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    • #14472
      Doug Marks
      Keymaster

      I’ve wanted to do this video for a long time but haven’t because I knew it would be a major undertaking.  It may not look like it but I’ve put about 30 hours into the production of this.  My new lessons are tightly integrated with Guitar Pro so I decided it was necessary to create this.  Let me know what you think… unless you don’t like it. lol

      Metal Method Guitar Instructor

    • #14480
      superblonde
      Keymaster

      Excellent GP6 intro video. Good showing the “skip ahead” time at 1:20 to bypass all those “this is boring!” comments 😀

      I have mixed feelings on the GP6 tab store. Well, not so mixed. I don’t like it at all. I bought one tab and the GP6 tab store limitations are so severe, that I won’t buy another tab from the store. (Sure maybe some of this is due to song licensing restrictions but it is a huge handicap after spending the couple bucks. I’d pay double or triple simply to remove these restrictions.) First, have to be online to access the tab that I already bought. Cant save a local copy. Can’t modify the tab’s instruments at all in some cases. The tab I bought had automated volume and automated panning on the instruments, so I was unable to use it to practice in the way I wanted (simply: mix instruments towards one ear, lead part in other ear, or etc). Can’t print a tab. Can’t export to MIDI. The tab had 3 guitars, I’m playing 2 of those parts at various times, but can’t change the tab to match this. One of the reasons I bought the tab was to have correct rhythm guitar + bass + drum backing to play along with, at various tempos, and loop certain measures, and make a practice track of this, and record my own parts (like in Reaper or Garageband). Couldn’t do it. GP6 forbids cut & paste from purchased tabs. Then I wanted to modify the tab to make it more like the way I play it (simplified), but then the tab can’t be saved so this is useless, all changes would be lost. As for not being able to print the purchased tab, I ended up making screen captures of the window, simply so I could view it on my tablet outside of GP6. So many things are impossible because of the tab store restrictions. I ended up muting each instrument individually, playing it in GP6 at various tempos, recording this with my soundcard to make a wav file (which is technically a form of pirating), then, taking each instruments wav file into the DAW independently, syncing them back up, and then making final mixes like I wanted. All that so I could get around their limitations, to learn a song, that’s crazy. Took a long time to do, as well. My hack for getting the wav files worked great to learn the song, but GP6 did not really help, it got in the way. That’s a rant against GP6 not about your video though. You mention at 3:17 “Yes, You can export backing tracks!”. That is true if you don’t buy the tab from the GP6 tab store.

      One GP6 feature I have been using recently is for songs in a different tuning. I get the tab, it’s in Eb for example. But when running thru song practice, I often don’t want to retune just to run thru the one song. So I go to the guitar instrument, click the guitar icon, change the tuning, but I use the normal “Apply” check icon, not the “Transpose+” check icon. Then I repeat with the bass instrument. Result: I can play along with the tab in GP6, tab has not changed, same fretting, but I’m in standard tuning and so is the GP6. I export this track at a few different tempos, then I can play along with the standard-tuning-version mp3 later without needing the computer. I mention this because it seems like one of those hidden features but it is very helpful for practice. Don’t forget to sing along in the correct key though because GP6 won’t transcribe anyone’s voice 😀

      About the “Repeat the Countdown” part at 9:46. Instead of Repeat the Countdown, I like to highlight the 1 (or 2) measures before the part I want to practice, in the loop. It seems to work better for my ear this way. That acts as my cue to play the isolated part. Otherwise if I just practice the isolated part, I’m not also practicing the “when to come in and play that part” listening skill. Sometimes I forget how to chain the parts together. Does that make sense? Maybe it’s simply my preference right now.

      It could be helpful to show the panning. One of my favorite features. Drum in center, bass 30% to the left, lead guitar all the way to the left (for learning.. after learning the part, then it’s muted). Then practice with headphones, with guitar amp’s phones in the right ear.

      There’s a free GP6 tab player for Kindle Fire tablet in the Amazon app store, it says it can play GPX. So iOS, Android, and Fire, are should be good to go.

      Now about practicing with GP6 tempo slowdown vs. click-click metronome practice. I think GP6 beats the click-metronome hands down. Especially at very slowed down tempos like 25% to 50%. Throw away the click-click metronome. Maybe this is a contentious opinion. 😀

      At “1:50” – “You set the tempo. You play along with the tempo that is right for you.” A warning could be in order here 😮 Regarding playing too fast or beyond clean speed.. Alternatively stated, the real benefit of GP6 being, the perfect play-along partner who purposely keeps it dialed back. Better to always start even well-known, often practiced songs with the tempo setting at “80%” the first run thru? I think so.

      I'm an intermediate student of Metal Method. I play seitannic heavy metal. All Kale Seitan! ♯ ♮ ♭ ø ° Δ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
      And on the Seventh Day, Mustaine said: ∇ ⨯ E = - ∂B / ∂t ; and there was Thrash; and it had a ♭3; and it was good.

      • #14485
        Doug Marks
        Keymaster

        I wasn’t aware of the limitations on their tab.  Bottom line… people are spoiled by the illegal tab that’s found all over the Internet.  If it weren’t for that, you would probably be happier with their licensed songs.  It’s very difficult to do that stuff legally.  It’s also a shame.  I did a few songs in the 80’s by Guns N Roses,  Ozzy, Dokken, Hendrix and Zep.  All legal and licensed for five years.  Never made a penny off of that stuff after the licensing and attorney fees.

