Ahoy - Upstroke Escape etude by ASTN

Show and Tell
#1

Well, as I always say I hate playing nonmusical exercises. So in my journey of mastering DWPS/USX I wrote a simple neoclassicish/metallish song. It uses what I call “DWPS level 1” - means that in fast phrases every string change comes after an upstroke. No sweeping or pull-offs (which I call “DWPS level 2”)
While it’s musical value is pretty doubtful it can be useful for practice. There are some tricks to make it easier. For example there are “broken phrases” where you first play some long passage part by part with pauses and only after that you play them connected; also there is a place where you first play a phrase slowly couple of times then you play it fast etc
Here is me trying to play it 140bpm. It’s a kind of my max speed so it sounds sloppy )

https://vocaroo.com/1BsoXV8mcXV

I called it ‘Ahoy’ since it has some pirate vibes )
Anyway, if someone is interested I could upload backing tracks with different tempo, and guitar pro files (though ‘guitar pro’ version sounds awful).

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JP trying to learn
Space Pirates! "Intermediate" shred tune at 162bpm [Tabs included]
#2

Awesome, I love this kind of stuff! Deserves to be in show and tell so I moved it there :slight_smile: Gp files and backing tracks would be useful to many here including yours truly :slight_smile:
Edit: also changed title in line with our updated terminology/understanding. Let me know if it’s ok!

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#3

Oh, right… I’m still using old terminology. Old habits die hard, I guess ) Thank you for correction!

I would try to upload files though I have problems with uploading to the forum. If it wouldn’t work I will upload them on some external hosting site then.

#4

Backing tracks (100-160 bpm):
Ahoy 100bpm
Ahoy 110bpm
Ahoy 120bpm
Ahoy 130bpm
Ahoy 140bpm
Ahoy 150bpm
Ahoy 160bpm

Guitar Pro files:
Ahoy RSE.gpx (89.0 KB)
Ahoy midi.gpx (88.3 KB)
I had some problems with pure MIDI (without RSE) so I muted rhythm guitar track, and changed tracks levels.

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#5

Nice work here on creating a specific musical excersize for a specific technical stumbling block. I’d love see more of these types of things (thinking about creating some myself). The musical aspect is key for me. Thanks for sharing.

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#6

Great work on this. It’s like a more approachable version of “Far Beyond The Sun”!

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#8

Thank you @Thegent, @Troy!
It was actually fun to make this stuff. When people try to write something they whether have no ideas or have too many of them. I’m the latter kind of guy ) So having some limitations helped me actually.

#9

I found plenty of musical value in it! I spent a couple of hours last night trying to learn it - might become one of my regular workouts :slight_smile:

If I/others ever get good enough at it to record our own cover (for YT, Facebook and whatnot), would you be happy with that, and how would you like to be acknowledged? Let us know :slight_smile:

PS: out of curiosity - what does the " _ - _ - _ - _" symbol stand for?

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#12

You can do whatever you want with this stuff. It’s just an exercise after all. So if you want you may mention my CtC nickname, if you won’t - I wouldn’t be sad at all )

As for mysterious name… It’s just forum requirements for having at least 15 symbols in topic title ) (since it was shorter before correction)

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#13

Cool, you will certainly be mentioned if I (and I hope others) ever manage a good recording. It’s not so easy to play clean!

I’m keeping my eyes peeled for Level 2 \m/

#14

I actually have one thing for “USX Level 2” that I use for practice, but it’s more boring and more technical exercise-like. Kinda pop-samba style (or smthing like that).
But it has too complex structure. So I would try to simplify it and upload it here.

#15

Hello ASTN,

Thanks for the exercise. I’m always looking for stuff like this. For some reason the music in the GuitarPro files is faded out. Only the up/down strokes are in black. The notes/tab are in a very light gray, hard to see. Any idea how to turn them back to black?

#16

GuitarPro is still a mystery for me. I’m newbie.
But it may be related with voices. Try to choose different voices (ctrl+1, ctrl+2, ctrl+3, or ctrl+4). I don’t remember which number I used (

#17

No problem. I went in and retyped in the notes. I’m now learning it so I can play along with GP. Great exercise for DWPS/USX. Plus, I get the benefit/enjoyment of ‘playing along’ instead of just doing finger exercises. Thanks for posting.

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