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.

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 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, no points for speed, only points for playing in a precise manner as speed is simply a byproduct of precision) Shoot a video and post it as a reply to this post. Make sure to EMBED the video by clicking on INSERT SPECIAL ITEM above the smiley face and then you'll get a drop down menu. Click on INSERT YOUTUBE VIDEO and follow the instructions in the Pop Up Menu. I'll then offer a constructive and brutally honest critique.

THE AFTERMATH

Upon nailing the crap out of lesson one at a speed you didn't think possible, and playing it a clean as a freshly waxed floor, you will be given your first insignia of Rank in BOOTCAMP! You will then proceed to Lesson #2 and so forth. Here is the link to the entire 400 plus Lesson Library. https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/inde...rtal:Techniques

Here is the link to your own PRIVATE HOUSE OF PAIN!...Er I mean.. SHRED!

http://bit.ly/adamsbootcamp
Practice!
Sarge

Welcome to Bootcamp Adam!!! You are on your way to Earning Your Stripes!!!! Let's Debrief!!!
MEDALS OF HONOR

*MUTE: Well Done on your mute technique. You are doing it just right imho. Your palm remains planted and your articulating the pick with the thumb and first finger. Is this your normal technique or did you read me going on about this in a post somewhere? Either way, NICE!!!
*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.

These first few Missions are not likely to challenge you very much but that's OK as they are just designed to get you familiar with the process. As you go forward, the Missions will get harder and harder as you get better and better.

In short, you just.......

LEVELED UP!!!!

Sarge

Thank you for kind words!

Here is my take on second lesson, again 150 bpm. I just noticed the picking hand is barely visible but it's pretty much the same as on first lesson. I did my very best to get a quick recording just before the nighttime. I can re-record it tomorrow if that's problem but I could also upload lesson 3 tomorrow afternoon - it doesn't look like something I've never done before

As I said in the other topic, I'll be buying the interface - probably Scarlett 2i2 - but in that case I'll have to wait until next month. I don't earn that much doing both university and part-time job, so the tablet's camera will have to do for now.

Good to see you in the Fight Soldier!! The video quality is more than ok. As long as I can see and hear you are good to go!!! If you ever get the desire to do more than one at a time, it's ok. Some folks prefer it. Honestly whatever works for you is what works for me Soldier!! Let's debrief!!
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!! Score!!
You clearly have all the elements well in hand Soldier. You are ready for what awaits you!
You just ...
LEVELED UP!!!!
These missions will get more complex as you go. The first several are really foundational. It's good to see you are comfortable with most important techniques!!

Sarge

Here's my next video. For this one I stayed at 130 bpm and (I'm sorry for that!) I had the metronome in the headphones. For some reason that made it much easier for me but also its clicking is a bit loud and it's late hour. Honestly, I believed it would be much easier, guess it's descending run for a reason
-Adam

MEDALS OF HONOR

*PICKING TECHNIQUE: Solid picking technique. The picking is really the core of everything we are going to be doing so it's great to see you have a good handle on it!!!

*MUTING: Without a solid palm mute, all is lost. Your palm mute is spot on and no string noise is escaping. Keep that up!!!!!

*SYNCH: Keeping your right/left hand synch is another crucial part of this. You've got very solid hand synch and you are ready for what's next!!!
In other words you just.....
LEVELED UP!!!!

Sarge

I don't like my performance here. I recorded that after 48 hrs with almost no sleep but still, I did it. 140bpm today.

