Live Class: Beginner's Guide to Soloing- The ESSENTIALS

WEBVTT
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Hello.
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Good morning.
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Good morning.
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How you doing out there?
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Good morning.
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Good morning.
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Hello there.
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Hello.
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Good to see ya.
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All right.
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Morning, Steve.
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Good morning.
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Good morning.
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So glad you're here.
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So, guys, just remember, I'm I'm I'm gonna preface this and I'll say this a couple of times.
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This is not an intermediate to advanced kind of thing.
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We're gonna be talking about absolute basics of soloing for those of you that still struggle with that kind of thing.
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So that's where we're at today.
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So I just want to make sure everybody understands that.
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I will not be offended if you have to leave because you already know some of the things that we're talking about.
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You will not offend me.
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Okay.
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So we're gonna be starting at the very beginning and just talking about the differences between practice and playing.
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And I got a chart I'm gonna give you, and uh, we're just gonna kind of build from there.
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So let me just keep getting some people in here.
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But so hopefully your week is going good.
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Yeah.
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Good, good, good.
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All right.
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I had the privilege of seeing Jason Bonham last night, Led Zeppelin, an evening with Led Zeppelin.
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Yeah, it was awesome.
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Oh, that's great.
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That's great.
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Who was do you know who was playing with Jason?
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It was just it was just them the whole night.
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Okay.
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At the celebrity theater in uh in Phoenix.
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Okay.
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It was awesome.
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Do you know who was playing guitar with him?
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Um, gosh, his name is he's uh he's Japanese, Jason.
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Um it's it's ironic because his name is Jimmy.
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Um I can't remember his last name.
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Okay.
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I'll have to look that up.
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That's interesting.
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Yeah, it was it was it was incredible.
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I bet.
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Incredible show.
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They played like 14 songs.
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Um, you know, 50 years of incredible music is amazing.
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That's great.
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That's awesome.
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All right, guys.
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So here's oh, I'll get Drew in here.
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Okay, so let's do this.
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So, what we're gonna do is we're just gonna start off by talking a little bit, and I want to move this out of the way.
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Uh there we go.
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And I have five screens open.
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I have to adjust at once here.
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So there we go.
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And there.
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Alright, can you guys see my screen okay?
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Okay, and I'm gonna I'll post this.
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I'll post this when I post the remote.
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What's that now?
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Yeah.
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Oh.
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All right.
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So what I'm gonna do, guys, I'm just gonna mute you for the time being.
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There we go.
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There we go.
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Okay, so hopefully you all can see this thing.
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And again, I'll post it when we get done.
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But what I want to talk about today is the difference in your in your brain between understanding practicing and soloing and playing, actually, playing, and what the difference is between the two and what you want to focus on.
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And then what we'll do is we'll start breaking into some of these things.
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So, for instance, practicing.
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We all know the importance of practicing, okay?
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But you have to understand, like, let me let me move back to this again.
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There we go.
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I'll come back to that in just a second.
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The oh, it was a little blurry?
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Okay, I'll I'll do the best I can with that.
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So, and again, I'll post it.
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It'll just, it'll just kind of help us for the time being.
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But practice, guys, is threefold.
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Okay.
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There's what what you can think, what you understand about what you want to do.
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Okay, you always have to understand that guitar playing does not start with your fingers, it starts with your brain.
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And you gotta understand that.
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The more you understand about what you what you want to do or what your options are, the more you can make the right decisions.
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The second thing is your eyes.
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What can you see with absolute certainty?
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Remember, as I I've told most of you guys, if you kind of know something, you kind of don't know something, and that's where the problem is.
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So when it comes to practice, it starts with what you understand and what you see.
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Now understand there's a million things, okay?
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What you see is if I look at my fretboard and I'm thinking a minor pentatonic, or I'm thinking caged, or I'm thinking, you know, whatever it might be.
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Do I see without question what it is that I want?
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Then I can go and I can start trying to work on playing it.
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So I want you guys to understand the power of that, because so often guitar players are just practicing things and they don't know why they're practicing it or they don't they don't know what its relevance is.
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And you have to understand when you go to practice, again, but let's let's break this down just for a second, and then we'll get into this.
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When you practice, you're either practicing on trying to see something on a larger scale, like a a scale across the entire fretboard.
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Or you're micro practicing, you're moving in and you're trying to figure out how to play this one position, or how to see it better, how to navigate through it better, or connecting these two positions together.
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Those are two very different kinds of practice, and you should be doing both of them.
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But the difference here is that even though you're doing those things, we still want to work on playing, which is what we're gonna talk about today.
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I just want you to understand before we move on the value of practice and what it is, like I've told you guys many times, practice with intention.
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Know what you're doing and why you're doing it.
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When you sit down to practice, know why you're doing what you're doing.
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Don't just practice because somebody told you to.
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Know what you're doing.
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Okay?
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One of the best ways of making progress as a guitar player is knowing where your flaws are.
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When you go to play, how many of you guys know where your flaws are?
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When you play, you know when you when you're trying to play something you're not comfortable with, or you keep getting stuck on something.
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See, that's the key, is don't don't, I mean, we'll tell you two, but don't just wait for someone to tell you.
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Like if you're practicing and you're like, well, this metronome's set too high.
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Well, then set it lower.
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I don't really, when I try and play my fretboard, I always get lost in position three.
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Okay, what does that tell you?
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I gotta work on position three more.
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I mean, there are obvious signs of things that you need to work on.
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Now, some of you are just working on maybe a position on the guitar, like, you know, the first position of A miter pentatonic.
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Some of you are working on your whole fretboard.
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What I'm saying is, if you're trying to work on your whole fretboard and you've got potholes all over in your positions, you're not really working on your whole fretboard.
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You gotta work on those potholes.
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Does that make sense to everybody?
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The moment you stop pretending and you start actually working on what you need, you're gonna make more progress.
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The moment you really realize where your problems are, and they again we all have them, okay, but the more you can focus on what that is and make it better.
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Now let's talk about how to do that.
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So I'm gonna go back to sharing the screen again here.
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There we go.
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Now, again, if it's fuzzy for you, I I I apologize.
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This is the best I can do for now.
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But um, so if we look at the left column, practice, build a foundation.
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So the first thing on that list is visualizing the positions.
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If you kind of sort of see a position, you kind of don't see it.
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You have to be able to look down and unequivocally look down and go exactly.
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I know I can see exactly what I want.
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My struggle is playing it, but I can absolutely see without question 585757575858, or 810, 710, 710, 79, 810, 810, or whatever it is.
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Whatever it is.
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Again, could be a cage system, could be a diatonic scale, could be all kinds of things.
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We're just we're gonna stay very basic today, but that's where your practice, you have to spend time thinking.
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You have to spend time studying, you have to spend time visualizing.
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If every time you practice the guitars in your hands, you're missing out on opportunity to practice other things, which is studying and comprehension.
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The guitar shouldn't be in your hands all the time.
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There are times when you should just be studying.
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That's not saying don't practice.
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That's not what I'm saying.
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What I'm saying is your fingers moving on the guitar is different than you learning to visualize something or you learning to comprehend something.
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So, number one is visualize the positions.
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Look down, see what you want.
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Okay.
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Number two is play with a metronome.
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Now let's talk about this.
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When you first start playing, okay, I'm gonna go back here again.
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When you first start playing something, the first thing you're trying to do is get comfortable with it.
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I can see the A minor pentatonic scale.
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What I need to now do is practice playing it.
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I need to practice picking, whether I'm down picking, whether I'm alternate picking.
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I need to practice shifting from one string to the next.
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Before I even worry about a metronome, the first thing I need to do is just practice playing.
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Do I have problems picking?
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Do I have problems alternate picking?
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Do I have problems shifting between strings?
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The more you recognize where those issues are for you, okay, it's not enough just to visualize it.
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You gotta play it.
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But it's not enough just to play it.
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You've got to try and make it sound good.
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You've got to try and make it sound like it flows, like a piano, right?
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You want your playing.
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You know, we get so obsessed with how fast we can do things.
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And I'm not saying that playing fast is bad.
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What I'm saying is because people get so obsessed with that, they bypass a lot of the problems that they're having because all they're focused on is one thing, which is how fast they can do something.
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Even if it sounds terrible, all they're focused on is how fast they can do it.
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They're not focusing on how good it sounds.
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Fast is a skill, it's a technique, it's an element that we can use in our playing.
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But we're not always playing fast.
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We are always up against a clock.
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We are always up against a metronome.
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Every song has a tempo.
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So we're up against that tempo, which is the next thing we'll talk about.
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I'm just saying, you don't always have to practice with a metronome.
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Sometimes what you do is you just practice trying to work on how does it sound, how does it feel when I play?
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How does it feel?
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How does it sound?
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Does my pick follow my hand?
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Does my right hand, in this case, follow my left hand?
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I gotta work on these things.
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So for me, intuition is not working with a metronome.
