@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.
Learning Stevie Ray Vaughan - Scuttle Buttin'
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!)
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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.
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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!
Day 7 : 1x20m. Warmed up for 5mins, then got stuck in at 120bpm. First attempt at 130bpm was awful, it felt waaayy too fast. Cranked up bpm to 145, then 160 - just playing the chords, which was do-able.
Then dropped it back to 130 and played the entire riff. Felt a bit more manageable. Still not comfy though. Dunno how this is gonna get cranked up to 160.... ?
Day 5 I managed some unplugged practice in the morning (while wifey slept) before buying some awesome merch at Geek Fest.
The unplugged practice was different but something @AlanRatcliffe recommended a while ago. More for hearing a guitar's naked tone before buying it but it turned out to be a useful tool for practising. No distortion or other effects to distract you. But you end up picking way harder, so not great for extended periods of practice, I'd say.
Day 6 I didn't practice at all. Mostly to do with one of our cats having gone missing. Still missing sadly ?
Day 7 turned out pretty good. Managed a bunch of full-speed practice but then noticed that the feel was off. Noticed some notes were being played that aren't on the record and other notes were missing. So I slowed everything down to the slowest Rocksmith will allow (1 out of 100, sadly no "proper" bpm feature in RS2014.)
Having the lick (mostly) under your fingers, and then slowing the record down to "painfully slow" really helps you pick out some notes you might have missed. There are a few nuances in each "chord" that give the song some of its flavour and feel.
So hopefully the next 7 days will be enough time to get ALL the correct notes ringing and at the right times. My timing feels a bit rushed at times, so I gotta practice my starts of each lick.
Managed to get a really nice tone on my JS-100 with the pickup selector on the middle (both pickups together) but in single-coil mode. Really sounds tasty. Dunno if I'll be able to get that tone from my BR-600 or Micro Orange Terror so that's another thing to practice this week — dialing in that tone.
@V8 are we recording the final tracks on our phones? ie: Using the built-in video recorder? Or are we doing something fancier?
Good question, I think phone video w/audio? Not really gonna give us a great idea of tone though. I can plug in sound card and DI out my pedal(s) - will be a minor improvement in tone but not a great deal. I'm lazy to setup a mic or mess around with plug-in's and sims - though if you really want to we can.
V8 I'm just as lazy ?
Best I'd be able to do is DI into BR-600 / Rocksmith. How about we do both? Set phone to record, then DI into something that is also recording, and post both here. The DI will highlight our awful playing ability, which the phone video might hide. But the phone video levels the playing ground slightly by not being too fancy. And doing 'em both at the same time means it's not much work for us, really.