Nice!!!!!! Soldier this is impressive. Mission 3 is a chance for me to really look at your precision and synch. mission 4 is a good chance to see what your endurance is like. The video is fine for our purposes here but it a pinch dark ( a bit more light wouldn't hurt) and your pick hand is mostly in the shot but if you backed up just a pinch I could see more of it which would be handy
Let's Debrief!!
MEDALS OF HONOR

*PALM MUTE STEADY ON: Keeping a steady palm mute without moving your pick hand all over the place is key. You have a good and centered technique here. keep that up!
*PICKING STEADY ON: Your picking is very even and solid as it should be. If your picking rushes or drags, it will ruin your ability to play briskly with precision. Great to see your picking is solid and steady!! This will serve you well as you work on your speed.
*ENDURANCE: I have not had a chance to really see your endurance on display until Mission 4 and I'm impressed. This Mission is one that can burn your arm off if you are not doing it correctly which is sorta the point of Mission 4. if one tries this mission using the STIFF ARM picking technique, for example, it won't last long.

You are doing very well in these foundational Missions. Keep going!! They will keep getting harder as you go but you are more than ready Soldier!! In other words you just.... LEVELED UP!!!!




Sarge

Here is my take on the next mission. To be frank, I had a gut feeling it will be a milk run. I was right. The previous mission took me some time but this one I did with no practice at all. I'm not proud of it because maybe I should practice at a higher tempo or something. But then, the nighttime was near and I really wanted to turn it in It's in 120 bpm.

Nice!! The speed is more than fine. There is never a speed requirement in bootcamp. Speed is just a byproduct of precision. You will get more precise as you get more Missions under your belt. You are better off completing more missions and expanding your musical vocabulary than spending too much time trying to bump up the speed on a single mission. Each Mission will add something to y our skill set. You will notice that you just start getting faster as you go through them.

This one is about handy synch and picking and you did great on both. Let's debrief! Also, the lighting is much better I don't mind if vids are dark, as sometimes, folks have to shoot with a cell phone at night and don't want to wake folks up. It's always handy to have more light if possible

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: 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 killed this one, you just...... LEVELED UP!!!

Here's the mission #6 After a warmup i had fun. I was used to a different pattern and had no idea that these patterns are pedal points too.

It seems my hand can reach this many frets with no major issues but if I were to fret just one position further (17th), there would be a problem. This is also a reason I have bad time learning JB's Altitudes (sweep section). Will my hand stretch accordingly as I progress or should I make some extra effort? I know this is one of the reasons it's best to start playing as a child, when one's still growing but then, I was worried I wouldn't be able to play on higher frets at all with my big hands and now it's alright.

For the second exercise I lowered the tempo and used triplet option in the metronome. I just couldn't play it with regular clicking. I'll look for mobile version that can do that, so I can put it in the video as well.



Edit: I also put my amp on a chair this time which makes it about equal height as recording tablet. Is it any better now, regarding trebles and stuff?

I'm back! And this time, I bring not one video but two
#7 is in 120bpm and #8 is 140 bpm, IIRC

Well Done!! This is exactly what I want out of this Mission. You nailed it! let's debrief!!
MEDALS OF HONOR

ALT PICKING: Your doing great on your Alternate Picking here. It's consistent and that's what I'm looking for. Nice!!
MUTE: Very solid work on the palm mute. Also critical. If you can't mute, you will get string noise. Not a problem here!!!
SYNCH: Right/Left hand synch is the core of this drill. If your synch is off, the entire thing will fall apart. Again, not a problem here! Your synch is spot on!
Sound is much improved and lighting is better! Score!! Your finger stretch will get better as you go but I'd say try to stretch before you practice as a warmup, and after you practice as a cooldown. Here are my standard stretches. STOP if you feel any pain. Don't think you have to stretch as far as I am. I've been stretching a long time. It will take time.
For now, well done you just...
LEVELED UP!!!!
Sarge

Well Fought Soldier!! This is exactly what I hoped to see. This drill requires intense single string work and Alternate Picking. It also requires you play single strike and an asymetrical single/double strike pattern. Learning to use both strike patterns will serve you well in the Wars to come and you nailed it!! Let's Debrief!!

MEDALS OF HONOR
ALTERNATE PICKING MADNESS - Alternate Picking is the core of these drills. If you 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!! Smooth as glass!

