Really trying to work on flow and movement. Not so much speed or accuracy. Also trying to open up my picking hand in terms of range of motion. Seems like I can get more of a flow by loosening up and allowing the range of motion to be more free and wide.
Great job Travis, you've definitely got a good flow going here! You got my foot tapping right along. The next thing I would focus on is how you are accenting the melody to make it "hop" or groove even more. There are times when, probably in the name of staying relaxed, it feels a bit dynamically flat. So now that you've got the loose flow going, try to find times to "punch" the melody to make it dance. I didn't do a great job of this in my play through, but I think you can hear what I'm talking about in the first few notes of the melody after the potatoes at the very beginning. It's subtle, but it makes a difference.
Chris thanks for the message ! I will review and work on that
Family in town so my normal practice space was taken! So was in the garage with the space heater on ;)
1938 D-18
Wild story man but I found it on Craigslist in Kansas City. An older gentlemen whom played it all around the country for 30 years passed away this summer. His family sold it to our family and it was just an amazing experience passing it from one family to another. I still can’t belive I own it
Also i am I am a good friend of Jim Baggets and he says hello !
Sounding very good! I can’t see your hands super well, but I don’t see anything in your face, neck or shoulders that indicates tension so that’s good too. That said, I see 2 areas for improvement:
-The sense of propulsive, forward-moving rhythm relents in a few spots: 0:10, 0:15, 0:21. None of these instances are huge, but they’re significant enough that they are distracting me from the sense of pure flow. And you ABSOLUTELY NAILED that sense of pure flow in the intro where you’re doing the rolling rhythm over the G chord (0:02-0:06). See if you can get all of it to feel as good as the intro. It might mean practicing/drilling some of the notey parts until they can’t make you stumble at all.
-It’s hard to accurately judge this because I’m guessing that your video was recorded via a laptop and so microphone placement might be exacerbating this, BUT I think you could probably be pulling a richer, fuller tone. Again, in the intro there is a sense of resonance that is really nice and it seems to get just a touch more thin sounding as it goes along. As the video goes along it looks like your right hand moves back toward the bridge ever so slightly. Maybe 0.5cm. But even that tiny amount can make a difference. I could be way off with this second assessment, but take a look at it yourself. Maybe see what happens if you shift where the pick is hitting the strings ever so slightly forward toward the soundhole and let me know what you think.
p.s. That is a great and old looking D-18! What year is it?
Chris I uploaded a video of me playing Gold Rush. I usually practice a little slower but pushed myself a little and was ok with not the smoothest playing. I feel like I still have more room to grow in fluid lines and just not sounding so choppy. The key just slowing down ?
Hey Travis, nice work! Yes, maybe think about the concept of FLOW. You want the guitar playing to just flow along relaxed but powerfully. You get there at times and at other times it sounds like you're trying to stay in control. It's good that you're pushing yourself out of your comfort zone at times. Keep doing that, but make sure that you're also playing it slower where you really can find and feel that sense of flow. Also, maybe woodshed the TR/Clarence triplet pulloffs (for example at 1:03) and make sure you can play them and dismount into the proper rhythm and groove. You could just loop that lick into a 2 note G run over and over and over...
Chris thanks so much for posting this. Your a great friend to accoustic music and this song is going to be beast to learn ! Look forward to the challenge.
Chris- this guitar is nuts. Looks like Julians signiture..but dread... need some insider info.. you planning one with Collings? of course for the general public future consumption;)
Really trying to work on flow and movement. Not so much speed or accuracy. Also trying to open up my picking hand in terms of range of motion. Seems like I can get more of a flow by loosening up and allowing the range of motion to be more free and wide.
Nice!
Great job Travis, you've definitely got a good flow going here! You got my foot tapping right along. The next thing I would focus on is how you are accenting the melody to make it "hop" or groove even more. There are times when, probably in the name of staying relaxed, it feels a bit dynamically flat. So now that you've got the loose flow going, try to find times to "punch" the melody to make it dance. I didn't do a great job of this in my play through, but I think you can hear what I'm talking about in the first few notes of the melody after the potatoes at the very beginning. It's subtle, but it makes a difference.
Keep up the great work!
Chris
Chris thanks for the message ! I will review and work on that
Family in town so my normal practice space was taken! So was in the garage with the space heater on ;)
1938 D-18
Wild story man but I found it on Craigslist in Kansas City. An older gentlemen whom played it all around the country for 30 years passed away this summer. His family sold it to our family and it was just an amazing experience passing it from one family to another. I still can’t belive I own it
Also i am I am a good friend of Jim Baggets and he says hello !
Travis Styer
Hey Travis,
Sounding very good! I can’t see your hands super well, but I don’t see anything in your face, neck or shoulders that indicates tension so that’s good too. That said, I see 2 areas for improvement:
-The sense of propulsive, forward-moving rhythm relents in a few spots: 0:10, 0:15, 0:21. None of these instances are huge, but they’re significant enough that they are distracting me from the sense of pure flow. And you ABSOLUTELY NAILED that sense of pure flow in the intro where you’re doing the rolling rhythm over the G chord (0:02-0:06). See if you can get all of it to feel as good as the intro. It might mean practicing/drilling some of the notey parts until they can’t make you stumble at all.
-It’s hard to accurately judge this because I’m guessing that your video was recorded via a laptop and so microphone placement might be exacerbating this, BUT I think you could probably be pulling a richer, fuller tone. Again, in the intro there is a sense of resonance that is really nice and it seems to get just a touch more thin sounding as it goes along. As the video goes along it looks like your right hand moves back toward the bridge ever so slightly. Maybe 0.5cm. But even that tiny amount can make a difference. I could be way off with this second assessment, but take a look at it yourself. Maybe see what happens if you shift where the pick is hitting the strings ever so slightly forward toward the soundhole and let me know what you think.
p.s. That is a great and old looking D-18! What year is it?
Chris I uploaded a video of me playing Gold Rush. I usually practice a little slower but pushed myself a little and was ok with not the smoothest playing. I feel like I still have more room to grow in fluid lines and just not sounding so choppy. The key just slowing down ?
Hey Travis, nice work! Yes, maybe think about the concept of FLOW. You want the guitar playing to just flow along relaxed but powerfully. You get there at times and at other times it sounds like you're trying to stay in control. It's good that you're pushing yourself out of your comfort zone at times. Keep doing that, but make sure that you're also playing it slower where you really can find and feel that sense of flow. Also, maybe woodshed the TR/Clarence triplet pulloffs (for example at 1:03) and make sure you can play them and dismount into the proper rhythm and groove. You could just loop that lick into a 2 note G run over and over and over...
Keep up the good work!
Chris
Chris thanks so much for posting this. Your a great friend to accoustic music and this song is going to be beast to learn ! Look forward to the challenge.
Travis
Chris- this guitar is nuts. Looks like Julians signiture..but dread... need some insider info.. you planning one with Collings? of course for the general public future consumption;)
I, too, would love to hear more about your Collings.