GT Solo Assignment - March 2008

[light487]

Hey everyone..

Well I finally got the backing track finished to an "acceptable" level. It's far some studio quality but I am happy enough with it. I have run numerous tests of different style lead guitar solos over it and it lends itself well to a wide variety of styles.

It goes:
D - D/F# - G - A
D - D/F# - G - A
D - D/F# - G - A
D - D/F# - G - A
Bm - A - G - G

Not sure why I decided on this structure.. it's a little unusual but you get used to it. The beat is a 4/4 Shuffle at 120bpm. Just in case the above doesn't make it clear enough, the track is in the key of D Major.

You can download it directly from:
GT Solo Assignment - March 2008.mp3 - 7.63MB (http://www.zshare.net/audio/8289434a8c201a/)

I was going to put it on SoundClick but I wasn't sure if they down-sample the downloadable mp3's or not, so I put it on zshare.net instead. The bitrate is 320kbps, the sample rate is 48kHz, it's 3:19 long.. I did pan the audio to left and right but I don't see the point to be honest.. just thought I'd mention that I did do this in case anyone wants it..

[FingerSpasm]

Sounds good! I have already played to it a little bit and I have already found a few licks that sound pretty good. This is a good track for someone like me who is still not a full speed shredder (Although I am working on it every day!!!). Thanks for putting this together Light.

[FingerSpasm]

It took me awhile to find this thread this morning. Its the very first one on the page and I have gotten so used to ignoring the first 3 threads on the first page because they have always been the same ones about the rules of the listening post. Hope nobody else misses it. :eek: Once again thanks for taking the time to make the backing track Light. I played over it some more and I am really excited about what the final outcome is going to be. :D

[light487]

It really has a nice smooth feel to the track.. that D/F# chord makes all the difference in my mind. I wish I had had a bass guitar to make it sound better but I think you will agree that there is plenty of bass to it.

[light487]

Hey there everyone...

I'm not seeing much activity in this thread so I thought I'd post an explanation of what this GT Solo Assignment thing is all about for those that don't already know, and for those who do already know: to remind them that it's back and running again.

Ok.. So this thing has been running for 2 years now, according to magicninja. How it works is like this:

1. A person makes a backing track of any style they want and then uploads it to a file sharing site so that anyone who wants to participate can download it.
2. Each person that wants to participate loads the MP3 into their favourite recording software and plays a guitar solo over the top of the backing track.
3. Then everyone uploads their "take" on to a file sharing site so that everyone else can listen to it and share their comments and feedback.
4. At the end of the month, everyone votes on which one they liked the best.

There's a couple of obvious rules to follow of course.. The backing track shouldn't be altered too much, if at all, to suit your needs. It should be left as close to the original backing track as possible.. it's meant to be a challenge to yourself more than a competition against other people. Also, as it is a monthly thing.. all submissions should be in by the end of the month. This adds a specific deadline to the whole process so that you have a fixed amount of time to come up with something.

Since joining GT, I have participated in 4 or 5 of these and the main thing I have gotten out of them, is it has actually improved my playing because it challenges you to come up with stuff that you wouldn't normally play because you can't change the backing track to suit you. If I had all the time in the world to finish it.. I would never finish any of the ones I did.

It doesn't matter what your level of skill is, it all about challenging yourself and comparing what you created with what other people created using the same backing track. It's a lot of fun and I would like to see more and more people participating. If we were to get enough people, we could even start to put "skill levels" into place.. would probably need 30+ people participating to get to that point though. Then we could have a "Beginner", "Intermediate" and "Advanced" voting scheme.. but we need the participation first.

This month's backing track was made by myself and is a great place to start because, as fingerspasm pointed out, you don't need to be a lightning-fast shredder to make a great solo track with it..

