Wim VD1
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Posts posted by Wim VD1
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@RGMachine, Session 19 is dedicated to soloing. It includes these guidelines:
1) Look at the key signature. 2) Let the chord tones guide you. 3) Adjust to the style of the song. 4) Use finger patterns as a simple starting point. 5) Creativity involves lots of trial and error.
Creative soloing takes a lot of time to develop. You need to know your scales and also learn licks by heart. Licks are like words that you use to make phrases. There are plenty of resources on blues licks.
it's also fun and rewarding to learn some entire solos from your favorite blues players.
Wim.
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On my steel string acoustic, I have been trying Martin Retro, Elixir Polyweb and Elixir Nanoweb. So far I like the Polywebs the most.
Wim.
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What a coincidence. Yesterday I recorded this Beatles song from the L&M Fingerstyle course that I had been working on for some weeks.
I heard McCartney say in an interview that they wanted to sound like Bach in this one 😀.
Wim.
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Following @Steve Krenz advice, I have started to pay much more attention to moving my fingers off the fretboard and trying not to let them touch when schifting between chords. This gets me a long way already trying to avoid string squeaks.
Today, I also bought an old fashioned pumice stone to reduce the callouses on my fingertips. I know this does not sound very rock and roll, but I noticed after the pumice stone treatment a further reduction of unwanted squeaks when playing. My problem is getting solved.
Wim.
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4 hours ago, Randy120 said:
You held the secret in your hands all along.
Back to the woodshed for you. 🎸
Back to my favourite place 🎼🏠🎼
Wim.
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20 hours ago, Steve Krenz said:
Ahhh.... String Squeaks - the curse of playing wound strings.
WHY DOES IT HAPPEN?
When you rub your fingers along the wound strings (usually the 2nd-6th strings), the ridges on your finger rubs against the ridges on the wound string and it causes the squeak.
Notice how your fingers don't produce a squeak on the 1st or 2nd string because those are not wound strings.
HOW CAN I MINIMIZE IT?
Avoid sliding your fingers across the strings when you change chords.
When you play a chord put the pressure down onto the fretboard to get the note or chord and then, after the note or chord, remove the pressure straight up without shifting one way or the other.
You have to be much more careful when you shift between chords. Don't keep your fingers against the strings when you shift. Make sure they are not touching the strings as you shift.
So, why doesn't Tommy Emmanuel squeak as much? Because he's Tommy Emmanuel and he is VERY good at not rubbing his fingers on the strings when he shifts between chords.
Practice shifting between chords by moving your fingers completely off the fretboard and not letting them still touch as you shift between chords.
OTHER FACTORS
Certain types of strings can certainly make squeaking more pronounced. But, overall, the issue is more about paying more attention when you are shifting between chords to not have your fingers make contact with the strings.
You can always use flatwound strings and you will not squeak at all. BUT, your sound will sound very muffled because it is the winding on the strings that makes the strings sound sparkly from the higher frequencies.
I hope this helps.
It takes practice. You'll get better at it.
Thanks, Steve.
I thought I could buy the solution (other strings, lubricant), but realize now that I will have to work it out in the practice room 😀
Wim.
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Tony,
About a year ago, Steve had a live lesson on this topic:
In the dropdown section of the video, there is a link to download the charts:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/au3mtfgebbaplhb/Capo and Transposing Chart.pdf
Wim.
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Thanks for your replies. @NeilES335, I consider trying Fingerease Guitar String Lubricant.
@Steve Krenz and @Greg Voros, could you give some advice on how to avoid or reduce string squeaks?
Wim
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Someone mentionned to me that my recording of St. James Infirmary sounds a little squeaky.
i have to agree that those squeaky strings bother me as well. Before recording that song, I changed strings from Elexir Polyweb to Elexir Nanoweb and I think it got worse. The callouses on my fingertips don't help either.
So could anyone give me some advice on how to avoid or reduce string squeaks?
Wim.
