"If everyone plays the song perfectly, except for the bass player who completely drops the ball, everything sounds bad." As a bass player, that one hit a little close to home.
Please, Please , PLEASE do an ENTIRE series on learning MUSIC, not Songs!!! I feel this is what I have been missing all these years..I can learn a lot of songs today, but I cant do anything but regurgitate them..
Pd Money, I’ve recently started messing around with some riffs from songs I learned, and it’s working for me, some of them you might think are even a different song
His Sensei Series is exactly this. That's what you want. This is the one that I've had the least problem with, personally. Music is my main goal, not songs.
Small piece of advice for developing the skills to "create" music. Don't be afraid to learn scales and play them often. The opening lick to Mama I'm Coming Home is just the E Major scale going down with an open B and E string for flavor. A lot of famous music is simplistic in idea but would have been impossible without the knowledge of such simple concepts.
I’m a sound guy and I never use ear plugs while mixing. Reason being, if it’s too loud for me, it’s probably too loud for everyone. Best way to mix to feel the sense of volume is to start the set around 7, back it down a little after the first few songs, the slowly bring the volume up to around 9 save the last song where you hit it as hard as you can. Hopefully you’ve got 10-15 changeover minimum which allows people’s ears to reset. I keep the background music on, but just below the talking What this does is gives people’s ears time to decompress, and lets the sensitivity return. As you get louder, your head compensates, and after a while, you feel you need to make it louder to get the same feeling. I have found, through experience you can increase the overall volume by 10-20dB and at the end of the night, there is no punch, as the compressor in your brain has cut in. But if you slowly drop the volume, you brain compensates accordingly, allowing you to bring the volume back up. It’s the same way you put a quiet song before one that punches, to get the maximum effect.
samuraiguitarist the trick with reducing the volume is knock it down a dB so you don’t notice, wait a bit, drop it another dB, if you do this over three songs, you’ll have 10-12dB off the overall level, and no one will really notice. Probably why I get asked back to mix on a regular basis.
Sadly your brain cannot compensate for noise induced hearing loss. Although I appreciate that you do indeed bring the sound down for part of the cycle, the advice to always wear hearing protection is unassailable.
Mr. Meatballs I used to do a lot of underground metal back in the 90s. I never got complaints about being too quiet. These guys were tuning down to Bb. At the other end of the spectrum I did a bunch of underground techno and EDM. Again, once I convinced the DJs to let me provide the gain and to keep the signal from the desk at a fair level -6 below unity, I could drive the rig hard and not lose fidelity or punch, but again I cycled their sets, rather than just continually pushing harder and harder until there was nowhere to go but into distortion. If you have the low end kicking enough, keep the distortion out, use a combination of varying sound levels and compression, you can have the perception of a big sound without it hurting. It’s all about headroom and dynamics. Stuff people don’t always think about.
8 lessons guitarists don’t want to learn (ever): 1. Reading sheet music 2. Holding down the rhythm section 3. Playing with other guitarists 4. Turning down their volume 5. Using an appropriate amount of mids 6. knowing how to play genres other than metal 7. Not playing while people are trying to talk to you 8. Playing with a metronome
This is an excellent list. I think some guitarists are open-minded and disciplined enough to learn these lessons. I have learned all eight, but could always improve on them. Those that don't tackle some of these will stay narrow and never progress. I've observed many players like that, and not just guitarists, although guitarists do appear to be the worst offenders.
I’m a casual player and doubt it will ever lead much further than playing as a hobby. But I’ve still got some information to take away from this so thank you. I do tend to mainly just cover songs too, but what I like to do is to take the chords from the song and switch them around some to see what other kind of sounds come up and that’s been a brilliant way for me to exercise transitioning between chords. Even just changing the strumming pattern can change the sound of it so much. So my recommendation for anyone who just covers songs is to play with whatever chords are used in the song and maybe add in a couple of your own as fills or an alternative, feels more personal that way and feels like you’re getting much more than the education of a particular song.
I would add wear MUSICIANS' EARPLUGS. Years ago, here in Toronto, I had my ears tested at the Canadian Hearing Society, and had some special earplugs made which reduced the problem frequencies. Very expensive, but well worth it. Repetitive Strain Injuries can often remain - if so, stretching and exercise can help.
