Mac's learning log

Community Hub Learning Logs
21

@DavidP ok so I did give garage band a try by playing a few times lay down sally , and it worked !!
thats how i realised that what you said is true … the buzz do come from my cable !
I will have to buy a new one next month if i can
any recommendation for an affordable new cable ?
I usually buy on Thomman or Woodbrass but i can also go to my local music store next month
I dont think that reaper is the issue for the backing track, I think that my computer is the issue cause it doesn t have a mic !
I dont own a phone i only got an old samsung tablet
( well since i almost never leave my house … no need for a phone ,mails and a landline is enough )
the death of my laptop really put a stop to my guitar lessons last year … it looks like its going to be a problem now too …

Day 6 :
I started to watch some videos of module 3
Played a few times lay down sally and twice Nobody to Blame
I ll work on them till I ll get them right !

22

Day 7 : I watched a few videos of grade 1 module 3
than practice the chords for 10 minutes and then played 3 songs

today i looked on Thomman for a new guitar cable and for a mic with a stand that i can plug into the focusrite

23

@TheMadman_tobyjenner Toby, any recommendations on a good quality, affordable guitar lead for Deborah, you being a Thomann regular?

I’m not following this. In my mind there’d be no need for a mic to be part of recording a backing track from the app. Can you provide more details, please?

24

@DavidP well , my computer can t record since it doesn t have any camera or intern mic, my laptop is dead and i dont own a phone , the easiest way to record the sound of my guitar and the backtrack is to buy a mic , its not too expensive and will do the trick
and with that i won t have to spend time trying to figure out how to synchronise the recording of the guitar with the backing track
I thought it would be way easier for me
i don t want to have a nice pro sound , i just want to share my training to get some advices and progress

25

Deborah, maybe we are talking past each other. So easy to do when trying to share ideas in short replies.

As I understand, you have the Focusrite audio interface. With that you can plug an electric guitar in directly and record in an app like Reaper, GarageBand, or OBS. This you have done and shared recordings here. So all is good, other than maybe for a guitar lead that may have some intermittent failures.

So for the purpose of sharing to get feedback and encouragement you are good to go.

When it comes to the app to provide backing, I understand you can play songs in the app on your Mac Mini and hear it. Either the Mini has speakers or you have external speakers or headphones plugged into the Mini.

If that is all correct then my thinking is to figure out how to route the audio signal from the app that is being heard via the speakers into the recording software. Effectively the apps audio out becomes an audio source for the recording software.

Now I am a bit stuck as I don’t know Apple. That said, on my Windows PC I am able to set up OBS so that the audio output from an App is included as an audio input for recording purposes. I assume you could do the same on the Mac Mini in OBS.

You would also be able to setup OBS to receive audio input from the Focusrite. You would not have to spend extra time learning to synchronise anything. Just setup OBS to receive the two audio sources, start recording in OBS, start the app playing, and then play along. Only tricky thing can be if there is a really short time from starting the song in the app and starting to play along. I don’t know how long the count-in is on the app, if it is enough to go from clicking play in the app to being ready to play along.

I see you don’t have a phone. Given that it may be a simpler solution to buy a suitable USB webcam that can plug into the mini. That would have a built-in mic.

If I have understood all correctly, I think making use of OBS may be the simplest solution for making the recordings you want to make with backing.

But I may have misunderstood significantly.

27

I DID IT !!!

Please , be kind , I made a few mistakes but my left hand was tired
I tried it after my daily routine

Day 7 :
I finally found how to record myself
Thanks @DavidP for your patience

I trained changing chords between A AM E EM and D for 10 mins
After i watched some videos from module 3 and started the up beat training
i really liked it
I played 3 songs to train after
I tried glory days and have a lot of fun on it
then I tried to figure out how to record on OBS

2 Likes
28

Saw your post Deborah and immediately put my Dio fest on hold to take a listen !
Glad you got all the tech issues resolved and was able to lay down a backing track to play over.
Some good solid and clean chords of which you should be proud. Well done. :clap:

:sunglasses:

1 Like
29

Oops better explain the comment I left on Soundcloud, as I doubt it is a French expression.
From little acorns…great Oak trees grow. :+1:

2 Likes
30

thanks a lot
Its really great to have a feedback , it motivates a lot !
I sure do hope i ll progress this year

Day 8 :
I used the app to train on strumming for 10 mins
Then i trained on changing chords A E D AM EM for a few minutes
watched the last videos of module 3
The riff on 7 nations army is going to be tricky , I’ll work on it next week, all week long
I played 2 songs of module 2 and started 2 songs of module 3

I played all week so tomorrow i’ll rest … no guitar on sunday :slight_smile:

31

That’s great, Deborah. My pleasure, glad to try and help, which is what this Community is all about.