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Intuition is just working on things, trying to get comfortable.
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Is what I'm seeing and what I'm playing coinciding?
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And are my hands able to move in that platform?
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Now, as we want to start developing speed, let me do this again.
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That's where we start using a metronome.
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Okay?
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So let me show you what I mean by that, and then we'll get to the good stuff here.
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So a lot of people feel like they shouldn't ask questions about a metronome because they should already know how to use a metronome.
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That's not true.
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If you've never used a metronome or you're still not sure how to use a metronome, you gotta ask questions.
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Okay?
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So the way I have always taught using a metronome, and you can do whatever you want, but the way I've always taught it is you set the metronome at wherever.
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I'm gonna set it at 115, just as an example for you.
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And I've always taught students play two per click.
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Two per click, two per click, two per click, two per click.
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That's how I've taught people.
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So if it's too fast, slow it down.
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If it's not fast enough, speed it up.
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But you're doing two per click.
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So when I play this, my brain immediately thinks that's what I'm thinking.
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And that click is is absolutely crucial that I play to that click.
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I can't do this, guys.
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I can't have the metronome and go.
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I'm not playing with the metronome.
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I might as well shut the metronome off.
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The metronome's going on over here.
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I'm not, I have nothing to do with that metronome.
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It's pointless to me.
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I have to play with the metronome.
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So I have to find the speed at which I can play with the metronome.
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And this is gonna be different for every one of you.
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It's not a matter of feeling bad.
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If you have to slow the metronome down, it doesn't mean you suck.
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It means you have to find the speed at which you can get on the board.
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You gotta get on the board.
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So if I was at 115, this is just a hypothetical, and I'm thinking pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, bop, pop, pop, pop, bop, pop, that means I should be able to play it at that speed.
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And in this case, every time the metronome clicks, I'm on a new string because I'm doing two per click.
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Bada, bada, bada, bada, bada, bada.
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So every time it clicks, I'm doing a new string.
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Okay?
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When I play this, how does it feel?
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Is it comfortable?
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Is it smooth?
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Am I tense?
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Or can I play this comfortably and I'm relaxed?
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Could I do this more than once?
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Could I do it for five minutes straight?
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See, that's when you start getting to things, is you know, doing it once or twice or three times is fine.
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Do it a hundred times.
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Does your brain start getting lost, right?
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Do you start losing concentration?
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Do your fingers start tensing up?
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If I was just gonna go like this, can I concentrate 10 times in a row?
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20 times in a row.
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See, it's not just can I do it once, it's can I stay in the game for 20 seconds, 30 seconds, a minute, two minutes, five minutes.
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Can I stay in the game?
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Or do I start feeling myself yeah, yeah.
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Are you saying not to count, just to go with a beat of the metronome?
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No, no, no.
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You can you can count, but okay, this is a good question.
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Let's talk about this.
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So when you're doing two per click, let's, and and again, I'll do my best to explain this to you, okay?
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As I'm hearing this, I don't have to count those.
00:17:22.389 --> 00:17:25.910
Okay, I'm not counting one, two, three, four.
00:17:26.470 --> 00:17:34.389
Because it might be one, two, three, one, two, three, or it might be one, two, three, four, five, right?
00:17:34.950 --> 00:17:37.750
The the the amount of those is irrelevant.
00:17:37.990 --> 00:17:38.309
Okay?
00:17:38.629 --> 00:17:42.230
Now, what I want to be able to do is cut this into two.
00:17:42.389 --> 00:17:48.789
So I'm thinking one and one and one and one and T T T T T T T T, right?
00:17:49.589 --> 00:17:56.869
So right now, counting it, counting isn't really gonna do me any good because I have nothing to count against.
00:17:57.029 --> 00:18:01.189
I'm not I'm not playing in four or three, four or something.
00:18:01.349 --> 00:18:05.189
I'm just I'm just playing this shape, doing two per click.
00:18:06.549 --> 00:18:07.189
Does that make sense?
00:18:07.349 --> 00:18:08.709
That's kind of what I was asking.
00:18:08.949 --> 00:18:21.589
Yeah, because because when you're counting and trying to sync with a metronome, and I have one that's you know visual and it has little dashes, and it accentuates the first beat.
00:18:22.149 --> 00:18:27.269
And if you're counting and trying to do all those three things at the same time, this doesn't work.
00:18:27.589 --> 00:18:27.909
Right.
00:18:28.069 --> 00:18:32.549
Well, let's let's dig just a little bit deeper in there because what you're saying is really, really important.
00:18:33.429 --> 00:18:36.789
Counting is important when you need to count.
00:18:37.029 --> 00:18:40.789
For instance, how many measures are we doing before we go to this?
00:18:41.509 --> 00:18:42.069
Right?
00:18:42.309 --> 00:18:50.309
Or, you know, maybe when you first start learning how to do a strumming pattern for a particular song, you need to count to make sure that you know where things are.
00:18:50.789 --> 00:18:57.589
But the reality is the more you play, let's take this as an example, everybody.
00:18:57.750 --> 00:18:59.349
I'm gonna count to four.
00:19:00.789 --> 00:19:02.949
One, two, three, four.
00:19:03.109 --> 00:19:04.949
One, two, three, four.
00:19:05.189 --> 00:19:09.909
One, two, what happens in my brain is so I start feeling it as distance.
00:19:15.750 --> 00:19:20.230
And my whole body tells me where this is, right there.
00:19:20.389 --> 00:19:21.990
So now I'm not counting anymore.
00:19:22.149 --> 00:19:25.750
I'm just feeling this distance as this long, so to speak.
00:19:25.909 --> 00:19:27.029
Does that make sense?
00:19:27.269 --> 00:19:31.029
I'm feeling there it is, and there it is.
00:19:31.750 --> 00:19:44.869
That's kind of what I was asking because I've always had kind of a hard time coming in on the first beat when you're after you count four, you've gone through a bunch of bars, and sometimes you get a little ahead or a little behind.
00:19:45.109 --> 00:19:45.589
Yeah.
00:19:45.829 --> 00:19:47.750
And then this is good.
00:19:48.230 --> 00:19:48.470
Okay.
00:19:48.629 --> 00:20:15.939
Yeah, and and and I'm please understand, guys, what I'm not saying is counting is bad.
00:20:16.019 --> 00:20:16.819
That's not what I'm saying.
00:20:16.980 --> 00:20:23.059
What I'm saying is there are times when you don't need to count because you can feel whatever it is that you need.
00:20:23.219 --> 00:20:30.179
You can either feel the beat or you can feel the distance between beat one and beat one again, right?
00:20:30.419 --> 00:20:32.579
So it depends on where you are with that.
00:20:32.740 --> 00:20:41.059
But you know, one E and a two E and a three, like when I'm doing this, if I'm doing this, guys, I'm not counting this.
00:20:41.459 --> 00:20:42.740
I'm feeling this.
00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:45.379
What I'm concentrating on is that.
00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:48.339
That's what I'm concentrating on, is that click.
00:20:48.419 --> 00:20:53.299
I'm not concentrating on which one is a one or a two or a three or an and between.
00:20:53.379 --> 00:20:54.419
I can feel the and.
00:21:00.980 --> 00:21:02.419
That's what I'm thinking about.
00:21:03.699 --> 00:21:06.740
And I know that's kind of vague, but does that make sense?
00:21:09.219 --> 00:21:09.539
Okay.
00:21:09.859 --> 00:21:24.419
So as I'm as I'm so like when you're playing, like um uh um something like uh after midnight where you're playing.
00:21:30.819 --> 00:21:37.619
Should follow the beat, try to follow the don't necessarily count, but try to get into like a groove.
00:21:38.019 --> 00:21:46.740
Well, okay, so so here's the first thing I would do, bud, is before I even play along, if I'm gonna play after midnight, the first thing I do is listen to the song.
00:21:46.819 --> 00:21:51.379
And yes, I know you've heard this song a thousand times, but now you're listening to it as a guitar player.
00:21:51.539 --> 00:22:00.419
So the first thing I do as I listen to the song without playing, that's another conversation we could have, but I'm listening to the song over and over and over.
00:22:01.379 --> 00:22:04.419
And I'm getting, I that's when I'm doing my counting.
00:22:04.579 --> 00:22:11.379
That's when I'm doing my planning, that's when I'm figuring out where the chord changes are and the blocks are and all that kind of stuff is I'm not playing it.
00:22:11.459 --> 00:22:12.899
I'm listening to it.
00:22:13.139 --> 00:22:16.259
And I'm figuring out how it all goes in my head.
00:22:16.579 --> 00:22:22.179
So when I start playing along with it, there's nothing to count because I've already figured all that out.
00:22:22.339 --> 00:22:24.019
I'm playing along with it.
00:22:25.459 --> 00:22:31.219
You see, that's one of the things that people do wrong too, is that they they immediately bypass that and just trying to play along.
