NeilES335
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Posts posted by NeilES335
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4 hours ago, Cultosaurus said:
Hello
I have been taking the course for a while and have just started session 9. I have spent a long time on barre chords and now feel confident about moving on. I can play great sounding barre chords with increasing speed and actually start sounding like something. A MAJOR milestone. Besides I have to justify having bought a new Gibson Studio Les Paul and Fender Twin Reverb tube amp a couple years ago. The tube amp sounds sooo good it is truly amazing. Amp is so powerful on 2 with guitar volume all the way up is Loud. Rambling sorry.
I give the course a double thumbs up it has been my sole resource for learning guitar. Steve is an excellent instructor and I have found if you keep practicing AND practicing you break thru and it’s a great feeling. I supplement the course with Hal Leonard Barre Chords now to branch out a bit. I have been a taker and not much of a giver with reading the many questions and answears from everyone. Please know that this has been helping me out immensely over the years. Thx everyone for sharing!!! One thing I’ve figured out about learning guitar, you gotta want it. Get Excited about learning guitar and make it happen. I’ve come too far to turn back now.
@Cultosaurus Welcome to the Guitar Gathering forums! We're glad you're sharing your guitar learning journey with us. You're making great progess! Just follow the LMG lessons and keep at it and you'll do very well. The members here are more than willing to help, so feel free to ask any questions you may have. Cheers; Neil
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22 hours ago, Wim VD1 said:
For this month I chose another song from the L&M Fingerstyle course. This one is from session 6 and it is one of my favorite tunes from the course. Steve has put several techniques in his arrangement: hammer-ons and pull-offs, harmonics, slides, 6ths,10ths, octaves and pedal notes. To make it even more fun, the tuning is drop D.
This is the first song I recorded using my new Focusrite Scarlett Studio Bundle and Reaper as my DAW.
Wim.
@Wim VD1 Beautifully played Wim! The breadth of you ablilty is very impressive... from rock and blues, to fingerstyle, on this wonderful hymn (one of my favorites) you are covering it all. Your timing, was spot on, and I detected no "misfires" ... Tone very good too. For your first recording with an interface and Reaper DAW, this was very well done By listening, I gather you used the Focusrite Scarlet mic (that comes with this excellent gear,) to record your acoustic guitar. I have yet to use mine... I do want to try it with my Fender Princeton amp.
Not intending to be critical, I'm sure you're aware of the string noise. I think the mic accentuates this in the recording. Other than possibly string change I'm not sure how to fix this... maybe a slight change of technique, ie; lifting the fretting fingers slightly on chord changes perhaps. (This is one of the reasons I like flat wound strings on my ES guitars; no string noise) On acoustic I struggled with this and found Martin SP strings to be very quiet while still delivering excellent tone. Some swear by other brands of coated strings like Elixer (I didnt care for them... put them on, played them once, took them off)
Anyway Great job as always! Cheers; Neil
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22 hours ago, Wim VD1 said:
Hi Mandy, you made your rendition a little special indeed. Wow, you can multitask! I was already impressed by how you could combine singing and playing, and now you add some nice percussion as well 👍.
As always, I enjoyed your song. Thanks for sharing,
Wim.
@Nutty 1 Good job with your song Mandy 👍 As Wim says, just singing and playing is more than most can do, and adding a bit of percussion is "special" . You have an nice soft voice too that suits this song. Keep up the good work. N
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7 hours ago, Wim VD1 said:
Hi Neil,
I checked out the video series from Kenny Goia "recording your band" and those gave me most of the info I needed to record my first tune in Reaper.
Thanks for your earlier advice to use Reaper instead of Pro Tools First. I think learning from your experience saved me a lot of frustration and time.
Do you get your nice jazz tone on your latest recordings from using standard Reaper plug-ins?
Wim.
Hi Wim
I'm very glad that whatever experience shared has been of some help you. The biggest lesson learned is that recording is a natural progression for guitarists and musicians of all stripes. Recording it is however, a whole new skill set that takes time and patience to learn. I have barely scratched the surface!
Regarding the jazz tone... As you say, Reaper has dozens of standard "plug ins" for immediate use. And, you've likely discovered there are many more that are available Free throught the Software "Plug in Collective". These cover a huge range of effects and sounds. My advice would be simple. For your use, (recording yourself on guitar)... Dont waste a lot of time downloading ALL the accounts (like I did), because many are of no use in this application.