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!!
Great job on these. You have a solid picking technique, good muting and traverse. You are ready for the WARS TO COME Soldier!! You just...
LEVELED UP!!!!
Sarge

MEDALS OF HONOR


TRAVERSE OF KINGS You may have noticed that these licks have a LOT of string traverse. This is something that many players struggle with. Often, the pick will snag on a string an ruin the bit. By looping the drill I get to see if you have the endurance to play at pace and not miss a strike/fret/etc. The good news is you didn't miss a thing!!


SOLID PACING Any looping lick like these is about pacing. It's giving you a chance to rush or lag depending on which part of the bit is easy to play. It takes control to play it all at the same 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 do it in "bursts" ala Ben Higgins on your way to being able to play the entire thing in a bit loop at break neck pace ala Paul Gilbert. Score!!

In short you made short work of it Soldier!! You are ready for the wars to come!!

You just..

LEVELED UP!!!


Sarge

It's maybe a bit too early, not a whole week passed, but I don't think I'll improve much in the next few days.
110 bpm was the fastest tempo I could push and it wasn't as perfect as I want it to be. I need to use an online metronome with triplet clicks. I'll probably get used to triplets with the most basic metronome pattern over time but for now it confuses me instead.

I'm waiting for the buyer to receive my pickup and pay C.O.D. and I'll use that money to buy a replacement, so for now I'm stuck with the other guitar (loaded with PAFs) but it turned out to be just fine for the Bootcamp



I watched some other students' takes on this mission and I'm horrified by how fast they can go. It just motivated me even more to progress quickly.

Well Fought Soldier!!!! It's always a good day to make a new Mission Vid!!! Great to see you are digging in with aggression!! Let's Debrief!!
MEDALS OF HONOR

SNIPER Picking with the the tactical precision of a Sniper. It's good to see! Never hitting the wrong strike, always making a clean hit. keep that up!!
CONSISTENCY 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. You've shown great ability with it thus far. Keep that up too!!
MUTE TO KILL Also crucial is a good palm mute. 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 getting the fundamentals down Soldier!!! Keep this up!! You are on a roll. keep that going to!! Keep putting them and I"ll keep debriefing. Don't be thrown off by the speed you see others playing at. Everyone, I mean everyone, had to start at square one at some point. The more Missions you complete, the better you'll get. Keep going!
You just ...
LEVELED UP!!!!

Sarge
"m

Blood, sweat and tears. Well, not exactly but close. After about 2 hours of recording session I did a clean run. At first, I felt my endurance being put to test. Left hand was uncomfortable until I got used to it, much later. I probably should take a break or two and cool down a bit but I had quite a nice streak there. THough, later I started feeling frustrated a bit and started making silly mistakes. The worst were those when my finger slipped at the last two notes, literally.

Nobody said it would be a milk run but that's how it works. Here's mission 10:



PS.
I tried playing a few parts of Stream of Consciousness and there's this main riff where the fingers cover 2 notes across half the fretboard. After a warm-up and a moment of practice, I got it! It's more extreme stretching than Arpeggios From Hell! I can't play this progression smoothly but I can play the separate chords relatively clean!

PS2.
I also browsed Quick Licks section and I decided to give it a try when I have a moment. Is it okay if I do each one twice: once just to play it properly and twice in higher tempo after a few months of progress? I think they are only graded once, so I'm asking if you could make an exception in my case?

Next mission might appear tonight. At first it was a pain to memorize. Then I tried grouping the notes by 4 and it was better. Then I played your video and when I heard you play it, I got the pattern at once!

Now, I know I'll be repeating this but I still uploaded it because of few reasons. I didn't say I'd do it for sure but in my mind it was decided. It's the middle of the night here and that's why I'm playing unplugged. Neighbours would be furious.
Secondly, somethhing quite bad happened today and I was all nervous when I was recording earlier. In that state I kept making really silly mistakes and got even more upset. I know I wouldn't be able to fall asleep like that. It was a battle for my honour, so it doesn't matter if I fail the lesson. This small victory over my own limits was somehow satisfying and it feels lighter now.