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11 hours ago, Steve Krenz said:
Great job. Very musical.
Now that you have the notes down, you can try to polish the sound a bit. The next step is to try to let each chord ring out as much as possible.
This song is always special to me. Teri was a dear friend while I was in college. We were on the road touring together a few summers in a band that played jazz arrangements of hymns at churches all over the US.
We developed a great friendship. Nothing romantic - just a good friend.
A few years later she was going through a tough time and I went up to hang out for a weekend with her at her parents home. I'm not sure what the situation was but somewhere over the weekend I found myself at their place with no one home. So, I grabbed the guitar and eventually stumbled on this melody.
Years later when we were creating the Fingerstyle course I included it because it illustrated 10ths well.
I've since lost touch with Teri and haven't seen her since those days 30 or so years ago. I think of her from time to time and pray that she is doing well.
-Steve
Thanks for your reply, Steve.
It's great to get to know the story behind the song.
Letting the chords ring out makes a big difference on the sound indeed.
I need to work on that. I have a tendency to rush to the next chord. Letting the chord ring out means less time to form the next one. It's a goal worth pursuing.
Wim.
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Thanks, @matonanjin, @IanD, @Fretless and @Nutty 1.
Mandy, I only deserve part of the credits for transposing. The ActiveMelody arrangement was a flatpicking version for guitar. I did change it to fingerstyle and added arpeggio's and some extra notes to mimic that rolling piano feel.
To me, fingerstyle is a bit like playing piano on guitar.
Wim.
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"I was down to St. James infirmary,..."
This one is from Cab Calloway, in an arrangement I found at ActiveMelody.com.
I listened to Earl Hines' version many times before recording this and tried to get a bit closer to his piano style by playing this fingerstyle.
Wim.
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Nice tone, Neil. And well played.
Wim.
Thanks Wim; I's really good to find a "plugin" that sounds pretty decent for the tone I was looking for. It's been a learning experience all around.
N
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Session 3 is all about playing intervals and Teri's song (from the course) is a nice little tune using 10ths. I like it so much that I decided to record it.
Wim.
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On 1/26/2020 at 10:21 AM, Simira said:
Hi all, this is my first foray into uploading a recording it may or may not work (any tips please for the best way to upload from SoundCloud much appreciated). This is a bluesy sounding tune from my son's classical guitar preliminary grade book called Tirando Blues. Again this is also my first foray into actually recording a song, so I'm learning on the way. This was recorded, according to my limited budget, via Behringer Guitar Link plugged into my laptop and recorded into Audacity software😀
I love this fingerstyle blues. Well played, great timing and tone.
Welcome to the monthly challenge.
Wim.
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That's a nice rendition, Neil. I enjoyed it.
Great recording as well. What guitar did you use?
Wim.
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I agree with @matonanjin . That is also my way of learning.
Wim.
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18 hours ago, Nutty 1 said:
Wow @Wim VD1 you never cease to amaze me with your skills. That was superb, with just the right touch, unhurried and gentle.
Mandy, thank you for your nice words.
When playing this for my wife, she asked me if I was playing it slower than the original. Now I can tell her I play it unhurried. I like that word 😀.
Wim.
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On 1/5/2020 at 4:17 AM, gotto said:
Wim, I am getting caught up on your recordings and progress-you are an incredible talent. I hope you are sharing your music with others as well as with us as you need to spread this musical joy far and wide. Amazing playing on every recording. Thanks for sharing.
Greg
Greg,
Thanks for your kind words. Your encouragement means a lot to me.
I only play live for my family members, but I am happy to share my recordings on this and some other guitar forums.
It might sound silly, but it makes me proud that my recordings have been played about 5000 times in total by now on soundcloud.
I realize I sound like a teenager chasing "likes" on Facebook now 😀.
Wim.
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Session 16 - Advanced Strumming
in Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar
Posted
Congratulations, Ron.
Get ready to learn Black horse and the cherry tree 👍