Number 8 hit me like a bowling ball... I’ve been so used to just learning songs and eventually learning difficult songs that I didn’t even realize that the songs I were playing proved way above my musical level. For the beginners out there like myself, remember samurais wisdom. Be honest with your level, analyze the solfege melody and harmony with a purpose to grow, and always use what you have learned to improvise. There are winners and losers in this world. Be the fearless winner who may fail time after time but come back stronger, wiser, more positive than before. Go out there and fail people!
4:40 cheers to that. I have tendonosis in my left wrist. I can work around it most of the time at work but I get a bad flare up when I pick up my bass. Wrist wraps help a little.
Yea that whole backing your stuff up thing, that's a tough lesson to swallow. Listen to this man and back everything up. Like he said, you only make that mistake once after you go through that kind of pain.
Picking technique: I haven't been playing for very long, but I still struggle to go between alternate picking and downpicking with fluidity. I often just downpick entire sequences, even if there are portions that would normally be much easier to alternate pick. I'm trying to break the habit but it's hard for me. So I suppose both down and alternate and ensuring that you can go between the two with fluidity while keeping the rhythm and attack/accents/ect.
Always a treat for the mind and soul to watch your videos, Sammy G! It is always good to learn how to improve as a musician. I been feeling bummed about making music with my band, lately. And I have to figure out why. Maybe it has to do.with being the ONLY guitarist (no bass, no extra guitar) and not writing enough or something---plus, my band members are not FORMALLY-educated or Learn'id Musicians. And it is difficult to get them to do covers (renditions) of my originals. :(
You are one of the best youtube guitarists of all time. You are so friendly, and for the two years I've been playing, you've made me feel welcome each time I've watched. Thanks
I back up my music on analog tape, Ampex reel to reel to be specific. Much wisdom in this video. Wisdom can be taught, but it must be experienced for the lessons to be meaningful.
I used to play bass around 10 years ago for a little while in high school and I haven't played an instrument since. I picked up guitar about a month ago and started reading tab again. When I dropped the tab and used my ears I was able to play so much better and I am already able to improvise in most keys and modes. Progress is so much faster when you pick up music my transcribing rather than reading bad tabs online
See...I get it...we do screw up at times A random combination of the roots and the fifths I know isn't always the best sounding music.....but we do try our best....we too have feelings :(
Barry McNicholl, I read somewhere that this is kinda what made randy Rhodes a great player, he had low self esteem, so instead of copying other riffs he just made his own, and practiced a shit ton
3:00 reminds me of Home Improvement when Mark started playing bass. His mom asks "do you know how to play bass?" "No, but their last bassist didn't either."
I have lost do many recordings from bricked hardware, hard drive with a corrupted OS, lost storage devices, and phones that just stop working. Back up your data as a rule of thumb. Its saved me from loosing childhood photos.
I'm barely an intermediate player, but I know my weaknesses and where I need to go from here. Basically: Finger-picking Knowing the notes on the fretboard Scales and how they relate to chords. A bit of practical and a bit a theory. I think I'm ready.
All good tips; amen to #8. FWIW (not much) I have those same two Ukiyo-e prints (without background colors) I bought when living in Japan in '85. Always enjoy hearing your tips etc. Telling it how you see it without reservations and all that
Honestly... sometimes it *is* fun to work on the stuff you're not good at. It took me a while to figure this out, but, overcoming a challenge feels good, and especially so when it results in successfully playing or recording something I thought I couldn't do the week before, or even that morning. Nothing beats that satisfaction, and if you can enjoy the process of playing for its own sake, then it absolutely is fun to set yourself a realistic goal for a week, or even just one recording session in your bedroom, that by the end of it you'll be able to do some small thing you couldn't do before. And, maybe just me here, but I usually find that getting that little bit better at that one thing usually isn't quite as hard as I thought it would be. I wish I could tell my younger self this especially back when I was learning my first instrument, but I'm glad I figured it out eventually. ...now if I only could learn to reign in my natural impulses to argue and nitpick logic enough to take lessons without worrying about being kicked out :) I mean, this post itself is case in point. Maybe some future me will find some way to actually go back in time and tell this me the secret?
Thanks man, nice one. I worked with a drummer once that kept bloody stopping, cocking it up for everyone. I was in a punk band and soon learned to power through mistakes and keep in time, even if you hang back for a second, but stopping is bloody ridiculous and for a drummer too, it drove us mad. We all make mistakes but don't drop the groove.
I can't agree with #3 at 2:13 enough. I was diagnosed with MS and when it affected my hands I let all my old recordings from college just slip away. I lost, destroyed and replaced so many computers over the years where depression kept me from playing that I can't find anything now.
