Clip of me playing (link inside)

[aiwass]

http://www.chrisgod.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/MasterPlanjam.mp3

Chris Brooks (an Australian guitar virtuoso) organized a little jam at the Petrucci forum. He provided a backing track taken from one of his songs (BUY HIS ALBUM "THE MASTER PLAN", IT ROCKS!), and people could record themselves playing lead.

As for my playing, it's a couple of separate takes (improvised until it sounded "right", then pieced the ideas together), no real warmup, and recorded in the morning. I might do a more "polished" version later, but this will do for now. I also apologize for the Michael Angelo sections here and there. It gets boring after a while, I know, but it's an easy way to fill in the gaps while sounding like I know what I'm doing! :)

It was recorded using Cool Edit Pro 2.0, with an American Deluxe Stratocaster going into a POD xt.

Oh, and thanks to puppetzmaster for hosting.

[DreamRyche2112]

Nice playing ( I wish i could play like that ). But that Stratocaster sounds real nice... i wish mine sounded like that. lol But nice job dude.

[finger_cruncher]

Hey Aiwass,

don't apologize for anything. It doesn't get boring at all. You're an amazing player. Nice chops and ideas, but overall, very tasteful arrangement. You manage to put the solo together in a very interesting way...certainly much more tasteful than Angelo's typical shredding all over the fretboard, but never really resolving anywhere. You have great ability, keep it up. :)

[sambob]

Damn, I wish I could have gotten in on that a bit, I've talked to Chris a couple times on the Ring of Fire forums, but I've never been interested enough in Petrucci to look at his forums.

[Bodomchild]

Right on bro, that sounded sweet! Everything fit perfectly with the changes to give it a natural flow- not to mention a perfect 10 on the shred factor:cool:

[Death55]

aiwass you really are faster than kirk hamster haha. That was really good. Its not boring at all. I suppose i do like shredding though. Well done ;)

[aiwass]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. Remember to check out Chris Brooks to hear somebody who can REALLY do this track justice.

[kronborg]

Oh! I'm amazed!

How old are you? How long have you been playing?

Again.... amazing!

[aiwass]

I'm 16, been playing for almost 6 years now.

[aiwass]

Originally posted by sambob
Damn, I wish I could have gotten in on that a bit, I've talked to Chris a couple times on the Ring of Fire forums, but I've never been interested enough in Petrucci to look at his forums.

You should check it out. It's not a Petrucci-worshipping forum at all. They talk just as much (if not more) about Symphony X, Opeth, Andy Timmons, even SHAWN LANE. Not to mention the usual suspects: Vai, Satch, DiMeola, Malmsteen... In fact, the people there will be the first to point out Petrucci's mistakes. They're pretty critical, but far from suckups. :)

Overall it's probably the biggest shred guitar forum on the net (a LOT bigger than this one, and more focused in the prog/shred/fusion vein). Being a Petrucci board, it also has an excellent gear forum.

And feel free to submit your take on the Master Plan jam! :D

[3fingers]

nice playing for sure

[hairbndrckr]

sweet...
Pretty amazing considering you're barely old enough to get your dick wet LOL.

Kick ass job man...

[Leedogg]

Great playing aiwass, I'm quite impressed.

[aiwass]

Thanks man!

About the slower sections: I know. I don't practice improv enough, so I got pretty hesitative here and there, thinking about what to do next. Better go back to the basics and practice some slower stuff again... :)

[ketsueki15]

really good playing but shredd music isnt my cup of tea anymore..still good technique
keep up the good work

[Jolly McJollyson]

GREAT alternate picking!!! I think, though, that I heard some sloppy tapping at the beggining. That's my only complaint, your alternate picking is so much better than mine that I can't rag on your tapping but so much.

[aiwass]

I think what you are hearing is the tapped descending slides. They're kinda hard to articulate.

[Jolly McJollyson]

No, not those, those were understandable, I mean the tapping beforehand. I heard a couple inconsistencies. But seriously, that's just me being meticulous. That was some fantastic playing. I really liked that alternate picking towards the end. damn. I fingerpick, so my skills with an actual pick are very very bad.

[Pantallica1]

Nice playing aiwass!!

It does get a little Michael Angeloish, but I don't mind, you know how I feel about him. :D

Great playing though and for only being 16, only great things to come for you man.

It must be something about you Europeans, something they put in the water or something.