It's all muted tightly and tempo = 100 in triplets:

If there is a vid with the Mission, always try to watch that before you dig in to the Tablature.It will show you what I'm looking for in the Mission and the tab will usually make more sense

Sarge

Well fought Soldier!! It's always good to go ahead and give a Mission a whirl!!! I can't really hear it but I can see your hands and it looks good. I think you have a god handle on this. Good effort and clean playing never gets a Fail!! This is solid work here. When you get a chance, just make a "Mission Version" where you are plugged in to whatever you normally use so that I can hear as well as see. It's important to hear it with your normal tone so that any string noise, etc can be heard in order to properly critique it. You can record the vid when you go to record your next Mission if you like.

Keep it up!!
Sarge

Sometimes you get the tabs with no demo included. While you're right saying it makes much more sense, I want to try it by myself and see if I get it right

I'm much more calm today and some of the issues from yesterday may solve themselves today. I'll get to recording in a second.
Did you miss my mission 10 video? Maybe it drowned in my spam or it's because we moved to page 2 now. Seems I'll have no problem passing at least number 11, so I'll get straight to 12 afterwards!

-Adam

Per your question about quick licks, jump in!!! Feel free to make 2 versions of the quick licks vids so that you can have a video of pushing the envelope as well as your take for critique. I'll be able to tell which is which. So it's completely fine. You can do a fast take on Bootcamp as well, as long as you have one take that's played under control. That way you can have a video trail of progress both of pushing the edge and of where you are in terms of playing a given bit with precision. In short, go for it!!

Let's look at Mission 10. This is a bit of a BEAR. It's a serious finger twister. It's tempting to try to play this briskly. It's what I call a "speed trap". Your fingers want to try to shred it, but the complexity of the lick makes it feel like swimming up stream. Don't feel bad about this, this lick is very very complex and is mostly about having control over your fingers and picking rather than playing it fast. As for the speed, your playing this plenty fast. There are some licks in bootcamp that are built to shred. This just isn't one of them. Let's Debrief!!!..
MEDALS OF HONOR

*SYNCH OR SWIM: Hand synch is CRUCIAL on this lick. If you slip just once, it sticks out like a sore thumb as I'm sure you found out. So it's critical that each pick strike matches up with a fretted note. You have to stick the landing each and every time, which you do!!
*MUTE OR DIE: Due to the massive amount of string/fret traverse, you gotta keep a good palm mute on this guy or string noise will just wreck it. Your mute is spot on.
*AGGRESSIVE STYLE: This is a hard lick to play. You jumped right in and pushed the envelope and still kept it under control. Nice!!! In short you just....LEVELED UP!!!!
You are on a roaring roll Soldier!! Keep it up!!

Well Fought Soldier!!! Yet another one of very important foundational bits Soldier. This finger shape is one you will see quite often as you go forward. Also, you'll see a LOT of this type of string/fret traverse. This is a deceptively simple lick. It's got enough complexity to get your fingers thinking about what note comes next, but it's the same idea repeated so it's not overly complex. 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. Part of what I'm trying to teach you is Playing like a Robot in order to Shred Like a God. Paul Gilbert is a good example of putting loops of a given lick to good use. It's one way to build up steady speed. Of course, you can play one loop fast and then settle back in to a comfy speed for a "burst" approach as well.
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. This will serve you well when we start doing very long scale runs.

ARTICULATION: You are doing a very good job of articulating the pick with your thumb/first finger and avoiding the dreaded "Picking from the Elbow" keep that up!!
You've got this down pat Soldier!! You just...
LEVELED UP!!!!You are only one Mission away from your next Chevron Badge Soldier!
Sarge

I guess this is the last "easy" mission. Is it why I get the Chevron Badge after clearing it?

I checked number 13 and getting used to the pattern will take a few practice sessions. Nothing I can't do.

