That’s pretty awesome! Great challenge to work on and have fun with it. I’m not gonna give you any piece of advice as I’m myself a beginner but I can tell by the look on your face that you really enjoy playing and that’s what made me watch the three videos. Keep it up!
I also like the way you record your videos with the backing tracks. I want to start recording myself but I still don’t know how. What do you use to record video/audio and play along the backing tracks?
The hardware you’ll need… you can start with the video camera on your phone.
if you want to get a bit more professional you’ll need an AI ( Audio Interface ) so that you can record your music to a PC or Mac, a camera (most use a webcam), a microphone, and various leads and cables.
Software: Like many (possibly most) regulars here, I use OBS (Open Broadcast Software), which as the name suggests is free to download and use, for recording video. For the Community Open Mics I just use OBS and Zoom, for AVOYPs I record the audio through a DAW where I perform any tweaks and/or add FX and/or backing tracks, record the video in OBS, then merge the audio and video in a video editor (I use Shotcut, another open source program). Some DAWs including Reaper, the one I use, claim to have video editing capability, but I’ve tried it in Reaper and didn’t like it, hence my using a dedicated video editor.
Don’t worry if all this sounds too daunting, you’ll find a plethora of useful information and advice in this section of the community. Be warned, this can be as big a rabbit hole as actually learning to play the guitar.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate all the information. I recently purchased the scarlet 2i2 bundle but I didn’t do any recording yet. I have been learning how to use ableton and there’s also a lot to investigate.
I didn’t know where to start with the software so I will take a look and get ready to do some recording soon.
For recording, you received a great answer from @theoldman66
I got the same audio interface as you I used the mic and the headphone from the bundle. Also, if you don’t have a good webcam, you can turn your phone into a webcam in OBS with a simple app Droidcam OBS.
I like Davinici Resolve for video editing as it has an option to automatically synchronize the audio track from my DAW (Reaper) with the video from OBS.
I am making progress in my rock songbook project. Here are 2 new songs. I am now at 5 songs out of 15 done. 1/3 done.
I actually recorded song #5 (In Bloom - Nirvana) 2 months ago. It turns out well because I’m getting confident with power chords songs.
However, I needed more time to work on song #4 (La Grange - ZZ Top). The riffs are quite fast and they involve some techniques like hybrid picking, muting and finger stretching.
Honestly, the first riff felt impossible at first. But, as we say never give up. La Grange became easier and easier after some pratice. So I’m glad I persevered
Also, one day, I’ll probably revisit La Grange to play the 1 minute guitar solo at the end which add a lot to the song.
Thank you @CarlosAP for following my progress I appreciate it
Yes, you will enjoy adding La Grange to your list. It’s a song that make you grow in your journey.
You are right, I would actually recommend to start learning the first riff only with pick to work on your fretting hand.
At the beginning, I used that Youtube tutorial for picking. And then, after your fretting hand is familiar with the riff, you can add the hybrid picking technique (pick + fingers) that Justin shows in his lesson if you want some further challenge.
Though, I tried both version and they both sound great so it’s not mandatory.
Great job on both of those songs, Mathieu. La Grange looked tough one and that was some finger workout. Overall you did a great job, just a few times it dropped off the beat but then hey, who hasn’t.
In bloom was real nice. Your power chords are really coming along and boy did you look happy playing that one.
@SgtColon Thanks Stefan for taking the time to watch the videos and write a supportive comment
Yes, keeping the beat was a challenge as my first finger was not always cooperating Some muscles that are not used often were definitely working out while doing that mini A barre chord movement + muting many times in a row. It felt like lifting weight for my first finger
@Silvia80@twistor59@Notter
Thank you Silvia, Phil and Mark for watching my progress. It means a lot to me to engage with people like you in the community
Your 3 messages were an highlight in my day
That’s a good point to think about Silvia.
In the last module of grade 3, Justin discuss about moving from beginner to intermediate pratice. He says : “We can’t pratice everything” and that we should focus on one genre at a time.
And it’s true that chord melodies and rock songs involve many different techniques. I may not be able to pursue both of those genres in the near future.
I started chord melodies because I wanted to be able to recognize the song without singing. But, I think that I was able to accomplish that goal in a different way with my rock songs and backing tracks.
Very cool Math07! It’s a nice challenge the rock songbook, and impressive how you managed the la grange riffs! The most difficult song out of the 5 you recorded, I imagine.
I have all of Justin’s songbooks (except the Aussie one), and your project inspires me to do the same
Thanks for stopping by @Inge_guitar29 and @CD02. Your comments were really nice and put a smile on my face
Craig, so true ! I had the same impression when I first watched Justin’s lesson. I feel relieved now that this song is finished
Inge, it would be awesome if you started your own project ! It’s hard to describe, but there is definitely something going on when doing all the songs of the book one after the other. Justin put the songs in a well-though order. Every song bring something new, a challenge for sure, but still manageable. For instance, I realize that the pinky stretch that I worked with La Grange is helping me while doing the next songs Rock and Roll All Nite and There She Goes.
Since you have all of the songbooks, the next question is which one to choose haha ! They must all be great.
I think this depends much on one’s expectations, but sure progress is slowier if you practice more things…which doesn’t mean it can’t be valuable in some ways.
Here’s an example, it’s very good if you were able to find and follow your own path…as we progress and grow as musicians some creativity will naturally pop out, whether in arranging things or in the way we learn new things.
Yeah ! My rock songbook project is progressing well. 7 out of 15 done !
The next 2 songs in the book were really fun to learn and play. I’d definitely recommend them to any grade 3 students.
Who would have thought that Rock And Roll All Nite involved many techniques from the 12 bar blues shuffle taught in grade 2 ? Such a cool song to apply those techniques in a new concept.
There She Goes is a really fun song to start learning lead guitar. And it also has an interesting rhythm guitar part.
I think that they were my best performances so far. So, I’m proud of my progress with the course.
I think you were excellent, especially impressive was that five fret section with 2-finger and 3-string power chord and pinkie stretch in RnR all nite. Your tone was good and overall very good rhythm. Well done Mathieu.