Original lesson: Intermediate Rock Ballad Solo by Guido Bungenstock
Hello Guido, Gab, Darius, Ben and all GMCer.
This lesson is magnificent but it is harder than I thought.
The accelerations and the bends asked me for a lot of work.
It is not perfect, I shall do better in a few months. I gave the best of me
Full Version: Intermediate Rock Ballad Solo
Hey again Mr.M! 
I can notice similar problems as with your take to other Guido's lesson. Fast licks are not precise enough and some bends need a few more cents up.
Also...this lesson is not easy at all! Even if it's based on smooth, melodic and long notes phrasing, it contains some licks way above the level it seemed to be. The are around 0:30-0:40 whos exactly what I mean. There is this alternate picking, 16th note triplets lick that is very demanding and like "borrowed" from a lesson level 9 or 10. But the lesson itself is a beautiful composition that shows what really playing is and how all those skills we learn, can be combined into a song. That's a perfect example on how to use skills to make music without overloading it with pointless shred. The reason I'm writting this, is to cheer you up and give you some motivation to be prepared for a long time practise to master it. But it's going to be worth! I will hold my thumbs
I can notice similar problems as with your take to other Guido's lesson. Fast licks are not precise enough and some bends need a few more cents up.
Also...this lesson is not easy at all!
Even if it's based on smooth, melodic and long notes phrasing, it contains some licks way above the level it seemed to be. The are around 0:30-0:40 whos exactly what I mean. There is this alternate picking, 16th note triplets lick that is very demanding and like "borrowed" from a lesson level 9 or 10. But the lesson itself is a beautiful composition that shows what really playing is and how all those skills we learn, can be combined into a song. That's a perfect example on how to use skills to make music without overloading it with pointless shred. The reason I'm writting this, is to cheer you up and give you some motivation to be prepared for a long time practise to master it. But it's going to be worth! I will hold my thumbs
Hi again. Wow, another hard lesson from Guido! This one is a test, for sure.
I think you handle it very well here but of course we're going to hand you some tips to improve, as always
The main thing for me is that you need to tie the phrases together better. What do I mean? I mean that there are many pauses separating bends from notes that follow, things like that. I know why it occurs. It occurs because you 're using your finger to do one job and then you need time to get it to the next position. So these audible gaps occur.
The challenge to making phrasing smooth is reducing these gaps and, in many cases, eliminating them completely. Sometimes it can be caused by the finger positioning we use. If you're performing a bend on one finger, check to see if the next phrase can be played with a different finger. Maybe not. But take a look to see if Guido's using a different finger combination in any of the phrases.
The main thing, though, is familiarity and time, time, time! It takes time to reduce these pauses in our playing. It's like when we first learn chords. We always had to stop and think before we could play the next one! After a while, though, it became more naturally and the chord changes are seamless. It's the same with this kind of phrasing.
So, to sum it up, you're doing everything right - just do more of it!
I think you handle it very well here but of course we're going to hand you some tips to improve, as always
The main thing for me is that you need to tie the phrases together better. What do I mean? I mean that there are many pauses separating bends from notes that follow, things like that. I know why it occurs. It occurs because you 're using your finger to do one job and then you need time to get it to the next position. So these audible gaps occur.
The challenge to making phrasing smooth is reducing these gaps and, in many cases, eliminating them completely. Sometimes it can be caused by the finger positioning we use. If you're performing a bend on one finger, check to see if the next phrase can be played with a different finger. Maybe not. But take a look to see if Guido's using a different finger combination in any of the phrases.
The main thing, though, is familiarity and time, time, time! It takes time to reduce these pauses in our playing. It's like when we first learn chords. We always had to stop and think before we could play the next one!
After a while, though, it became more naturally and the chord changes are seamless. It's the same with this kind of phrasing. So, to sum it up, you're doing everything right - just do more of it!
Thanks again, MisterM ;-)
Hi again mate,
This lesson is also close but shows similar issues to the other one related to how comfortable you feel with some licks which is reflected on little timing issues, weak vibrato or not totally precise bending.
As you are working on many licks at a time I think that the next step is to go deeper with each part and work again on smaller sections, checking again how Guido plays each part and what is making you play some of the licks smooth-less.
That's what I recommend at this moment. You can play the whole thing, now it's time for details.
Keep on the good job!
This lesson is also close but shows similar issues to the other one related to how comfortable you feel with some licks which is reflected on little timing issues, weak vibrato or not totally precise bending.
As you are working on many licks at a time I think that the next step is to go deeper with each part and work again on smaller sections, checking again how Guido plays each part and what is making you play some of the licks smooth-less.
That's what I recommend at this moment. You can play the whole thing, now it's time for details.
Keep on the good job!
Almost there, 5.7
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