Fleetwood Mac Landslide by suziko

dennisg
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Thu Apr 28, 2011 3:06 pm

I loved this the last time I heard it, and it's so much more polished now. A massive congratulations for sticking with this song through all the trials, tribulations, grief, and self-doubt this song foisted on you. Just know that it was all worth it and has resulted in your best all-around performance to date. And I don't just mean the guitar playing -- the singing is by far your strongest yet.

I try to think of new ways to say this every time I see one of your videos, but I'm at a loss to say it any differently than this: it's just amazing seeing your progress from song to song. It inspires me (and I suspect it has the same effect on other people) to work hard and not give up on my songs, even when they're plaguing me.

No kidding Landslide belongs in your repertoire! If I played it like that, it'd be in mine, too.

Maybe because it's written to be slow and steady, this is one of those songs where, if the tempo drifts at all, it's noticeable -- and it did drift a couple of times. The first was after the line "Mirror in the sky..." It felt like the song got about 20 percent faster after that. It's understandable why you slowed down during your beautifully played chord solo; it's just hard work. I know you'll keep at it so that the solo feels second-nature to you, and the tempo will stay consistent with the rest of the song. After the solo, where you sing "Take my love, take it down..." it speeds up again.

The bottom line is this: aside from all the entertainment value I get from repeatedly watching this video, I'm just plain happy for you -- happy that you found a hobby that, for whatever reason, resonates with you and will likely accompany you into old age, much to the pleasure of everyone who gets to hear you play and sing. I count myself very fortunate that I'm one of them.

Okay, missy, care to explain why you're playing your Taylor and not your Martin? We Taylor owners have eyes that are magnetically drawn to other Taylors.


sbutler
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Thu Apr 28, 2011 3:33 pm

Suzi,,

I had just come in the house from doing some chores, picked up my new (used) Taylor, and started practicing The Ivory Salamander. A song that you've already conquered and is still kicking my ass, when I opened TG and saw this post of yours.

The first thing that I noticed is that it seems as though you are getting more comfortable filming yourself and that relaxation must be a luxury. I don't have it yet. And as others before me have said, your trying to sing this song and play a hybrid finger picking/chord solo is quite a feat. One that I think your well on your way to perfecting.

Thanks so much for the song, and the smile. Didn't see the cat this time, but he doesn't play the guitar as good as you anyway.

The Iceburg gods are smiling all the way up here. Image


AcousticAl
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Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:04 pm

Wow, Suzi!! Fantastic upload- and timely for me. I've been working on this off and on for a long time- although more ON the past few weeks. I know what you mean about needing to sing the song- as it can be boring to just pick the repetitive chords. But I had TOTALLY forgotten that Neil had uploaded the chord solo version! I've just printed it out and will work on it next.

I think you nailed it.
Well done- and great to see another upload from you.


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Music Junkie
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Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:17 pm

suziko wrote:
Jason- Thanks! I'm glad I made you smile. When do we get to see a new vid from you? :)
Oh Suzi..... :unsure:

With such fine pieces being uploaded, such as yours, I am constantly reminded of the thread we had a while back about the fear of posting. I truly feel I am not good enough and my shyness still rules the day. You couple that with the fact that most songs I am working on these days probably would not be on most TG'ers radar and it just adds to the nervousness. Heck I am too shy to try and record when my family is home, and my family is always home.... :)

For now I will thoroughly enjoy posts such as your own. Keep up the great work, as it is enjoyed by those of us hiding in the shadows... :laugh:

Jason


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neverfoundthetime
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Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:35 pm

That was absolutely lovely Suzi! Beautifully played and sung. I thoroughly enjoyed it twice.
I thought your picking was superb and you put in some incredible left hand stretches there.
There is a lot of hard work shining through but you made it all so .... charming is the word I can't escape.
Pizza and s'mores all round!


Yamaha48
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Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:35 pm

Hey Suzi.
After a hard day work,im comming home and turn my pc on.
After the login by TG,I read your upload.
I listen to the song,and that sounds realy good here.
And the finger stretches you make,wouh.
Thanks for sharing Suzi.

Cheers....Anton


suziko
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Thu Apr 28, 2011 5:02 pm

Mark- Thanks so much for your kind words. I do know what you mean about “getting into the feeling of the song.” I love the idea of really losing yourself in singing, but usually I’m so focused on trying to make sure my fingers keep moving and make sure that I hit somewhere near the right note with my voice that it’s hard to really get into it. Hopefully, with time, that will happen more.

