Thanks Nicole. I appreciate the kind words. I think maybe I should have added a Little Rock and roll distortion in their paper what Gordon said. I’m happy you think I’m improving.
Jeff
Thanks Serhat. I love the feedback and that it’s specific in certain points of the song. I still have lots of improving to do but take it a day at a time. Appreciate you listening.
Jeff
Deja vous right. That was weird the timing of that popping up.
Thanks a lot Dave. I appreciate you taking the time to listen and respond.
Hey Jeff, I thought that I had responded to your videos but just noticed that my post isn’t there. So sorry… I enjoyed the videos and think that you’re really doing well! Thanks for sharing!
Tod
Hi Tod,
Thanks a lot. I appreciate you taking the time to watch the videos. More to come soon 
I bought my second Electric Guitar within a month of starting Justin’s course. I’m still having to justify it to my wife 
That and I already have a long list of guitars to buy so I have to intentionally cap myself or I’ll be broke within the year
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Hi there.
I wanted to see what you all think of this mini amp I tried today. The performance isn’t polished, but wanted to hear what u think of the sound. I barely used distortion. It sounded better on the esp than the fender. Still ehh amp was cheap lol.
Jeff
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Hi everyone,
Here is one more song for August. I was battling barking dogs snd general noises so hopefully it sounds okay. Here’s a country song @Traveler since you tried new genres this month. It’s called the keeper of the stars by Tracy Byrd. Still experimenting with sound effects and all. Thanks for listening.my wife really appreciated watching this one on you tube tv.
Jeff
@JokuMuu and @NicoleKKB Nicole and Nicole I am curious what you think because not much country music makes it to Europe. I’m still a rock n roll guy but mixing it up for practice.
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Full disclosure: I did not watch your video only listened to the song via earbuds. Furthermore I can’t give any feedback on technique etc.; so this is based only on what I heard - and personal preferences most likely.
This is your first cover that I genuinely wanted to listen to again - and I did. I didn’t know the song at all. I checked the original a few minutes ago and I have to say I like your version more since it sounded less country. You made it your own in the best way and brought - involuntarily probably - flavours of newer Mark Knopfler songs to my mind.
When it comes to guitar and singing:
I like the balance of guitar and your voice, for once your guitar did not sound too dominant. I also think that your voice suits this gentle version very well.
There are a few squeaks in the beginning - involuntary probably - that suited this version very well and made it sound more vulnerable. Then there were sometimes a few snaring sounds and at some point some chords sounded slightly off - but I think these are relatively minor issues.
Overall: Really well done in my opinion 
Hello Jeff, as I’ve said in my comment on your original, you seem to have a very busy guitar time at the moment - and yet, another AVOYP 
.
First at all:
That sounds funny (and also a bit weird - who is who? 
).
Back to the topic:
Yes, you’re right, we don’t hear lots of country music in Europe. Well, at least not in the German speaking countries (I actually don’t know the situation in the other areas).
When starting out on my guitar journey, I listened a bit more, as there are some really good camp fire songs, but I recognized that I can’t listen to it all day. After a while they all seem to sound the same 
(at least to me 
).
I’ve now listened to your recording, then to the original, and then to your recording again.
First at all, I don’t like the original (sorry Jeff, just in case that’s one of your favourite songs 
). Well, no, it’s actually not the song, it’s the way it is produced. It’s such a hyper-polished version, that I get goosebumps (the negative ones 
) when listening to it. There is simply too much of everything in it (well, this might be only me 
).
What a relief listening to your version 
.
Interestingly, yours doesn’t sound like a country song at all. That made me think, what makes a song a country song 
?
I guess, for a good amount it’s the voice of the singer, and probably also the way, he/she sings. Maybe, there are particular strumming patterns, that make a song sound more country like ?
