Not so comfortably numb

BobR
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Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:35 am

Brad,

Nice first attempt. Everyone has given you good advice. Keep on practicing. Thanks for posting

Bob


Lavallee
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Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:27 pm

Hi Brad, I find that your strumming has improved greatly. To give a little variation, you could try to strum like your doing now on the first beat and much more softer on the rest of the measure which will give more of a filling effect.

You sure have a nice voice

Marc


BigBear
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Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:38 pm

Brad- I watched your video all the way thru twice and then I went out in the other room and played it myself just so I could figure out what wasn't working for you. You've received some really solid advice and I can't take exception to any of it but here are a couple of other thoughts to ponder:

1. This song, like so many of Pink Floyd's tunes, creates enormous mood and tension. Tension is created with chord patterns and especially timing. In the video Gilmour uses a steady strumming motion on his Ovation but if he were to play this song solo I'd wager he'd play it differently. When I play it I use a lot of down strokes but only a few, and very light, upstrokes.

2. There is very heavy emphasis on the first beat of the measure and the rest of the measure is almost "along for the ride". You do a good job with that first beat but the following beats are almost the same weight if you will. Try a much lighter touch and I like the idea of gripping the pick lighter as well.

3. Slow down for dramatic effect! You almost can't play this song too slow. This song actually does well with a metronome unlike many PF songs which tend to be more free flowing.

4. Keep working on that Bm barre chord. You might consider playing an open Bm by simply sliding an Am up two frets and fretting the F#.

5. Don't worry too much about playing the entire 5 or 6 note chords. This song will allow you to play partial chords which also creates impact. Save the full 5 or 6 note strum when you really need empahasis like when changing from the verse to the chorus.

You have a great singing voice that you should develop. But you may want to work on getting all your chord changes really smooth before you try to sing this song. Singing and playing together is a big challenge and sometimes you can overload and not do either very weil. It's just too much to control until the guitar part is almost is automatic.

Well that's enough for now. I hope all the feedback isn't too much. But this is such a great song and you are well on your way to mastering it! Great job and I hope you post a follow up video!

Cheers! :cheer:


MarkM
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Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:45 pm

Brad,

I'm a bit late to this party. Everyones comments were spot on. I must say that you are improving very quickly. I picked up the guitar and played with you the second time I watched it and that was fun. Your singing voice is really very good and will only get better I'm sure when you are more comfortable with the song. Apart from what everyone else said I would add that in addition to lightening up on the pick, you may want to emphasize the first and 3rd beats a bit and soften up on the others. Maybe just hitting the bass note or the first few strings on those beats will help. Real good video!! Thanks for sharing. I'm looking for the updates.



MarkM


willem
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Mon Apr 12, 2010 1:10 pm

Keep them coming Brad and inspire everybody,,, i wanna see and hear after a year or so,, i think your gonna be great..


d_dog
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Wed Apr 14, 2010 12:23 am

Hey Brad, great job man! Great tips all around. I think the only tidbit I could see was that it seemed you may have been missing the "A" and "E" strings at times while strumming, (when those strings are appropriate that is) making the strumming a little harsh sounding, with little or no bass. This could have been the recording itself and not a missed strum, if so, sorry my bad.
Great job on the singing, I hate to play and not sing a song, so stick with it if that's a big drive on you playing guitar. I know it makes it more difficult to learn the guitar part.


jayswett
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Wed Apr 14, 2010 5:49 am

This is a great thread all around. Very nice performance by Brad demonstrating significant improvement and making strides with the barre chords, great supplemental video post by Andy, and insightful and helpful comments from TG members.


rapsidy
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Wed Apr 14, 2010 6:03 am

Thank you everyone

Especially the guys who wrote out a lot of tips, thanks for taking the time an effort, you have given me plenty to work with.

AndyT if Gilmours solo was #3 what was 1 +2? you have made me curious now.
thanks also for the acoustic version of Gilmour :)

Ddog- yes i like to " TRY" and sing the song, I played it along with Neils lesson without singing many times and kept up with that pretty well. But unless I add the singing it doesnt make much sense to me. It helps me get the song right.( In my head anyway)

I suppose I need to practice both but at some point you need to marry the two and you are still in the same situation of trying to match the measures with the lyrics.

On your point of missing E + A strings do you mean when I am suppose to strum a G I miss the 6 +5 strings and only hit the bottom strings ?

thanks again you have given me much homework :)


rapsidy
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Wed Apr 14, 2010 6:07 am

Totally agree jayswett!


AndyT
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Wed Apr 14, 2010 6:20 am

To the best of my recollection, #2 was something from the Stones and #1 was from the Beatles. But I do not remember what songs! LOL


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