[FingerSpasm]

Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents also. I have participated in about 8 of these over the last 2 years and I had the wrong impression when I first started. Some of the backing tracks are long. I used to think that you had to shred or play as fast as you could over the whole track because to me thats what a solo was. But then I learned that you can let the song breath a little and add small lead fills here and there. When I submitted my first entry I thought I was going to throw up because I was so nervous because it was so basic and I was such a beginner. But I got nothing but support and good advice. This can be an incredible learning tool and you get get some good advice and learn lots by participating. Now I look forward to these every month. Even when work or something gets in the way and I am not able to submit and entry I still enjoy checking out other peoples entries. Like I said just my 2 cents. :)

[mpaq]

I totally agree. Being a novice, im nowhere near being able to enter this, although I think even if i did I wouldnt be trashed. Just one of the many things i like about this board. Listening to the entries really helps me to understand the different possibilities/perspectives on a given track. Helps me to think outside the pentatonic box so to speak. Major kudos to Light for making the effort to keeping this going. I really like your idea about rating skill levels....i think maybe one reason for lack of participation is that the handful of regulars that do participate are really skilled, and so you figure what could i possibly add to that. Having levels would eliminate the possible intimidation factor and also provide a way to guage our own progress as we get critique and move up through the levels.
I would love to enter as a beginner knowing that I would be judged in that context and if at some point, you guys thought enough of my piece to bump me to intermediate, that would be really motivating.

[Superhuman]

Not sure if I'll be able to enter this month or not but I agree with the rating by skill levels too. I can imagine a novice player feeling out of their depth pretty quickly after hearing the likes of Maestro Shaz!

The whole point of the assignment to me is to get achance to come up with some lead and try some new ideas without feeling any pressure. It's nice to get the most votes but I find it more interesting to hear the different ideas people come up with over the same piece of music. Some of the best ideas, no matter how basic, have come from absolute learners. It's only lately that I've started looking at production and how to improve mixes, which is also something you get to experiment on the assignment.

This month is a good one, easy to play over and you can take it from a three note melody to monster sweep arpeggios if you want. Time is not n my side at the moment so I'm not sure if I can record anything but I'll be sure to post if I do.

[light487]

I would love to enter as a beginner knowing that I would be judged in that context and if at some point, you guys thought enough of my piece to bump me to intermediate, that would be really motivating.

With the levels, I was thinking that the person submitting the piece of music would be the one to say what level they are at. The assignments are not so the GT community can "judge" others.. but more give them feedback.. So a new participant who has never submitted a GT assignment before could just as easily submit at Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced. Still could only submit one piece and at one level but it would be the submitter choosing the level, not the community.

Of course, first we need some kind of participation level to warrant having levels... :)

[WrigglerUk]

Mpaq - go for it! You'll get nothing but constructive comments. And it's fun. Well, sometimes...

I'm submitting this just so Light doesn't feel his effort's being ignored :rolleyes: thanks to him for taking the time.
I'm not really happy with it as a guitar excercise, I'm stuck with Superhumans' "3 note melody" syndrome, just can't get rid of the 'its a song' vibe. The damn tune's been rolling round my brain for a week now...so its 3 minutes of the same theme :( Added a bass too, I got one for Christmas, so had to use it really!

WrigglerUk (http://www.webng.com/wriggleruk/March%20take%202.mp3)

[Bar Chord Nick]

Light I'll be doing something over the track when I get some fun time. I'm sure others will to by months end.

Don't be shy people nobody is going to rag on you. Good folks here that respect your efforts.

By the way Light thanks for putting a track together.

[mpaq]

OK! I think i'll wade into the deep end and give this thing a shot. Pray for me. :eek:

[FingerSpasm]

OK! I think i'll wade into the deep end and give this thing a shot. Pray for me. :eek:

Go for it!! I am hoping to find time here soon to start putting mine together. I have lots of ideas but sometimes they do not always pan out. But I am anxious to give them a try. You will only benefit from this kind of thing if you put a little time into it. It will give your playing a sense of purpose and a direction. That has been my experience with it anyway. Good Luck!

[Bar Chord Nick]

OK here is my first idea just played what sounded like it fit. Included in this tune are my playing mistakes... :o Not checking anyones tracks till I see if something less repetitive comes to me. I really should try and push myself to breakout of my same old box :mad: . We'll see what happens as the month moves on.