The recording sounds good, both your playing and the sound quality of both backing and the guitar.

1 Like
32

Day 9 :
Trained on changing chords for 5 to 10 minutes
A AM E EM D
Trained on the 7 nations army riff
Played 2 songs on my guitar for training : module 2 and 3
I still make some mistakes on “nobody to blame” so i m not quite happy with it yet
Songs on module 3 are easy though

2 Likes
33

Day 10 :
Trained 2 minutes on strumming
Trained on the 7 nations army riff for 10 mins
Played and Recorded three songs

34

Day 11:
Completed module 3 , started to watch module 4
Started the Fingers stretches exercice
Couldn’t play cause i finished work very late ( 11H30 pm )

Day 12 :
Did the fingers stretches 3 times
Worked on the 7 nations army riff and the Peter Gunn Theme for 10 minutes
Watched some videos of module 4 and SOS strumming
Played 3 songs of module 4
I liked Gary Moore 's song : All your love
Played 1 song on musician : Lost on you by LP ( AM EM D C )
made too many mistakes for my taste on Lost on you :confused:

I do have a question though
I’ve learned the DM chord in the old fashion way , should i change it and learn the way Justin showed in the video ?
caused i’m used to the " normal " position of the fingers for that chord
My body already memorized that form so i dont know what to do

1 Like
35

Mac, I also play DM in the “normal” way as you call it because that’s how I learned it when I played guitar for the first time more than 25 years back. Same with A and G… Though I can fret them as Justin recommends, I always fall back on to my old shapes.

I think, in the end it’s good to know what there are different ways to fret chords and that you can consciously choose between them and apply them when and where they are easiest to change to.

For the moment -if you are comfortable with the Dm- shape you learned - that should be just fine :slightly_smiling_face:

2 Likes
36

I should have said : “traditional way” maybe :smiley:

thanks for the answer
for the moment I ll keep on playing de DM chord the way i ve learned it then

1 Like
37

Day 13 :
Bad day … headaches all day … brain has a lot of pain to focus … the kind of day where i really feel my health issues
but i still wanted to train !

Fingers stretches 3 times
chords changing for 10 minutes or a bit less
strumming training for 5 minutes
watched 2 videos module 4
riff training 10 mins ( 7 nations army and peter gunn )
Played 3 songs module 4 on JG
Played 2 on yousician

2 Likes
38

Regarding your Dm question, there’s definitely no harm in knowing both shapes.

One of the advantage of the shape with the pinky that Justin shows is that it is a starting point to build strength/callus on your pinky.

I think that before that module, we didn’t use the pinky at all in chords. So, it’s a way to start.

In grade 2, when learning sus chords, it will be useful to have some callus on that pinky, specially on acoustic guitar. I remember how it hurts when I was playing the song Wonderwall :rofl:

1 Like
39

thanks for the advice
thats why i keep on using yousician too
there i already had to use the pinky on songs
i should practice those songs then :wink:
I’ll use it for another year to practice as a beginner , and then will try to play without following the app
It’s the same system as the justin app , you play when the app tells you when to play
good to begin but there’s a time when you need to learn to play on your own and that’s why i came to justin guitar

40

Day 14 :
Feeling much better than yesterday
Trained on changing chords for 10 mins
Trained on riff for 10 mins
Trained a strumming for 3 minutes
Played 2 songs of module 4 ( did them both twice )

Trained on yousician for 15 mins
struggling to change between D and G on time
Forgot to do the finger stretches :confused:

2 Likes
41

day 15 :
Trained on changing chords 10 minutes
Trained on strumming 5 minutes
Trained on fingers stretches and crawling / did it 3 times
Trained on Riffs 5 minutes
Watched a video module 4
Played 2 songs module 4 ( twice )
Trained on yousician for 10 minutes

1 Like