Members PRSnotPOS Posted March 16, 2007 Members Share Posted March 16, 2007 Hey guys! I wanted to post a clip I recorded tonight. I haven't posted anything in a while and I wanted to get a critique on this. I want to know your likes, dislikes, suggestions for improvement, and anything else you can think of. Please try to ignore the crappy tone, I know it sucks. It's the mic I'm recording through. But I'll be getting one the those things by M-Audio that lets you record your guitar onto your computer this summer. But anyways, here's the link: http://media.putfile.com/Trent---Daze-Never-End Oh and while you're at it, I just bought a midi controller and composed this piece through Reason 3.0 the other day. I'd like a critique of this one too! Here's the link: http://media.putfile.com/Trent---Piano-Piece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted March 16, 2007 Members Share Posted March 16, 2007 The guitar tone is what I like about it. Then parts of the melody. Nice start on a cool riff generally. Needs declunking. What's up with downloading off Putfile? Futpile in that regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PRSnotPOS Posted March 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 17, 2007 BUMP!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Caffeinated Cat Posted March 17, 2007 Members Share Posted March 17, 2007 Is the intonation on your guitar way off? The lead line sounds out of tune with the rhythm track. It's either that or the scale you're playing clashes rudely with the rhythm track. Once you get that straightened out, I'd practice through the lead line a bunch more times (probably 200 - 300) until it flows much more smoothly and confidently. Overall, learn about keys and how chords and scales relate to each other - that will improve your sound immensely. Get the intonation checked / tune it. Don't mean to sound overly critical, but I assume you want honest opinions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PRSnotPOS Posted March 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 Is the intonation on your guitar way off? The lead line sounds out of tune with the rhythm track. It's either that or the scale you're playing clashes rudely with the rhythm track. Once you get that straightened out, I'd practice through the lead line a bunch more times (probably 200 - 300) until it flows much more smoothly and confidently. Overall, learn about keys and how chords and scales relate to each other - that will improve your sound immensely. Get the intonation checked / tune it. Don't mean to sound overly critical, but I assume you want honest opinions You know, this is funny because I always get someone who says something about my intonation. My intonation is actually not off. It's the mic that I used to record the guitar that makes it sound off. It's a standard POS computer mic and it tends to distort everything. I had an ex-jazz student teach me all of my theory so I am by no means a theory n00b. The entire song is in Gb major with the exception of the second chord. One thing that might have thrown you off is that around 0:58 I hit the wrong note. That may have made it sound off. There is usually great thought in all the notes I play. You have to listen to crappy recordings differently than you do with studio recordings. With studio recordings all the work is done for your ears. Your ears don't have to figure anything out because everything is nice and touched up for you. If you really pay attention to what I'm playing then the sounds will make sense. If you still think I'm playing off key, figure out what I'm playing and then play it yourself and you'll see it fits. I'm not offended by what you said and I want to say thank you for your advice but I just don't want you thinking I don't know what I'm playing. I just have crappy tools to record on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GrooveD70 Posted March 19, 2007 Members Share Posted March 19, 2007 You know, this is funny because I always get someone who says something about my intonation. My intonation is actually not off. It's the mic that I used to record the guitar that makes it sound off. It's a standard POS computer mic and it tends to distort everything. I had an ex-jazz student teach me all of my theory so I am by no means a theory n00b. The entire song is in Gb major with the exception of the second chord. One thing that might have thrown you off is that around 0:58 I hit the wrong note. That may have made it sound off. There is usually great thought in all the notes I play. You have to listen to crappy recordings differently than you do with studio recordings. With studio recordings all the work is done for your ears. Your ears don't have to figure anything out because everything is nice and touched up for you. If you really pay attention to what I'm playing then the sounds will make sense. If you still think I'm playing off key, figure out what I'm playing and then play it yourself and you'll see it fits. I'm not offended by what you said and I want to say thank you for your advice but I just don't want you thinking I don't know what I'm playing. I just have crappy tools to record on.I think it realy kewl and brave to post your stuff and have people speak their mind about it. You can't help but get better with that kind of attitude. I agree that the lead line sounds out of tune. Not to ignore what you said about your recording equipment,but another possibility could be your left hand. I have played with many people who play with light gauge strings and squeeze to the point of pulling the notes off pitch, others unintentionally bend the strings slightly. This can make an in tune that is "correctly" intonated guitar sound out of tune. But if you are sure that it is your mic, then this is no help!The other critique would be that I think you need to develop your vibrato. Good vibrato would add A LOT to your melody. It just sounds stiff right now. Other than that keep on trucking brutha!If you want a chance to tell me how much my krap sux, you can check it out here. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=74134784 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PRSnotPOS Posted March 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 I think it realy kewl and brave to post your stuff and have people speak their mind about it. You can't help but get better with that kind of attitude. I agree that the lead line sounds out of tune. Not to ignore what you said about your recording equipment,but another possibility could be your left hand. I have played with many people who play with light gauge strings and squeeze to the point of pulling the notes off pitch, others unintentionally bend the strings slightly. This can make an in tune that is "correctly" intonated guitar sound out of tune. But if you are sure that it is your mic, then this is no help! The other critique would be that I think you need to develop your vibrato. Good vibrato would add A LOT to your melody. It just sounds stiff right now. Other than that keep on trucking brutha! If you want a chance to tell me how much my krap sux, you can check it out here. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=74134784 I am a pretty aggressive and sloppy player so this might be a possibility. I'm going to try to work on not pushing so hard. I have only been playing for 2 1/2 years so technique is what is really hindering me. I think I try to work on too many things at once sometimes. I have SOME vibrato but the mic doesn't pick it up well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dubb Posted March 20, 2007 Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 I played this for a couple of my non-musician-type friends before posting so I could get a few unfiltered opinions, so here's the straight dope.I think that people have already pretty well covered the technical side. Aside from the general feeling of the lead guitar being very slightly out of tune, the only real "problem" was that your timing was a bit sketchy in places. Metronome it .Now for the side that matters (). The melody was simply not appealing. My friends initially complained that it was too sparse (not enough notes, too much space between them, etc). I think the chief complaint, however, was that that the melody just wasn't interesting. There was no hook, nothing that stood out and commanded your attention. I'm not saying that there weren't melodic ideas at work, because I could recognize that there were, but I am saying that those ideas weren't really effective. It's hard to come up with suggestions for such a subjective aspect of someone's playing, so instead of "suggestions" I'll give you one "idea": consider the overall "shape" of the melody, the "pitch direction." Where does the melody lead? Where are the peaks? I don't think any further explanation is necessary on that point.Be wary of the familiarity effect: the more times we hear something, the more fond of it we become (basic psychological principle). Often when we've played something over and over, we tend to start overlooking the faults/errors; we may actually become fond of them. Someone listening to it for the first time, however, will have no such bias. So the trick is to try your best to judge your music with "a fresh set of ears." But hey, that's why you're posting in this thread, right? I hope I was helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PRSnotPOS Posted March 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 I played this for a couple of my non-musician-type friends before posting so I could get a few unfiltered opinions, so here's the straight dope. I think that people have already pretty well covered the technical side. Aside from the general feeling of the lead guitar being very slightly out of tune, the only real "problem" was that your timing was a bit sketchy in places. Metronome it . Now for the side that matters ( ). The melody was simply not appealing. My friends initially complained that it was too sparse (not enough notes, too much space between them, etc). I think the chief complaint, however, was that that the melody just wasn't interesting. There was no hook, nothing that stood out and commanded your attention. I'm not saying that there weren't melodic ideas at work, because I could recognize that there were, but I am saying that those ideas weren't really effective. It's hard to come up with suggestions for such a subjective aspect of someone's playing, so instead of "suggestions" I'll give you one "idea": consider the overall "shape" of the melody, the "pitch direction." Where does the melody lead? Where are the peaks? I don't think any further explanation is necessary on that point. Be wary of the familiarity effect: the more times we hear something, the more fond of it we become (basic psychological principle). Often when we've played something over and over, we tend to start overlooking the faults/errors; we may actually become fond of them. Someone listening to it for the first time, however, will have no such bias. So the trick is to try your best to judge your music with "a fresh set of ears." But hey, that's why you're posting in this thread, right? I hope I was helpful. Actually yea that helps a lot. My friend who taught me all my theory always tells me I'm playing too many notes in my melodies. He'd always make fun of me or something if I play too many notes and then we'd get into the arguements. I'm starting to realize that, other than the theory, he usually doesn't know what he's talking about. Maybe that's why he's an EX-jazz student. LOL. Anyone in the Richmond area need a new jam buddy?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Caffeinated Cat Posted March 24, 2007 Members Share Posted March 24, 2007 If you think it's your equipment, try recording direct without a microphone. My recording setup is pretty cheap, I run the guitar into an amp sim straight into my 4-tracker, so that takes the cheap mike out of the equation. I'm sorry if I assumed you didn't know your theory, just a natural thing when you're posting on the internet and can only guess about what the other person knows and stuff. No offense intended Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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