rapsidy learning Across the Universe guitar lesson

[rapsidy]

Hi guys this is one that is a little bit further down the road than norwegian wood. I revisited this today after lookin at Neil's lesson again, The intro i have in my head now so just need to get it down to the fingers and i added the dufferent strum pattern before the chorus. I think it has improved a little from the initial one.

I was conscious not to strum too hard and i noticed when i converted video to upload it sounded chopper and louder than my original recording (wish you didnt have to convert you lose so much) so although i may still be strumming too hard my original didnt sound too bad and i blame a lot on the conversion.

If you turn volume right down which you probably will any way lol it sounds closer to original recording.

tip away please if you will as i would really like to get this one sounding GOOD :woohoo:

thanks Brad

[tovo]

Hey Brad. Always love your commentary mate, I get such a kick out of it. I think you answered most of the issues for yourself. First though, I do think you have a good voice and that's a great advantage. The strumming does seem too heavy and "choppy" as you described it, sounds a good description. I am by no means the expert on strumming, I have struggled for smooth strumming, but I just think you need to be lighter. I think your strum is nice and compact, the arc not too big, so it just needs to lighten up. I'm sure you will get more help than I can give. Keep at it.

[willem]

Brad,your on your way to lighten up your strumming(you did much better,then before),,i had a look at the lesson and Neil tells to bring some variation in to the strumming(not try to strum all the strings every time,try to hit after the bass strum a two string strum,,try to do it and think like a sort of swing or dance(in your head) on the strings(make that since?),,to try more lighten up, i think it must be more out of your wrist,,less arm,,,well i enjoyed what you did here and i'm sure your gonna nail it the way you want it,,,

[dekotaj]

BRAVO!!Brad,

First,Let me say sorry again for the misdirection after you last post,hope you found it?

Second,Dont let the camera nerves get you down.Hell we all have them.As far as the strumming goes,And this is just the way I work things out,so take it as that.I don't worry about adding accent beats or worry to much about rest strokes or fine tuning the strumming on a song until I fill comfortable playing it.I find that sometime after learning a song and play it for awhile.Ill be setting around playing it and find or hear something I would like to ether add or remove.After you got the song moving,I thought your tempo was very good,and like always enjoyed hearing you sing.

Third,For strumming to loud for a studio version.There you would Dub the vocals over the top,So the strumming volume could be control in the mixing.And the mistakes could be dub over from what ever measure you thought you would like to re track from.They would just loop in what ever you wanted.But so much for and old mans rambling.Great job,keep up the good work.Look forward to hearing any songs you decide to post.

Kevin

P.S.Just went back and watch you do you song again.So let me add,You have real good control of the guitar while your setting and playing.You got your knee just slightly above parallel to you body,witch help hold the guitar tight to your body a slight angle on the guitar neck witch helps with the left hand.You hold the right hand at center of the sound hole are slightly behind the sound hole witch help get the sound out.For a guy who says not been playing for a long time,Bravo on doing thing some of us still struggle with.

[dennisg]

Brad,

Great start on a really sweet song. I'm impressed that you sang along with it, and did a fine job.

The intro could be a bit smoother, but that'll come with practice. One thing I noticed: you're not barre-ing the F#m in the intro, and I think you may be getting one or more funky strings as a result. You might want to try that with a barre.

Something you may want to consider trying: After you sing, "Nothing's gonna change my world...", try suspending the D chord on the third beat of the following measure. That is, use your pinky to hammer a G on the E string. It'll add a bit of variety and be fun to play.

[dekotaj]

Hi Brad,
First rate! It is wonderful that you played straight through, and have all the verses of the song under control.
Yes, everything changes when the RECORD light turns on, and you have 10 different thoughts in your mind at once --- words, chords, strumming/rhythm/tempo. But you handled it all, and you have a pleasing on camera personality. In addition, my compliments on your singing -- nicely done!
You are doing a combination pick in hand, and finger style picking for the intro, and then transitioning to a strumming. That is a technique that I've seen a lot of performers use, and one that seems to offer a lot of flexibility to the sounds you can get in a song. Good going! That is a trick I'd like to learn.
As you settled into the song, and some of the jitters wore off, your strumming was more relaxed and freer.
Keep up the good work you are doing. Very enjoyable performance.

[MarkM]

Brad,

I've got to say that I really enjoy your videos. You have come so far in such a short amount of time. Go and look at your first video post here and you'll see what I mean. You're getting better every day. The strumming as for how hard or soft you play will come in time. You'll get a feeling as to what is right. Again, much better than where you were even a few months ago. I thought you held the pattern really well even as you sang. Others have given great advice. You're well on your way with this one.



MarkM

[rapsidy]

Thanks guys just finished last week of study of my degree woohhoo :woohoo: so i havent been able to reply.

Tony- I think Im heading in right direction with the strumming, well at least im conscious of it. Thanks for your constant support.

Willem- thanks for always commenting and sharing advice, I must lighten up its funny i get in trouble for being too laid back, but now i have to lighten up more lol, i will diligently work on it.

Kevin- firstly thank you for telling me about those finger exercises i am only on the first ones but can see they are going to be a tremendous help to me, really appreciate that tip. Thanks for your feedback its good to hear that you are doing somethings right ie position of guitar. I think your way of learning song and adding accents later will be the way to go i know Neil says mix it up but does that mean it still only has four beats etc.. per measure it all gets out of whack so the flare will have to come later.

dennisg- yes the intro definately needs some fluidty pills and i will be working on it, any tips on improving it to you just play it all over and over again or break it up what do u think is best? Oh and the hammer on G sounds cool will try that, just got to work out exactly where you mean :S

webostick- would love to hear about your site name? the technique is just copied straight from Neil's lesson i have no tricks of my own lol. It is amazing the pressure that little red recording light puts on, its just crazy, all in the mind, thanks for watching

MarkM- thanks Mark i know im improving but you feel the amount of times you practice a song over and over you should be really good at it, i know the gains are coming but it seems like 110% effort/practice for about 5% gain. your strumming is great can u tell me you sucked at one time and now play like you do

[MarkM]

MarkM- thanks Mark i know im improving but you feel the amount of times you practice a song over and over you should be really good at it, i know the gains are coming but it seems like 110% effort/practice for about 5% gain. your strumming is great can u tell me you sucked at one time and now play like you do [/quote]



Brad althougth I appreciate the compliments I still suck. If you had any idea how many times just yesterday I tried to get through a fairly simple song but couldn't you'd see what I mean. There is always something to get better at. You are getting much more than 5% gain. As for the strumming, my suggestion would be to just slow it all down a bit. Actually mute the strings with your left hand and just strum the pattern to get the "feel" of the song. Once you get that going you'll start to shorten the stroke and not have any wasted motion. If I'm in car and listening to the radio and a song comes on that I like I'll try and pick up the strumm pattern and strum along with it. I think that has helped me to some extent. The rest is just patience and muscle memory. Oh and understanding that we all suck from time to time. Maybe I won't suck as much today.


MarkM

[AcousticAl]

Brad,

This was really good.
As others have said, it's great how far you've come in such a short time.

At the end of your video, you expressed frustration with the camera and your nerves. It's so true. I can't count the number of times I've picked up my guitar and played something relatively well WITHOUT the camera. Then when the camera goes on, you just lose the plot.

But you said something else-- that you 'can't make any mistakes'. I disagree. If I waited until I had a perfect video to post, I'd NEVER post. There's always something that could be better/ or a missed chord/ or whatever that goes wrong. Just get it to a point that you're happy with and post it anyways. That's how to improve.