Rick- Well, I’m not sure I nailed the singing or the playing but the sitting? Yeah, I’ve got that down! Thanks for watching!

Tom- Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment. It’s great to find songs that you really connect with and then actually learn to play them. It’s been such a joy.

Dennis- Landslide turned out to be one of those songs that looks deceptively simple on the surface, but is actually massively hard. At least it was for me. The melody is tricky, the phrasing is tricky, the chorus picking was tricky, and that was before I decided I should do the chord solo! But it was also hugely rewarding and a song that I’ll enjoy continuing to work on forever.

I’m sure you’re right about the tempo. I’ll go back and listen to it again. I found keeping a steady tempo to be a real challenge in this song (not just because I can’t play the solo at the same tempo as the rest of the song). Probably I should have worked with a metronome. I’ll give that a try and see how it goes.

I started playing Landslide on the Martin, actually. I figured I’d used the Taylor for June Hymn and it was time for the Martin to get it’s time in the sun. But my Martin has a wider neck and I was having a harder time with the stretches in the solo and the pull-offs in the chorus. Going back to the Taylor seemed to make it slightly easier. I’ll try to play the Martin in my next vid. I love them both and I don’t want it getting jealous!
Thanks for all your kindness and support. It’s always appreciated!

Scott- It’s generous of you to say I “conquered” Ivory Salamander. I’m still working on getting that song right! I’d love to see you post a video of it. I’m sure it’d be great. Thanks for all your kind words. I never really feel comfortable filming myself, and I still get the shakes a lot, but I guess it has gotten slightly easier over time.
P.S. Loved the iceburg picture!

Al- I hope I didn’t “scoop” you on posting a version of Landslide! You should definitely try out the chord solo. It’s great fun and a nice thing to add to the song. I wouldn’t say I’ve nailed it yet, but I’ll keep working on it. Thanks for your comment and, as always, for your support.

Jason- I wish you didn’t feel that way, though I do understand. Honestly, I feel the same way. I posted this song and immediately thought of some of the guitarists on this site who could have played this 100x better than me. But this is a learning site, and I personally get a lot from getting feedback from my fellow Target members and from Neil.
I also understand the lack of time, thing. Well, if you do decide to post, know that I’ll thoroughly enjoy seeing something from you. And I’m sure many other people would , as well.

Chris- Thank you. You are so sweet! I loved learning this song and I just hope that I did it some justice. Thanks for the pizza and s’mores! Yum !

Anton- Thanks so much for your kind words. The stretches were a challenge, but it seemed like over time my hands just started to grow. Maybe in a few more months they’ll stretch to the 12th fret!

Again, thanks to everyone for taking the time to watch and comment. You are all such generous souls.

Suzi


lueders
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Thu Apr 28, 2011 5:39 pm

SUZI!!! Nice!!! I saw this earlier to day but I couldn't watch it because I was at work. I was looking forward to seeing your's and Tom V's posts most of the day...Anyways, now that I am seeing it, wow!!! I would definitely be proud of this one if I were you. You went for the gusto on this one. Gotta be hard( like you said) to play while singing that meandering melody...and then tackle that lengthy solo like that, too.

I am sorry I have nothing to add at all technically. I just know what I say and heard and it wasn't too shabby!!
This had to be a real confidence builder performance I would have to think. Juggling as much you did and pulling off the performance. A little more fine-tuning and this puppy is gonna be D-Y-N-A-M-I-T-E!!!

P.S. One thing I would feel particularly proud of is the fact that your vocals don't sound anything like Stevie "The Munchkin" Nicks...sorry Tony.

Cori


pbraun
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Thu Apr 28, 2011 6:00 pm

Suzi that was perfect! What a great song to add to your list. Keep'em coming
Pete


reiver
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Thu Apr 28, 2011 6:17 pm

Sue

It took this to wake me up!

The metamorphosis continues. Yet again you set yourself a challenge and you've shown us that you're taking huge steps forward in your guitar playing - the difficulty in playing such a controlled picking pattern while you sing this song should not be underestimated. And it’s great to hear you truly finding your singing voice.

You should feel very proud of yourself for this performance. You may feel like you’ve plateaued but I’m sure that you’ll findt playing more and more difficult songs will help you continue make those minor improvements that you’re looking to make. And even if you don’t – it’s not a bad plateau to be on, is it? While it's always nice to be looking to improve, there's nothing wrong with taking a step back and enjoying where you are - and I'm sure that a year ago you'd have LOVED to be able to play and sing Landslide like this.

Congratulations,

Stuart


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