Week 29. Back On Track

I’m quite happy with my practice schedule and results this week, so let’s go through all I’ve done.

The first thing is bends. I managed to decrease the time between them, so now they sound more “legato” πŸ˜€ It applies to Bending, Glissando, Module 28 and The Kids Aren’t Alright solos.

The second point of focus was on learning Count to Three voice melody to the end and playing it at the original speed, which is also completed.

Have a nice week everyone!

The goals for this week were:

  • [Done] Module 28 Solo at 120 bpm
  • The Kids Aren’t Alright solo at 200 bpm
  • Learn the next part of Crowd Chant
  • [Done] Learn the next part of Count To Three

My goals for the next week:

  • The Kids Aren’t Alright solo at 200 bpm
  • Learn the next part of Crowd Chant
  • Muted strumming exercise at 185 bpm
  • Implement Module 29 routines

Week 28. Not The Best One

Hey chefs!

This week I’ve spent really little time practicing, so I’m not satisfied with the results at all. Hopefully, next week I’ll return to my previous schedule with regular practice in it.

The goals for this week were:

  • [Done] Module 28 Solo at 100 bpm
  • The Kids Aren’t Alright solo at 200 bpm
  • Learn the next part of Crowd Chant
  • Learn the next part of Count To Three

My goals for the next week:

  • Module 28 Solo at 120 bpm
  • The Kids Aren’t Alright solo at 200 bpm
  • Learn the next part of Crowd Chant
  • Learn the next part of Count To Three

Week 27. Getting Back To Work

Hey guitar chefs!

It’s good to finally play some guitar after the vacation and getting sick for a few days. Apparently, I decided to play almost each and every solo I know at that point πŸ˜€

Bending and Glissando Solos were like the warm-up. I was wondering if something has settled in my brain since last time I’ve played them. The bends feel really easier and convenient now, and I (hopefully) look more relaxed while playing those solos. There are some flat/sharp bends still though.

Module 28 Solo sound less cooler that the previous two IMO, but it was still fun to learn and play. The original tempo will be quite crazy, so for now I just remembered the notes and played the solo at 80 bpm.

On the other hand, The Kids Aren’t Alright by The Offspring solo is coming together quite nicely. I haven’s spent too much time on it and still managed to play it at 180 bpm in comparison with 160 bpm I played it at two weeks ago.

Crowd Chant by Joe Satriani needs a lot more work, but I managed to finally settle down where and how everything is being played. So now all I need for this first part is practice πŸ™‚

The last song is Count To Three by The Chalkeaters. It’s a comedy song about Gabe Newell not being able to count to three regarding the games VALVe made. If you’re familiar with this meme as well as the games like Half-Life, Portal, Dota 2, Left4Dead I definitely recommend to check out this song. I can’t stop listening to it since I started a few days ago. I left a link in the video description.

The goals for this week were:

  • [Done] Clean up The Kids Aren’t Alright Solo
  • [Done] Module 28 Solo with the metronome
  • [Done] Have fun snowboarding ?

My goals for the next week:

  • Module 28 Solo at 100 bpm
  • The Kids Aren’t Alright solo at 200 bpm
  • Learn the next part of Crowd Chant
  • Learn the next part of Count To Three

Week 26. Solos and fails

Guitar chefs!

This week I’ve been working mostly on Bending and Glissando solos trying to polish them. Well, the result is better than the last week, but I still need too much time to record a decent attempt. This lack of consistency is pissing me off.

Also I learned the solo from The Kids Aren’t Alright by The Offspring and played it at 80% speed. Still rough, especially the double stop bends, but I’ve been practicing it for 2-3 days now, so basically just started, so it’s okay.

On the top of that, I haven’t managed to record any perfect attempt since the roasting on the livestream, so I had to insert the same videos here. That’s unfortunate…

Next week I’m going snowboarding, so there will be only 2 days to practice. I won’t count that week and will record the video from Kirovsk mountains. It will be fun πŸ™‚

The goals for this week were:

  • [Done] Clean up Bending Solo @ 90 bpm
  • [Done] Clean up Glissando Solo @ 108 bpm

My goals for the next week:

  • Clean up The Kids Aren’t Alright Solo
  • Module 28 Solo with the metronome
  • Have fun snowboarding πŸ™‚

Week 25. Big Change

Hey guitar chefs!

I gave up on daily uploads and recording in order to get more fun during the practice and spend less time preparing for it. In the video I explain why I’ve done this in details.