After much trial and error, I found that the guitar is the best "tone tool" you have. I tried several different plugins on my recordings, with mixed results. But after all that, on my most recent recording, I found my best "jazz tone" was with NO effects at all! Just my Gibson ES-137 on the front (humbucker) pickup, with the volume on 10 (full out) and tone on 4. I kept the input volume down to about 11 oclock on the interface, (to reduce distortion).
If you'd like to discuss other recording tecniques etc. we could continue by P.M. if you wish.
BTW Great job on that hymn... beautiful!
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Hey @Wim VD1 There are lots of good videos on Reaper's website to learn from. "Kenny Gioa" explains it pretty well. It can get pretty complex, and I admit I got a bit flustered with it in the beginning, but in the end to do a simple guitar recording isn't overly difficult. A lot of the stuff is customization, which isnt really needed.
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Among many guitar students and players alike of all skill levels, there seems to be some "mystery" and perhaps a little fear when it comes to "Diminished:" chords. I know in the past if I saw a piece of sheet music with a BbDim or the like, I would think to myself, oh, I don't know that one... I'll pass on this song.
Well over the last while I've come to really like this approach to playing rhythm and "comping" (that's short for accompanying )! I found that these chords can really spice up your chord progressions! And they aren't scary at all! I think of them as a bridge to the next chord. By nature, they sound "unstable" on their own, (unlike say a dominant chord like say, an A7 barre chord) and demand to be "resolved" to the next major or minor chord.
I learned and used these chords in several "jazz tunes" I've recorded an posted on this site... but fear not, they are also used extensively in Country, Blues and Rock too.
Here's a very good short teaching video from Steve Krenz desccribing what they are, and simply how to use them. Enjoy!
ps check out the attached "Skills House" Lesson on "What Good Is A Diminished Chords Anyway"?
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@tjmeyers don;t feel too bad TJ... I have one too 🙂 They are very accuate for tuning by ear. No batteries required! (I use a Boss WazaCraft Tuner app now most of the time).
I've found that tuning your guitar "by ear" is actually the best way. This means tuning the guitar "to itself", meaning each string in relation to the next, ie a 4th away. This way the intonation should be near perfect, (if your not tone deaf that is...). I have one guitar (an acoustic) that if it's tuned precisely to the tuner app, sounds a bit off, but when tuned "to itself" (as @Eracer_Team-DougH describes above) or by the tuning fork, sounds perfect.
You can check the intonation by playing the same note and /or chord in serveral places on the fretboard, The "tone" will be slightly different, but the "pitch" should be identical.
@Prabhu If you use these methods you'll be fine. Over time, you'll be able to tell very quickly if the a certain string is out of tune. Watch the pros... they tune on the fly. Their "tuner app" is called..."Ears!".
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@gotto @Eracer_Team-DougH @Wim VD1 @matonanjin and others Thank you for you complimentary remarks. I'm always open to any suggestions as I try to improve on both playing and recording.
Let's hear what you've been working on🎸😊.
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1 hour ago, Skip Russell said:
@NeilES335 Great recording and playing. Where you creating sonic space in this recording by emphasizing left channel melody, and right channel rhythm, otherwise, it probably was my aging hearing. Great job.
Thank you @Skip Russell for the kind remark. Your hearing is fine... Yes, I did intentionally pan (separate) the melody and rhythm tracks left and right in this stereo hd recording. It was also "double tracked" for a total 8 tracks. It sounds best on good headphones, stereo speakers or studio monitors.
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1 hour ago, Tomk2 said:
Another old guy who decided to finally learn to play guitar. A few months lessons as a kid, a few months in my 30's, got up to lesson 6 on L&M in my 40's, and now have used pandemic time to forget the world and play guitar. I bought the course a long time ago when I had trouble finding an instructor for an adult beginner. Now I realize that while doing a course at your own pace risks stalling, it also prevents frustration with meeting deadlines. This time around the first 6 lessons went real fast, lesson 7 is new territory for me so the fun begins.
Welcome back to the course Tom! Check in here often,, ask questions, and make progress reports; there's lots of help here,
Don't forget to participate in Live Lessons on our YouTube Channel too, Happy Tunes; Neil
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3 hours ago, Steve Goeringer said:
@Steve Krenz suggests on one of the DVD lessons for Session 7 acoustic players consider switching to lighter strings to make learning Barre chords easier. I put Elixir extra lites on my Takamine GD93 Friday. It was a great suggestion. Sounds great and It easier just a bit easier. I do get a little buzz on low E low notes if I don’t get my finger closer to the fret, but that’s probably good practice anyway.
