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Well whadaya know? The water IS fine!

Thanks for everyone's comments on my 'Dust in the Wind' attempt.

My gear was still set up from last night, so I recorded and uploaded another vid for you to check out. 'Imagine' by John Lennon.

Any feedback is appreciated.. in particular, I'd like any tips/pointers on how to get to my F-bar quicker and pick it cleaner through the note when I am there.

Until next time..


Al



[video type=youtube]dEuomr_ygvo[/video]

Another good job Al, thanks for posting it.

Are you using a metronome when you practice? I remember that helped me a lot. I would slow it down when I first started a song and gradually increase the speed. That helped my chord transitions.

thanks again for posting.



Bill

Hey Bill,

No metronome yet- I should get one. I know Neil likes his students to use them.
I still have issues landing on some of the harder chords (as you can tell)- maybe a metronome would force me to get there quicker..

AcousticAl wrote:

Any feedback is appreciated.. in particular, I'd like any tips/pointers on how to get to my F-bar quicker and pick it cleaner through the note when I am there.

Until next time..


Al

Great job Acoustic Al! In the near future when other TG'ers are working on their music with the help of video, we will remember you're one of the pioneers.

Take a look at your video at about 1:07. You'll see the top of the your thumb protruding over the top of the neck, then at 1:09 you're grabbing the F-barre. In between you had to roll your wrist into position to get the barre. Maybe you can get the barre faster by making sure your wrist is rolled down into position on the chord before the barre.

Yes, I know, the wrist should ALWAYS be rolled under in good position, but you gotta take things one step at a time.

wrench

Al excellent!! a lot of mixing of melody & chords, it would take me a lot of practice to get close to what you've done, so sorry I can't really offer you any tips, I'm sure some of better players can, but I would like to know what It takes, minimum to video and record sound as you did. Did you record off a mic or from a video camera/ mic?? I'd like to start getting some basic video/sound recording equip just to do what you did. Thanks in advance for the info & I'm looking forward to hearing what you do with "Imagine" in a couple of weeks or so. Gary

AcousticAl wrote:

Hey Bill,

No metronome yet- I should get one. I know Neil likes his students to use them.
I still have issues landing on some of the harder chords (as you can tell)- maybe a metronome would force me to get there quicker..

Al here is a link for an online metronome that will help you get started. It's a good way to train those fingers until the 'muscle memory' takes over.

http://www.metronomeonline.com/

Bill

wrench wrote:

AcousticAl wrote:

Any feedback is appreciated.. in particular, I'd like any tips/pointers on how to get to my F-bar quicker and pick it cleaner through the note when I am there.

Until next time..


Al

Take a look at your video at about 1:07. You'll see the top of the your thumb protruding over the top of the neck, then at 1:09 you're grabbing the F-barre. In between you had to roll your wrist into position to get the barre. Maybe you can get the barre faster by making sure your wrist is rolled down into position on the chord before the barre.

Yes, I know, the wrist should ALWAYS be rolled under in good position, but you gotta take things one step at a time.

wrench

Good point, Wrench (can I call you Wrench?)

I'll check out that change and my thumb position and see what I can tweak..

goldleaf wrote:

Al excellent!! a lot of mixing of melody & chords, it would take me a lot of practice to get close to what you've done, so sorry I can't really offer you any tips, I'm sure some of better players can, but I would like to know what It takes, minimum to video and record sound as you did. Did you record off a mic or from a video camera/ mic?? I'd like to start getting some basic video/sound recording equip just to do what you did. Thanks in advance for the info & I'm looking forward to hearing what you do with "Imagine" in a couple of weeks or so. Gary

Hey Gary,

Sorry in advance- this will be a LONG response.

First let me tell you that I'm a cameraman/editor- though you'd never know if from the videos I've uploaded. I basically DID use the bare minimum to record these videos. I could easily get carried away with multiple lights, use my better camera to shoot HD etc- but that's like work to me. I just want to play guitar and share with you guys. I actually originally tried to just use my webcam- but that's not working for some unknown reason!

I would recommend that you try to record your video either directly to your computer via a webcam (using movie maker) and an external mic.. or if you have a camera that records video formats (mpegs/quicktimes etc.) then go that route. That way, your video will exist in a computer format that you can upload directly (and quickly) to youtube. Here's a link to what specs they like to ingest:
http://www.google.com/support/youtube/b ... 2&hl=en-US

Either way- try to use an external mic to get better sound. If you use the webcam's mic (or camera mic) you'll probably find that the sound is very hollow and hissy. Camera mics are too far away and will have 'auto levels' on them that will want to boost the sound when things get quiet. This introduces hiss. An external mic should cancel the auto function-- or at least get better sound than the camera mic.

Now, having said all that- I had to go the longer route to get my vids online.
1) I shot onto my camcorder (mini-dv tape format).
2) I used an external mic (a cheap one) and fed it to the camera mic input. You can check how that sounds by wearing headphones and testing it before you start playing.
3) IMPORTANT- make sure you have enough light. Bad light makes the video gray and grainy. Also make sure the light is in front of you and not behind you. If it's behind you- you'll be 'backlit' and in silhouette.
4) Then I had to capture the video into my computer using a video capture card.
5) Then I brought it into my edit program (AVID) to prep it. I added the title and fade up/down to black. Vegas, Premier and Final Cut would do the same.
6)-Then I had to export it into a file that youtube would like. I used quicktime (.mov) with sorenson compression.
7) Then I uploaded it to youtube and linked it to TG.

** You can cut out steps 4,5 and 6 by creating a computer file in your camera! If you have a DVD camcorder- or one that records to a hard drive- then you're there!! See what formats it will record and do some experimenting. Even still-cameras have video functions now- but I'm not too versed in those unfortunately.

Anyways, sorry for the LOOOONG response- but it's not an easy answer. I hope this helps you and other members that might want to post something sometime. I look forward to seeing other videos SOON!

All the best.


Al

Thanks for the details. I think this might be a fourm itself, at least if most of the members are lacking in video/audio skills and downloading software etc. necessary to get their video's on TG like me. When you mentioned a video camera with DVD that records to a hard drive, is that the same as a flash card or does the vid camera have an actual hard drive?? I was thinking of getting a mini video camera & I'll make sure it has an aux mic output & flash card. What type of mic would you recommend and do you think a mini video camera would do the job?? Forgot, do most computers have a "video capture card" or is that seperate hardware that I would need to install. Thanks Gary

Hi Gary,

Here's a post from Matt/TG about their recommendations:
"The best little video camera for a quick result to use..is called a flip
You press a red button, it records then you plug it into the side of your pc., and the software will allow you to load it into youtube..
We will do a camtasia training video showing you how next week..
Easy peasy
Those of you hardcore fanatics will probably geta hd camera and film yourself with a mirror behind you and edit it for hours..
But thats for the anally retentive amongst you..The rest of you just record using a flip
When you get yours..we wil then show you how to use it to become roving music reporters for TG amongst otehr things.."


You might want to wait for TG's instructional video before you make any purchases.
To answer your other questions-
No.. not all computers come with a capture card. It is usually separate- so if you don't have one- DON'T go buying one. You can do what you need with other cameras- like the one Matt describes above.
Yes.. a mini video camera (or the camera Matt is talking about) would do the job.
If you went the miniSD or microSD route- you should be able to record to that and then insert it into your home computer for upload as well. The main thing is to record a 'computer' file that would transfer from your camera to your desktop. Try to avoid recording to tape if you don't have the gear to process it.

Al