NorioDS Well, on the plus side, if either one of us gets this right, we'll have some serious "showing off" chops to annoy everyone with
I hope I can get it flowing seamlessly in 2 weeks - not at 160bpm though! Eventually....maybe. I do hang onto licks I like and keep running them until they feel natural. That tired ol' 10000 hours 'rule'.
wern101 Well, I guess I'm game. I just need to get a pickup installed. At the moment domhatch's guitar sounds a little, well, unplugged. Proper-like. Time to get advice on a decent pickup... Gear thread, here I come...
But be warned, I actually went through a whole bunch of my unused lyrics last night.
Man. Do they suck!
← Don't forget to practice the SRV face. Getting the face down is a prerequisite for nailing those licks at full speed.
domhatch I don't have a pickup in my acoustic either so, we seem to be on level terrain. As for lyrics, mine also suck, but, once someone else listens you get another opinion and it aint so bad after all. We seem to be very critical of ourselves.
A new song on radio currently has the lyrics: "we've not thrown up in so long, how we have grown"
If those lyrics can get radio play, then you and I are fine...I'm sure.
@NorioDS @V8 I enjoy reading about your different approaches to this whole thing. Two completely different ways to practice and the realism of struggling. We tend to think that some people just grab the guitar and start shredding. The reality being 10 000 hours...
Thanks for sharing the journey. Quite inspiring and motivating.
ChrisDanger ? ? ?
I think it happens of it's own accord - it's much like riding a scary rollercoaster, which was the feeling I was getting from most of the tutorials, guys just managing to hang on at ludicrous speed.
SRV on the other hand... is a BOSS munching on a pipe rocking a even faster live version.
wern101 I enjoy reading about your different approaches to this whole thing. Two completely different ways to practice and the realism of struggling. We tend to think that some people just grab the guitar and start shredding. The reality being 10 000 hours...
Thanks for sharing the journey. Quite inspiring and motivating.
Glad you're enjoying! Yeah it's lots of fun seeing the different approaches. Sometimes you find a lesson for a song and it just doesn't "suit" your style of learning or playing.
Maybe we should keep this challenges thing going beyond "pointy vs paddle" as a way of collectively learning a song using different methods.
For me, Rocksmith definitely is helping me pick out some of the "hidden" notes of the song. Some notes are just completely missing from the lessons out there. That being said, I doubt I'll fit all the notes in myself ? The song's just too damn fast!
One issue I'm having with Rocksmith is that I really couldn't care for their fingering of the chords. For this song, in particular, I find myself barring across the 2nd fret for the Ab7 instead of their overly convoluted fingering. (It's totally fine when you're going slow but not when you're trying to add speed to it!)
NorioDS I find myself barring across the 2nd fret for the Ab7 i
I'm doing the same - if you check the SRV live video (slowed waaayy down), you'll see he does much the same. Though all the tabs/tutorials I've seen only really show him playing the bottom two strings for the chords - I'm also going for fuller voicings - it seems to be how he does it? I've seen multiple versions of this tune and they pretty much all differ (mostly in subtle ways), which is something that isn't too surprising - SRV did play it slightly differently live/studio.
I used the tab/tutorials to get into the ballpark of where my hand needs to be and now using ears and eyes to figure out how he got those notes to sound and flow into the tune.
That said, I only put in 10mins yesterday - fretting hand took some pain from the previous day's slog. Gotta warm up a little - this tune is just too fast to drop into "cold".
V8 That said, I only put in 10mins yesterday - fretting hand took some pain from the previous day's slog. Gotta warm up a little - this tune is just too fast to drop into "cold".
Ja I'm losing skin on the tips of my fingers ? After a while of not playing, I normally take a few days to slowly build up my calluses. This has been NOTHING like that ?
Definitely having fun with this challenge. It's way outside what I'd normally end up doing on the guitar — in a very positive way — coz I don't normally play much in the way of chords, rhythm or fast licks. And the deadline is really keeping me focused.
NorioDS And the deadline is really keeping me focused.
Me too! I figure a little everyday work is the only way to get this up to speed. Trying to cram it all into a few days just won't work if you are not used to this. And I'm not!
Luckily I've some serious calluses from the bass playing I've still been doing - but forearm and wrist took a beating trying to slide and then grab the chords fast. I'm overplaying and gripping too hard - basically tensing up - when uping the speed.
NorioDS One issue I'm having with Rocksmith is that I really couldn't care for their fingering of the chords
I love Playing Rocksmith.. and WAS using it too learn playing guitar... which is not all that great.. for the simple reason that rock smith doesn't show you easy to use shapes, when playing arpeggios. ect
you guys must have fun in this challenge , its keeping us entertained.
Tuckstir I love Playing Rocksmith.. and WAS using it too learn playing guitar... which is not all that great.. for the simple reason that rock smith doesn't show you easy to use shapes, when playing arpeggios. ect
Yep there are definitely limitations. I used it to start playing bass without an issue but I'm sure a bass teacher would send me back to school ?
Rocksmith doesn't really teach much theory. They have the videos and that's great but it's no replacement for a teacher.
One feature I only just now found (3 years later) is that when you have a song open, you can see all the chords in the song. That's a very handy feature because getting the chord shapes under your fingers can help you with a) some of the licks that are formed from the chords and, more importantly b) familiarising yourself with song structures, which chords go well together, which chords you enjoy the sound of, etc.
Only parrot-learning with Rocksmith —or any other method— is the devil! You'll lose whatever you learn as soon as you stop. (Which is what happened with me. I got Rocksmith to play more but, as every time I took a break for a few weeks, I had to almost start over.)
Day 4 : 1x15mins, more listening than playing.
Where the lick starts was bugging me...
V8 I think that the lick starts on a 'and' leading into the 'one' - which I'm finding fiendishly tricky.
I was wrong, it's the and after the one. To me, the lick just sounds 'out'/wooden when you start it on one. And he moves it around -ever so slightly, like he's playing it in 16ths and start it on the e or a. (Counting in 16th's = one-e-and-a-two-e-and-a-three-e-and-a-four-e-and-a)
Still havn't upped the tempo, but happier that I can start the lick on the and and get it to feel groovy while looping the progression - it just didn't feel right starting on the one.
Day 5 : 1x20m. 5 mins using riffstation (thanks @Tuckstir!). From which I can tell you I'm at 110bpm ?. Then just played the riff without backing/drums/metronome. It's starting to kinda sound like Scuttle buttin. Can start the lick on the and without too much issue now.
Also put a little thought into Part II Pointy side of the Duel - @NorioDS How big a Metallica fan are you reallllly? ?
Day 6: 1x5mins. Wasn't planning on any practice, but had a few minutes to kill before heading out. Got up to 120bpm. But 130bpm was rather messy. At 120+ I'm gonna have to warm up a bit better, going in cold at that tempo is asking to hurt something!
NorioDS Instead of learning one track, I'm thinking we shoot Metallica riffs at each until one of us taps out. 5-7 rounds, each 1-3 days long depending on how tricky the riff is?
If we both don't know the riff, then the closest to album tempo wins
If one of us know the riff, then he has to get it to album tempo, while the other has to play it recognizably.
Fun, because I think anyone who feels like joining in, can!