This week I’ve been practicing Bending and Glissando solos and managed to play them both at the original speed. My fingertips are a mess though, so the recording is not perfect. Hopefully, the next week they’ll heal and I’ll polish the solo to the perfect state.

Also I tried to spice up the video by a bit more editing. Hopefully, it will be easier and more fun to watch. Have a nice week. Cheers!

P.S. This report format will be simplified as well, as I don’t like how it looks and feels without daily practice stuff. I’ll think more about it during the next week.

The goals for this week were:

  • [Done]Β Bending Solo with the metronome

My goals for the next week:

  • Clean up Bending Solo @ 90 bpm
  • Clean up Glissando Solo @ 108 bpm

Solo

Module 27 – Bending Solo – 90 bpm
Module 27 – Glissando Solo – 108 bpm

Ear training

Intervals – 14 intervals – 137 of 140 – 97.86%

Week 24. Summary

This week I’ve been mostly working on the Pinch Harmonic Solo, trying to start playing it consistently and adding palm muting in order to get the sound similar to the original. It doesn’t really work, but I’ve managed to record an attempt which is pretty okay. It’s been three weeks now, so I’ll drop this solo as it is in order to start Module 27.

The other stuff was easier, so I’ve been practicing Chords Using Thumb and Santa Monica Intro as well. They sounded decent the last time, so now they are okay as well.

Next week – Bending solo. I listened to it and it’s really cool. Can’t wait to learn it!

I beat my record of interval ear training. Now it’s 138 of 140 correct guesses. Soooooo close to 100%… πŸ™‚

Yeah, also my friend and I finally released the cover for Kids by MGMT. So if anyone haven’t seen it, you may do it here: https://vskolos.ru/covers/mgmt-kids-guitar-cover-with-seva/

The goals for this week were:

  • [Done] Clean up Pinch Harmonic Solo
  • [Done] Clean up Chords Using Thumb
  • [Done] Clean up Santa Monica Intro

My goals for the next week:

  • Bending Solo with the metronome

Practice time

Day 162 β€“ 15 min
Day 163 β€“ 15 min
Day 164 β€“ 107 min
Day 165 β€“ 25 min
Day 166 β€“ 35 min
Day 167 β€“ 39 min
Day 168 β€“ 55 min
Total β€“ 4 h 51 min

Solo

Module 26 β€“ Pinch Harmonic Solo – 120 bpm

Strumming

Module 26 β€“ Chords Using Thumb – 130 bpm

Songs

Module 26 β€“ Santa Monica Intro – 70 bpm

Ear training

Intervals – 14 intervals β€“ 138 of 140 – 98.57%

Week 23. Summary

Well, that week had a lot of holidays and family stuff in it πŸ™‚ So, unfortunately, I only had time to practice 4 of 7 days. Other 3 times I did only ear training. But anyway, let’s summarize what I’ve managed to do.

Still struggling with pinch harmonics. In order to get two takes which are in the video I had to record myself for 40 minutes straight. And these two attempts are not even perfect – just close to being perfect. So I’ll continue practicing this solo next week.

Playing that chord progression with the thumb was fun and almost not hard at all. Fun stuff, I’ll be playing it a few more days just ’cause it sounds pretty cool.

Fun fact – I haven’t heard the original Santa Monica Intro, just repeated what Brandon was playing in the video. So if it’s incorrect, my hands are clear πŸ˜€

The goals for this week were:

  • Clean Pinch Harmonic Solo at 120 bpm
  • [Done] Chords using thumb
  • [Done] Santa Monica Intro at the original speed

My goals for the next week:

  • Clean up Pinch Harmonic Solo
  • Clean up Chords Using Thumb
  • Clean up Santa Monica Intro

Practice time

Day 155 β€“ 15 min
Day 156 β€“ 15 min
Day 157 β€“ 15 min
Day 158 β€“ 60 min
Day 159 β€“ 93 min
Day 160 β€“ 46 min
Day 161 β€“ 49 min
Total β€“ 4 h 53 min

Solo

Module 26 β€“ Pinch Harmonic Solo – 120 bpm

Strumming

Module 26 – Chords Using Thumb – 130 bpm

Songs

Module 26 – Santa Monica Intro – 70 bpm

Ear training

Intervals – 14 intervals β€“ 136 of 140 – 97.14%

Week 22. Summary

Well, this week I’ve been only practicing pinch harmonic solo. It took me in total 4 hours and 32 minutes playing only it. Despite that I’m not tired of it or something. It sounds cool and it’s fun to play this solo. I’m not very good at pinch harmonics though…

I can play all the pinch harmonics that are there one at a time or even in row. But when picking normally it’s much harder to implement them correctly. So I’ll be working on it next week as well.