[TheWizard]

awesome

any chance for a tab? haha

[The Ace]

Great Job man! Your well on your way..... It does get a little repititive... but the stuff you were repeating was really great so that was ok. You had a great smooth tone I have been looking for for a while but have yet to find. I'm not a big fan on improv- shred but what you did is great. (is all shred improv?). I would really like to know that part towards the begginning with the rapid picks up and down the scale. Nice Job!

[aiwass]

I think it would have been better if I dropped the last alternate picking part, the one after the harmonized melody. That's really the part that tips the clip into "the Angelo zone". There was enough alt. picking wanking already.

The clip wasn't 100% improv though. I figured out the intro tapping lick and the Michael Romeo-style tapped arpeggio, and then I made a rough mental sketch of the various sections. I also figured out the triple sweep thing beforehand. All the shred parts were more or less improv though - pretty scalar anyway, so all I had to do was follow the chord progression.

Jolly: I still don't get what you mean about the intro tapping part. :) I mean, I don't want to sound conceited, but I just don't hear the mistake you're talking about. There are plenty of mistakes in the clip, and definitely a few sloppy alternate picking parts, but that was like the ONLY part I thought I did perfectly! :) Now, the tapped ARPEGGIO part, on the other hand... THAT has its share of slop!

[Axl_Rose]

Im gona become the most hated member on this forum... but... here goes... what exactly is the point to that piece? Musically, it conveys no message or emotion :( I dont see why people spend hours and hours working on technique to produce soemthing which ends up sounding monotomous. What ever happened to Hotel California or Free bird :( Dont get mad at me guys, jus got dumped, am a bit depressed.

[aiwass]

Not my song, I just played the solo. And I'm aware of the fact that it's monotonous here and there, it's just a work in progress.

[iamthe_eggman]

Originally posted by Axl_Rose
Dont get mad at me guys, jus got dumped, am a bit depressed.

What happened? Did she find out about your "New Year's party"?

[The Ace]

Ya I do that mental map a lot with solos 2. Its like you know where you r going before hand but dont know exactly the precise notes. I've really wanted to get in this style of playing (with the whole shred thing) but I've come to a loss. I just haven't found enuff material to play from to make it my own. Any sites or tricks to help me with this? As of now I can plaw those solos that r prtty fast, but not this type.But then again, speed really doesnt matter as long as its meaningful, thanx.

[finger_cruncher]

Originally posted by Rrhoads154
Ya I do that mental map a lot with solos 2. Its like you know where you r going before hand but dont know exactly the precise notes. I've really wanted to get in this style of playing (with the whole shred thing) but I've come to a loss. I just haven't found enuff material to play from to make it my own. Any sites or tricks to help me with this? As of now I can plaw those solos that r prtty fast, but not this type.But then again, speed really doesnt matter as long as its meaningful, thanx.

I know you were addressing Aiwass, but I thought I'd just give a pointer. It's not so much the type of solo you play, it's the technique that you use to approach it. The speed mainly comes from knowledge of the fretboard, and hence limitless selection of scales, and alternate picking. Once you've got those mastered, you can do any type of run or lick at any speed. At least that's what helped me break the boundary of pretty fast to fast. :)

[Slow Diver]

Nice job, man
Usually I don't like shredding but considering your age I think your playing is more than impressive. I'll be curious to see(hear) how your playing evolves with time

[Axl_Rose]

Me and my girl split on new years cos I found out that a few months back she cheated on me :( But tnite Ive taken her back.. duno y! But Ive got another girl lined up and am seein her too, so If we orignal girl aint changed av got a back up!

[Benoit]

Great playing dude

Nice technique and accuracy on your alter. picking is pretty good, sounds killer.

Tapping sounds clean, without much distortion it's even harder but you pull it nicely.

The only remark I may do is when you do alternate picking, try to do larger runs, otherwise it sounds a little too much like an exercise. Repeating patterns are great to display speed but with the level of accuracy that you have, longer runs would have a better impact. At least it's what I think. Just a personal view.

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Okay, that was some brilliant playing, I'm impressed. For your age, that's just amazing.

[Death55]

Originally posted by Yngtchie Blacksteen
The only remark I may do is when you do alternate picking, try to do larger runs, otherwise it sounds a little too much like an exercise.
Thats true but i dont think he wanted to do longer runs because he said that he doesnt want to end up with too much shredding in it. Also the backing didnt last that long so if he used longer runs then he would of run out of time to put some of the other parts in.

I just checked out the version chris did. It was very good. Maybe we should do a similar thing on this forum... make a backing track and loads of people record a solo over the top and see who's done the best piece !

[beginner]

I´m a bit depressed now, because I´m the same age as you and have such worse playing- ok I´m playing for 10 months but although.