I love this type of videos, I'm sadly not into music creation, but has graphic designer and ilustrator, this concepts extrapolate perfectly into my field
I just ordered your L-Sleeve T-Shirt, ordered it because of the art work with the Tele (one of my 2 favorite guitars), I'm 66 and don't wear a lot of Tees but this appealed to the bloodlust in me and the dedication to my chozen art form. :-) Ok, seriously.......I'm assuming the shirt says Samurai Guitarist but just checking, so when you get around to it let me know.
Favorite was number 5 I have had many friends who try to keep a band together beyond their shelf life. It is important to know everyone's commitment level. In my last band the lead singer talked a big game but had no real commitment. It ended when they started blaming the bassist and drummer on not being in time and making them sound bad by not staying in tempo. Anothe nail in the coffin was a refusal to learn the lyrics of new songs and mumble through half of them. Power on everytime we learn these hard lessons weekend our own commitment level even better.
Man, that earplugs one... I was at an audition for a band once to be their rhythm guitarist and right behind the Amp was a PA for the vocalist. Right before the rehearsal, there was massive feedback... Right into my left ear. So being that it was the orientation of where the Amp was, I spent the next two hours asking between every other song "Can you guys hear me? Are you sure? Should I turn it up?"
Youre a good man @samuraiguitarist. All of these things are sometimes unavoidable, but a video like this will remind those of us not to make those mistakes twice :)
#4. Very true. For me, it's always drummers. Drummers who can't maintain a steady beat............ Drummers who stop mid-song to determine the beat.......yes, that has happened to me. Drummers who ask me to turn towards them so they can get the beat from watching my strumming-arm.......yep...that happened, too! And it's always: "He's not that bad. And if the audience doesn't notice, what's the problem?" I've been in bands that would rather keep a drummer who's timing was bad, solely because they were friends. "We can't get rid of him......he's my friend." So, yeah......drummers.
Awesome video..thank you for the info. It is definitely younger aspiring musicians should know. Quite a few i learned the hard way. Shirt is ordered, can hardly wait. Keep up the great work.
One thing that I learnt is that you find the most comfortable strings for you. It’s important that you get strings that you find comfortable, wether that means buying cheap, expensive or mixing packs. Always experiment.
100% on #3! I have my computer where everything lives, then a hard drive connected that's an exact clone that updates any and all changes every night automatically, and then ANOTHER hard drive I store at work and bring home once a month to update to mirror my computer hard drive. So the worst case scenario is I lose 4 weeks of usually minor changes at the most, not my entire library of music, movies, pictures and documents
About learning songs vs learning music: doing the opposite is just as bad. I played guitar for about 12 years, only focusing on solos, interesting melodies, little bits and music theory. That got me nowhere and was never able to flow with anybody. I'd say that learning songs to play with other people and mastering a rhythm technic is more important than learning how to write solos and mathematically generate music. I wrote many songs and solos, but improvising with other people was quite lacking
This is brilliant. I'm pretty sure I was told most of this 50 years ago but I wasn't equipped to listen. I wanted to learn songs and impress my friends.
Ive found it really easy to learn by ear surprisingly, I think i just need to learn where my notes are and everything, like technically i do but i just need a little work. I remember when i only slapped and finger but never used picks, now i use picks so often because of the beautiful sound i can get out of my own bass guitar.
I actually see people online suggest you stop and completely replay when you make an error, though I agree it is the wrong approach. The only thing I would suggest is slowing it down for the next run, if you're struggling with things happening to fast.
Astute as usual. EARPLUGS!! And no matter how awesomely wonderful it sounds - never, never work with a band where some members are doing it for a living and others are not. And Be Cool.
I do stuff that all my favourite guitarists do. Read sheet music. Don't use a pick. Ignore people who talk to me while I'm playing. If I'm playing with someone else, I like to improvise solos. I bend unnecessarily.
I’ve not been playing that long but I always pay lots of attention to my weaknesses. I spent a couple weeks just nailing down pinch harmonics🤣 And the music over song thing - yes! I don’t obsess over learning songs, more over what I can gain from said songs
If only I had heard number 3 before it was an issue for me. My problem actually didn't stem from my music but from my fiction writing and I lost all drafts, including final, of 19 out of 21 chapters of the book I was writing. I had the files on my laptop but they got corrupted, so I went for my external harddrive where I'd backup everything from my laptop, but sure enough even those got corrupted.
