…Okay, so please bear in mind these are all works in progress, full of slips, errors and poor timing. Nothing polished here!
I recently finished Grade 2 - Module 12 on power chords so thought I would have a crack at Enter Sandman. The other two (MoP & Zombie Ritual by Death) are tunes I am really keen to play well some time in the future, so thought I would post them too with the idea being that I can revisit these in 6-12mths and see how I’ve progressed.
I recorded them all over the past few days as a fair representation of where I am at with these songs, the latter two being only at 85% speed of course, although in retrospect probably should have played them both much slower! Clearly LOTS of work still to do on them!!
Super struggled with the intro to Sandman, that fingering was a crazy, in fact I ended up modifying what Justin demonstrated to something that was almost workable for me but still couldn’t get it right. The interlude section in MoP was a complete train wreck. Thought about cutting it altogether from the recording but decided it would be good for gauging my improvement down the track (or just for massively cringing at! ).
I have never recorded myself before other than a couple of brief clips on my mobile and must say Red Light Syndrome is a serious health condition! I found my hands were shaking, I could barely hold my pick, I was making bizarre mistakes I wouldn’t normally do, makes me quite scared to think how terrifying it would be in front of an actual audience! This is something I am going to have to figure out if I ever want to play confidently with, and for, others I guess…
Anyway, thoughts, comments, criticisms and suggestions would be greatly welcomed! Thanks for checking these out
Yeah Jeff, they were all awesome!! Couple of little flubs on the single string work but really that’s quite minor in the grand scheme of things with these recordings. Having said that I’ve not put much work into t doing the same and I’d be very satisfied with what you’ve laid down there.
You’ve obviously put a good chunk of time into all 3 of these and you’ve certainly got those power chords down. Funny you mention the fingering on the Sandman intro, I also changed it from Justin’s lesson.
Red Light Syndrome is absolutely a thing! Welcome to the rabbit hole of recording yourself
Hi Jeff. I listened to the first couple of minutes of each of your songs. Good stuff. You’ve clearly put a lot of work into it all.
I’m not a metal fan so I don’t know the songs but your power chords and note picks sounded good.
Great idea to post a ‘line in the sand’ AVoYP to look back at in a few months time. It always so encouraging when you can look at progress.
You’ve got quite a set up there with monitors computers and gizmos!
The red light thing gets less every time!
This is really good dude. Shows that your on and off playing over the years still had you accumulate a lot of skill.
I listened to Enter Sandman all the way through, and a bit of MOP & Zombie Ritual. I’m familiar with Enter Sandman & MOP, but first time I’d heard the other one. Enter Sandman as a guitar song is easier than the other two from what I’ve heard. I reckon with some more practice you’ll get Enter Sandman flawless soon.
I have no real tips, you’re way beyond my play level . Okay, maybe one tip. The James Hetfield fingering on the intro to Enter Sandman, you can get there. I’ve been working on finger stretching and I include playing that intro for 1 minute a day in my practice routine (I plan to learn the song soon) - and I went from not being able to get the notes to ring out at all due to lack of flexibility to being able to play it the Hetfield way. Over many months though. Also check this stretching exercise out, I’ve started working it in daily as well, might be useful: Finger Stretching Exercise | JustinGuitar.com
BTW, red light syndrome is REAL as is live performance anxiety. Being relaxed in front of an audience is a different skill. I think you’re in the audience for the next OM? Think about performing at a future one, The first time I was shaky and nervous, after that though, it becomes easier very quickly. Just pick some easy songs that you can still play even if your hands turn into lead .
That was pretty good Jeff, Enter Sandman had a few minor flubs but not anything that attention to minor detail wouldn’t cure! Don’t rush it, just find out those little annoying bits and give them more practice BUT slow down and get them right - don’t practice mistakes.
MOP was the same really, most of what you’ve done is ok, same comments apply.
Zombie was pretty sound to me, as far as I could tell you didn’t really have mistakes, possibly the timing was spot on as far as I could tell - it’s quite brave taking on a piece like that, I know that my hands (and brain) wouldn’t cope
Well done, keep it up!
Sounded great Jeff and a worthy intro! I can’t really add a lot to what’s already been said other than the advice to take it steady when needed. Great recording and production though.