00:22:31.459 --> 00:22:36.419
The first thing I do is I I I figure out everything in my head before again, these two things.
00:22:36.579 --> 00:22:39.539
I figure out everything in my head before I try and play along with it.
00:22:40.819 --> 00:22:43.219
Because playing along is the physical part.
00:22:44.099 --> 00:22:45.539
It's not the analysis part.
00:22:45.699 --> 00:22:48.659
I've already done the analysis, I've already thought about all of that stuff.
00:22:48.899 --> 00:22:54.899
So if I need to count, boom, boom, after midnight, we're gonna let it all hang down.
00:22:55.059 --> 00:22:56.179
That's the beat.
00:22:56.740 --> 00:22:57.139
Right?
00:22:57.299 --> 00:22:58.980
So that's Where the beat is.
00:22:59.059 --> 00:23:04.339
Then I start thinking about in my head where those core changes are, and I start figuring all that stuff out.
00:23:04.659 --> 00:23:06.980
So I've already got that stuff planned in my head.
00:23:07.059 --> 00:23:12.899
So when I start playing along, no, I I can be, I can, with complete honesty, I can say I don't count.
00:23:12.980 --> 00:23:14.740
That doesn't mean everybody's the same way.
00:23:14.899 --> 00:23:15.779
But I don't count.
00:23:15.859 --> 00:23:21.059
But the reality though is subconsciously, I suppose I am counting, right?
00:23:21.459 --> 00:23:25.219
I'm just for me, counting is a distance more than is a number.
00:23:25.299 --> 00:23:29.059
Like I'm not sitting there going, one, two, three, four, one, two.
00:23:29.379 --> 00:23:30.419
Like I don't think that way.
00:23:30.500 --> 00:23:32.179
I feel it as a distance.
00:23:33.139 --> 00:23:37.379
After midnight, we're gonna let it all hang down.
00:23:37.619 --> 00:23:39.219
That's a distance to me.
00:23:39.459 --> 00:23:41.219
There's four of them in there.
00:23:41.619 --> 00:23:44.179
There's my foot, but I'm not really counting it.
00:23:44.259 --> 00:23:46.339
I'm my body is feeling it.
00:23:47.859 --> 00:23:49.699
Does that sort of make sense?
00:23:50.019 --> 00:23:50.659
Yeah.
00:23:50.980 --> 00:23:51.299
Okay.
00:23:51.619 --> 00:23:57.859
Now, again, that that would even be a conversation we could have for another Wednesday, is exactly what you're talking about right there.
00:23:58.099 --> 00:23:58.419
Okay?
00:23:59.299 --> 00:24:02.740
So I'm not I'm I'm not trying to rush past you.
00:24:02.819 --> 00:24:11.059
I'm just saying counting is one of those weird things where we could even just have a full conversation with everybody on what people think of how to count.
00:24:11.379 --> 00:24:13.539
Yeah, see, this ties into what I practice.
00:24:14.019 --> 00:24:15.939
You know, you're saying practice and playing.
00:24:16.259 --> 00:24:26.980
So I'm you know, I'm practicing certain chord patterns to time, you know, the pentatonic scales, and then sometimes I'll just improvise over them with no backing track.
00:24:27.139 --> 00:24:32.659
Just move between the major triads and minor triads and those things.
00:24:32.899 --> 00:24:44.339
But my issue, like I said before, is like timing, and this helps clear it up because I was listening to a backing track last night and playing along with it, and after a while I kind of got synced up with it.
00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:44.819
Sure.
00:24:45.139 --> 00:24:46.579
Just strumming along with it.
00:24:47.619 --> 00:24:49.539
But I wasn't really kind of one, two, three, four.
00:24:49.619 --> 00:24:53.059
I was just like strumming the song and making a chord change.
00:24:53.299 --> 00:24:59.139
I don't have a problem doing a change, it's just getting the timing and the tone when I'm playing.
00:24:59.539 --> 00:25:02.179
Well, and and hopefully, so we'll see how much time we have today.
00:25:02.259 --> 00:25:06.259
But the key here is to get to the next part, which is where we're gonna really dive into what you're talking about now.
00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:07.779
Carrie, what do you got, buddy?
00:25:08.099 --> 00:25:16.659
So just go back to um earlier when you were talking about you know, you were feeling the and, you know, you you're feeling the and.
00:25:17.699 --> 00:25:21.939
So is the part that you're feeling, is the and in between?
00:25:22.259 --> 00:25:22.659
Yes.
00:25:22.819 --> 00:25:23.059
Okay.
00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:27.699
So if I listen to this, those are the downbeats.
00:25:27.859 --> 00:25:28.099
Okay.
00:25:28.259 --> 00:25:29.459
Those are the quarter notes.
00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:31.059
So the offbeats.
00:25:32.579 --> 00:25:33.459
Got it.
00:25:33.939 --> 00:25:34.419
Awesome.
00:25:34.659 --> 00:25:35.459
Are in between.
00:25:35.619 --> 00:25:40.819
Now, the goal is to feel the off beat against the downbeat.
00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:43.619
You know, it's okay to you you want to have the downbeat.
00:25:43.699 --> 00:25:55.779
So if you're thinking, again, in in counting terms, one, two, three, four, one, and two, and three, and four, and one, and two, and three, and four, and one, and two, and three.
00:25:56.019 --> 00:25:58.259
And for us, we think of that as an up, right?
00:25:58.419 --> 00:26:03.139
One and two and three and four and one and two and three and four.
00:26:03.379 --> 00:26:18.339
So as we're listening to that again, if we strip away downs and ups and all that stuff, when we just start thinking about two per click, four per click.
00:26:23.939 --> 00:26:27.379
The holy grail is the one, is the click.
00:26:27.699 --> 00:26:49.619
And so when we're practicing, it's essential that when we're practicing, and this gets back to what we were talking about, it's essential that we can play whatever it is we're trying to play at the speed that we've got the metronome set, where that click, we're playing the in in pentatonics terms, because there's two on each string, it's lining up.
00:27:18.179 --> 00:27:24.419
See, the thing about practice is I'm I'm becoming one with that metronome.
00:27:24.659 --> 00:27:28.179
I'm not playing alongside it, I'm inside it.
00:27:28.819 --> 00:27:30.980
I'm not forgetting where that metronome is.
00:27:31.139 --> 00:27:32.659
The metronome is leading me.
00:27:32.740 --> 00:27:34.259
I cannot lead the metronome.
00:27:34.339 --> 00:27:35.859
It doesn't even know I exist.
00:27:37.059 --> 00:27:40.980
So I have to play along with it, just like it's a drummer, right?
00:27:41.219 --> 00:27:42.980
I have to be playing along with it.
00:27:43.139 --> 00:27:57.859
So if I try and practice my scale positions, right, or whatever, and I set the metronome at the wrong speed, it's either too fast and I'm not able to keep up.
00:27:57.939 --> 00:27:59.699
And I have to be aware of that.
00:27:59.859 --> 00:28:06.019
Like if I'm just playing, like I just showed you a little while ago, if I'm just playing, I'm not making a connection to the metronome.
00:28:06.899 --> 00:28:10.419
If the metronome's too fast and I'm trying to play, I will not keep up.
00:28:10.500 --> 00:28:11.619
And I have to be aware of that.
00:28:11.699 --> 00:28:15.059
I have to go, oh, whoops, I gotta slow that sucker down a little bit.
00:28:17.219 --> 00:28:25.459
Now, the other problem, guys, is it is possible to set the metronome too slow to where you're not really pushing yourself.
00:28:27.299 --> 00:28:27.779
Right?
00:28:28.099 --> 00:28:32.259
You could set it at 80 and play along with it perfectly, which is great.
00:28:33.059 --> 00:28:34.899
But then you gotta edge up a little bit.
00:28:34.980 --> 00:28:39.939
You gotta find that spot where you gotta push into yourself a little bit and practice a little bit, right?
00:28:40.099 --> 00:28:42.740
That line, that crack line, if you will.
00:28:43.139 --> 00:28:45.699
You gotta you wanna figure out where that is.
00:28:47.139 --> 00:28:56.419
So then tomorrow morning when you practice, you're not gonna go for that crack line, you're going underneath it because you got to get warmed up, you gotta get your body and your brain going.
00:28:57.459 --> 00:29:04.339
But then once you get there, you come back up to that crack line again and you start working it.
00:29:05.059 --> 00:29:07.939
And sometimes it's gonna feel good and sometimes it's gonna suck.
00:29:08.019 --> 00:29:08.259
Why?
00:29:08.419 --> 00:29:11.539
Because it's a crack line, it's your brake line.
00:29:13.299 --> 00:29:19.139
But eventually you're gonna push through that break line, and now you're gonna have a break line or crack line up here a little bit.
00:29:20.740 --> 00:29:24.899
But if you're never pushing, you don't know where that line is.
00:29:25.939 --> 00:29:30.500
If you're always playing too fast, you're not connected to the metronome anyway.
