Recorded Lessons 8- 10 by Phil

Hey Phil, I listened to these without reading the instructions first, so I was not listening with an ear to be critical and was ready to say, "Nice job!". Later I'll go back and listen to them the way I listen to myself

It is funny what happens when the red light comes on. Sometimes the silliest things get me, like not being able to get a comfortable grip on my pick between cueing the track and when it's time to start playing. I've come up with a loose rule-of-thumb: if I botch it 5 times in a row I concede that I don't know it well enough yet and go back to work on it at slower speeds. And really, if I actually knew the piece well enough, I should be able to get it rigth the first time, no sweat. So I wonder if my 1 good take out of 5 "standard" isn't doing me a disservice.

In the last few weeks I've run across a number of sources that say you should record yourself practicing every day. It's just enough of a hassle for me to reconfigure everything for that purpose that I don't bother to do it myself (yet). It certainly puts one in a different head space.

Agree with the impractical nature of it (recording daily). In defense of the advocates, I don't think they were suggesting to record entire practice sessions, just an example of the more significant exercises/items. The purpose is twofold, to pick up on the little things one misses while playing (similar to what you say happened to you this morning) to ensure correct execution of them before errors get habituated, and for positive reinforcement (by comparing "today's" playing with last month's or whatever). I think your 1/week is a very good frequency. For myself, I decided on once a month I'd just capture 5-10 minutes of whatever pops into my head to play, and at 6 month intervals I'll go back and listen through them to determine what's working and what isn't. Of course, I also will have the BYCU/BRYCU captures available for the same purpose.

Time to finish up my 2013 taxes and grab the guitar I think.

Thanks for the input, perfopt. I'll have to work on mixing better just as soon as I start playing better.    I'm learning to use Reaper to record the wave file and then Audacity to create an mp3. I noticed that when I convert the wave to mp3 the sound is much harsher. I'll have to try and compensate for that on the original recording.

What program are you using to record? Any recording tips would be appreciated.

Phil

Thanks for the input and the encouragement, Bruce. I'll have to look into the sampling rate on Audacity. The mp3's sound the same on my computer as they do on Soundcloud. I not sure about Soundcloud's limits on individual files. I accidentally uploaded a wave file once and it was almost completely uploaded when I realized my mistake and stopped it.

I think we are all waiting for an upload from you, Bruce. Come on man jump into the pool! The water is cold, but you'll get used to it fast. :DWe need some more participation on this forum.

Thanks again for your comments.

Phil

Bruce,

I'd be very interested, when you get it sorted out, in getting some tips on how to record video - what hardware, software, how do you sync video to audio, etc.

I don't have "Jazzin' the Blues" (yet). I'm only halfway through BYCU. I have "Blues Rhythms You Can Use", which I need to open up more often and "More Blues You Can Use", which I listened to many times, but have restrained myself from delving into it until I get through BYCU. I really have to exercise some self control to keep myself from falling back into the 'learn-everything-right-now-and-end-up-not-learning-anything' syndrome. Have you gotten through BYCU?

Learning to record yourself and how to use the software is not a waste of time. Once you learn that stuff you've got it. Even if you change software you know and understand the basic concepts and can adapt. It's certainly easier than learning to play the guitar.

Take care. Looking forward to seeing your video.

Phil

T-bone,

Thanks for your comment. I understand what you are saying about getting the basic idea and feel of a particular lick or piece music and adding something of your own to come up with something original. However, nobody knows me better than I do and I've used this concept in the past as a cop-out or an excuse to not learn the things that I found difficult. It's much easier for me to say that I don't like what John Ganapes put on paper and, therefore, I'm going to play it my way, than for me to have the self-discipline to learn what John wrote note for note.

My objective right now is to learn these studies note for note and as close to John's recordings as possible. I need to work towards that goal in order to not just noodle around and not make any progress. Once I've accomplished that THEN I will have earned the right to tweak them to my heart's delight.

Two people playing the same piece note for note are still going to sound a little differently because of various nuances of touch, picking attack, etc., that's the nature of music. Keep in mind that John Ganapes said he did not play on BYCU. That means he gave the music to another guitarist to play and that guitarist played it note for note. Whoever that guitarist was is a professional and could have certainly added things and gave his own interpretation, but he didn't - he played it the way John wrote it so we could hear it and see the exact notes in writing and learn it. 

Right now what I need to do is learn what other people have written and develop the self-discipline to learn the things that I find difficult. Otherwise I'll just skip over the difficult parts and only play what comes easy for me. I've been there and done that already and made very little progress.

Phil