Also I set myself a new record in ear training – 132 of 140 intervals. I’m so close to the perfect result, but it will take a lot of time still to be able to guess the intervals right away without any hesitation. I’m patient about it and will slowly but surely get there.

Next week I want to implement other routines from the module to diversify my exercises.

The goals for this week were:

  • [Done] Module 26 routines

My goals for the next week:

  • Clean Pinch Harmonic Solo at 120 bpm
  • Chords using thumb
  • Santa Monica Intro at the original speed

Practice time

Day 148 β€“ 80 min
Day 149 β€“ 35 min
Day 150 β€“ 85 min
Day 151 β€“ 60 min
Day 152 β€“ 49 min
Day 153 β€“ 43 min
Day 154 β€“ 19 min
Total β€“ 6 h 11 min

Solo

Module 26 – Pinch Harmonic Solo – 120 bpm

Ear training

Intervals – 14 intervals β€“ 132 of 140 – 94.29%

Week 21. Summary

Another week has passed, wow. This week I kinda went through three modules (23-25). Well, Module 25 is not really a module, so two, actually πŸ™‚

I have an experience in playing and singing at the same time, so Module 23 was not an issue for me and I basically just recorded one of the songs to show what I can do.

Module 24 was fun, but honestly I half-assed id, ’cause I’m not a big fan of the acoustic stuff and really want to get to the more interesting parts of the course. So I tried all the techniques and managed to apply them semi-decently to the melody Brandon recorded.

Next week – the fun stuff πŸ˜€

The goals for this week were:

  • Hey Jude chords, singing and melody at the original speed
  • Two more songs from the list playing and singing

My goals for the next week:

  • Module 26 routines

Practice time

Day 141 β€“ 55 min
Day 142 β€“ 148 min
Day 143 β€“ 85 min
Day 144 β€“ 64 min
Day 145 β€“ 15 min
Day 146 β€“ 38 min
Day 147 β€“ 40 min
Total β€“ 7 h 25 min

Strumming

Module 24 – Chords
Module 24 – Arpeggios
Module 24 – Palm muting
Module 24 – Muted strumming
Module 24 – Adding notes
Module 24 – Different voicings
Module 24 – Root connection – 120 bpm

Songs

Lazlo Bane – Superman
DREAMERS – Sweet Disaster
Set It Off – Catch Me If You Can

Ear training

Intervals – 14 intervals β€“ 130 of 140 – 92.86%

Week 20. Summary

Well, I’m back. Returning to the daily practice after a vacation was kinda rough but after a week it feels as usual again πŸ™‚

This week I’ve been practicing only 6 levels of rhythm and ear training. The hardest one for me was the third bar of level 4. I even had to decrease the speed to 80 bpm in order to wrap my head around it. Other patterns were not as hard at all.

I also watched Module 23, so the next week practice will be on it. Anyway, here’s the video.

The goals for this week were:

  • [Done] 6 levels of rhythm at 120 bpm
  • [Done] Daily ear training starting from all intervals

My goals for the next week:

  • Hey Jude chords, singing and melody at the original speed
  • Two more songs from the list playing and singing

Practice time

Day 134 – 10 min
Day 135 – 35 min
Day 136 – 34 min
Day 137 – 37 min
Day 138 – 25 min
Day 139 – 24 min
Day 140 – 27 min
Total – 3 h 12 min

Rhythm

Rhythm – Level 1 – 100 bpm β†’ 120 bpm
Rhythm – Level 2 – 100 bpm β†’ 120 bpm
Rhythm – Level 3 – 100 bpm β†’ 120 bpm
Rhythm – Level 4 – 100 bpm β†’ 120 bpm
Rhythm – Level 5 – 100 bpm β†’ 120 bpm
Rhythm – Level 6 – 100 bpm β†’ 120 bpm

Ear training

Intervals – 14 intervals – 82 of 100 – 82.00%
Minor 2nd, Major 2nd, Minor 3rd, Major 3rd, Perfect 4th, Tritone, Perfect 5th, Minor 6th, Major 6th, Minor 7th, Major 7th, Octave, Minor 9th, Major 9th