Gerudo Valley theme is from the 90’s video game Ocarina of Time.
I had uploaded a few tunes over the last month, which I didn’t post in AVOYP because they were a bit obscure.
But this one has a spanishy type feel to it.
And it has been a while since I’ve posted anything in AVOYP, so I just decided to share this one here anyway.
For some reason I thought it was a good idea to record the lead/melody line first and then do the rhythm part after that
This made “mini-me” struggle with inconsistent strums in some sections where I was trying to keep up with (or not get ahead of) the notes that big-me had played.
So next time, I’ll probably make the smarter choice and record a consistent rhythm strum first, followed by the lead stuff after that.
Anyway, I think it sort of came together ok in the end though. But feedback, tips and general comments are welcome as always, thanks.
Hi Sandro…
On the whole I say what a happy and nice song …
Some notes and strums fall a bit silent/or disappear…if you can manage that to give even more clarity to almost all notes you have a killer song that looks pretty difficult
In any case I enjoyed it and that solo you in large was perhaps difficult for you, but nice to see for me…
Greetings,Rogier
Hi Sandro, it sounded very Spanish. I agree that trying to synchronize a melody to a rhythmic accompaniment could be easier than trying the opposite. I just recently started to playing rhythmic accompaniments along a drum machine or a backing track and is not easy, and my only attempt to play a melody over a rhythmic accompaniment was not so good as the chosen rhythmic accompaniment didn’t suit the melody. Not your case at all for this one.
Awesome! I’m so impressed! A Zelda player from the very beginning, OoT is my all time favorite for many reasons, but one of which is the beautiful Gerudo area music. I can’t offer any feedback on technique, but I think it sounded great!
That was great Sandro, it had a really flamenco like vibe and I surely enjoyed it. You are aware of what could be done better so no need to put any critique in here, keep up the good work!
Hi Sandro,
Yeah, I think you ended up doing the reverse as far as laying your tracks down. Just a suggestion, but why not lay down a drum track, rhythm guitar and then lead? The drums or a click track in the ear only would be the glue that would hold all the timing together…
Also, I am hearing some notes out of tune? I notice in the video you are pushing up the strings quite a bit in some places. Not sure that is it, but you might want to look into it.
All in all a nice Spanish sounding type vibe to it and good job!
@roger_holland thanks Rogier. Glad you enjoyed it.
Yeah my bass strings do occasionally have a harder time ringing out. But other times I probably don’t fully strike the string that I want to hit, or I might even be unintentionally muting the actual string
@alexisduprey@artax_2 cheers guys.
Cool to see some other Zelda fans here that know the song.
It’s definitely my favourite game too… I used to play OoT quite a lot as a kid. Not sure if it’s the nostalgia effect or what, but I’ve even gone back to play it again from time to time as an adult. Thanks for checking it out.
@dobleA@Rumil Gracias amigos.
I used an old gerudo valley tab sheet that I had kept from a few years ago (this was during my first failed guitar experience, when I decided to quit without learning a single basic chord )
So I pretty much re-used that old tab sheet to memorise the main melody again and then looked up a couple of vids to see how the chord progression goes.
After that I just made up my own tempo for the melody in the original recording. And then for the rhythm stuff I tried to match it by strumming along while listening to my prerecorded melody at the same time. That’s why the tempo is a bit up and down in some parts.
I’m not clever enough to use a metronome… but maybe I’ll try one sometime.
@Bytron08@adi_mrok thanks guys. The general Spanish/flamenco type vibe of this tune was the reason that I thought it might be worthwhile to just share it on here, even though it’s from a video game that not many community members may know about. Glad it came across with that vibe and that you guys liked it. Ta
@LBro Yeah a metronome was also suggested above to help with timing. I guess you mean a similar “click track”… or would finding a generic drum track of sorts be more recommended? I’m sort of useless at figuring out what other elements will fit well with something that I’m trying to play on a classical guitar.
Also, thanks for your feedback on the fretting form. While playing I don’t really notice it, but I can see in the recording that I am pushing the strings up a bit at times. Not sure if it might be that the action is too high or just a bad habit. The hammer-on, pull-off slide parts I probably also need to clean up. Cheers
Right, to me - a click track or metronome should be pretty much one and the same thing. I personally have a hard time with the Metronome and much prefer a steady drum beat for timing work. If used on a recorded song, then I would try and vary the drum beat up some. With classical you would want a mellow beat. Ideally brushes might be a good starting point, as opposed to “sticks”.
Using a metronome is simple enough. If you have a DAW, (Digital Audio Workstation and AI (Audio Interface)) it would be in the DAW. You could also add a free VST drum program. There are many, such as MT Power Drums and Steven Slate drums.
If you are recording with a simple phone set up. Then you could consider a portable, stand alone metronome. Of course then, you are likely to hear it on your recording. Justin has a lesson on the Metronome and when I saw that vid a long time ago it also told you what one to buy, that he liked. Worth the view there. Another idea would be to get a stand alone metronome with a 3.5mm headphone jack you could put some earbuds in. That would allow you to be “on the money” timing wise and not have the “nome” in your recordings.
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And you have done a great job here.
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