Whatever makes it easier for you to learn and practicing more enjoyabe is a good thing, See my earlier post about string buzz and light guage strings, N
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9 minutes ago, Wim VD1 said:
Neil, now this is exactly what I was hoping for! When Mandy asked if I would come up with a theme for this month, I wantëd to choose a challenge that would suit a jazz tune (hoping you would have one ready), but also the fingerstyle song I am currently working on. And it worked out well 😁.
Your rendition is very enjoyable and well played with good timing.
Thanks for sharing,
Wim.
Hi @Wim VD1 I'm glad you enjoyed the tune! I figured too that you'e be working on another tune along these lines, so great. I'd like to hear you have a go at this one also. I look forward to yours!
Btw... in case you're wondering, played the song as per the lead sheet in the Downloads section. My recording is a bit short vs the original, which has an long orchestral intro, and a 3rd verse with a key change up a half step to Ab from Gmaj, plus an outro.
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I happened to be working on a song that contains octaves, slides, Maj 7th,, Sus chords and Dom7th ... So to kick things off I offer my version of Stevie Wonder's very popular hit, "My Cherie Amour" I hope you enjoy it. 🙂 I uploaded the Lead Sheet in the Downloads section if you'd like to have a go at it!
My Cherie Amour is an album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder released on the Tamla (Motown) label on August 29, 1969, his eleventh studio album. The album yielded a couple of major hits, including the title track and "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday", as well as Wonder's takes on the 1967 hit "Light My Fire" by The Doors and "Hello, Young Lovers" from The King and I.
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Congrats on this Mike.. beautiful🎸👍 N
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Beck is like no other. The sounds he can evoke from his instrument are uniquely brilliant.
Bassist Tal Wikenfield is also sensational here.
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Are you trying to chose the right guitar amp for your needs? Don't know much about it or want to know more?
Check out this video series by Long and McQuade Music (Canada's largest music retail chain) for the scoop on everything from Tube Amps, to Digital, to cabinets, speakers... the history and development, effects (natural and otherwise); the lot.
https://www.long-mcquade.com/blog/720/Facebook-Live-Series.htm
I wish I'd seen this before I bought my first amp! (yes, this one is long at almost 2 hours, but hey, pick what you want to hear)
NOTE; THIS LINK TAKES YOU TO A LONG LIST OF VIDEOS ON A WIDE VARIETY OF TOPICS WHICH YOU MAY FIND INTERESTING! SCROLL DOWN TO FIND THE AMP ONE...
Also there is a library of videos on a host of topics of interest. Enjoy!
Regards; Neil
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And then there are people like me who are "ambidextrous" (well, almost) ! As far as guitar is concerned, when I started in my teens (too long ago) I was handed a "right" hand guitar and went with that. I probably could switch (if it wheren't for a damaged index finger) but at this point, why?
It's a right handed world, like it or not. In my humble opinion, if you can play right equally as well, go with it.
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19 hours ago, Nutty 1 said:
Thank you Neil, you are very kind.
Thank you Greg, I am looking forward to hearing your version of it. It is a great song.
Now you've got me tempted to do this one too Mandy 🎸😉,
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On 6/12/2020 at 1:07 PM, Nutty 1 said:
Here is my entry. This was quite a challenge for me as this video has a few things that I have not done in a one take song before. The first is the power chords themselves and the second is playing while standing up. I find I have a tendency to bend my wrist too much when sitting down playing power chords so I did it standing to hopefully protect my arthritic wrist. The other challenge was the palm muting. Any tips to help me improve my technique would be great.
My apologies Mr Addams or Mr Scott for murdering their song "Summer of 69".
I would so love to be able to ROCK!
p.s. my wrist still looks very bent in the video
Well done Mandy😊 Rock on🎸
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12 hours ago, gotto said:
Very nice Neil! Great comping on this challenging song...those changes go by very fast and you were spot on. I am not familiar with the melody but it sounded great, nice tone as well. Your growth as a jazzman is remarkable. I need to get back to my jazz studies. Thanks for sharing.
Greg
@gotto Thank you very much for the complments Greg. Ive been working on both the playing and recording aspects; both different skillsets.
As for playing, the biggest difference I believe, is learning through playing songs. I worked on skills for years ( through the LMG course) which obviously helped tremendously. If I could offer 1 bit of advice to anyone ; learn and practice songs too that suit your skill level or a bit harder. The practical application of those skills in songs will accelerate your learning. And its more fun too!
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On 6/5/2020 at 11:34 PM, NeilES335 said:
Hello Friends;
Well, Mandy's Recording Challenge theme this month is " songs with Power Chords" , and my latest recording definately doesn't have those.. So this seemed like a more appropriate forum.