Oh man, no kidding on the "weakest member" one. I was in a band... Well, I don't know if I could actually say that. The guitarist was basically one of those guys who'd rather say "I'm in a band" than actually being in one and on account of having been friends for years, I totally gave him way too much time to pull his shit together. Time I could have used to move forward instead of standing completely still.
I once read an interview with Chet Atkins where he stated that one of his personal challenges was to play through a mistake when practicing. It makes sense... when you are live, there is no restarting.
That's where you learn about having gear good enough for the job. For instance, at many U.S. clubs and bars, if you have the "best" gear or a starter kit, it'll sound the same at that location.
Man I ALWAYS stop and restart after making mistakes. Sometimes it makes playing really frustrating and I have to put the guitar down and do something else just because it isn’t enjoyable as much as it is annoying restarting over and over. I didn’t even realize this is something I was doing wrong! Will definitely work on it!
I love all of them but I partially disagree with n 8. I couldn't wrap up my head around jazz until I started working on the repertoire. standard after standard, I improved a lot more than before. Each and every standard holds a lesson in theory, technique and phrasing.
Suppose that's where us older guys have an advantage; back in the day there was pretty much no choice but to learn by ear - I could probably still manage a passable rendition of the 'Eat Em and Smile' album. :)
oh my god number 3
A E S T H E T I C
oshit its Adam neeeeeee quick makeajokeabout BASS
69 likes lol
Hi dad
Lost a demo album I recorded on my own that way :'-(
Never got the right vibe of the songs back after that.
"If everyone plays the song perfectly, except for the bass player who completely drops the ball, everything sounds bad."
As a bass player, that one hit a little close to home.
Preach!
rule #2 lol. and i dont mean #2 from this video...
Had this problem with my band a while ago. Once we got rid of the shitty bass player the whole band sounded infinitely better
Sensei just used the bass as an example, showing how important the bass player really is. The bass and drums are the back bones of the band...
Thank you, Glen
Not having strap locks
God damn hahaha he should've truly added it tho
Nicest Rice strap locks n case for any valued instrument 🍻
Not having strap locks AND trying that Yngwie thing!, you could kill one of your fans
I believe the technical term is duct tape
Slinging is overrated, and doing it wrong could lead to more pain than catching a razor scooter to the ankle
Please, Please , PLEASE do an ENTIRE series on learning MUSIC, not Songs!!! I feel this is what I have been missing all these years..I can learn a lot of songs today, but I cant do anything but regurgitate them..
Pd Money, I’ve recently started messing around with some riffs from songs I learned, and it’s working for me, some of them you might think are even a different song
His Sensei Series is exactly this. That's what you want.
This is the one that I've had the least problem with, personally. Music is my main goal, not songs.
Small piece of advice for developing the skills to "create" music. Don't be afraid to learn scales and play them often. The opening lick to Mama I'm Coming Home is just the E Major scale going down with an open B and E string for flavor. A lot of famous music is simplistic in idea but would have been impossible without the knowledge of such simple concepts.
Ditto
I’m a sound guy and I never use ear plugs while mixing. Reason being, if it’s too loud for me, it’s probably too loud for everyone.
Best way to mix to feel the sense of volume is to start the set around 7, back it down a little after the first few songs, the slowly bring the volume up to around 9 save the last song where you hit it as hard as you can.
Hopefully you’ve got 10-15 changeover minimum which allows people’s ears to reset. I keep the background music on, but just below the talking
What this does is gives people’s ears time to decompress, and lets the sensitivity return. As you get louder, your head compensates, and after a while, you feel you need to make it louder to get the same feeling.
I have found, through experience you can increase the overall volume by 10-20dB and at the end of the night, there is no punch, as the compressor in your brain has cut in.
But if you slowly drop the volume, you brain compensates accordingly, allowing you to bring the volume back up.
It’s the same way you put a quiet song before one that punches, to get the maximum effect.
Really interesting stuff, thanks for the comment, cool to hear from someone with your perspective!
Thanks for this comment mate it was really interesting, I had no idea people did this but it seems so obvious now that I know :)
samuraiguitarist the trick with reducing the volume is knock it down a dB so you don’t notice, wait a bit, drop it another dB, if you do this over three songs, you’ll have 10-12dB off the overall level, and no one will really notice.
Probably why I get asked back to mix on a regular basis.
Sadly your brain cannot compensate for noise induced hearing loss.
Although I appreciate that you do indeed bring the sound down for part of the cycle, the advice to always wear hearing protection is unassailable.