Bar Chord Nick (http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=554641&content=music)

[light487]

Ok I have my first rough take done.. I know it's my backing track, so you'd think I would have a perfect solo for it, right? Well no.. like anything to do with music, it's an art-form and way of expression so it's constantly evolving. There's a couple of wrong notes at around the 1:56 mark, so just ignore those for the time being and there are a few hesitations as you will hear. Also the mix isn't quite right yet.. though it's fairly close to what I was wanting the mix to sound like. I can understand you not wanting to listen to it, in case it gets stuck in your head while you are trying to make your own original solo track.. but I thought I'd submit it as an update of what I have so far...

Like every other month I have submitted stuff, I will submit my final mix by the end of the month, ready for voting and all that. I reduced the bitrate on this one, since it doesn't need to be high quality for a rough edit.

gt solo march 2008 - rough edit.mp3 - 3.05MB (http://www.zshare.net/audio/8652433613f8ee/)

BCNick - Sounded great mate, not sure why you are beating yourself up over this one.. There's heaps of variety in that.. I enjoyed it a lot.

WrigglerUK - Yeh, I see what you mean about being in a rut there. It still sounded good though, don't get me wrong.. but I understand what you mean. Hopefully you will find some time during the month to work on it some more.

I'll comment in more detail at the end of the month in the "Voting" thread once everyone's "final" submissions are in :)

[mpaq]

OK here's my first take. I havent listened to anyone elses yet, that was deliberate so i wouldnt get a tune stuck in my head. It does sound a little repetitive also, but i tried to follow the advice of developing a central theme or hook and then building around it.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=789879

[FingerSpasm]

Here is my entry. Not as good overall as I had hoped. May do another take before the end of the Month. Here is my critique of this track. My bends were crap in the first 2/3 of the song. Something about when I hit that red record button... I get a little tense and I can hear the difference. Ahh well more practice I guess. I like about half of what I recorded the other half is sub par. Please feel free to pick this thing apart. Not only the playing but the mix also. I could use some pointers. Now for the good part. I can listen to the other entries. :)
GTSoloMarch (http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_music.cfm?bandID=685738)

[WrigglerUk]

WrigglerUK - Yeh, I see what you mean about being in a rut there. It still sounded good though, don't get me wrong.. but I understand what you mean. Hopefully you will find some time during the month to work on it some more.


Well, I redid it, this time in one take with no attempt to add extra parts etc. Its more free-flowing, rougher and noisier, I did nothing with the EQ or noise gating. Interesting little stomp box effect over the last chorus though.
Still not great but I've had enough of it now! :p
Wriggleruk (http://www.soundclick.com/wriggleruk)

BCN - I agree with Light, that was really good, love that tone. I happen to like the box you're in!
Light - Excellent. liked the recurring themes that weren't overused and use of the lower registers too. And super tone.
Mpaq - That was pretty good for a first take.
Good tone and I liked the way you panned the hook - simple but very effective. And some good variations in there too. I didn't care for the extravagant bends in the lead-in but thats a matter of taste only! Also you overwhelmed the BT in places. Playing-wise nowt wrong wi' it!

[FingerSpasm]

Well, I redid it, this time in one take with no attempt to add extra parts etc. Its more free-flowing, rougher and noisier, I did nothing with the EQ or noise gating. Interesting little stomp box effect over the last chorus though.
Still not great but I've had enough of it now! :p
Wriggleruk (http://www.webng.com/wriggleruk/march%20take%202.mp3)

BCN - I agree with Light, that was really good, love that tone. I happen to like the box you're in!
Light - Excellent. liked the recurring themes that weren't overused and use of the lower registers too. And super tone.
Mpaq - That was pretty good for a first take.
Good tone and I liked the way you panned the hook - simple but very effective. And some good variations in there too. I didn't care for the extravagant bends in the lead-in but thats a matter of taste only! Also you overwhelmed the BT in places. Playing-wise nowt wrong wi' it!