Well Fought!! Very perceptive as well. This is the end of the "Starter" Missions. Youhave gotten your production process going, your accustomed to the process, youare able to adapt to a wide variety of techniques, in short, your ready!!! It's whythe Double Chevron starts at 13. The badge ups are tied to the levels and you badgeup a chevron when you make it to the next range of difficulty. Sort of like being
at a given level of power in a Video Game like Destiny or something similar.
You may be at a given level for a bit until you level out if it. Same here, once youare well versed in a given range of techniques, you level out and head to the next thing.You will get "reminder" drills as you go since these skills are perishable. For now,
let's Debrief!!!!!
MEDALS OF HONOR
ALT PICK OF DESTINY: Alternate Picking is at the core of this lick. Without good alt picking technique, this lick won't work. It's the kind of thing you just cant play with all downstrokes and have it work well. Nice!!
TRAVERSAL OF FORTUNE: Non stop fret traverse is required on this one. You gotta slide a bit to make this work and you slide quite well!!!
PINKY TIME: Good use of the pinky here! On the lower frets, Pinky Power is crucial.

You are ready for the next chapter Soldier! You are ready to Badge up to 13!!! It's a bit more challenging to be sure. You can nail it!!
You just leveled up...
Sarge

Just a quick update. I won't be recording anything for a few days. I just got the info 2 of my exams are on next Monday. The lecturer doesn't like me, so I need to pass both with high grades. I also have to turn in a chapter of thesis on Monday, so I'll be busy. I'll try to practice during what little fretime I'll have but to use that time efficiently, I can't focus on recording.

Also, thank you. I will add your father to my prayers too.

-Adam

No worries Soldier!! You've earned a break!! Thanks for thinking of my Dad He needs all the help we can get.
Todd

I just played around for a warm-up. I noticed AP-heavy riffs like Iron Maiden are much easier for me to play. All my practice was your drills, so that's what helped me. Thanks!

I'll edit this post later when I have a video ready, so I don't spam too much in this thread. Just wanted to let you know I'm starting to notice my progress.

Awesome!!! It's great to hear that your hard work is paying off!!! Keep it up


Todd

I'm back with another video. Descending run was very easy but there was a tricky part in the ascending one. It's where I moved from G string to B string and had to go up by 1 fret. I got it eventually but I could use much more practice for fluency.

Nice!!!!! I could not have asked for better Soldier! You didn't rush it, which is a good thing imho. This lick is all about hitting the right notes in the right order. It's not really a shred lick. When I play this lick in a solo, if I want it to sound fast, I'll usually multi pick it (doubles/quads) since it doesn't lend ifself to shreddery. That B string fret jump is part of what makes this tricky. It's great that you didn't have to struggle on this. It's a complicated bit of finger work and that's why it makes a great drill. It also makes a cool lick for solo work! I often use just a few strings of it as a transition piece in a guitar solo. It's a great way to get from one lick to another. Let's Debrief!!
MEDALS OF HONOR

*TACTICAL PRECISION: Very well done on pick strikes and fretting. Without a high degree of precision, this lick just falls apart.

*STEADY PACE: Didn't rush, didn't lag. Being able to play at a steady pace and not rush the easy bits and then drag the difficult bits is crucial to being a well rounded player. Well done!

*QUIET AS DEATH: On these types of licks that use all the strings, it's very hard to keep it from generating string noise. Not a problem here! Silent as the grave!
Well fought Soldier! You just..
LEVELED UP!!!
*Congrats on your first BADGE UP to a new CHEVRON level. This is your first Double Chevron Badge!
Sarge

I tried getting it done before going to work. There's single, double and triple empty string version in vid 1. I'm not sure what mission 15 is about. I mean there's the tab but no task to complete, so I recorded 3 runs on this.

