Posting your first Audio-Video Of You Playing (AVOYP) is a big obstacle for some. So, we have this single topic just for members taking their first steps. If you have never posted before and would prefer not to create your own topic, with the spotlight on you individually, then you are more than welcome to join in here.
A few house rules:
1]
We would like this topic to be for Beginners only, working through Justin’s Beginners Course:
Ideally you recording will feature you playing one from the 300+ songs at those grades on the Songs lesson page and / or in the App.
2]
We would ask that you limit your uploads in the Beginner’s space to a maximum of three per person. This could be three recordings of the same song, showing your progress. It could be three different recordings, perhaps from the same grade, perhaps spread out across several grades of learning.
3]
When you reach this maximum, or before if you feel confident enough, we ask that you then begin to use the wider Progress + Performance Audio-Video of You Playing Area.
Additionally, you can make use of the Learning Log section to create your own space for collating your AVOYP recordings, keep a learning diary / journal, post photos of your gear etc in Learning Logs - JustinGuitar Community
Jump aboard and join in.
Be positive - about your own progress and towards others.
Hi all, first of all thank you for this space. I am practicing for 2 months, and as Justin had suggested in one of the videos, the song Zombie by The Cranberries is the prize where I have set my eyes. I am on module 5 and I have greedily learnt the G cord ahead . This is my attempt after practicing the cord changes and strumming.
I definitely need to improve the cord changes, but I would really appreciate any advice. Thank you very much!
I just read your New Here intro, Swashata, and didn’t expect to find your first shared recording so soon. Bravo, excellent idea to post recordings.
You are making good progress. Chords and changes clean and smooth, your strumming hand kept moving and looked relaxed and getting your thumb over to mute low E on the D chord. Lots to be proud of.
Perhaps some speeding up in places. Which is usual, takes time to get rock solid.
It sounded and felt good. Keep doing what you’re doing
Thank you very much David. I really appreciate your feedback and I am super glad now that I shared the recording. I hope to learn the full song and share one day!
About that muting string though, I actually found a D/F# chord lesson from Justin’s old video and was trying to do that. It’s really bad now, sometimes it’d come up good, sometimes it would just mute
Hi Swashata and welcome to the wonderful world of AVOYP.
Once you get the bug it is hard to shake off.
My main comment is that for two months in you are doing fine - especially as you have gone slightly ahead and stolen that G chord from a more advanced lesson.
What @DavidP says about a constant motion with your strumming hand is so important. You have that and you have a good rhythm / strum pattern going on. Slightly fluctuating tempo but that is no big worry and can be easily sorted within your practice routine focusing on keeping time, playing to a metronome or drum beat etc.
Without muting, the chords became rather ‘muddy’ and bled their sound in to one another. I would suggest you play with a cleaner tone. The distortion hides some of the good technique you have already developed. And the distortion will also mask any mistakes you may make - misplaced fingers etc.
Clean sounds are your friends when you are learning and practicing for real.
Turn the volume and distortion up at the end of your practice session if it turns you on and blast it our for kicks and fun!
Good first entry to this new ‘safe space’ - kudos and good vibes for that.
Thank you very much for your advice. I really enjoy the strumming and I do it all the time, like when scratching my dogs or just on my tummy, lol.
Without muting, the chords became rather ‘muddy’ and bled their sound in to one another. I would suggest you play with a cleaner tone. The distortion hides some of the good technique you have already developed. And the distortion will also mask any mistakes you may make - misplaced fingers etc.
Clean sounds are your friends when you are learning and practicing for real.
I don’t really understand this! Are you talking about the amp setting? I keep it on clean when practising, this time recording the video I put it on crunch, everything else is turned off. I have a boss katana 50 mk2. In my guitar, both the knobs are for volume and turned all the way up. All these settings are very confusing for me, so I tend to not fiddle with them a lot . I really need to watch the amp video series.
There are some good lessons on youtube about Katana 50 MKII even on Boss official channel. What I would suggest which is in line with Richard’s comment is putting Clean tone instead of crunch and having Gain knob somewhere in the middle. That way you will have clean tone without any distorion.
As for play what others said pretty much summarizes my thoughts. You did well and you have some good habits already. Well done!
Hi Swashata welcome on congrats of your first recording post. Thought you did very well, considering the length of time you have been learning. Lots of good advice above but certainly a good starting point on which you can develop the song.
Like David, I just read your first post, and now you’ve shared your first AVOYP.
Very well done mate! Kudos to you!
Sharing where you’re at is going to help you out ALOT.
For 2 months in, you’re going very well. Nothing much to add technically, as these have already been noted by some more experienced folk on here.
I like your strumming and rhythm at 2 months though. Rhythm is king.
@swashata - Well done, especially for only two months of practice. I can’t add anything to others’ comments, but will say that I agree that “rhythm is king” and learning to keep good time and keep that strumming hand in motion is critical. Even very simple things will sound good when played with good timing. You’re on the right path and doing well, so keep it up!