Mr. Meatballs I used to do a lot of underground metal back in the 90s. I never got complaints about being too quiet. These guys were tuning down to Bb. At the other end of the spectrum I did a bunch of underground techno and EDM. Again, once I convinced the DJs to let me provide the gain and to keep the signal from the desk at a fair level -6 below unity, I could drive the rig hard and not lose fidelity or punch, but again I cycled their sets, rather than just continually pushing harder and harder until there was nowhere to go but into distortion.
If you have the low end kicking enough, keep the distortion out, use a combination of varying sound levels and compression, you can have the perception of a big sound without it hurting.
It’s all about headroom and dynamics. Stuff people don’t always think about.
Solved my wrist pain by selling my Les Paul, who knew.
8 lessons guitarists don’t want to learn (ever):
1. Reading sheet music
2. Holding down the rhythm section
3. Playing with other guitarists
4. Turning down their volume
5. Using an appropriate amount of mids
6. knowing how to play genres other than metal
7. Not playing while people are trying to talk to you
8. Playing with a metronome
Ouch! That really cuts deep man. I'm trying so hard to overcome this but damn.
Number 7 is tough
#7) I'm listening and I'll stop playing if you say something more interesting than what I'm playing.
This is an excellent list. I think some guitarists are open-minded and disciplined enough to learn these lessons. I have learned all eight, but could always improve on them. Those that don't tackle some of these will stay narrow and never progress. I've observed many players like that, and not just guitarists, although guitarists do appear to be the worst offenders.
I actually do all of this things... except maybe 7...
I’m a casual player and doubt it will ever lead much further than playing as a hobby. But I’ve still got some information to take away from this so thank you.
I do tend to mainly just cover songs too, but what I like to do is to take the chords from the song and switch them around some to see what other kind of sounds come up and that’s been a brilliant way for me to exercise transitioning between chords.
Even just changing the strumming pattern can change the sound of it so much. So my recommendation for anyone who just covers songs is to play with whatever chords are used in the song and maybe add in a couple of your own as fills or an alternative, feels more personal that way and feels like you’re getting much more than the education of a particular song.
I would add wear MUSICIANS' EARPLUGS. Years ago, here in Toronto, I had my ears tested at the Canadian Hearing Society, and had some special earplugs made which reduced the problem frequencies. Very expensive, but well worth it. Repetitive Strain Injuries can often remain - if so, stretching and exercise can help.
I am held back by reading tabs. Glad you brought that up. Never really considered how much it will hold me back in the future
I'd say learn classical notation first if you want to be anything other than a rock player
@@hazenstribling2646 What if I only want to be a rock/grunge type player
@@hazenstribling2646 what abt blues rock
Those that disliked the video do not back their files up.
It's always crucial to know your instrument and theory
Unless you play noisecore
Then do anything
Algowy, or punk where you could be sid vicious
I tried a guitar flip without strap locks.....
Safe to say I’m never doing that again.
Some say he still has a dent in his dry wall 😂😂
there are only two kinds of people: those who backup their data and those who will backup their data.
great vid as always, Sensei!
Don't let any chicks named "Yoko" start hanging around with you in the studio.
damn 😂😂😂
oh no...
Words to live by
Ooh, shit.
Goes along with, "Don't let the fat chick with the tambourine get on stage with you".
Number 8 hit me like a bowling ball... I’ve been so used to just learning songs and eventually learning difficult songs that I didn’t even realize that the songs I were playing proved way above my musical level. For the beginners out there like myself, remember samurais wisdom. Be honest with your level, analyze the solfege melody and harmony with a purpose to grow, and always use what you have learned to improvise. There are winners and losers in this world. Be the fearless winner who may fail time after time but come back stronger, wiser, more positive than before. Go out there and fail people!
4:40 cheers to that. I have tendonosis in my left wrist. I can work around it most of the time at work but I get a bad flare up when I pick up my bass. Wrist wraps help a little.
Yea that whole backing your stuff up thing, that's a tough lesson to swallow. Listen to this man and back everything up. Like he said, you only make that mistake once after you go through that kind of pain.
Picking technique: I haven't been playing for very long, but I still struggle to go between alternate picking and downpicking with fluidity. I often just downpick entire sequences, even if there are portions that would normally be much easier to alternate pick. I'm trying to break the habit but it's hard for me.
So I suppose both down and alternate and ensuring that you can go between the two with fluidity while keeping the rhythm and attack/accents/ect.
