Hi all, just doing my ‘testing out of Grade 1’ homework and looking for feedback on absolutely any element that comes to mind… playing, mixing, tone, etc… maybe not hairstyle.
I don’t own (or intend to learn) an acoustic and I’ve always loved the original song, so I tried to adapt Justin’s lesson as best as my early-stages playing could. Cheers!
Great AVOYP. Good timing, but I guess that’s expected (I remember from your introduction that you are a bass player). 
Sounded good to me but I’ll leave the experts to comment on any technique issues.
Thanks for posting.
Hey, thanks for the vote of confidence! Very kind.
Well done! Great song to play along with. For grade 1, that was outstanding, heck, even for a more advanced player. Can’t wait to see future videos. All I would add is, turn the volume of the song up just a bit to match your guitar volume a bit more, but it wouldn’t need much. And smile. As most people creating a video, I don’t smile either. Too focused on playing it all right.
Thanks! Good shout on the mixing. I’ve become used to burying the backing music so my bass guitar is more clear when I practice; something I probably don’t need to do so much for electric guitar.
And yes! I’m so wrapped up in thinking stuff like ‘should I tap my foot? Is this the right strumming pattern for this part?’ etc. that my face couldn’t be further from my mind, haha. You wouldn’t think it’s one of my fave songs from my stony expression, would you…
well adapted! 
Coming from a related instrument, you got it a bit easier luckily!
I think it’s great!
I’d just try to keep the strumming the same as before, starting from 2:25 you suddenly play the first strum up instead of down like before. And at the same moment, I hear Justin say that “always keep your hand moving”. It works even at this part of the song, though with the muting, the movement would be certainly smaller, more from the wrist, but could still be a consistent movement. Your muted rhythm sounds great anyway - it’s just easier in the long run to have that consistency in movement.
PS. For the mixing, as it’s more you showing your playing than a cover of the song, for me your guitar being a bit louder than the rest, as it is now is just fine.
Thanks! Yep, I clocked this too, that rhythm from the break bleeds over into the next chorus, definitely my brain was telling me ‘don’t worry, just keep going in time, that’s the main thing!’
The lack of a smile is common place amongst the posted videos. I’ve seen a few, but not many. Could be a sign of musical genius!
See, I’m just channeling the energy it takes to smile into brain power to play better, it’s very advanced stuff…!
Haha!
True in some way.
I tell myself that maybe, some day I’ll smile too, but I don’t know when this will be
If you find a video of math07 or SIlvia80, they are famous around here for their ability to smile
…while it really doesn’t seem to take away from their guitar playing!
I liked it a lot.
It did brought back some memories, as I’ve also used Mad World in my “grade 1 rite of passage”, although in a simplified way, with pretty much the same strumming pattern all the way though; I enjoyed the variations you added, as they bring a nice color to it.
Hey, nice to hear from one ‘who has gone before’, so to speak. Just looked up your version on Soundcloud, real consistency to it! I also notice you have a version of Chocolate Jesus, which I also love and am very tempted to do in future.
Thank you
On Chocolate Jesus: the original is awesome, but do look up the Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa version, it has quite a unique energy to it, it’s the one I play along to when I revisit this song …
I’ll look those up, sounds good!
Nice. This is a cool old school song. Sounds great on acoustic as well. Good job busting out the video and your playing, you were in the pocket the whole time just about. You play bass so you can hear it. I can tell. Your standing and moving. You got the beat.
I thought you were going to give us some groove dance moves at the begining, then I realized oh he is just stretching the arm some. 
Thats killer bro, level 2 here you go, cant wait to see the next stuff.
That’s a bit left-field, Simon! Got it… loud and clear! 
Seriously though, that was well played. Looks like you’ve played bass before? Do you think that’s helped with keeping time while strumming? I’m guessing you’ve got a good ear, although adapting from bass to guitar must take a bit of getting used to. Thanks for sharing.
Oh, no dancing haha! I have hypermobility and doing my weird stretches right before playing is something of a habit.
Likewise, standing up and bobbing around a bit helps me stay in time, plus I think it’s a good habit to build on the occasions I get to play with others.
Thanks for your feedback!
Oh, no shade towards acoustic intended whatsoever! Just that it isn’t in my plans even for songs like these that probably sound better on one for open-chord strumming. I’ve always had discomfort with the wider necks and bodies, but that’s very much a me thing.
Having said that! No sooner did you make this post than my workplace unearthed this ancient beater. Dates from 2013 and has a good amount of dust… but who knows! Something to tool around with in downtime at the desk, maybe?
Word
A great rendition of classic, spot on timing and good clean chords, I would be very pleased if I had done that. You might want to try it with a little delay if you have a pedal or modern amp that has emulation software, just a thought. 