Continuing with my recent theme, my 2nd Bossa Nova tune, the very well known "Wave", by Antono Carlos Jobim.
Those of you who have studied Steve Krenz's Fretboard Workout "Jazz Chords" will recognize this as the 'graduation tune' in the course. This course definately got me started on the jazz path.
I recorded this using my trusty ES-137 Gibson, which is a bit jazzier in tone (what Neil? not your ES335?) direct through a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 interface to Reaper DAW, with a bit of reverb.
I hope you enjoy it.
Many thanks to all those who gave me a "Like" on this tune. I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did learning and recording it.
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3 hours ago, Eracer_Team-DougH said:
@Linders I play with a strap standing or sitting.. if I'm sitting and want to stand it can without stopping playing and same if I'm standing I can sit. but my guitar is "on tight" as they say which is mid chest level.. my arms are not long enough to have a long strap and play with the guitar at my knees like Slash does.
(and we know who is more cooler,, me or Slash)
second.. do not use a chair with arms, like an office chair.. some circumstances the arms of the chair will get in your way.
if you do have an office chair you might want to remove it's arms, if you're on a couch, you'll need to move to the edge and might need a slight twist sideways to get the guitar to drop to a good playing position. if you're reclining back on the couch.. it might be a bit tough in such a position if you're not used to it.
another problem that beginners have is trying to hold the guitar steady by the neck; and since the fretting hand is constantly moving so will feel the guitar.
what you might find is the forearm of the strumming/picking hand holds the body of the guitar to your chest/stomach and only the picking hand needs to move
next strap location , I find if I have to tie the guitar strap off at the top of the neck (and the other is on the strap button at the end) even I fight the guitar from sliding around back . I found the best position for strap buttons is either at the top of the horn (aka Strat or Les Paul location) or at the front of the neck joint..
ES style guitars like Gibson's ES335 or my Epiphone Sheraton and Gibson SG has the strap button at the base of the neck pointing backwards.. this just makes the guitar want to flop forwards. so that's a different factor
so to is a Ovation style guitar with those fiberglass bowled backs slide all over the place
we guitarists are resourceful though, if we want something badly enough we learn to play around with positioning and such to make it work
look at classical players , hardly ever play with a strap. guitar neck pointed to the sky at all times
remember there is no right or wrong. your body make up is different than ours to a certain extent and we had to find what's comfortable for us.
some use straps all the time like me, some hardly every use a strap like NeilES335,
Slash has his guitar at his knees, Liona Boyd has her guitar pointing to the ceiling. Roy Clark had his guitar high up his chest.. we make it work.
Actually , I am a strap convert. I use a strap with all my guitars now, seated (mostly)and standing. I found it provides more stability and allows memore freedom of movement. I dont have to worry about holding the guitar in place.
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2 hours ago, Eracer_Team-DougH said:
@NeilES335 so I finally was able to shutdown Reaper and give your track a serious listen through (put it on repeat while typing this). sounds like you have the melody sitting just about the right level above the rhythm,
and the melody is clear bell like tone over the more gritty rhythm , timing seem pretty good between the tracks, as the melody holds the phrasing it the next chord round for it to join back in.
Think you're finding your 'recording' stride as each one sound just a bit more polished over the last.
Think once Spot One L&M night comes back and Collingwood Jam Night starts back up .. you have a good handful to play live now.
Thank you Doug. Your recording tips have helped alot alot.
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14 hours ago, gotto said:
Rockin' Wim!! I am convinced there is no genre outside of your brilliance. Neil said it best..."Awesome" . Power chords...the heart of rock and roll. Well played. What electric guitar did you use? Is it a PRS S2? Sounds great.
Greg
Greg
Dont forget the 'Dude" part and the " Mullet" haircut😂 Plaid shorts optional!
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Session 6 - Minor Seventh & Suspended Chords
in Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar
Posted
Thats a good idea. Stay with the barre chords until they sound clear and you're able to play them easily without too much effort. Most learners having trouble with barre chords are using the wrong muscles. The power for a barre chord comes from the index finger muscles, not the thumb and wrist. Trying to squeeze the neck to death to get a clear sound only causes fatique. So check how you're doing this an review the lesson video again if this applies to you.
The neat thing about barre chords is that they are movable all over the neck. So say a 5th string root Minor 7th chord shape is the same for a Dm7, Em7, Fm7 and so on. So there really aren't a lot of shapes to learn to play many different chords.