Posting this progress video with a very specific question in mind. I have it down in terms of the notes and sequence. I want some advice on the tempo. Does it need to be faster or is it about right? I want to know if it is time to focus more on timing than tempo. Happy for any comments and advice. Thanks.
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tovo learning the Main Solo for Layla guitar lesson
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neverfoundthetime
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Great work Tony! Definitely go for the timing. Slowed down but each note in the right relation to the others is the key here IMHO. Others will know much more than I do, but that's my take.
Hi Tony, It is great that you are tackling this aspect of the song. I am not a picking expert and I am sure you well get stronger advice later on, but one thing you will need to work on is to alternate pick (alternating ups and downs) as if you were strumming. You seem to do only down pick. Maybe you were doing this just to work on the left hand muscle memory, but I think you should work on alternating picking direction right away as this is what gives the fluidity of a solo.
The way to read it, is from the standard notation (not the notes themselves as you have them on tabs) where you can decipher if you have to go up or down. Per example,if you have 4 notes attached together (16th notes) , the picking direction will be down,up,down,up.
Marc
The way to read it, is from the standard notation (not the notes themselves as you have them on tabs) where you can decipher if you have to go up or down. Per example,if you have 4 notes attached together (16th notes) , the picking direction will be down,up,down,up.
Marc
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neverfoundthetime
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Lavallee wrote:
.... one thing you will need to work on is to alternate pick (alternating ups and downs) as if you were strumming. You seem to do only down pick. Maybe you were doing this just to work on the left hand muscle memory, but I think you should work on alternating picking direction right away as this is what gives the fluidity of a solo.
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That would seem to be a really key point. Until I came to TG, I didn't do any riffs or solos and the BIG teaching point that made the most sense and turned on the most lights for me was when to be picking up and when down and to be alternating. This gives the timing and rhythm correctly. Solved a lot of mysteries for me. The two best examples I can give you are the signature riff in Mrs. Robinson and the riff in The Story in your Eyes. Unless you pick up and down in the right sequence, you won't get it. If you check out what Neil says here it will show you what I mean:
http://www.totallyguitars.com/target-so ... inson#song
The riff and fill part.
The first lesson I saw from Neil.
Let me know if that helps
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.... one thing you will need to work on is to alternate pick (alternating ups and downs) as if you were strumming. You seem to do only down pick. Maybe you were doing this just to work on the left hand muscle memory, but I think you should work on alternating picking direction right away as this is what gives the fluidity of a solo.
[/quote]
That would seem to be a really key point. Until I came to TG, I didn't do any riffs or solos and the BIG teaching point that made the most sense and turned on the most lights for me was when to be picking up and when down and to be alternating. This gives the timing and rhythm correctly. Solved a lot of mysteries for me. The two best examples I can give you are the signature riff in Mrs. Robinson and the riff in The Story in your Eyes. Unless you pick up and down in the right sequence, you won't get it. If you check out what Neil says here it will show you what I mean:
http://www.totallyguitars.com/target-so ... inson#song
The riff and fill part.
The first lesson I saw from Neil.
Let me know if that helps
.Hey buddy! The short answer is "YES!". lol!
Playing this solo is where you start to understand the brilliance of Clapton. You must remember that Clapton is one of the original British blues masters. So knowing which notes to play is obviously very important but with the blues the timing of those notes is critical.
So are you playing too fast or slow? Both. The blues style has very dramatic timing to go along with all the adornments like bends, slides, pull-offs and hammer-ons. That's why the blues is all about feel or soul.
An example of this challenge is a bend can be a short 1/8th note or a full, whole note or longer. This is the timing you are missing. You are playing the notes correctly, but almost all of equal weight, or timing. So it doesn't sound like Layla or Clapton. It doesn't have the blues feel yet.
None of us can "tell" you how to sound like Clapton. I suspect he never played Layla the same way twice. But you will have to have a good recording and break it down literally measure by measure. And it won't be a metronome exercise; far from it!
I really admire your guts for taking on that solo in particular. I just feel that bluesey-type solos are the hardest to learn. But they sure are fun to play!
You da man!! :cheer:
Playing this solo is where you start to understand the brilliance of Clapton. You must remember that Clapton is one of the original British blues masters. So knowing which notes to play is obviously very important but with the blues the timing of those notes is critical.
So are you playing too fast or slow? Both. The blues style has very dramatic timing to go along with all the adornments like bends, slides, pull-offs and hammer-ons. That's why the blues is all about feel or soul.
An example of this challenge is a bend can be a short 1/8th note or a full, whole note or longer. This is the timing you are missing. You are playing the notes correctly, but almost all of equal weight, or timing. So it doesn't sound like Layla or Clapton. It doesn't have the blues feel yet.