It might just be on my end. But I cannot get your track to play Wriggler. Can you or someone else let me know if it works. I was going to post my comments on the tracks so far but would like to hear yours also. Thanks :)

[light487]

With Wriggler's track, right-click on the link and select Save As... and save it to your hard drive.. that way you can listen to it in whatever you prefer to listen to MP3s with and it won't stop and start as it attempts to buffer itself.

I'm getting ready for work at the moment so I will have to listen to the re-takes and your first take when I get home (I can read and post messages from work but not listen to music :( ).

[FingerSpasm]

Listened to the tracks and they all sounded great.
Bar Chord - I really liked that clean tone. I thought of going that route originally. Did you fingerpick any of the track because I thought the opening sounded like your might have been and then around 1:16 it sounded like you plucked 2 strings at once about 2 or 3 times. Anyway nice track.

Wriggler - The bass really changed the feel of the track. I am not sure if I like the second version better or not. There were a couple of times where the bass was really out front. But overall I thought it was really cool. You had a couple of of nice licks in there.

Light - Your track had a nice full sound plenty of reverb or it sounded like reverb to me and delay. Very smooth you really let all the notes fade off nicely. I need to work more on that in my playing. I would have to say your take so far has fit the backing track the best.

Mpaq - Really nice sound you have going. There were a couple of times where it was really sounding great. But there were also some points where it was to much for the backing track. I think thats something that takes some touch with that kind of aggressive tone. It really sounds good when your in the pocket but if you get a little to aggressive it shows. Also I almost forgot you had a really cool sounding little hook going in that track. It was just like 4 or 5 notes but you hit it perfect and repeated it several times. Thats the kind of thing that can really make a nice track.

Most of you guys are probably at a higher skill level than me so this critique is just from my point of view as a listener. Not so much as a player. It was hard for me to keep all of it totally straight I took some short notes while I listened. But I am worried I might have gotten mixed up on the tracks and If so then sorry in advance but I tried to keep it straight in my head after going through them. Man what a rant, I better shut up now. :D

[WrigglerUk]

With Wriggler's track, right-click on the link and select Save As... and save it to your hard drive.. that way you can listen to it in whatever you prefer to listen to MP3s with and it won't stop and start as it attempts to buffer itself.


I've resurrected my Soundclick page and updated the link. No need to download now!

Fingerspasm - That was pretty cool actually, I thought you were overusing that intro phrase then it suddenly exploded into a nice wah sound, some good licks in there. I particularly liked the half-strummed chords in the chorus, if they had been slightly more accented it would have sounded really good. Some of the bends drifted quite a bit towards the end.

[Bar Chord Nick]

I haven't posted comments yet cause I'm waiting to see if I'm going to change it. I don't want to be influenced by the other tracks but to answer you Fingerspasm I always pick with my fingers. I almost never use a pick. I find it very uncomfortable and clumsy to us a pick.

Nick

[FingerSpasm]

I've resurrected my Soundclick page and updated the link. No need to download now!

Fingerspasm - That was pretty cool actually, I thought you were overusing that intro phrase then it suddenly exploded into a nice wah sound, some good licks in there. I particularly liked the half-strummed chords in the chorus, if they had been slightly more accented it would have sounded really good. Some of the bends drifted quite a bit towards the end.

Thanks for the comment. I decided to use the the effects to help break it up a little.

[FingerSpasm]

I haven't posted comments yet cause I'm waiting to see if I'm going to change it. I don't want to be influenced by the other tracks but to answer you Fingerspasm I always pick with my fingers. I almost never use a pick. I find it very uncomfortable and clumsy to us a pick.

Nick

I am glad I was right about your picking with your fingers. I almost did not comment on it because I was afraid of looking stupid if I was wrong. I really liked that track and now I know why it sounded nice an full. I used to know about half of the song Classical Gas. That was the only time I have used my fingers to pick. I really enjoyed it and keep thinking about picking it back up again. But I guess at this point I am still only talking about it. :rolleyes:

[light487]

Hey..

Just wanted to apologise for not getting back to anyone about their tracks yet, except for the other two comments I made earlier. The reason is that I just gave up smoking and it's day 7 today.. and so my brain chemistry is severely out of whack and I haven't even played my guitar since Sunday... that's the longest I haven't played guitar for in about a year.. I'm not sure how long I will be like this but I haven't had a smoke for over 6 days and going strong..