00:29:33.859 --> 00:29:38.500
If you play along and you start making mistakes, you have to ask yourself, do I know this?
00:29:38.579 --> 00:29:42.099
This goes back to the visualization thing or the comprehension thing.
00:29:42.339 --> 00:29:47.059
If I'm trying to play with the metronome and I keep hitting the wrong notes, do I really know this scale?
00:29:48.179 --> 00:29:50.339
My fingers aren't gonna fix it.
00:29:51.059 --> 00:29:53.139
My brain is gonna fix it.
00:29:56.259 --> 00:30:00.980
So learning to play along with a metronome, guys, is really, really important.
00:30:01.859 --> 00:30:06.259
And I always use the analogy, I don't want to waste your time, I want to get to everything here, but I always use the analogy.
00:30:06.419 --> 00:30:13.379
I was a I was a sprinter in high school, and I was a long distance runner in college and and as an adult.
00:30:13.539 --> 00:30:22.980
When I was a sprinter, a tenth of a second, a hundredth of a second can make all the difference in the world.
00:30:23.299 --> 00:30:30.819
You don't feel it as a runner, but if you didn't have that stopwatch, you'd have no idea whether you're getting faster or not.
00:30:31.539 --> 00:30:34.179
You're just assuming that everything's going good.
00:30:34.659 --> 00:30:39.139
When somebody times you, they go, dude, lay off the potatoes.
00:30:39.379 --> 00:30:41.459
Like we gotta we got work to do, man.
00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:43.539
We gotta get this thing going.
00:30:44.899 --> 00:30:45.939
Because they can tell.
00:30:46.019 --> 00:30:47.699
That's what a metronome is.
00:30:48.339 --> 00:30:49.779
It's your truth.
00:30:51.779 --> 00:30:54.500
It tells you exactly if you're getting better or not.
00:30:55.539 --> 00:30:57.939
It tells you whether you're connected or not.
00:30:59.059 --> 00:31:01.459
So for me, the metronome is that important.
00:31:03.859 --> 00:31:04.179
Okay?
00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:07.459
And here's the bigger picture, guys, which is what we're getting into next.
00:31:07.539 --> 00:31:13.219
The metronome is not just a metronome, it's your drummer, it's your tempo to the songs you're gonna jam to.
00:31:13.539 --> 00:31:14.659
That's what it is.
00:31:15.299 --> 00:31:23.699
When you realize that you can play eighth notes at 115, you have now realized that you cannot play eighth notes at 130.
00:31:25.219 --> 00:31:31.699
So if your backing track is at 130, is that a good practice backing track for you?
00:31:33.139 --> 00:31:34.259
Maybe not.
00:31:34.980 --> 00:31:37.539
You're trying to play something you can't even play.
00:31:39.139 --> 00:31:46.259
So once you establish where your tempo is, when you look for backing tracks again, you're looking for backing tracks with purpose.
00:31:46.500 --> 00:31:48.419
Is it in the key I'm practicing in it?
00:31:48.659 --> 00:31:50.819
Is it in a tempo that I'm comfortable with?
00:31:52.019 --> 00:31:57.699
If I'm just grabbing backing tracks at random and I can't figure out why sometimes I'm good at them, I suck at them.
00:31:57.859 --> 00:31:58.500
Guess what?
00:31:58.659 --> 00:31:59.619
This is why.
00:32:01.699 --> 00:32:05.219
You got to put thought into that backing track, find the right backing track.
00:32:05.379 --> 00:32:07.379
Okay, so let's keep going here.
00:32:07.859 --> 00:32:10.819
I'm gonna screen share again.
00:32:10.980 --> 00:32:12.019
There we go.
00:32:12.419 --> 00:32:14.339
Okay, so play with a metronome.
00:32:14.419 --> 00:32:15.779
Connect the positions.
00:32:16.339 --> 00:32:16.659
Okay?
00:32:17.059 --> 00:32:22.980
There are lots of ways you can practice with your studio instructor and the other instructors for that matter, connecting the positions.
00:32:23.139 --> 00:32:25.619
You might play up and down, okay?
00:32:25.859 --> 00:32:32.740
You might play up, back down, and then move over to the next position.
00:32:32.899 --> 00:32:36.419
Play it up, play it down.
00:32:38.579 --> 00:32:40.500
You might go to the third position, do the same thing.
00:32:40.659 --> 00:32:41.859
Fourth position, do the same thing.
00:32:41.939 --> 00:32:44.179
Connect them all together without stopping.
00:33:08.419 --> 00:33:08.740
Okay?
00:33:09.139 --> 00:33:14.019
You might practice going up one position and then moving over and coming down the next position.
00:33:18.179 --> 00:33:21.299
Up the next one, down the next one.
00:33:23.059 --> 00:33:23.379
Okay?
00:33:23.619 --> 00:33:25.939
Guys, you might practice all of those kinds of things.
00:33:26.019 --> 00:33:40.339
There's a million ways you can practice stuff, but connecting the positions, learning how to move between the positions, which brings us to number four, which is my own creation, which I love, is meandering.
00:33:40.579 --> 00:33:47.379
Now we're not going to get into meandering again, but in the classroom, there's a there's a video that talks about meandering.
00:33:47.459 --> 00:33:50.659
Most of you, how many of you heard heard me talk about meandering before?
00:33:50.819 --> 00:33:52.339
Yeah, most of you probably have.
00:33:52.500 --> 00:33:53.219
And it's okay.
00:33:53.379 --> 00:33:56.899
Again, I just don't want to, we could do a whole lesson on meandering, okay?
00:33:56.980 --> 00:34:05.539
So I don't want to get off on a tangent, but meandering is a great way to practice moving around inside the positions, moving around between positions.
00:34:05.619 --> 00:34:07.379
It's a great way to practice.
00:34:07.539 --> 00:34:15.059
If you don't know meandering or you don't practice meandering, write down meandering is important, and I should do it every single day.
00:34:16.980 --> 00:34:18.420
And I'm not kidding, guys.
00:34:18.500 --> 00:34:21.300
It it really will help you with your freedom.
00:34:21.699 --> 00:34:22.420
Hey, Steve.
00:34:22.659 --> 00:34:23.940
Meandering is yeah, yeah.
00:34:24.260 --> 00:34:26.740
Meandering is not noodling, correct?
00:34:27.219 --> 00:34:29.940
Meandering is not noodling.
00:34:30.179 --> 00:34:32.660
Meandering has parameters, okay?
00:34:32.820 --> 00:34:40.500
And the parameters to meandering are again, you have to set the metronome at a speed that you're capable of meandering.
00:34:40.660 --> 00:34:44.100
And the other part of meandering is that you don't stop.
00:34:45.060 --> 00:34:48.660
And the other part of meandering is meandering is brainless.
00:34:48.820 --> 00:34:52.340
You are not trying to pre-plan your movements.
00:34:52.500 --> 00:34:55.380
You're just taking a metronome and you're going.
00:35:45.220 --> 00:35:47.700
Meandering says, do not do that.
00:35:48.100 --> 00:35:49.380
Jump around.
00:35:50.420 --> 00:35:52.260
Anything, anything.
00:35:52.580 --> 00:35:56.180
And you're gonna make a thousand mistakes when you first start trying to do it.
00:35:57.780 --> 00:36:03.060
And if you find that when you're trying to do it, you keep having to stop, the metronome's probably too fast.
00:36:05.300 --> 00:36:05.620
Okay?
00:36:06.340 --> 00:36:08.020
Meandering is not music.
00:36:08.260 --> 00:36:18.020
Meandering is training yourself to play randomly versus up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down.
00:36:18.180 --> 00:36:30.420
Because when we play, when we solo, it's more like random, it's more like meandering than it is scales.
00:36:30.500 --> 00:36:40.420
You're not just going when you play like that, it sounds like you're playing a scale.
00:36:40.740 --> 00:36:41.140
Why?
00:36:41.380 --> 00:36:43.380
Because you're playing a friggin' scale.
00:36:45.300 --> 00:36:47.620
Meandering says do not do that.
00:36:47.860 --> 00:36:49.780
Okay, which is what we're gonna get to next.
00:36:49.860 --> 00:36:50.820
Again, we got 20 minutes.
00:36:50.900 --> 00:36:52.660
I want to get to this stuff as best we can here.
00:36:52.740 --> 00:36:55.140
So, and then guys, we can keep talking about that.
00:36:55.300 --> 00:37:06.580
That's the beauty of this conversation, is this conversation can take us anywhere we need to go independently with your instructor, with the other instructors, with your studio instructor, with me, wherever you need to go.
00:37:06.660 --> 00:37:09.140
I just want to fill in some of the gaps here for you.
00:37:09.380 --> 00:37:11.140
Okay, so let's keep going now.
00:37:11.540 --> 00:37:14.020
And then the last one is reinforce and review.