None of us can "tell" you how to sound like Clapton. I suspect he never played Layla the same way twice. But you will have to have a good recording and break it down literally measure by measure. And it won't be a metronome exercise; far from it!
I really admire your guts for taking on that solo in particular. I just feel that bluesey-type solos are the hardest to learn. But they sure are fun to play!
You da man!! :cheer:
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thereshopeyet
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Hi Tony,
You don't shy away from a challenge, do you? This is one of my thrill me to the core songs, that stays as fresh in my mind as when I first heard it. I am not sure where you are in terms of playing blues, because it is something you can spend a lifetime devoting yourself to learn to play in that style.
I am a novice in playing blues, but a couple of things that seem important as I watch and listen to you work on the solo, is that the solo is adapted from some very essential finger patterns and scales from the pentatonic usually. So it might be useful to see the notes in that context. Also, a concept that seems obvious but that I didn't get until recently, is that all bends are not some random or arbitrary stretch of a note to a new tone. A bend is always going to a very specific place and won't sound right if you don't get there. If it is a 1/2 or whole note bend, you got to get it to that note.
Keep your fingers flying!
Wally
You don't shy away from a challenge, do you? This is one of my thrill me to the core songs, that stays as fresh in my mind as when I first heard it. I am not sure where you are in terms of playing blues, because it is something you can spend a lifetime devoting yourself to learn to play in that style.
I am a novice in playing blues, but a couple of things that seem important as I watch and listen to you work on the solo, is that the solo is adapted from some very essential finger patterns and scales from the pentatonic usually. So it might be useful to see the notes in that context. Also, a concept that seems obvious but that I didn't get until recently, is that all bends are not some random or arbitrary stretch of a note to a new tone. A bend is always going to a very specific place and won't sound right if you don't get there. If it is a 1/2 or whole note bend, you got to get it to that note.
Keep your fingers flying!
Wally
Thanks guys. I'm not going to reply individually as you have all answered my question. I understand the concept of alternate picking, I used it on the recent upload on "Where ever you will go". It didn't occur to me here...silly eh?
I also understand that this is an effort that is going to take several more months of hard practice. It's OK, I have time. I just wanted that precise type of feedback to direct my further practice.
I'm not great at counting triplets so the alternative is to listen to it a lot. Which I do. I'll keep it up. I will work on the alternate picking and I'll also try a metronome as suggested.
I know I'm no Clapton...there can be only 1!
Thanks again.
I also understand that this is an effort that is going to take several more months of hard practice. It's OK, I have time. I just wanted that precise type of feedback to direct my further practice.
I'm not great at counting triplets so the alternative is to listen to it a lot. Which I do. I'll keep it up. I will work on the alternate picking and I'll also try a metronome as suggested.
I know I'm no Clapton...there can be only 1!
Thanks again.
Hi Tony its certainly getting there, tough solo to accomplish. I disagree with Bear about the metronome, this solo is fairly steady throughout but its the triplet feel that makes it, you have triplet rests in some bars which make it difficult. Another point is that it starts half way through a bar then it goes to a series of triplets up the neck which are double stops, ghost notes on the 12/13 fret B/G strings to 13/14 on B/G strings, you are playing single notes slides, it needs the fuller sound of the double stops. Also use of vibrato where you go from the bend on the E string 13 fret to 10th fret the timing is quite difficult as it spreads over the last beat of a triplet and a dotted quarter for the first one then slightly longer over the next one , I think ad another quarter and you'll get it.
Lol As you can probably tell I've been working on this for some time and know it intimately and can I get it to sound right nooo!
What you have is a very passable rendition, you need to work on the Claptonesque nuances now. Hey it took Eric a long time to get to where he is so no rush mate.
Lol As you can probably tell I've been working on this for some time and know it intimately and can I get it to sound right nooo!
What you have is a very passable rendition, you need to work on the Claptonesque nuances now. Hey it took Eric a long time to get to where he is so no rush mate.
Hey Tony,love the see you flying,,i admire you on this one,,a time a go i read a line about soloing/improvising,,''when you try to play a solo or improvising with the use of the pentatonic scale you must not let you lead by the scale but more by the melody(singin notes) part and improvise with that(not exactly,,but you get my drif,i think),,and it's mensiond,,but the hand must keep moving and then pick everything what you want out in the ups and downs,,,,you say you can't count triplets,,i think they are all downs,,i heard Neil say that somewhere(don't no more were... i think in California dreaming),,triplets is a special sort of rhytmn,,when you must sing them its almost a kind off talking..