Talk to you all soon.

[FingerSpasm]

Hey..

Just wanted to apologise for not getting back to anyone about their tracks yet, except for the other two comments I made earlier. The reason is that I just gave up smoking and it's day 7 today.. and so my brain chemistry is severely out of whack and I haven't even played my guitar since Sunday... that's the longest I haven't played guitar for in about a year.. I'm not sure how long I will be like this but I haven't had a smoke for over 6 days and going strong..

Talk to you all soon.

Hang in there! I quite on my 30th Birthday..... 11 years ago. Damn I am old. But its the best thing I ever did. Wait until about a month from now when you realize that you have not really been able to taste food properly. All of the sudden you will start liking food you never cared for. Because you can really taste it! Before any of you smokers get on my case. I am not an Anti Smoking Nut. I have many friends that smoke and I still crave them from time to time when I have a beer or two. People who want to smoke have every right to smoke.
Once again good luck and hang in there. Oh and by the way I used sunflower seeds still in the shell to help kick the habit. I was spitting shells out all day. It really helps. If you work inside find an empty soda bottle to spit the shells into. :cool:

[mpaq]

Hey..

Just wanted to apologise for not getting back to anyone about their tracks yet, except for the other two comments I made earlier. The reason is that I just gave up smoking and it's day 7 today.. and so my brain chemistry is severely out of whack and I haven't even played my guitar since Sunday... that's the longest I haven't played guitar for in about a year.. I'm not sure how long I will be like this but I haven't had a smoke for over 6 days and going strong..

Talk to you all soon.

Good luck with that. Just think in less than six months from now you will be able to buy yourself a really nice guitar with the money you saved on smokes. At Canadian prices anyway :)

I too will be listening and commenting on all the tracks so far, tomorrow when i get access to high speed bandwidth.
Thanks to the guys who commented on mine!

[mpaq]

ok ive listened to them all and will post some high level comments from a listeners perspective not a theorist.
Overall i enjoyed them all, hope we get some more entries before month end, ive learned a few things from each track.

Bar Chord Nick - nice intro and tone, very melodic. I dont know how you manage to play without a pick but I guess its what your used to. Gives you a distinctive style.
Didnt sound repetitive or that you were stuck in a box to me, i liked it.

Wriggler - - good job, very melodic as well, you reached a bit on some of the higher notes and the effect at the end while interesting, didnt really fit the backing track but overall it was quite good.

Light - - yes shame on you, you are the moderator, your track should be perfect ;) Seriously though it was quite well done. Really nice chorus, and nice runs - overall very well structured.

FingerSpasm - enjoyed your track, lots of variation, and interesting runs. Bit of a timing issue at the intro and a couple overly repetitious bends, but overall i liked your technique. I think it might have sounded even better without the wah for this particular track, but thats a personal choice......your control of it was good.

[equator]

Hi guys.

Today was my day off; so, I managed to record my take.
I thought that it would be nice to explore the D Phrygian Major over the D chord, since that chord lasts longer than the others in the backing track.
I used the B minor pentatonic and the D Ionian scale too.
I also did a volume swell with the knob. :cool:

There is a cracking noise coming from my really cheap Interface. I hope I can replace it soon, because it is driving me crazy.

Gear: Fender Strat -> Xenyx802 mixer -> Guitar Port Interface -> Laptop.

equator (http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=444393&songID=6359396)


I’ll be commenting on your takes soon. :)



.

[mpaq]

Equator - that was a very cool take. No clue how you manage to do those runs so well and keep them so well in time but sounded great. I liked your intro and really nice transition to the first chorus.

[maestro shaz]

I cant seem to dl the file.....

can someone send it to me?

[WrigglerUk]

Should be able to right click & save as...

marchBT (http://www.webng.com/wriggleruk/marchbt.mp3)

[light487]

Did Wriggler's link work?

[maestro shaz]

Hi there, finally got the BT......