You’re doing really well, Swashata. Lots of good suggestions already so I just wanted to say you have a very good sense of rhythm, and that’s a very good starting place. I look forward to hearing more from you.
Good for you on pushing and trying things that are well ahead of the current modules you are working on. In time you will come across lessons that teach you to pick just the bass note of a chord and then strum the full chord, typically the thinner strings.
I don’t know this song, so not sure of the chord in the song is D/F# or just D. Irrespective, being able to mute the open low E string when playing a D chord in particular (because a D chord doesn’t include the note E but no need to worry about the theory yet). It took me 4 years to reach the point where I could do that and play the D/F# chord. So I’d say keep practising that mute when you play D and can do the same when playing C and A, though catching the open E doesn’t sound as bad on those chords. But just because you can mute the low E, don’t let that prevent you from working on strumming accuracy ie only strumming strings 1-4 on the D chord, 1-5 on C and A chords.
Yup. He is suggesting that you make your recordings to share here with the same clean setting that you use for practice.
Hey Swas. I enjoyed your first recording. Well done; and only after two months in! It’s good to hear from beginners. You get great advise from community members and it helps me, and hopefully others, to be reminded of these tips. One tip I will take in, is from @adi_mrok concerning the Gain at center on the Boss amp.
Thanks Adi, and I will roger that. I am only realizing it now, the gain is all the way down, so thank you for the tip!
Thank you very much Toby for the encouragement. It really means a lot to me. I am very eager to learn those power chords and jump in
Thank you very much Sclay, J.W.C and Mari. Your words really mean the world to me! I do find that I tend to increase the tempo. I am a bit nervous and excited at the same time, but I will keep on practicing.
Thank you David. I will keep that in mind when practicing.
Understood!
I really really want to learn the power chords (it’s for the song) and this is the encouragement I needed. I am a little impatient learner from my childhood, hehe. I have been practicing two 10-15 mins slots daily through the app, with additional 30 mins to 1hr playing time scattered throughout the day. In the initial stages, the finger pain was really stopping me, but I don’t get that now, especially with the electric guitar, the gauge is super low (0.009 and it came with the factory), the action is super low, just lovely. I wish I had heard Justin’s advice before buying the acoustic one. Anyway, I guess I will need another week or two to finish Grade 1 and it won’t hurt to jump a little to the power chords and assign the second slot of my practice for that?
Thanks pkboo, and yeah the gain was indeed all the way down. I am really not at a stage where I understand all these by just listening, but I will keep on practicing
And THANK YOU very much to all the members. You are all really AWESOME and very encouraging. I feel great to be a part of this community!!
David’s comment is not referring to power chords - which will come along in Grade 2 module 12…
It refers to a certain way of playing open chords where you pluck a single string first then strum across the other strings that make up the chord.
A lot of people will advise you to be patient and take eachstage as it comes, steady and true. I will advise the same. Power chords will come - in time.
It’s great that you’ve started your record of learning and progress swashata. I can’t add to the advise that’s been given, but I can encourage you to keep going.
Your practice routines sound just right, so keep on keeping on. I’d just guard against rushing through the lessons of each module too fast, developing a “let me finish this lesson, so I can get to the next one” mindset. Make sure that you are solid on each module, able to complete the practice routines and meet the suggested criteria of each module. This is the foundation on which everything is built.
Start building up your repertoire of songs. Perhaps record a few more of the songs suggested in the modules.
I’d also suggest you mix things up and play both the acoustic and the electric. If the acoustic is really difficult to play perhaps check the action and get it properly set up by a luthier.
Thanks David, I have actually realised that over practicing could lead to burn out. Today only my fingers hurt a little. I finally nailed the “Get Lucky” on the app and it sounds so good, I went super crazy. But I think I will take it slow for a few days and will record and upload here .
About the acoustic guitar, I made a bad decision. I bought it way back in 2018, a yamaha F310, fiddled for a week, then packed it for many years. In October this year I took it out, found the bridge is coming off the body and the body itself was swollen. Took it to my local repair shop and they did horrible service. Fixed it up with very cheap strings too, and they actually told me that d’addario strings are bad . They just tried to leech some more money from me.
Anyway, I started with the Yousician app with whatever I had, played for a month. Then a friend suggested I re-string with lighter gauge, which made it a little better. But since the body is still swollen, the action is very high. I was loosing interest really, but very glad that came across Justin. I persisted with the systematic modules and eventually the pain went away. Finally bought the schecter guitar on 17th this month and now I am enjoying to the fullest, sometimes a little more, hehe.
So I guess, my acoustic guitar is gone, even if I find a good luthier, the charges would be more than the price of the guitar. I will see if I can buy a new one in coming months, but for now I essentially have only one!
What an unfortunate experience, Swashata. That is a pity as I think an F310 is decent acoustic to learn on, I recall it being the first acoustic of a few people in the Community.
No need to rush into buying another acoustic. If you are loving the electric, enjoying yourself that is fine. One fine day you may have the urge to play acoustic and then you can pursue that.
Keep on rocking and look forward to a recording of “get Lucky”
.
. They just tried to leech some more money from me.