00:37:14.180 --> 00:37:16.180
This is so important, guys.
00:37:16.500 --> 00:37:25.540
Find the potholes, find the flaws that you have, and then fix them.
00:37:26.980 --> 00:37:27.700
Fix them.
00:37:28.260 --> 00:37:33.940
Slow down, speed up, work on that position more, work on that picking more.
00:37:34.100 --> 00:37:39.220
Whatever it is that you need, stop playing and spend some time visualizing.
00:37:40.500 --> 00:37:49.060
Go upstairs, sit on your couch with a chart for 30 minutes and just study that position.
00:37:49.540 --> 00:37:52.180
Just study it, just stare at it.
00:37:52.900 --> 00:37:55.700
Just absorb that thing into your brain.
00:37:57.060 --> 00:37:59.380
Or those two positions, or whatever.
00:38:00.180 --> 00:38:05.380
Don't expect because you're practicing, you're visualizing the same way because you're not.
00:38:05.620 --> 00:38:09.780
Because when you're practicing, you're thinking about everything that needs to go into playing.
00:38:11.620 --> 00:38:16.660
When you're studying, you're sitting there looking at that chart going like caged.
00:38:17.220 --> 00:38:26.820
Guys, you'd for those of you that have tried to study cage, you'd make way more progress sitting there studying the chart than you would practicing it.
00:38:27.860 --> 00:38:32.420
Now, don't get me wrong, once you can see it, now you gotta go play it.
00:38:32.660 --> 00:38:34.260
Now you gotta implement it.
00:38:34.980 --> 00:38:36.180
But you gotta see it.
00:38:36.420 --> 00:38:38.180
Otherwise you're working backwards.
00:38:39.780 --> 00:38:40.100
Okay?
00:38:40.420 --> 00:38:41.700
So now let's get to the good stuff.
00:38:41.860 --> 00:38:43.700
Let's move over to the other side here.
00:38:44.020 --> 00:38:47.220
And then I'm gonna give you a backing track and all that sort of thing.
00:38:47.380 --> 00:38:55.700
So, most important thing that isn't up here, choosing the right backing track.
00:38:56.020 --> 00:39:01.300
Find a backing track that fits where you are in your practice.
00:39:01.540 --> 00:39:09.140
With your meandering, with your scale practice, with the key that you're playing in, with the groove.
00:39:09.780 --> 00:39:17.380
Okay, if you choose a backing track that's a triplet and you've never played triplets before, or you're not practicing triplets, you're gonna struggle.
00:39:18.260 --> 00:39:20.900
If you don't know what a triplet is, that's okay.
00:39:21.220 --> 00:39:22.980
It's something we gotta learn.
00:39:23.860 --> 00:39:26.420
I'm just saying, you gotta find the right backing track.
00:39:28.500 --> 00:39:28.820
Okay?
00:39:29.380 --> 00:39:31.060
So, bread and butter, number one.
00:39:31.140 --> 00:39:37.380
This is my favorite thing, and this is by far, in my opinion, the single most important thing.
00:39:38.580 --> 00:39:42.820
Eighth notes, and then to a lesser degree, sixteenth notes.
00:39:43.460 --> 00:39:46.340
You lock into the beat and you create a groove.
00:39:46.900 --> 00:39:48.260
Okay, now what do I mean by that?
00:39:48.340 --> 00:39:49.620
I'm gonna show you.
00:39:50.900 --> 00:39:59.060
Okay, I'm gonna pull up a backing track here, and the name of this backing track, if you're writing things down, I'll send you a link to this as well when I post everything.
00:39:59.220 --> 00:40:08.580
But the name of the backing track is Deep Soul Groove Backing Track in A minor.
00:40:08.900 --> 00:40:09.860
That's what it's called.
00:40:10.020 --> 00:40:12.900
Deep Soul Groove Backing Track in A minor.
00:40:13.140 --> 00:40:18.100
The reason I like this one, because it's an A minor and it's 80 beats per minute.
00:40:19.060 --> 00:40:23.540
It is well within the range for most of you to be able to do a little bit of jamming.
00:40:24.420 --> 00:40:25.860
It's nice and slow.
00:40:26.100 --> 00:40:35.140
So as I listen to this track, which I want you to do the same thing, we figure out where the quarter note is.
00:40:43.860 --> 00:40:47.460
Now, one, two, three, four.
00:40:47.700 --> 00:40:50.500
One, two, but I don't really count.
00:40:50.740 --> 00:40:52.980
I can feel where the repetition happens.
00:40:53.140 --> 00:40:54.180
It's here.
00:40:56.100 --> 00:40:57.060
And here.
00:40:59.060 --> 00:41:00.020
And here.
00:41:01.940 --> 00:41:07.460
Now subconsciously am I counting, maybe, but my body is telling me where this is every time.
00:41:07.780 --> 00:41:09.060
I can feel that.
00:41:09.220 --> 00:41:11.780
Now my foot is always tapping.
00:41:13.780 --> 00:41:19.220
Okay, so if that's our quarter note, that's our quarter note.
00:41:19.620 --> 00:41:22.980
What we want the bread and butter is eighth notes.
00:41:23.540 --> 00:41:24.900
Two per click.
00:41:25.460 --> 00:41:25.780
Okay?
00:41:26.420 --> 00:41:31.540
So as I'm listening to this, eighth is here.
00:41:31.860 --> 00:41:33.940
Sorry, quarter is here.
00:41:34.980 --> 00:41:35.780
Eighth.
00:42:05.140 --> 00:42:20.020
So now that I've got those eighth notes, the name of this backing track is Deep Soul Groove Backing Track in A minor.
00:42:20.260 --> 00:42:22.980
And again, I'll post it for you, but that's what it's called.
00:42:24.180 --> 00:42:24.500
Okay?
00:42:25.220 --> 00:42:26.980
So what's going on here?
00:42:27.860 --> 00:42:29.060
We're doing two things.
00:42:29.220 --> 00:42:30.980
We're creating eighth notes.
00:42:32.020 --> 00:42:33.380
That's my palette.
00:42:33.460 --> 00:42:34.820
That's what I'm gonna work off of.
00:42:35.060 --> 00:42:41.220
Boom, bum bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bump, bum, bum, bum, bum.
00:42:41.700 --> 00:42:43.860
And now I'm pseudo-meandering.
00:42:44.660 --> 00:42:47.460
I'm just picking a couple of things and grabbing it.
00:42:48.900 --> 00:42:50.820
I can play sequentially.
00:42:51.460 --> 00:42:52.500
It's on YouTube.
00:42:54.580 --> 00:42:57.940
Okay, I can play sequentially, or I can jump around.
00:42:58.260 --> 00:43:02.180
But the point is not whether I'm playing sequentially or jumping around.
00:43:02.340 --> 00:43:08.500
It's getting used to understanding where that eighth note is, and then you start playing little phrases.
00:43:20.580 --> 00:43:22.660
So here's our eighth quarter note.
00:43:23.220 --> 00:43:24.740
Here's our eighth note.
00:43:27.060 --> 00:43:35.940
Bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump.
00:43:36.260 --> 00:43:40.020
Now, some of those eighth notes are on what we call a downbeat.
00:43:40.740 --> 00:43:43.860
Bump, bump, bump, bump, bump.
00:43:44.020 --> 00:43:46.340
Some of those eighth notes are on what we call an offbeat.
00:43:46.500 --> 00:43:50.580
Bump bump bump bump bump bump bump.
00:43:50.740 --> 00:43:55.140
The eighth notes are gonna be more interesting than the downbeats.
00:43:55.540 --> 00:43:55.780
Right?
00:43:55.940 --> 00:43:58.180
The offbeat, I should say, are gonna be more interesting.
00:43:58.340 --> 00:43:59.460
They've got more flavor.
00:43:59.540 --> 00:44:10.260
If you just play on the downbeats all the time, bop bump bump bump bump bum bump bump bum bump bum bum bump bump bum bump bum bum, it's gonna sound really silly.
00:44:10.660 --> 00:44:21.460
If you start playing on the off beats once in a while, bump, bump, bump, bum, bump, bum, bump, bum, bum, bum.
00:44:22.420 --> 00:44:26.580
Those eighth notes have flavor, they have style, they feel funky.
00:44:27.940 --> 00:44:30.260
The downbeats feel like Frankenstein.
00:44:31.780 --> 00:44:40.020
It's not that the downbeats are bad, but if you play everything that starts and ends on a downbeat, it's gonna feel like you're just playing squares.
00:44:40.260 --> 00:44:47.460
Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum.
00:44:47.620 --> 00:44:49.700
You gotta learn how to play on the off beat.
00:44:50.820 --> 00:44:54.660
Bump, bump, bump, bump, bum, bump, bum.
00:44:55.060 --> 00:44:57.140
So, what are we playing?
00:44:57.300 --> 00:44:57.860
Right now.
00:44:58.340 --> 00:44:59.700
We are playing gibberish.