Here's my take.... I named it 'Over The Horizon' .... a bit wobbly in places.

March 07 (http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=611911&content=songinfo&songID=6370717)

[equator]

Hey mpaq. Thanks for your comments. I’m glad you liked my take.

I’m kinda busy these days; so, I’m gonna listen to your takes and comment one by one. I hope you guys don’t mind.

WrigglerUk. You did a good job playing the bass, it really added rhythm and body to the track.
Your timing has improved a lot.
My only criticism is on something I have mentioned to you before, and that is… your bending technique. Always remember to bend the notes into the right pitch.

I don’t know what everybody else think about the effect you used, but I kinda like it. I’d use it at the very end and let it fade out, though.

[WrigglerUk]

Equator - thanks for that. I re-visited it with a pitch analyser and worked out I'm basically not bending far enough - ending up nearly a full tone off in places, semi tone in others.
And you're right, it does sound better with the wierd effect as a fade out trick.

Listening to your take - some very interesting changes of mode. I'm not sure it all worked, but it was interesting all through. I liked the switch to a slightly rockier, gritty feel at about 1:20-30 ish, and that ascending scale repeated at the end was neat!

Maestro - suberbly melodic, great tone and just really good, except that last 30 seconds or so which kind of sounded like the well had run dry after the great build up.

[equator]

Yeah, sometimes bending can be tricky. What helped me to bend the notes to the correct pitch was the use of a chromatic tuner. I used to play a note and bend it whilst keeping my eyes on the tuner to make sure I was bending the note to the right pitch.

Bar Chord Nick. Very interesting picture on the player. :)
Nice track man, I enjoyed it, liked your tone choice, phrasing and you targeted the strong notes of each chord while moving along with the chord changes. Nicely done.

[mpaq]

Hi there, finally got the BT......

Here's my take.... I named it 'Over The Horizon' .... a bit wobbly in places.

March 07 (http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=611911&content=songinfo&songID=6370717)

Maestro - In a word, outstanding. Not just this months, but i took the opportunity to listen to the other months tracks on your page. You blow me away man. Really cool rendition of Sandman on your page too!

by copy to all: is there a place where all the past backing tracks are stored? I particularly like the Jan 07 track on Maestro's page and would like to download it.

EDIT: Never mind guys I sifted through the old threads and found it, along with a few of the others from magicninga's page.

[wwb]

Here's an entry that should encourage the lesser skilled players to participate:
wwb - mar 08 (http://www.bloodyvikings.com/mar08/mar08.mp3)

[mpaq]

Here's an entry that should encourage the lesser skilled players to participate:
wwb - mar 08 (http://www.bloodyvikings.com/mar08/mar08.mp3)

If by that you are implying that you are one of those "lesser skilled", i think you're being too hard on yourself. I thought your track was actually pretty good. Nice tone, good timing, and liked your choice of notes particularly on the intro.

[wwb]

mpaq - thanks for the comments. I like setting low expectations, it's easier to live up to them.

[Spedzar]

Hi All,

Having just moved house interstate, settled into a new job and set myself up a makeshift studio in the garage it might now be time to pull my finger (or fingers) :D out and have a go at this month's backing track... With only the weekend left I wonder if there's time? I guess we'll see. Hello to everyone I haven't spoken to in a couple of months...

[light487]

Plenty of time left.. I have been meaning to make mention of this thread over the last few days to remind everyone to get their "final" submissions in before Tuesday, which is the 1st of April. I am thinking of leaving my solo as it is.. I've tried bettering it over the last few weeks and I never seem to capture the same feel I captured the first time that I like so much..

[light487]

I'm going to lock this thread in approximately 12 to 24 hours and then create a new one for voting. Also.. if anyone has a backing track ready for April 2008, I will be happy to use it. If not, I will try to come up with another one in the next couple of days but this time I will try not to have the rhythm guitar track so high in the mix and will try to at least get a BASS guitar synth thing to use..

[light487]

Voting Thread to be created shortly. I just got home from work and I am very tired.. so I will do it later.. unless someone else wants to create the voting thread and I will sticky it.. just use the same format as usual.