Semi - improvised lesson on symmetric shapes for shred practice - feedback welcome!

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#1

EDIT: let me know what you think of the lesson / presentation style etc. etc.! I need practice for when I’ll eventually record proper material for CTC :slight_smile:

Thanks all for coming, sorry I had to cut it short. I trimmed out a nice 6 min segment which is probably a self-contained discussion on symmetric 3nps shapes for shreddy practice.

Hope you get something out of it. Interestingly - I look / sound less nervous than I actually was. I think the compression coming with the stream algorythm helps to smooth out some rough edges :slight_smile:

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#2

Cool your going to work towards doing lesson material here. I went through it with my guitar in my hand…so these are initial impressions.

For presentation style I would say try to frame the shot…better…either guitar and hands or include your full guitar/upper body/head. Try to hang a sheet in the background to reduce distractions…or visual style of your choice. A little more light that aims to reduce shadows.

As for the lesson - although it was simple concepts it came across as ‘too much too fast’ in terms of pace. The title suggests it will be about symmetric shapes for shred (i.e. majority left hand focus) however the bulk of the lesson (after the initial shape and octave shift) was picking patterns to use with those shapes…I would say stick with one concept…and use one or two picking patterns to demonstrate the use of the shape (perhaps one for USX and one for DSX). A separate lesson on single escape picking patterns that connect 3nps shifts would be awesome.

When presenting the picking patterns - play through it slowly (steady pace and completely), then fast and stay in the same octave. Think in terms of a ‘forward chaining’ style of putting the material out there…slow in one octave…then fast in one octave…then next octave slow…then connect octaves slow…then fast two octaves for inspiration. You generally did that here but it came across a little disjointed and too fast.

For speech - just try to project, be intentional. Don’t let words or sentances trail off.

I hope this is the feedback you were looking for. I think it’s great if CtC is looking at moving to add ‘in house’ lesson material. Cheers.

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#3

@Thegent thank you for taking the time to go through it - and thanks for the useful comments :slight_smile:

PS: I should add that obviously when I’ll make more official lessons the production value (and my preparation hopefully) will be much better… this lesson / levstream excerpt in no way represents CTC “officially”. This is made by old Tommo, the potatovision / potatosound forummer :slight_smile:

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#4

USX and DSX?!.. Show-off;)

But seriously, while the song/solo transcriptions elsewhere on the site are helpful, I think having some more excercisey things like this is a really good addition. Nicely done.

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#5

I thought this framing was a pretty good compromise. The picking hand and neck were fully in frame at a decent size, and even though Tommo’s face was partly out of frame some of the time, it was in frame enough of the time when he was playing or leaning in that it didn’t feel like he was a headless robot.

For some material, I imagine other closeup views might be more appropriate.

While Tommo has already explained that this wasn’t meant to be representative of future production values, one potential “production value” gotcha to be mindful of in the long run is reflections and/or glare on the face of the guitar, especially with a black guitar like this one.

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#6

Thank you Yaakov! Did you get some info out of it that you feel you can use immediately? And if so, what was it?

What information do you think was missing?

Many thanks :slight_smile:

#7

I’m of course trying to apply concepts learned here, but when I used the CTC Solo and other downloads, I began to appreciate the advantage of “exercises” (though they’re something a lot of us seem ambivalent about). Those pieces weren’t allowing me to focus enough on what I need to do as a beginner with this stuff; your video isolates the skill well.

I get that those pieces probably aren’t meant for someone taking his first steps - a lot of people here are past that stage. But it looks to me from recent forum posts that you’re picking up more ‘green’ players who are gonna need more hand-holding and more focus on the basic-basics. So - bravo!

Anything missing? Just cuz I’m this kind of thinker… I personally would benefit from the addition of more detailed instructions - e.g. metronome yes/no, isolate the hands yes or no, etc. I.e. if you were teaching a 12-year-old, you’d tell him exactly what to do for the next week - that kind of specificity. (But maybe others don’t need that as much as I do.)

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#8

The problem here is that, there may not be ‘one size fits all’ that would be advised. For every 100 people that say use a metronome, another hundred will say ‘ditch the metronome’. Maybe they are both right…The only thing I that makes sense to me at least is to experiment well and follow the results. If you know what all the options are, then try them - variety is the spice of life! It comes back to my example of your two favourite speedy guitarists that give you advice from opposite ends of the spectrum - who would you believe?

Also - why a 12 year old? Would it be different advice for a 30, 50 or 80 year old?

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#9

Great content!
I like the way you presented the material, easy to follow and no need to play it slow. But that is just my preference, you might have to choose who you are catering too and adjust accordingly.

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