00:44:59.860 --> 00:45:02.900
We're not trying to plan everything at this point.
00:45:03.060 --> 00:45:04.100
We're just playing.
00:45:04.260 --> 00:45:05.940
That's the point of meandering.
00:45:33.860 --> 00:45:40.500
So what I'm doing is with these eighth notes, I'm creating phrases.
00:45:40.740 --> 00:45:43.700
I'm not concerned about landing on the right note at the right time.
00:45:43.780 --> 00:45:45.220
I'm not, we're not there yet.
00:45:45.300 --> 00:45:46.420
We're not doing all of that.
00:45:46.580 --> 00:45:49.060
Right now, we're just trying to take these eighth notes.
00:45:49.300 --> 00:45:53.780
Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun and cut them in pieces.
00:45:54.020 --> 00:46:02.980
Bump, bump, bum, bump, bump, bump, bump, bum, bum, bump, bump, bum, bump, bump.
00:46:03.220 --> 00:46:04.180
Does that make sense, guys?
00:46:04.340 --> 00:46:10.660
We're just chopping this five-minute series of eighth notes, we're just chopping it into pieces.
00:46:11.700 --> 00:46:21.860
Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun.
00:46:22.020 --> 00:46:22.740
Whatever.
00:46:24.500 --> 00:46:27.300
That's different than practicing your scale up and down.
00:46:28.420 --> 00:46:32.740
You're trying to be cognizant about creating a phrase, a sentence.
00:46:33.300 --> 00:46:35.300
And what happens at the end of a sentence?
00:46:38.100 --> 00:46:38.740
We stop.
00:46:41.860 --> 00:46:42.740
Like right now.
00:46:43.300 --> 00:46:43.940
We stop.
00:46:44.980 --> 00:46:47.060
That's where you create space.
00:46:47.860 --> 00:46:51.140
Meandering is completely different because meandering, you're trying not to stop.
00:46:51.220 --> 00:46:54.100
You're just trying to play as much as you can without stopping.
00:46:54.420 --> 00:46:56.660
Music says, shut up.
00:46:57.780 --> 00:46:59.860
Music says stop playing.
00:47:00.340 --> 00:47:03.460
That space is just as important as the notes that you're playing.
00:47:03.860 --> 00:47:06.500
And that's good for you because then you can stop.
00:47:18.020 --> 00:47:18.340
Okay?
00:47:18.740 --> 00:47:20.660
That's what phrasing is.
00:47:21.540 --> 00:47:27.220
So eighth notes are for everybody here, especially if you're a beginner at soloing, eighth notes are your key.
00:47:27.460 --> 00:47:29.940
Eighth note, eighth notes are your bread and butter.
00:47:30.580 --> 00:47:30.900
Okay?
00:47:31.380 --> 00:47:36.660
Yes, you can play quarter notes or half notes or whole notes, or you could not play at all.
00:47:36.980 --> 00:47:40.980
You could start this backing track and just sit there and eat a pizza and not play at all.
00:47:41.620 --> 00:47:41.940
Okay?
00:47:42.500 --> 00:47:44.500
Not playing is easy.
00:47:45.140 --> 00:47:46.900
Playing is the hard part.
00:47:47.940 --> 00:47:49.700
Because people always go, what about whole notes?
00:47:49.860 --> 00:47:55.780
Well, dude, you can you can I win.
00:47:58.180 --> 00:48:00.020
I'm waiting way longer than you are.
00:48:00.260 --> 00:48:01.140
You know what I mean?
00:48:01.380 --> 00:48:02.980
It's not about not playing.
00:48:03.380 --> 00:48:05.540
It's important to stop playing, obviously.
00:48:05.780 --> 00:48:08.580
But what makes this hard is trying to play those eighth notes.
00:48:10.980 --> 00:48:12.420
So you you chop them up.
00:48:12.580 --> 00:48:14.740
Bump bum bump bump.
00:48:15.780 --> 00:48:18.900
Bump bump bump bum bump bump.
00:48:19.140 --> 00:48:21.140
What you're playing is irrelevant at this point.
00:48:21.300 --> 00:48:23.380
What you're playing is meandering at this point.
00:48:24.020 --> 00:48:25.060
Don't worry about that.
00:48:25.140 --> 00:48:26.660
We'll come around, we'll figure that out.
00:48:26.980 --> 00:48:28.180
I can help you with that.
00:48:29.140 --> 00:48:29.460
Okay.
00:48:30.420 --> 00:48:34.980
So now the next thing I want you to think about, I want to just finish this up so you guys can see all this.
00:48:35.220 --> 00:48:38.100
So uh let me get this out of the way.
00:48:38.180 --> 00:48:39.140
There we go.
00:48:39.540 --> 00:48:40.980
So phrasing and moving.
00:48:41.060 --> 00:48:42.100
That's what we just talked about.
00:48:42.260 --> 00:48:44.340
The next thing, dynamics.
00:48:45.860 --> 00:48:47.620
Picking softer and harder.
00:48:48.500 --> 00:48:50.580
Playing quieter, playing louder.
00:48:52.180 --> 00:48:57.700
You'd be surprised at how that adds reality to what it is that you're doing, just like when you strum.
00:48:58.340 --> 00:48:59.700
People underestimate that.
00:48:59.780 --> 00:49:03.540
It's not just that you can strum or you can make a strumming pattern.
00:49:03.700 --> 00:49:05.220
It's what does it sound like?
00:49:06.180 --> 00:49:07.700
Is it engaging?
00:49:08.020 --> 00:49:12.660
You guys have all heard somebody that sits down with an acoustic guitar and you're like, man, that sounds great.
00:49:12.900 --> 00:49:17.140
It's not just because they're fast or they're smart, it's because of the way they play.
00:49:17.940 --> 00:49:20.500
That's what for me dynamics are all about.
00:49:21.540 --> 00:49:24.580
And then we're gonna kind of bypass this because we'll we'll talk about this.
00:49:24.660 --> 00:49:28.100
We can go into this next week if you guys want to, but um we can keep going with this.
00:49:28.180 --> 00:49:38.820
But articulation and feel, like vibrato, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, these are all things that we can use to make things sound more real when we get there.
00:49:40.100 --> 00:49:42.420
And then number five is musical thinking.
00:49:42.660 --> 00:49:44.260
Again, this stuff takes time.
00:49:44.420 --> 00:49:45.700
We're not in any hurry.
00:49:45.940 --> 00:49:55.300
I want to I want to stay on the first couple uh and finish this up because I would love to see you guys post some videos of you doing this stuff.
00:49:55.460 --> 00:49:57.780
So now here's what I want to go back to.
00:49:58.260 --> 00:50:00.980
Just so you all understand this, and then we can talk about this real quick.
00:50:01.140 --> 00:50:03.060
So, eighth notes, bread and butter.
00:50:03.220 --> 00:50:11.060
When you listen to a backing track, figuring out where your quarter note is, and then there it is.
00:50:12.180 --> 00:50:14.180
This is what you're building off of.
00:50:16.420 --> 00:50:31.060
Now, when you start coming into view with those eighth notes and they start making sense to you, the next option up, when you've got those eighth notes dialing in, the next option up is sixteenth notes.
00:50:32.660 --> 00:50:36.340
Now, sixteenth notes are obviously twice as fast as eighth notes.
00:50:36.420 --> 00:50:37.940
They're harder to play, right?
00:50:38.100 --> 00:50:43.460
If I was playing the scale at this speed, just so you see this, if I was playing eighth notes, it would be like this.
00:50:53.220 --> 00:51:08.580
If I was playing 16th notes, and I'm not saying you can't, I'm just saying that's a lot harder.
00:51:09.940 --> 00:51:12.180
So I'm not, here's what happens.
00:51:12.340 --> 00:51:15.540
You've got your eighth notes, you're figuring out how to use your eighth notes.
00:51:15.620 --> 00:51:20.180
That's the most important thing you can walk away from today, is those eighth notes.
00:51:20.820 --> 00:51:27.780
But if you establish those eighth notes and they're feeling good to you, you can go back to the practice side and keep working on getting better at your scales.
00:51:27.940 --> 00:51:30.580
Get into the 16th note at 80 beats per minute, right?
00:51:30.740 --> 00:51:35.300
You can keep working, that's what you're doing over there is getting faster, right?
00:51:35.460 --> 00:51:37.220
That's the whole point over there.
00:51:38.020 --> 00:51:40.340
Over here on the playing side, you're not ready.
00:51:40.420 --> 00:51:43.380
You don't have 16th notes at 80 beats per minute.
00:51:44.020 --> 00:51:45.380
Hypothetically.
00:51:45.620 --> 00:51:47.140
So, what do you do?
00:51:47.860 --> 00:51:50.820
You tip your hat to them, you dip your toes into them.
00:51:50.900 --> 00:51:52.020
And how do you do that?
