I first posted it on my log but realised it was time to post my recording in the AVOYP part of the forum ( its a bit like growing up )
My recordings won’t be drowned and lost somewhere in my log
Is it OK to use this space as a recording log ?
I’ve been working on this version of the song since last november ( 3 months )
I use Yousician as the backing track
I made 2 mistakes : I started slightly too early in a verse and later my DM landed badly so I quickly corrected my fingers placement
I could have let some notes rings longer too but I was way too focus on not making a mistake
Good stuff Deborah. Your chords seemed pretty clean to me and your timing was mostly spot on.
You maintained a steady strum pattern throughout apart from the intro and outro and the parts between the verses and the chorus when you stopped moving your arm/wrist/hand. Try to keep your strum motion going even when not hitting the strings. That helps with timing and would stop you coming in too early in the verse. This was more pronounced in your earlier version so version 2 was much improved. You’re going in the right direction. Well done.
The next step is to play without staring at what I’m assuming is a screen. That will enable you look much more relaxed. Having said that, you seldom looked at your fretting hand which is great!
I worked a lot on the chord changes , at first it was hard to make the transitions from G to Am without muting some strings
there still could be some work to do on my Em to Dm but Im a bit fed up on working on the same song
I ll park it aside for some time
but its great to know that all the practice is paying off
@sairfingers Ah yeah , Im using Yousician ( same as the JG app ) so Im staring at the screen to note miss a note or strum
Level 5 songs on YS are faster so it forces me to not look too much at the fretting hand but on the other hand im just deeply focused on the screen
Ì only looked to not miss my G and Dm
Your more recent performance is more relaxed, more confident, less looking at the fret board. Many small improvements adding up to quite a big leap forward. You could try singing along - evn if only in your head - and that additional focus on the lyric could help nail down the timing. Well played.
Well done Debora, that sounded great and the improvements are imediately recognizable. I echo Gordon’s advice as it’s a very good one.
You’ll need to abandone it at a certain point, whether it’s Yousician or Justin’s App. I think you’ll feel when the time is right for you to try and do without, for the moment this is really great practice to help you build amazing skills!
Hey Mac. I’m sorry I’m just now meeting you. I see you’ve been here at least one year. I went and read some of your topics. I see you have some awesome cartoon drawing talent. Incredible!!
You seem to be progressing really well in your guitar learning. Nice work on this song. My only critique on this is the same as Gordon’s @sairfingers
There is a lesson on this somewhere, but I’m not sure which specific lesson points this out the best. Maybe if someone else reads this, they could let us know.
I also read of your medical issues. You seem to know the best ways in taking good care of yourself. I hope you can improve in time. Looking forward to your next song. Take care.
First off, it’s nice to put a face to a name! Secondly, that Gretsch sounds pretty sweet!
Right now to the nitty gritty; your older video does show a bit of hesitation and a feeling that you’re not very relaxed. But for what it was it was OK. Your latest version is considerably better, more fluent and better timed. You’re still looking a bit tense, it won’t do you any favours, try to relax more and just have fun with it. Remember you can record it as many times as you like and then pick the best one; that’s something I have always done.
sure but for the moment I have too much fun using them
I can practice tons of stuff on YS !
For the moment I m practicing pulls off and hammers on on it and its not easy
Theres a version of this very same song on YS : melody with pulls off , I should practice it later
I asked my guitar teacher to help me learn a song that is not in both apps
Nice to meet you too
thanks a lot
its just like learning guitar : practice practice and even more practice !
oh yeah ! Im in love with this guitar !
Coupled with the Brian May Vox amp , its endless fun to play with it
you werent very enthusiastic about me buying this amp but its was really worth it
I guess it will come with time
The more Ill play and record the more relaxed Ill get
But I ve always been stiff as a board
My physiotherapist says that I dont know how to relax and let go
Well about my right arm not always being in movement there is a reason
the accident I had left me with neurological issues but also with physical issues
to make it short the nerve in my right arms sends me flash of pain , especially in the fingers and wrist
I used to not be able to hold a pencil to draw some years ago ( in 2009 )
I really was a mess back then …
Since then I ve been followed by a physiotherapist twice a week and it really helped me , I can use my arm now but not as much as a valid person ( I also need a treatment for my jaws )
my right shoulder aches a lot too , its hard to move it , I cant play an acoustic guitar because of that , its too big for my shoulder
an electric guitar is flat its way easier for me
So , Im not always moving my arm thats true … Im trying to find other ways to follow the rythm , I rely a lot on my ears
So far I ve been able to play but I guess that very fast songs wont be pleasant for my arm
I will never be a hard rock or metal player
Hi Deborah. If the apps lead to more practice and playing time, then keep those tools as long as you like. Whatever keeps it fun for you. You’re doing a great job tuning into the song’s rhythm and developing a strumming system that works with your body.
I had a teacher that only wanted to work on scales and improvising. That was helpful to a point, but without an idea of what kind of melody or sound I was after, it wasn’t feeling especially rewarding. For me, it has always been important to learn songs. If a song is above my skill level, I find the simplest version (lots of lessons on the JG website) and start there. In time, I challenge myself to do the harder parts.
I see that you’ve grown more confident with the chord changes. Doing them with ease will come with time. It’s not a bad idea to move on to a few other songs to keep your enthusiasm up. Every time I come back to a song I “parked,” the progress seems to come more easily. A break can help.
Anyway, glad you didn’t bury your videos (as I might, cuz it’s scary to put them in AVOYP ). Nice to see you around the community!
I gotta say that YS really helps me to push forward my chord changes
Level 5 has faster songs or with more strummings so if I wanna play them I dont have time to look at the fretboard
Doing the lesson path really helped me develloped my chord changes
practice practice practice !
thats why I like this app , it always challenges me
Coupled with the JG lessons and app and my teacher , I can never be bored !
yeah you re right I ll wait a bit before trying the melody version
You’re making progress and you know how to identify what to work on. Excellent!
I would like to provide one small bit of feedback: you ten to stop your strumming hand each time you are not required to hit strings. For the bridge that’s understood but for verses and chorus your timing/groove will lose that final bit of “mechanical” feel.
Building that in your habits now will allow you to throw in embellishments, passing notes and licks easier and in time later. Not only for this song but for other song as well
I will work on that , I m really too much focus on the screen following the tempo has it is shown
Way too worried about missing a note
thats the problem when working with an app I guess
My teacher told me that I should accentuate the first beat too
thats the first level 5 song I record, Im already very happy by the result and glad to know what I should work on in the future
thanks for the advice
Oh welll now I wanna work on that song again to make it better
I should have said that the level 4 recording was the first time I was using a F barre chord in a song , thats why I recorded it
Barre chord that I dont do in the level 5
Great progress Deborah! Keep at it! And so good that you have the earlier videos to compare against, that should be so motivating to see the improvements spo clearly.
Don’t be afraid of the mistakes! Mistakes happen all the time to everybody (including the pros when they play live) and the one person who hears them loudest is you. Most listeners won’t really notice a wrongly-placed chord if you keep the rhythm steady. And sometimes a “mistake” sounds more interesting. Not getting startled by your own mistakes and just keep moving is a skill in its own right.
Having said that, you seldom looked at your fretting hand which is great!
). Nice to see you around the community! 