Well fought Soldier!!! This is a great lick to work on your single string technique. Keep doing this lick in your practice sessions and you will continue to gain precision and speed. Let's Debrief!!!!
MEDALS OF HONOR

*PICKING-This is all about single string picking technique. Being able to alternate pick on a single string without getting the pick caught, losing track of the strike pattern, etc. You did a great job on picking this one.

*TIMING-Timing is crucial in this lick. If the timing is off at all, it sound very obvious. That's why this lick is structured as it is. The good news is your timing is spot on and you played this very well.

*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. It's great to see!! Well done.
In short, you KILLED IT Soldier!!! You just...
LEVELED UP!!

Here's my take on next mission. Mentally I'm at the next lesson as I need to prepare to it instead of just playing a vista. I think you said before that from time to time I should revise the past lessons, so I think it's a way to do it plus transposing skills which is always nice to have

I made this video today. Matching the patterns to an E minor scale was much more difficult than just moving a pattern up or down. It's the first part, Missions 1 - 6 included. I'll do some more during my next session.



Now I noticed I missed one mission, so I'll do that as well

Well Fought Soldier!! Yet another Mission that requires a bit of finger twisting. All of these are intended to give you the basic skills needed to compete in the REC lessons and be able to WIN each and every time. Great to see you making such progress!! Let's Debrief!
MEDALS OF HONOR

*SOLID MUTE: Without a good mute this would sound like a huge mess of noise. Good job keeping it clean. It's a crucial skill.

*SYNCH OR SWIM: Hand synch is getting better and better. Keep up your missions and it will keep getting better!

*ARTICULATION: Well done using the fingers/hand on the picking and NOT using the stiff arm / picking from the Elbow. Avoiding that bad habit is key to progressing. In short you KILLED IT!! Nicely done on your lesson Revision Video as well!! You've got all of these in Memory which is impressive!! Keep up your practice routine!!! If you have not done so, add learning your favorite songs by ear. Without tablature to help develop your ear.
You just.. LEVELED UP!!!Sarge

I'm on a pretty good streak, so I'm not stopping now I had a little hard time figuring out the pattern because the tab is split into 3 parts here. Your demo is great It's both promising and terrifying.

Well Fought Soldier!!! The Video demo shows a few key things.
1.)Economy of Motion: Notice that my left and right hands are barely moving. It sounds like they should be flailing about like mad, but instead, they both look like they are barely moving at all. This is the key to shredding at full tilt.

2.)Right Hand is Relaxed: Notice that there is barely any tension on my right hand,. Go back and watch just the right hand. Note that the strikes barely move beyond the string. This too is key. Being able to hit the next note is easier when one doesn't drift to far away from the string.

3.)Pick as Sharp as a Scalpel: Using a very stiff, 1.0 MM or thicker, very sharp and very beveled pick with a rounded side edge can really make the difference. I'm currently using a MATHAS GUITARS "Impaler" 3.0 MM pick. It's the only pick I've found that is honestly perfect. It's similar to my custom VON HOTCH pick that took me and Vonhotch about a year to design. He doesn't make picks anymore sadly.

You have a very good start on this. Your technique is solid and that's the most important thing. Let's Debrief!!!!
MEDALS OF HONOR

PLAYING WITHIN ABILITY: It's always tempting, on a lick like this, to push the envelope well past where one actually can play,. I see it all the time. In an earnest effort to shred, folks end up trading precision for an attempt at speed and end up getting neither. Quite easily it slips in to sloppy playing. Not so here!!! You are in control the entire time.
NOT TENSING UP: Not tensing your arms is the key to shredding. Tension is Death for shredding. It wrecks your speed, kills your precision and causes injury. Great to see you not tensing!!
PACING: It's also tempting on a lick lick this to play the parts that are easier for the hand faster than the parts that are more difficult. Good news is you don't fall in to that trap!!!
Keep this lick in your warm up routine. Eventually, you will be playing this as fast or faster than I'm playing it in the video. Just be patient with yourself and keep it up!!! In other words you just..
LEVELED UP!!!!!
Sarge

I misunderstood the task for Mission 18. Also, I suppose quite a number of students don't get past this but I'm not one of them! Can't say when exactly I'll upload a vid but it should be this week. I want a take that will satisfy me.