00:51:52.260 --> 00:51:56.180
By doing a pull off or doing a hammer on.
00:51:56.740 --> 00:51:57.860
That's all you gotta do.
00:51:58.100 --> 00:51:58.820
Watch.
00:51:59.140 --> 00:52:00.980
So here's my eighth notes.
00:52:03.300 --> 00:52:04.980
I'm gonna do a sixteenth note now.
00:52:05.060 --> 00:52:05.860
Watch this.
00:52:37.700 --> 00:52:40.740
When I go to that sixteenth note, it adds energy.
00:52:42.180 --> 00:52:45.380
So if you're struggling with eighth notes, don't worry about sixteenth notes.
00:52:45.460 --> 00:52:46.900
That's not gonna help you.
00:52:47.860 --> 00:52:58.660
But if you're establishing that eighth note and it's kind of feeling good and you're kind of figuring that out, you can move into doing some sixteenth notes just by doing a simple pull off or a simple hammer on.
00:52:59.780 --> 00:53:05.940
Ba da dump, bump, bum, bump, bump, bum, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bum, bada, bump.
00:53:06.820 --> 00:53:10.580
Bump, bump, bump, baby, bump, bada, dump, bump, bum, bump, baby, bump.
00:53:12.100 --> 00:53:22.900
And again, guys, at the end of this class today, we still haven't established direction and landing on the right note at the right time, blah, blah, blah.
00:53:23.060 --> 00:53:24.420
We'll get to all that stuff.
00:53:25.460 --> 00:53:28.260
Because it's just above here, it's just above where we are.
00:53:29.060 --> 00:53:33.140
But what I'm saying is there's no reason to worry about all that if we can't play the groove.
00:53:34.660 --> 00:53:36.420
Because you're just gonna overwhelm your brain.
00:53:36.580 --> 00:53:38.100
It's too much to think about.
00:53:38.980 --> 00:53:42.900
And if you don't know the scale, you can't think about the eighth note.
00:53:43.620 --> 00:53:44.820
You guys all understand that?
00:53:44.980 --> 00:53:47.700
Like, it's gotta be building blocks, that's the whole point.
00:53:48.020 --> 00:53:54.980
You gotta build this, and the parts that are missing, those are the parts you gotta keep trying to focus on where the problem is.
00:53:55.220 --> 00:53:59.940
You don't have to become hyper-psychotic about how fast your 16th notes are.
00:54:00.100 --> 00:54:00.740
You can.
00:54:02.180 --> 00:54:07.220
But then you're just focusing on this one part of your playing, you're not focusing on all the rest of this stuff.
00:54:07.460 --> 00:54:13.860
That's why I'm saying some of the things that we work on are kind of large picture, seeing the whole fretboard.
00:54:14.340 --> 00:54:15.940
And then we've got micro things.
00:54:16.020 --> 00:54:22.340
We're trying to focus on picking or moving between strings or 16th, or whatever, whatever it is.
00:54:22.420 --> 00:54:23.540
Everybody's different.
00:54:23.780 --> 00:54:30.420
But when we move over in the playing realm, not the practice realm, but the playing realm, playing realm, I am not practicing.
00:54:30.740 --> 00:54:32.260
I'm playing.
00:54:34.340 --> 00:54:36.980
As soon as you go, oh, why couldn't I do that lick?
00:54:37.060 --> 00:54:39.620
And you're trying to figure that, okay, you're back in practice realm.
00:54:39.780 --> 00:54:40.340
That's okay.
00:54:40.500 --> 00:54:42.980
But just understand you're no longer in playing realm.
00:54:43.140 --> 00:54:45.220
You moved over to practice again.
00:54:46.500 --> 00:54:51.060
If you want to be in playing realm, you got to follow the rules over here and make music.
00:54:51.220 --> 00:54:53.220
That's what you're trying to do, is make music.
00:54:53.380 --> 00:54:56.500
It's not gonna be your fastest and your best.
00:54:57.300 --> 00:54:58.980
It's supposed to be musical.
00:55:01.220 --> 00:55:06.260
And when you come across something that you're struggling with, you suck that thing and put it over here.
00:55:06.500 --> 00:55:08.900
Now it's in your practice realm and you work on it.
00:55:09.060 --> 00:55:12.260
And you come back over here to playing realm again and you practice.
00:55:12.420 --> 00:55:13.380
You work on these things.
00:55:13.460 --> 00:55:15.140
You're trying to put all this together.
00:55:15.940 --> 00:55:18.020
Does that kind of make sense, guys?
00:55:19.620 --> 00:55:28.500
Every day or at least every week, you guys should be working on practicing, which is studying, understanding, you know, all that kind of stuff that we talked about.
00:55:28.660 --> 00:55:35.780
But you should also, if this is something that's important to you, you got to spend time in the playing realm, not just the practicing realm.
00:55:35.860 --> 00:55:39.060
And then assume when you come over to the side of playing, it's all gonna work.
00:55:39.140 --> 00:55:40.020
It that's not true.
00:55:40.180 --> 00:55:42.820
It's not even that's not even reasonable.
00:55:43.700 --> 00:55:45.780
You gotta practice playing.
00:55:46.900 --> 00:55:47.300
Right?
00:55:47.460 --> 00:55:50.340
You got to spend time practicing playing.
00:55:51.620 --> 00:55:55.620
And then come back over here with whatever you need and then come back over here.
00:55:57.380 --> 00:55:57.780
Right?
00:55:57.940 --> 00:56:04.660
And when you make those backing tracks, when you jam along with something and you send it to your studio instructor, he can look at that and go, Steve, when I want you to notice this.
00:56:04.740 --> 00:56:08.020
When you're playing, every time you start playing a new phrase, it starts on a downbeat.
00:56:08.180 --> 00:56:10.100
Let's try and do some stuff on the offbeat.
00:56:10.260 --> 00:56:12.020
And then you go, oh, you know what?
00:56:12.100 --> 00:56:13.940
I never even thought about that before.
00:56:14.180 --> 00:56:18.340
Hey, Mike, when you listen to this, notice how all your phrases are the same length.
00:56:18.580 --> 00:56:21.620
Bump, bump, bum, bum, bum, bump, bump, bum.
00:56:21.700 --> 00:56:22.500
Let's change that up.
00:56:22.580 --> 00:56:23.620
Try and think about that a little bit.
00:56:23.700 --> 00:56:25.940
Oh, yeah, gosh, I never even thought about that before.
00:56:26.100 --> 00:56:31.380
Hey, Francois, when you're trying to do this thing, notice how your dynamics are the same every single time.
00:56:31.780 --> 00:56:32.820
Become aware of that.
00:56:32.900 --> 00:56:34.020
Write it on a piece of paper.
00:56:34.180 --> 00:56:35.380
Dynamics.
00:56:36.580 --> 00:56:39.460
You sound good, but it's just everything sounds exactly the same.
00:56:39.700 --> 00:56:41.140
Start thinking about your dynamics.
00:56:41.220 --> 00:56:42.740
Oh, that makes sense.
00:56:45.220 --> 00:56:52.820
You see, when you start thinking about playing and you think about those things, it's not about how fast you are, how smart you are, how many scale positions you know.
00:56:52.900 --> 00:56:53.940
It's does it sound real?
00:56:54.100 --> 00:56:55.300
Does it sound musical?
00:56:57.700 --> 00:56:59.060
Guys, any questions?
00:56:59.860 --> 00:57:02.180
Let's open up the floor for a little bit here.
00:57:06.100 --> 00:57:10.660
I guess the first question I would have for you is should we continue this next week?
00:57:14.340 --> 00:57:15.940
Do you think we should keep going with this?
00:57:16.260 --> 00:57:16.420
Yes.
00:57:17.620 --> 00:57:17.700
Okay.
00:57:19.220 --> 00:57:21.060
Okay, then what I would okay.
00:57:21.220 --> 00:57:28.500
Then what I would like from you guys, what I would like from you guys is over the next week, I need you to dive into this.
00:57:29.540 --> 00:57:33.060
So by next week, next Wednesday, you can come back with questions.
00:57:33.220 --> 00:57:37.300
You can come back with progress reports to tell me how things are going.
00:57:37.700 --> 00:57:39.460
I'm not expecting miracles in a week.
00:57:40.260 --> 00:57:42.660
I just want you to understand how the process works.
00:57:42.740 --> 00:57:44.340
So you can go, yeah, I get it.
00:57:44.500 --> 00:57:47.780
I obviously understand all the things I need to work on, but I understand what's going on.
00:57:47.940 --> 00:57:50.260
Because then we can keep building this thing.
00:57:53.460 --> 00:58:06.020
So, what's great about this way of thinking, this playing thing, is that it's what most of you have always wanted anyway, but you keep getting stuck over here in practice.
00:58:06.820 --> 00:58:11.300
And you're not figuring out how to sing on the instrument.
00:58:14.100 --> 00:58:18.900
And even next week or next month, it might not still be exactly where you want it to be, obviously.