I guess you could really get a famous player someday or at least vey known in your area for being an amazing guitarist, what I think you already are!

[aiwass]

Originally posted by Death55
Originally posted by Yngtchie Blacksteen
The only remark I may do is when you do alternate picking, try to do larger runs, otherwise it sounds a little too much like an exercise.
Thats true but i dont think he wanted to do longer runs because he said that he doesnt want to end up with too much shredding in it. Also the backing didnt last that long so if he used longer runs then he would of run out of time to put some of the other parts in.

I just checked out the version chris did. It was very good. Maybe we should do a similar thing on this forum... make a backing track and loads of people record a solo over the top and see who's done the best piece !

Your quote is messed up. That wasn't Yngtchie.

Anyway, by "longer" runs, I think he meant wider patterns, á la Yngwie. I'll bear that piece of advice in mind! :D

And to everyone, thanks for the kind words!

[beginner]

One questions: How much is your average practice time a day? And how long has it been in your earlier days?

[aiwass]

Depends on whether I have school or not. I try to get a good 4 hours or so every day. If I have vacation, anything from 5 to 10 hours, and during periods of hectic schoolwork, 3 hours if I'm lucky. I also try to get a day off every 1.5 - 2 weeks. Good for the muscles and tendons to rest now and then.

[beginner]

That´s nearly exactly what my plan looks like, and I hate it when iI´m so mitivated to play very much, but I can´t offer more than 1-2 hours because of school, although I´m actually a good student who doesn´t have to do much work for school. That´s why I´m a little pissed off today because tomorrow holidays are over!

[The Ace]

On second thought, I've completely changed my mind. I am actually very happy with my self in soloing and improvising. But I would like to learn more. The real stuff I didn't know about your playing was the sweep picking runs. Now that I've learned how to do those better, many of the guitar I've heard as shred seems a lot easier. Of course, me and you are kind of alike, aiwass. Both young and practice a whole lot.
Oh and Beginner, it is important to know how to practice right, remember that 4 hours of playing stuff that you've masterd is no where near playing 30 minutes of stuff that you need work on.
Rock on all you guys!
Remember to practice until your fingers bleed, then play some more!
I'll bet most of you guys have skills almost or beyond aiwass (well actually aiwass is pretty great, but if you can pass that its great), you just don't really know it. Its important to record yourself and pick apart the playing that needs work. That'll really help

[beginner]

to roads: I think that I practice right, I know where I have to work on(creativity, improvisation,..) and where I am already at a good way(technique, or I at least think I am)
For example: When I play 4 hours I do: At first an hour technique(alternate and sweep and a bit legato) Then I train my ear for a half hour or even more( I do this with Ear Master Pro program), then I go in the beasement jamming, try inventing some melodies, riffs, for 1 and a half hours, and the rest hour I do again technique exercises.

I personally think that´s quite a good training, especially for lead guitar. In my rest free time I listen to some music and learn also a bit theory stuff, which is both also important or at least helpful to get a good musician.

[Benoit]

Yep wider patterns, that's what I meant.

With the accuracy and speed you have, you could fit a lot of "wider" patterns. But please don't fall into Yngwies 4 patterns for life music.

Don't get me wrong, I love he's stuff, but he uses the same few patterns over and over again. 10 secs of a yngwie solo and he already used 2 of his 4 patterns lol

Aiwass, ever thought of joining GuitarWar? You got the chops for it.

[aiwass]

Unfortunately I don't have the time for it. I barely get any time to play at all lately, and the only reason I could record that clip was the Christmas holidays.

[The Ace]

Originally posted by beginner

For example: When I play 4 hours I do: At first an hour technique(alternate and sweep and a bit legato) Then I train my ear for a half hour or even more( I do this with Ear Master Pro program), then I go in the beasement jamming, try inventing some melodies, riffs, for 1 and a half hours, and the rest hour I do again technique exercises.


Ya that seems like a great excersize man! Becoming great does take some planning..... but the thing is you won't realize it. All of a sudden you'll play somthing that you knevr thot you cud play... and you'll be like whoa i'm awesome! But then you just gotta go and play som mor and become evn better. You have a good approach to it. Send me som of ur playin som time, maybe ill send you som of mine....

[Niklasl]

I've been trying to download you tricks for a amount o time now but none of them worked. Nice to finally hear you. Awesome man ! Heja norge ! Fan jag blir bara avundsjuk :-)

[aiwass]

Those tricks aren't working. The soundfiles are f'ed up. Come to think of it, could the moderators delete them or something? Not sure if I can.