There WEREN'T Fender Telecasters back in the days of the Samurai?! Unsubbed.
The Fender Broadcaster was an ancient Japanese weapon
There was shamisen! Maybe.
Always a treat for the mind and soul to watch your videos, Sammy G!
It is always good to learn how to improve as a musician.
I been feeling bummed about making music with my band, lately. And I have to figure out why. Maybe it has to do.with being the ONLY guitarist (no bass, no extra guitar) and not writing enough or something---plus, my band members are not FORMALLY-educated or Learn'id Musicians.
And it is difficult to get them to do covers (renditions) of my originals. :(
You are one of the best youtube guitarists of all time. You are so friendly, and for the two years I've been playing, you've made me feel welcome each time I've watched. Thanks
Your so right about that stopping when you mess up thing. It took me a long time to learn to keep playing no matter what.
A link to buy those earplugs would be greatly appreciated, sensei
I don't know about US but here in Europe you can buy "Fischer Amps Custom Made Earplugs" for about 150 euros
@@miromax811 please tell me you meant 15 euros and not 150
@@ChadMojito 150...
@@chupavi_ch That sounds insane. What could justify this?
@@ChadMojito Being able to hear after multiple concerts.
I back up my music on analog tape, Ampex reel to reel to be specific. Much wisdom in this video. Wisdom can be taught, but it must be experienced for the lessons to be meaningful.
I used to play bass around 10 years ago for a little while in high school and I haven't played an instrument since. I picked up guitar about a month ago and started reading tab again. When I dropped the tab and used my ears I was able to play so much better and I am already able to improvise in most keys and modes. Progress is so much faster when you pick up music my transcribing rather than reading bad tabs online
"Music is a source of joy, when it isn't find the root of the problem." Absolutely, turned out it was everyone in the band giving me grief...
Why bass?!!....why is it always the bass!
I know man
Because it's always the bass……………….
If the foundation is rocky, everyone in the building will notice.
See...I get it...we do screw up at times
A random combination of the roots and the fifths I know isn't always the best sounding music.....but we do try our best....we too have feelings :(
The bassist probably has the most pressure not to screw up. Because the bass is the heartbeat of the song. If the heartbeat stops the song dies.
Sitting at home playing alone doesn’t help. You can stagnate fast. It’s always good to play with a friend. It drives you to play better
Barry McNicholl, I read somewhere that this is kinda what made randy Rhodes a great player, he had low self esteem, so instead of copying other riffs he just made his own, and practiced a shit ton
Well I don’t have any friends that play instruments so I gotta play alone but I don’t find it non helpful I have improved a lot by myself
3:00 reminds me of Home Improvement when Mark started playing bass. His mom asks "do you know how to play bass?"
"No, but their last bassist didn't either."
I have lost do many recordings from bricked hardware, hard drive with a corrupted OS, lost storage devices, and phones that just stop working. Back up your data as a rule of thumb. Its saved me from loosing childhood photos.
Wait, samurais didn't have telecasters?
They usually use boss Katanas
I'm barely an intermediate player, but I know my weaknesses and where I need to go from here.
Basically:
Finger-picking
Knowing the notes on the fretboard
Scales and how they relate to chords.
A bit of practical and a bit a theory. I think I'm ready.
All good tips; amen to #8. FWIW (not much) I have those same two Ukiyo-e prints (without background colors) I bought when living in Japan in '85. Always enjoy hearing your tips etc. Telling it how you see it without reservations and all that
Honestly... sometimes it *is* fun to work on the stuff you're not good at.
It took me a while to figure this out, but, overcoming a challenge feels good, and especially so when it results in successfully playing or recording something I thought I couldn't do the week before, or even that morning. Nothing beats that satisfaction, and if you can enjoy the process of playing for its own sake, then it absolutely is fun to set yourself a realistic goal for a week, or even just one recording session in your bedroom, that by the end of it you'll be able to do some small thing you couldn't do before.
And, maybe just me here, but I usually find that getting that little bit better at that one thing usually isn't quite as hard as I thought it would be. I wish I could tell my younger self this especially back when I was learning my first instrument, but I'm glad I figured it out eventually.
...now if I only could learn to reign in my natural impulses to argue and nitpick logic enough to take lessons without worrying about being kicked out :) I mean, this post itself is case in point. Maybe some future me will find some way to actually go back in time and tell this me the secret?