Now that you mention it, WADS of folks get stuck right here at 18. To wit, I have added this bit to help explain the Mission. It's really just, make a solo using the supplied track as a backing, record a vid.

ASSIGNMENT:

Play a solo over the backing track. Try to use some of the licks that we have worked on in previous Bootcamp Missions. If you feel that your solo is better served by using other licks, that's entirely up to you. I just want to see you creating a guitar solo over a backing. Also, I"m not going to tell you what key this is. I want you to listen to the track and see what notes sound good. If I just give you the key, you may just play notes in that scale and that's not really what I want. I want you to listen to the track, and respond musically. Trust yourself!!

Your video take can have as many or as few notes as you see fit. Just make it good!

This is officially the toughest mission at GMC and I'm taking level 10 shred lessons into account. I have a few ideas already. Now I need a few more and then I'll just combine them.

I always thought it was the easiest of all the missions but nobody seems to agree Many of the students have found this one a big of a speed bump on the road to greatness. Don't stress. You can play anything you like. Doesn't have to shred, doesn't need to be fast. Just any notes that are in key. Thats the only requirement.
Todd

I think the difficulty in this one comes mostly from the improvisation task itself. With the tabs given, even in rank 10 lessons, you don't need to worry about that. Just memorize the pattern and phrase it in a way that you see fit. Here, the student must get familiar with the scale and not just 5 boxes but also see them as a whole. Then they must come up with a few melodic licks to make it sound right. My takes don't sound like playing scales up and down but it's not enough to make it sound good. All the tools needed to improvise better I'm hoping to learn here at GMC but it's not going to happen over a night.

From a student's point of view, I can say that I joined GMC with no proper education. I mean, I have some knowledge but nobody taught me how to improvise because I mostly learned from tabs. I think this lack of experience poses that difficulty and I imagine that any student who wasn't taught it before will have a hard time. But it's better this way because this forces a person to think and come to conclusions.

I think that changing this mission the way you did - to figure out the key before anything else is really going to help me and others. Especially today, when there are tabs and transcriptions for most of the pieces. I read many comments saying that e.g. in the 80's people had one CD and figured the songs by themselves. Even YJM used a tape recorder and analyzed the piece's structure with ears only. This is a very important skill if someone aims to become a real virtuoso. Not all of the classical pieces have their score sheets available and even those that do have it probably take weeks to put it on a fretboard. And I don't just mean getting a sequence right but also literally putting it on the fretboard. The same sound appears in few positions and some are easier and more accessible than other. Learning to do it is another crucial skill. My recent experience with Paganini's Sonata proves it beyond doubt.

I honestly hope there are more missions in Bootcamp like this one. Also it's just my idea but I think it would make a very interesting challenge to get a simple recorded melody, even just a sound file with no video, and be expected to reproduce it with no hints such as the key, etc. For example a pass grade for doing it properly and bonus points for dynamics, stressing the notes and ornamentation used. This way, both beginners and advanced players could enjoy it. Also, the feedback from such challenge would probably help any student improve further.

The improv aspect is what makes this one such a challenge for many folks. Improv is something that is hard to actually teach since so much of it comes down to person doing the improv. Even if a student knows all their scales, knows how to play "in key" and all, they still may struggle with even a short improv where they have to write a solo from scratch. The good news is, I've got the answer key so I can share a bit

1.)Once you find the key, pick your scale. Here's a hint. Minor and Pentatonic work great.

2.)Land on the Root/Key note now and then to resolve your licks.