Well, anyway…
Back to your version:
As I’ve said, I’m really happy, that it doesn’t sound like a copy of the original. But while I was a bit drowning in all of the original’s ‘artificial dramaturgy’, I think your version could have had a little bit more of variety. As far as I could hear, you used the same strumming pattern throughout the whole song. At least between verses and chorus, I’d either use different patterns, or play around with some dynamics. Through that, it would be easier for the listener to hear the changes between the different parts of the song. It could just be me, but I definitely like that .
One thing I love experimenting with, and maybe, you’ll like it too, is using embellishments. I’m just starting out on this journey (just using some sus-chords and hammer-ons). With little effort, embellishments make the song much more interesting. Maybe, you’d like to give it a try .
I also think that the guitar-voice-balance was quite nice, but I’m definitely no expert on such things. I just liked it that way .
My (very subjective) conclusio:
The way you perform it, transports the message of the song much better than the original. It sounds much more honest. Take some more time to experiment with some dynamics, different patterns, embellishments,… Don’t just switch to the next song. This one is really nice, there is potential in it to make it truely ‘yours’.
If you decide to keep on working on it, I’ll very much appreciate to listen to it again, when you feel, it’s ready .
Have fun with it 
.
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A real pleasure to listen too Jeff!!
IMHO by far the best one i heard from you! 
This country twang really suits your style and voice… if i were you i would dive further into to that style of music!
Well done mate 
I am so happy that no matter which Nicole, we do seem think the same about the original
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Awesome job @SDKissFan !! I really dug your version of this song Jeff!!
You seemed very comfortable and relaxed, and I think that contributed to your vibe in the video. Your vocal tone matched the artist very well, and you came up with a great overall product.
The only small suggestion I have (that I am often guilty of as well), is to change up your strumming pattern and process once in a while, to add some variation to it. I find that I especially struggle with this when I’m first learning a song, or when I really have to focus on my vocal projection.
Keep jamming buddy!
Hi Nicole,
Thanks for the feedback. I think I did very well considering I really only spent an hour or so from the time I first looked at the lyrics until I started recording. I’m surprised the level of possible things to say. I appreciate you as always.
Jeff
Hi Nicole,
Thank you for the very thoughtful and detailed response. I honestly didn’t expect that. I am not a big country music person either. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone a bit and try something different. I haven’t listened to that song in many years, but decided out of the blue to record it. What you heard was about 1-2 hours worth of working on the song including the recording. I thought the chords were similar to my original song so why not try the soft light acoustic sound that was recommended for my original song here. Travis did a detour from country so I thought I could detour from rock music lol.
The strumming patterns yes you are right it sounds too repetitive. I try to not use any patterns at all and compare strumming to the waves of the ocean, long and short or missed waves. I haven’t perfected that yet so you didn’t hear that in this song but it is my goal. I often practice that by the beach here but I’ve yet to get it working for a song.
The Nicole and Nicole …mehr spassig Weil Die beiden sprechen Deutsch 
. I am glad you both added your two cents… not being a fan of country. So Vielen Dank.
Bis bald
Jeff
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Hi Travis,
Thanks for listening. I only messed with that song for an hour or two so could have polished it up some more before posting. It’s been years since I heard it and wanted to try it . I agree that I need to mix up that strumming a bit. I’m glad it sounded halfway decent. Good luck on your next show
Jeff
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Hi Trond,
I haven’t seen you in a while. Thanks for stopping by to give it a listen. I need to get back to some fundamentals like the ladies said. Improve my dynamics and things like that. I was focused on that open mic show and then wrote an original song. I think I always take on too much at once and overwhelm myself lol. I hope you and your daughter are still doing well playing guitar. Take care Jeff
Then just imagine how great this song would sound, once you have invested - say - 10, 20, or 30 hours
I think, since you seem to be so comfortable singing this, the song could really be a great fit for working at your strumming. @NicoleKKB made some good suggestions and it could also be an idea checking out Justin’s Strumming SOS or playing around with different patterns using the strumming machine on this site
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Hi Jeff. Your ‘Keeper of the Stars’ was a really nice cover, up there with your best.
I sometimes miss out on people’s new uploads that are hidden away in the new mega thread style… glad I found this cover. It was very well done mate 