it's really probably fine. As you keep going you will probably notice that your hand starts to stay tighter to each string after each strike so as to reduce the recovery time prior to the next strike. At this point thought, it's probably a bit in the future. Let's debrief!!!

Well played. Measured, even, steady, ticks every single box of what I'm looking for on Mission 2.

MEDALS OF HONOR

1.)Precise Pick Control
2.)Good Palm Mute
3.)Aggressive style and good tone.

Congrats Soldier, you just ...

LEVELED UP!!!!!

Keep going Soldier you are on a Roll!!
Sarge

Hey Todd,

Sorry for the long wait. I'm kinda busy with school related stuff.

Mission 2 was a little bit more difficult than the first one. I played this mission at 110BPM.
I feel like i'm still struggling to keep the motion going from the wrist and to prevent my elbow from taking over.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

[Mirba]

Hey Todd,

Working on lesson 3 right now. Just a quick question. What is hand wag? I'm not familiar with that term, but I assume you mean my hand moves too much sideways when picking?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

This post has been edited by Mirba: Nov 30 2016, 08:22 PM

[Todd Simpson]

Sorry for the slang It's just the travel of the hand between pick strikes. Typically in slower bits, and blues and such, you may see players hand drift well beyond the strike point. E.g. Hand Wag. Where as during fast passages, the hand barely moves beyond the strike point of the string so that it's ready for the next strike. Make sense? It's find to wag about as long as your hand can make it back to the string in time for the next strike. You'll notice it naturally gets smaller on technical bits at speed. But I'm a wagger myself when playing pink floyd etc. as the wag can be used to rake muted strings giving a texture to the lick.

I'm the guy btw that threw you a 10 on your recent REC as the grading was over I thought I'd give you top marks for sheer RAWKING OUT. However, we are trying to keep the grades consistent so I probably have to be a bit more reserved in the future. The the other guys had covered all the issues needing fixing but I thought it deserved a Gold Star for sheer style

Todd

Hey Todd,

Working on lesson 3 right now. Just a quick question. What is hand wag? I'm not familiar with that term, but I assume you mean my hand moves too much sideways when picking?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

[Mirba]

Ok, I understand what you mean. I'll try to pay attention to it.
Also thanks a lot for your nice comments on my REC take. Feedback like that definitely keeps me motivated!
I know my take wasn't perfect, but it's still really nice to get feedback like that.


On to mission 3!!
I played this at 91bpm sixteen triplets. Any faster and I wouldn't really be able to keep playing. So this is the max speed that I can keep repeating the lick.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

This post has been edited by Mirba: Dec 3 2016, 04:06 PM

[Todd Simpson]

Mirba, you continue to impress me. So much so that I think yet again you are ready for BLACK OPS!!!! Try this same thing, but do it as DOUBLE PICKING!!! Play each note twice. Slow down if you need to, that's fine. Speed will come. Just pick each note twice. Notice how very different it feels. I would even challenge you to try the dreaded TRIPLE PICK ( I will not factor this in to your grade but I would like to see you push yourself and make the attemp) I know you hold yourself to a high standard based on your musical interests, so I do as well!!!!!!

I think you can do this. It won't be easy. But just take it one slow step at a time. One pick strike at a time.

GO FOR IT!!!!!!

Sarge

Ok, I understand what you mean. I'll try to pay attention to it.
Also thanks a lot for your nice comments on my REC take. Feedback like that definitely keeps me motivated!
I know my take wasn't perfect, but it's still really nice to get feedback like that.


On to mission 3!!
I played this at 91bpm sixteen triplets. Any faster and I wouldn't really be able to keep playing. So this is the max speed that I can keep repeating the lick.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

[Mirba]

Mirba, you continue to impress me. So much so that I think yet again you are ready for BLACK OPS!!!! Try this same thing, but do it as DOUBLE PICKING!!! Play each note twice. Slow down if you need to, that's fine. Speed will come. Just pick each note twice. Notice how very different it feels. I would even challenge you to try the dreaded TRIPLE PICK ( I will not factor this in to your grade but I would like to see you push yourself and make the attemp) I know you hold yourself to a high standard based on your musical interests, so I do as well!!!!!!

I think you can do this. It won't be easy. But just take it one slow step at a time. One pick strike at a time.

GO FOR IT!!!!!!

Sarge

That's going to be far from easy, but i'll attempt it Especially the triple picking, because I haven't really tried that before. I'll start practicing on that immediately!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

[Todd Simpson]

You can do it! Fight for it Soldier!!!


Sarge

That's going to be far from easy, but i'll attempt it Especially the triple picking, because I haven't really tried that before. I'll start practicing on that immediately!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

[Mirba]

I had some trouble with the double picking, the triple picking was a little bit easier. It's not perfect, I could definitely get it tighter if I were to practice this more.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

[Todd Simpson]

Well Fought Soldier!! Let's Debrief!!!!
You are on a roll here. The multi picking is very spiff and tight!!! BTW what pick are you using? What type/thickness/etc? If you haven't tried a really thick/hard/sharp pick like a vpick or even dunlop sharp, I'd suggest it strongly. The small strike point helps everything, the lack of flex helps precision. Makes Missions less frustrating

MEDALS OF HONOR

1.)Tight Multi Picking! Multi picking can make you pull your hair out, but you killed it Soldier!

2.)Right and left hand TALKING in sweet synch!!!!