That's it. It's really not more complex than that. You can use single note licks like BB king if you like. You don't even have to use polytonal chops. The important thing is that you dive in and try it. If I don't like it, you'll get more practice by doing it again

I like your idea for ear training! The good news is you don't need an instructor for something like that. You can grab any guitar bit ever played and use your ear to work it out not by note. I did that same thing when I was learning and it did help. I still like learning songs that way and only use tab if I hit a sticking point.

You can put up a test solo if you want some feedback before your take. Look forward to hearing it! There are other solo lessons in bootcamp. You just gotta work towards them.
Todd

To be honest, you didn't remove the info about the key completely after changing the mission - I just realized that. The description is still hinting at it. Also, the backing track didn't change, so I'm pretty sure the key stays the same.

The main problem I'm having here is that this track is much more dynamic than what I've tried from YouTube and slow ballad-type playing doesn't sound too well here. I'm a perfectionist and unfortunately playing a nice solo won't satisfy me unless it fits the track's character. I need to do some trial and error and see for myself how to make it work. That's the best partt about it!

Is there a place where I can post a video when I work out some piece? All I can think of is the Practice Room section but as long as I can get some feedback, it works for me

I'm not trying to make it impossible, really not trying to make it even that difficult. So some hints about the key are ok Using the same track. This lesson is intimidating enough evidently without me making it too much harder. I'm glad you dove in!!!
The bad news is that I can't hear the backing track in the video I need to be able to hear the backing and the solo to be able to tell how you are doing. Since the mission is about playing over a backing, I really do need to hear the backing. You can put up a test pass with the backing and I'd be happy to give you some feedback on it. I can't really say much without the backing other than it looks like your playing is solid, so yeah, add the backing!
Part of what I"m trying to teach on this Mission and in fact every mission, is the importance of not getting in your own way. We all have our demons to overcome. Perfectionism, some folks have procrastination, some folks it's something else. Everyone has something. The missions are designed to keep you moving forward and not allow you to get too stuck on one thing for too long. I've seen many players get stuck and give up so don't allow yourself to get trapped. As for the practice vids, you can put them up right here. It's a great place for them. Make as many as you like as often as you like. The more the merrier. It's by working through this that you gain something from it. There are plenty of missions where you will need to solo so please don't let perfection be the enemy of progress. That too is a key lesson that I"m trying to teach. Learning to let go, and move on, is part and parcel to learning how to learn. That lesson will help you in every aspect of the gig called life. Guitar, after all, is just a sort of metaphor for life itself. The journey is without end. Getting stuck along the way due to a bump in the road doesn't help the traveler or the road.

Look forward to your practice vid!
Todd

It seems I did it. I've been listening to this track looped for a few days now, hoping to come up with some licks but it's very difficult when there's no vocal track.



I hope this one gets a pass grade, I gave it my 300% today just to make it to the next mission. Now I'm a little behind schedule with thesis but there's still some time before deadline for next part.

As a bonus, I'm including a photo of my t-shirt I was wearing for this occasion. The writing says it all

Could you criticize my previous video as it is, just so I know how bad it is? I borrowed some licks from Vivaldi's Four Seasons and tried transposing them to what I think is the lesson's track key. I said I'd try learning classical pieces by ear and I mean it. The earlier I start, the earlier I learn to play this concerto suite

Also, what you're hearing here is my new Merlin pickup and Zombie amp with V30 stack. It's a bit far away from recording device, so the mic doesn't capture nuances but the difference is huge hearing it live! I'm in love with it and I want a mic with DI box so much more now!
I didn't have time to do reviews for any of this yet, but I thought I'd let you know. Maybe you can hear the difference in my vids

I'm also happy because I managed to find someone who would trade my EMG H4 for H3. I bought two H4's for about 60% price of one and I really like them but many folks say H3 is much better at neck and seeing how H4 is so brutal, they could be right. I'm not using the EMG's currently but I keep them safe. If I manage to find a cheap used Explorer-type guitar, I would swap them for pure Metallica tribute axe. We're trading by mailing them by C.O.D. and I only hope I won't get tricked to pay for a potato in a box or something like that.