00:58:18.980 --> 00:58:20.020
It's gonna take a little time.
00:58:20.180 --> 00:58:26.100
But as long as you start building out the fundamentals, because without rhythm, you got nothing, guys.
00:58:26.260 --> 00:58:29.700
Without connecting to the groove, you have nothing.
00:58:29.940 --> 00:58:31.940
I'm just being honest with you.
00:58:33.140 --> 00:58:34.900
You gotta connect to the groove.
00:58:34.980 --> 00:58:36.180
I always use this as an example.
00:58:36.260 --> 00:58:47.460
If I was to play this, if I was playing play that funky music, and I'm gonna solo over the top, the first thing I think is what key is it in?
00:58:47.540 --> 00:58:49.780
Oh, it's an E, E minor pentatonic.
00:58:54.500 --> 00:58:56.340
Next thing is what's the groove?
00:58:56.580 --> 00:58:59.540
Bop, bop, pop, bop, pop, pop, pop, pop.
00:58:59.700 --> 00:59:00.100
There it is.
00:59:00.260 --> 00:59:04.580
Bop deca deca deca deca, which would be my 16th notes.
00:59:04.660 --> 00:59:05.780
Those are the two that I got.
00:59:05.940 --> 00:59:18.100
So when I get in there, the groove is what I gotta go with.
00:59:18.260 --> 00:59:22.740
Ba-da-pa-pa-pa-pa-doopa bum ba da ba bump.
00:59:23.140 --> 00:59:25.220
Bada doopa ba ba bum.
00:59:25.780 --> 00:59:27.140
That's what I'm gonna do.
00:59:27.380 --> 00:59:34.740
If I get in there and go, it's not gonna sound like a solo.
00:59:36.500 --> 00:59:36.900
Right?
00:59:37.060 --> 00:59:38.980
That eighth note is the most important thing.
00:59:39.140 --> 00:59:45.380
Bada dun dun dun bum boom bum bada bum bump, throwing those sixteenth notes in to add some energy.
00:59:53.620 --> 00:59:57.780
Now, what to do and how to do it would be the next thing, right?
00:59:57.940 --> 01:00:00.420
Right now we're just learning how to navigate.
01:00:01.380 --> 01:00:05.540
Licks and, you know, all that kind of stuff, all that kind of stuff can come next.
01:00:05.700 --> 01:00:07.940
But we got to establish ourselves first.
01:00:08.180 --> 01:00:10.100
Do we what do we see?
01:00:10.580 --> 01:00:13.380
Not on a practice level, but on a playing level.
01:00:13.700 --> 01:00:16.340
What can we see unequivocally without any question?
01:00:16.500 --> 01:00:23.220
If somebody said, you know, Mike or Todd take a solo in play that funky music, or Greg, take a solo.
01:00:23.620 --> 01:00:24.660
You don't want to panic.
01:00:24.740 --> 01:00:26.500
You want to go, well, what am I dealing with here?
01:00:26.660 --> 01:00:27.860
What key is this?
01:00:28.100 --> 01:00:29.140
What's the groove?
01:00:29.300 --> 01:00:30.740
Where's the eighth note?
01:00:31.620 --> 01:00:35.780
And if you're good at meandering, you're gonna be able to come up with all kinds of cool stuff.
01:00:36.020 --> 01:00:43.540
If you're not, you're gonna go, why?
01:00:43.700 --> 01:00:45.540
Because that's what you practice.
01:00:47.060 --> 01:00:47.700
You see?
01:00:48.980 --> 01:00:51.380
We got to break out of practice and move into playing.
01:00:51.460 --> 01:00:54.660
So, guys, I'm gonna let you go because it's 11 o'clock, but hopefully this helped you.
01:00:54.820 --> 01:00:56.980
I will post it later today when this is done.
01:00:57.220 --> 01:00:59.860
Guys, write down your questions over the week.
01:01:00.100 --> 01:01:02.500
Let's dive further into this next week.
01:01:02.740 --> 01:01:03.060
Okay?
01:01:03.220 --> 01:01:04.100
We're in no hurry.
01:01:04.260 --> 01:01:05.540
We got a lot of time together.
01:01:05.780 --> 01:01:16.980
Hey, Steve, sorry I was I was late, but uh, did you want to say anything about uh just class and professionalism with regard to uh like Dolly Pardon and kind of like uh how that's helped you get where you are today?
01:01:17.540 --> 01:01:18.980
Say that again, one more time.
01:01:19.300 --> 01:01:20.500
Class and professionalism.
01:01:20.580 --> 01:01:23.300
I mean, that's something that you have, and that's something that she exonerated.
01:01:23.540 --> 01:01:25.060
And it's an important part of playing as well.
01:01:25.140 --> 01:01:27.220
It's not just about about the No.
01:01:27.300 --> 01:01:29.380
Well, listen, let me summarize this.
01:01:29.460 --> 01:01:30.980
Don't ever burn bridges.
01:01:31.460 --> 01:01:32.180
Thank you.
01:01:32.340 --> 01:01:40.740
That I mean, that's the thing, is I, you know, one thing that I'm always proud of is when people meet me, they always say, you know, you're just like you are in your videos.
01:01:40.980 --> 01:01:46.660
And that's something that I take pride in because I've always told myself I never want to make something that my kids would be embarrassed of.
01:01:46.980 --> 01:01:48.820
That's bottom line, right?
01:01:49.060 --> 01:02:01.300
That's so the thing about the industry being from North Dakota, where you know nobody and you're not connected to anybody, and then all of a sudden being connected to a lot of people in the industry is your attitude.
01:02:01.460 --> 01:02:11.940
And it's funny how I meet people all the time that will go, like, I can tell you all kinds of stories about stuff, but meeting people that are, you know, artists and companies and stuff, and they're like, man, I love your attitude.
01:02:12.020 --> 01:02:13.780
Like, you're just a really great guy to be around.
01:02:13.940 --> 01:02:15.700
And I'm not stroking my own ego, guys.
01:02:15.780 --> 01:02:21.620
I'm just saying the better you are as a player and the better you are to work with, the easier you are to work with, the more gigs you get.
01:02:21.780 --> 01:02:23.460
Bottom line, easy.
01:02:24.180 --> 01:02:28.580
Nobody will tell you I'm difficult, but people will tell you that I'm a perfectionist.
01:02:28.980 --> 01:02:29.300
Okay.
01:02:29.620 --> 01:02:38.820
If you and I were in a band together and we show up for rehearsal and you're working on learning the songs, the rehearsal has now been canceled.
01:02:39.380 --> 01:02:44.500
The rehearsal is not for you to learn the songs, the rehearsal is for us to play together.
01:02:44.740 --> 01:02:46.340
That's what a rehearsal is.
01:02:46.580 --> 01:02:48.820
Practice is you learning the songs.
01:02:49.380 --> 01:02:56.980
If we show up for band practice and you're still working on your songs over in the corner for the next 30 minutes and I'm doing this, why am I here?
01:02:57.860 --> 01:02:58.500
You see?
01:02:59.060 --> 01:03:01.300
So professionalism is that too.
01:03:01.380 --> 01:03:02.580
It's it's showing up.
01:03:02.740 --> 01:03:04.180
You don't have to be perfect, guys.
01:03:04.260 --> 01:03:05.700
I'm not even close to that.
01:03:05.940 --> 01:03:08.340
But you show up prepared for whatever it is you're gonna do.
01:03:08.420 --> 01:03:10.180
That's the whole point of what we're talking about today.
01:03:10.260 --> 01:03:11.540
I'm not asking you to be perfect.
01:03:11.620 --> 01:03:12.900
I'm not asking you to know everything.
01:03:12.980 --> 01:03:19.060
What I'm saying is if the situation comes up and you got to play, do you know where to go and do you know what to do?
01:03:19.460 --> 01:03:21.700
And let's keep just expanding that.
01:03:22.980 --> 01:03:26.740
So you can get to a place where you feel good about yourself, you are confident with yourself.
01:03:26.900 --> 01:03:30.820
You know you got more to learn, and you're gonna be way better next year than you are this year.
01:03:31.060 --> 01:03:34.020
But at least you're working on all the tools you need to get there.
01:03:35.140 --> 01:03:36.260
So, okay.
01:03:36.900 --> 01:03:37.460
Thank you.
01:03:37.700 --> 01:03:38.260
All right, guys.
01:03:39.060 --> 01:03:39.380
Yep.
01:03:39.460 --> 01:03:40.340
Have a good week, guys.
01:03:40.420 --> 01:03:40.820
God bless.
01:03:40.900 --> 01:03:41.380
Talk to you later.
01:03:41.540 --> 01:03:41.860
Thank you.
01:03:41.940 --> 01:03:42.420
Thank you so much.
01:03:43.620 --> 01:03:44.020
Bye, guys.
01:03:44.180 --> 01:03:44.340
Bye.