3.)Minimized had wag, tighter each time.

You have a really good handle on this Soldier and you are ready to move forward!!!


Congrats Soldier, you just ...

LEVELED UP!!

I had some trouble with the double picking, the triple picking was a little bit easier. It's not perfect, I could definitely get it tighter if I were to practice this more.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

[Mirba]

Hey Todd,

I use these nylon big stubby's 2.0mm. From all the picks i've tried, these feel the most comfortable. When they get dull I just sharpen them up on the carpet(trick I saw on youtube )
I've tried using these picks: dunlop sharps 1.5mm. While not uncomfortable I didn't like them because they made an annoying noise on the lower strings when playing at a slight angle. It's like playing a tiny reverse pick slide when playing a single note
I've heard great things about V picks. I'm considering ordering one for trying out. The only thing that's a shame is the price, because I lose my picks all the time.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

[Todd Simpson]

As fate would have it I just wrote a long reply on this very topic in another thread which I'll share here. As I may have mentioned, I have my own Vpick design that you can buy from Vpicks. I think I shared the link before? It's a great pick. The Vonhotch are great as well. I don't like Nylon typically as it has a pinch of flex/bend. But 2.0 mm would reduce that due to thickness. Here is the bit I thought I'd share with you as well.
----
How much do I choke up on my pick? E.g. How much gap is there between my thumb and the pick tip?
The easy answer is "As little as possible". E.g. I choke up on the pick, like a batter might choke up on the Baseball Bat, and for many of the same reasons. Simple physics really. I want the fulcrum point between thumb and pick to be as close as possible. That way, when I go for a pinch harmonic, I don't have to adjust the pick at all, the thumb is right there so the technique is always "to hand" so to speak.

Also, the further I choke up, the more control I get over the contact point of the pick. E.G. Where the pick contacts that string. I want this contact point kept small for the purpose of precision which is why I suggest pointy/sharp picks. Un sharp picks reduce precision IMHO. They create a larger surface area. Thus, there is simply more pick that can hit the string. This reduces control/precision IMHO.

Further, pick "flex" or pick bend, reduces precision IMHO. When playing at speed, you are dealing in milliseconds. The time it takes for a thin pick to recover to straight after striking a string, can get in your way. You may be trying to strike while the pick is still recovering. However, if your pick has zero flex, like the VonHotch (which are made of metal) you have zero wait time. The pick is always ready. The pick he designed for me is 4mm thick which is huge. However, the pick is shaped to a point and beveled along a curve. This makes it slide across strings very easily. It almost plays itself.

Vpicks are a good place to start, as they are stiff and pointy, if you pick the right ones I have my own Vpick design as we talked about and It makes a great "gateway" pick. Jumping directly to a vonhotch is sometimes a bit much for folks. Sometimes not though.

The Jazz picks are also a good "gateway" pick. They are pointy, but they are also prone to a pinch more flex than is ideal imho. Any plastic pick under 1.0mm is prone to some degree of flex imho. The vpicks are made from a very stiff plastic and run about 1.0mm or bigger for most of the product line. So they make fine picks.


Todd

Hey Todd,

I use these nylon big stubby's 2.0mm. From all the picks i've tried, these feel the most comfortable. When they get dull I just sharpen them up on the carpet(trick I saw on youtube )
I've tried using these picks: dunlop sharps 1.5mm. While not uncomfortable I didn't like them because they made an annoying noise on the lower strings when playing at a slight angle. It's like playing a tiny reverse pick slide when playing a single note
I've heard great things about V picks. I'm considering ordering one for trying out. The only thing that's a shame is the price, because I lose my picks all the time.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

[Mirba]

Hey Todd,
Thanks for the information. I'm considering ordering a V pick to see if I like it. Also, I didn't know I should choke up on the pick. I'm going to try that.

I also have a question related to the next mission. Mission 4 in an exercise of 10 notes. How do I play this with a metronome? Do I just play 5 notes each beat? because that's something i'm not really used to

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

This post has been edited by Mirba: Dec 12 2016, 10:23 PM

[Todd Simpson]

I'd say change the metronome to only clicks. Not click click click tock as is the normal thing. That way you won't be thrown off when the loop starts again Just play slowly and match one note per click.

Todd

Hey Todd,
Thanks for the information. I'm considering ordering a V pick to see if I like it. Also, I didn't know I should choke up on the pick. I'm going to try that.

I also have a question related to the next mission. Mission 4 in an exercise of 10 notes. How do I play this with a metronome? Do I just play 5 notes each beat? because that's something i'm not really used to

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

[Todd Simpson]

Also, here is a link to my signature vpick on amazon. It's the same one that Vinnie has on his site. The Vpick Switchblade Buffed.

The buffing gives it a bevel which aides in string traverse and sharpens the point for precision.

https://www.amazon.com/V-Picks-SWBL-V-PICKS...r/dp/B01G5JALJY

If you are in Europe, these guys ship international
http://www.thepickshoppe.com/index.php?mai...products_id=634

Hey Todd,
Thanks for the information. I'm considering ordering a V pick to see if I like it. Also, I didn't know I should choke up on the pick. I'm going to try that.

I also have a question related to the next mission. Mission 4 in an exercise of 10 notes. How do I play this with a metronome? Do I just play 5 notes each beat? because that's something i'm not really used to

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

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

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

This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Dec 13 2016, 04:11 AM