Thanks man, nice one. I worked with a drummer once that kept bloody stopping, cocking it up for everyone. I was in a punk band and soon learned to power through mistakes and keep in time, even if you hang back for a second, but stopping is bloody ridiculous and for a drummer too, it drove us mad. We all make mistakes but don't drop the groove.
I can't agree with #3 at 2:13 enough. I was diagnosed with MS and when it affected my hands I let all my old recordings from college just slip away. I lost, destroyed and replaced so many computers over the years where depression kept me from playing that I can't find anything now.
Great video, as usual.
And also, t-shirt ordered, can't wait to receive it.
I love this type of videos, I'm sadly not into music creation, but has graphic designer and ilustrator, this concepts extrapolate perfectly into my field
Mix tracks in as many settings and sound systems as you expect it to be listened to on. High quality studio speakers are typically not equipt in cars.
I just ordered your L-Sleeve T-Shirt, ordered it because of the art work with the Tele (one of my 2 favorite guitars), I'm 66 and don't wear a lot of Tees but this appealed to the bloodlust in me and the dedication to my chozen art form. :-) Ok, seriously.......I'm assuming the shirt says Samurai Guitarist but just checking, so when you get around to it let me know.
Favorite was number 5 I have had many friends who try to keep a band together beyond their shelf life. It is important to know everyone's commitment level. In my last band the lead singer talked a big game but had no real commitment. It ended when they started blaming the bassist and drummer on not being in time and making them sound bad by not staying in tempo. Anothe nail in the coffin was a refusal to learn the lyrics of new songs and mumble through half of them. Power on everytime we learn these hard lessons weekend our own commitment level even better.
4:54 lucky ass Canadian. That shit is way more expensive here.
Keep sharing your wisdom. It's totally worth the effort you put into these video. Much appreciated.
I bloody love you, Samurai guitarist! You're brilliant, mate!
That merch logo is crazy beautiful!! Never seen RUclipsr merch that’s actually nice, great job man.
this video is what got me into berklee dude, thank you so much
I like the one about learning music not just songs. As a beginner it's sometimes hard to know what to focus on.
Excellent advice. This is what makes you a real samurai guitarist.
Your videos are often very interesting and/or useful, but this one, my friend... This one can save lives!
Man, that earplugs one... I was at an audition for a band once to be their rhythm guitarist and right behind the Amp was a PA for the vocalist. Right before the rehearsal, there was massive feedback... Right into my left ear. So being that it was the orientation of where the Amp was, I spent the next two hours asking between every other song "Can you guys hear me? Are you sure? Should I turn it up?"
Youre a good man @samuraiguitarist. All of these things are sometimes unavoidable, but a video like this will remind those of us not to make those mistakes twice :)
#4. Very true.
For me, it's always drummers.
Drummers who can't maintain a steady beat............
Drummers who stop mid-song to determine the beat.......yes, that has happened to me.
Drummers who ask me to turn towards them so they can get the beat from watching my strumming-arm.......yep...that happened, too!
And it's always: "He's not that bad. And if the audience doesn't notice, what's the problem?"
I've been in bands that would rather keep a drummer who's timing was bad, solely because they were friends.
"We can't get rid of him......he's my friend."
So, yeah......drummers.
Awesome video..thank you for the info. It is definitely younger aspiring musicians should know. Quite a few i learned the hard way. Shirt is ordered, can hardly wait. Keep up the great work.
One thing that I learnt is that you find the most comfortable strings for you. It’s important that you get strings that you find comfortable, wether that means buying cheap, expensive or mixing packs. Always experiment.
Great video! I need to practice more. I also wear ear plugs when I play out. Or go to concerts. After the all mighty, ear plugs are best friends.
Number 3 has bitten me in the ass REALLY hard in the past
So hard, I almost gave up
100% on #3! I have my computer where everything lives, then a hard drive connected that's an exact clone that updates any and all changes every night automatically, and then ANOTHER hard drive I store at work and bring home once a month to update to mirror my computer hard drive. So the worst case scenario is I lose 4 weeks of usually minor changes at the most, not my entire library of music, movies, pictures and documents
You started off with the one that's most painful for me, but you ended with what is probably my biggest guiding principle.
Dude that's one of the sickest merch shirts I've seen on this site, solid design!