Bravo! well above my playing ability to be able to offer advice but I loved all three I’ll look out for the full speed versions of the last two - fantastic!
That is some proper metal art going on here, well done Jeff you are really smashing it to my mind! As others said minor flubs can be sorted out with more practice. And never rush, if you feel 85% is too fast drop to 80 until you feel comfortable with moving on.
Hi Jeff,
Congrets with your first video,…
You are way too critical of yourself, you can/must be proud of this … and yes there can be some improvement but that happens almost automatically over the months, keep doing what you do … really great , and also nice to see if you make a mistake what kind of face you pull with it …
I do have an idea where this could go…and in my mind there is definitely a stage in it too
Greetings ,Rogier
Jeff, that was amazing! I have worked on Enter Sandman on and off for a few months. Every once in a while I will pick it back up again. You will probably inspire me to work on it some more! That palm muted into is harder than it looks when watching others play it and yours sounded great! You should be very proud. Also, good job modifying the intro to suit your ability. I know Justin recommends this in his lessons as well. I would say to just keep practicing the fingering he shows and at some point it will click and you will get it. I know I’ve had moments like that where all of a sudden, something you are practicing just works and it’s a great feeling! The fingering on that intro is tricky, but it is the key to making it sound nice and fluid. I totally understand the red light phobia, I suffer from it too.
I watched a couple videos on how to play Master of Puppets because I would love to try that one as well, but I decided I would wait to get a little more practice in before digging into that one. I’m in awe of how well you can play it! With practice, you will have it down. I’m jealous
Yeah, I found using my index and pinky to fret the 4th & 5th strings respectively was slightly easier than trying to reach my index around my middle finger to play the 6th string, but this led to me dragging my pinky back and getting buzz or deadened string so neither way was ideal, still got me stretching my fingers so that’s got to be good haha!
Thanks @jkahn !! Really appreciate the feedback and tips!!
I’ve seen your vids mate, nothing is beyond you! You have excellent timing and precision I can still only dream of!
Thanks! Great suggestion! This is going straight into my practice routine today!!
Sure am! Really looking forward to it! Maybe one day… If I can pluck up enough courage!
That’s great advice, thank you! I have definitely have a tendency to rush ahead, whereas taking time to get it right first is so important! Must keep that mantra in my head!
Thanks @Rossco01 !! Really appreciate your kind words!
Thank you @Jenndye429 !! Very kind words! Glad that it is inspiring you to put them on the practice list! Can’t wait to see what comes from that! MoP is a serious workout! But great fun to play! Thanks again!
Oh yeah, another metalhead on the forum. Welcome and thank you for sharing this!
Great stuff going on here. As Adi said, keep it slow and precise. I find it very interesting that sometimes you use your ring finger for the power chords and sometimes you change to your little finger. Props for sticking to downpicking and not “cheating” with alternate picking on the songs!
One last thing I noticed. Your fingers may be flying around sometimes. You might want to put some practice in Justin’s Minimal movement exercise to make it a bit more efficient and easier to reach 100% tempo of original tunes.
Great comments and suggestions, really appreciate it!
Yeah, good spotting on the fingers! I prefer to use my ring typically but find the stretch a bit far on the first few frets so have unconsciously developed a technique of switching between the two. Pretty sure that is a bad habit I should address at some stage though!
I noticed that too (my fingers flying around that is), one of the great (depressing? ) things about recording yourself. I hadn’t checked out that minimal movement exercise yet, but am definitely going to now, would love to get those guys under control! Thanks for the suggestion!
I would love to be able to cover Metallica songs but I feel like I’m not there yet. You’re doing great
I am a big fan of recording and posting work-in-progress vids, warts and all. It’s so nice to be able to look back at your own earlier stuff and see the amount of improvement. It’s also encouraging for everybody else to be able to see authentic recordings like these.
Yes the Red Light Syndrome is a real thing, all I can say is the more you do it, the easier it gets. I had the shaky hands on my first few AVOYP too! The shaky hands don’t show up anymore for me, but I definitely find that my playing is still worse when I know I’m recording. All these new flubs appear out of nowhere and everything is stiff and less fluent. It happens. Acknowledge it and crack on!
Clearly LOTS of work still to do on them!!
).
well above my playing ability to be able to offer advice but I loved all three I’ll look out for the full speed versions of the last two - fantastic!
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