About learning songs vs learning music: doing the opposite is just as bad. I played guitar for about 12 years, only focusing on solos, interesting melodies, little bits and music theory. That got me nowhere and was never able to flow with anybody. I'd say that learning songs to play with other people and mastering a rhythm technic is more important than learning how to write solos and mathematically generate music. I wrote many songs and solos, but improvising with other people was quite lacking
This is brilliant. I'm pretty sure I was told most of this 50 years ago but I wasn't equipped to listen. I wanted to learn songs and impress my friends.
Ive found it really easy to learn by ear surprisingly, I think i just need to learn where my notes are and everything, like technically i do but i just need a little work. I remember when i only slapped and finger but never used picks, now i use picks so often because of the beautiful sound i can get out of my own bass guitar.
I may need to take #6 into consideration lol. I've never worn ear plugs not even live.
I actually see people online suggest you stop and completely replay when you make an error, though I agree it is the wrong approach. The only thing I would suggest is slowing it down for the next run, if you're struggling with things happening to fast.
Astute as usual. EARPLUGS!! And no matter how awesomely wonderful it sounds - never, never work with a band where some members are doing it for a living and others are not. And Be Cool.
That is super brave of you to open up about your herpes. Glad to hear the cream cleared it up!
I do stuff that all my favourite guitarists do.
Read sheet music.
Don't use a pick.
Ignore people who talk to me while I'm playing.
If I'm playing with someone else, I like to improvise solos.
I bend unnecessarily.
Great tips. Thanks for posting.
4:49 Good for you, sensei... Talking about VD publicly, so that people don't make the same mistake :)) I applaud you candour!
I’ve not been playing that long but I always pay lots of attention to my weaknesses. I spent a couple weeks just nailing down pinch harmonics🤣 And the music over song thing - yes! I don’t obsess over learning songs, more over what I can gain from said songs
If only I had heard number 3 before it was an issue for me. My problem actually didn't stem from my music but from my fiction writing and I lost all drafts, including final, of 19 out of 21 chapters of the book I was writing. I had the files on my laptop but they got corrupted, so I went for my external harddrive where I'd backup everything from my laptop, but sure enough even those got corrupted.
Thanks for the tips! Subbed
8 is an incredible good advice
Oh man, no kidding on the "weakest member" one. I was in a band... Well, I don't know if I could actually say that. The guitarist was basically one of those guys who'd rather say "I'm in a band" than actually being in one and on account of having been friends for years, I totally gave him way too much time to pull his shit together. Time I could have used to move forward instead of standing completely still.
I'm totally going to buy a hard drive to stash with my parents. What a genius idea!
Any tips for training your ear?
Keir Martin tonedear.com
1. Practice
2. Practice
3. Practice
learn by ear, learn intervals
Many thanks all
Singing the notes you play whilst playing scales or licks
I like your merch, it looks pretty recognisable and cool.
I once read an interview with Chet Atkins where he stated that one of his personal challenges was to play through a mistake when practicing. It makes sense... when you are live, there is no restarting.
You are the realest thank you for your time.
Very nice information thank you!!
Big up for this vid Samurai!
Great video as usual sensei 🙏🏽🤘🏽
Totally needed to see this today.
mmm... what about a winter hat, getting cold, I need a hat. This vid was great! 😁
Rhythm and ear training and technique. I had a guitar lesson Oli Herbert of all that remains.
I wish there was a drummer version of you
Love the Merch!
This is a great video - excellent tips !
Preach Sensei, preach
Thank you, sensei
I lost my album that I worked on for 2 years, just because I didn't save it at another place. I was seriously stupid for thinking I'll be fine...
Gear gets stolen but you can be proactive in avoiding the painful scenario.
That's where you learn about having gear good enough for the job. For instance, at many U.S. clubs and bars, if you have the "best" gear or a starter kit, it'll sound the same at that location.
Man I ALWAYS stop and restart after making mistakes. Sometimes it makes playing really frustrating and I have to put the guitar down and do something else just because it isn’t enjoyable as much as it is annoying restarting over and over. I didn’t even realize this is something I was doing wrong! Will definitely work on it!
Love the sensei series! Keep goin!
This video applies not only to guitarists but to all musicians!
Thank you sensei 🙏
the shirts are LIT.
I love all of them but I partially disagree with n 8. I couldn't wrap up my head around jazz until I started working on the repertoire. standard after standard, I improved a lot more than before. Each and every standard holds a lesson in theory, technique and phrasing.
Working by ear is one of the first things I learned.
Suppose that's where us older guys have an advantage; back in the day there was pretty much no choice but to learn by ear - I could probably still manage a passable rendition of the 'Eat Em and Smile' album. :)