        The count-in every loop is really for special situations, like my Licks lesson.  It’s not a bad idea to be able to play a lick without needing to play the preceding measures.  That’s especially true for practicing from the Classic Guitar Licks tab because the licks don’t necessarily belong together.  I’m being argumentative.  90% of the time I agree, play the preceding measures to get in the groove.

        I’ve had a relationship with Guitar Pro since the 90’s.  I always thought that they were the best but I decided to go with other software because I could make a decent commission on sales.  A couple of years ago I just decided to go with the best.  As the saying goes, nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.

        Metal Method Guitar Instructor

    • #14482
      rorygfan
      Participant

      Doug- Good idea for helping to eliminate some basic customer support problems and smart marketing too, you have the guitar pro focused url’s and can redirect current guitar-pro users to tie-in and buy your guitar lessons.  Hope that works out well.  Guitar pro allows you to import existing multipart midi files like drums as you mentioned- and specifically for my application where the files have included a flute or other instrument for the vocal parts- I’ve found to be very productive into learning chord/melodies/fills on guitar, and focus on that versus all the time required to listen and hand transcribe the melody from scratch,  the only issue is after you import the midi files you need to be rearrange the computer “chosen” fret positions to one’s that are practical- it can get strange to jump all over the neck and laughable sometimes the way the imports occur.

      Thanks SB for bringing that songbook thing to my attention, I was going to purchase some RG tabs from their store and if it’s online only I would be pissed too at all the work-around b.s. you have to do recording it, etc.  You might look into getting the midi files if you can find them instead. Not that they will be exact or won’t require tweaking, it’s perhaps another optional work-around.

    • #14486
      Doug Marks
      Keymaster

      Thanks Dave.  This is a project I have planned to do for a long time for the reasons that you mentioned.  About anytime I talk to a student on the phone I always mention GP because it does make my teaching much more effective.  As I’m working on the current lessons I often question the tempo.  With Guitar Pro, the tempo is unimportant.  Pick your own.

      Metal Method Guitar Instructor

    • #14487
      metalj
      Participant

      I’m totally spoiled with ultimate guitar tabs. But I like guitar pro for other reasons like creating my own tabs and PDFs and stuff. I hope they come out with a great new version of guitar pro soon.

      Jay aka the letter J

      • #14502
        Doug Marks
        Keymaster

        I understand that GP 7 is just around the corner.  That’s coming from my contacts within the company.  No date yet but it is expected soon.

        Metal Method Guitar Instructor

      • #14503
        Doug Marks
        Keymaster

        I understand that GP 7 is just around the corner.  That’s coming from my contacts within the company.  No date yet but it is expected soon.

        Metal Method Guitar Instructor

      • #14505
        metalj
        Participant

        Awesome I will definitely get it. I have a part 2 of my book brewing in my head and I intend to use programming to automate tab creation in guitar pro.

        Jay aka the letter J

    • #14488
      Sean
      Participant

      This tutorial is going to really help me. I wasn’t using GP6 because honestly I was intimidated by it. I couldn’t find any good explanations on YouTube. It has sat dormant for three months.
      Also side note the camera angle and distance at the 7:48 mark, is the best in my opinion. It gives you that one on one feeling.

      Tell me and I will forget ,show me and I'll remember, involve me and I'll understand

    • #14489
      superblonde
      Keymaster

      About the tab store (off topic from the video) I honestly wonder how they determine their pricing for the tabs. With the number of hours I spend simply trying to initially get materials together to learn a song, only paying $1.99 per song is ridiculous if it is not helping them make ends meet. I could buy a print book from a band for $20 that has 10 “top hit” songs on paper. But I can’t play along with that and those books don’t have bass, drums, or even the correct song form. So instead I get several versions of tab from online sources (nearly always each one is incorrect, sometimes not even correct key), compare them, some might be ASCII some might be GP5, start writing out my own song chart on paper, all of this takes several hours just to start out. Quite simply I would be willing to pay $20-$30 for a single GP6 tab store song, if it didn’t have restrictions, if it was correct, if the song also had multiple versions (like, simplified solo version, full solo version, etc). Yup that’s right, I’d pay at least twenty bucks for a 100% verified correct GP6 tab, at a minimum. And that’s even when I don’t necessarily have twenty bucks to throw around. The tab store’s restrictions are just another example of the music industry locking up it’s intellectual property and shooting itself in the foot. Otherwise my alternative to learning a song is to take a local guitar lesson, that’s easily $30, and the result would be worse than buying a printed tab book, I’d get some chicken scratch on tab paper that also might or might not be the authentic version of the song, and no other instruments to go along with that chicken scratch tab either. Ok enough ranting now I’ll finally get back to practicing 😀

      However. It’s curious that some Metal Method tabs are not in the GP6 tab store as separate ‘exercise songs’. Ever consider that idea? Considering all the restrictions Ive complained about.. these would protect the MM tabs as well.

      Sean, definitely check out GP6 sooner rather than later. Just double-click any of Doug’s exercise files so it loads up, and then hit the play button. The other buttons will become obvious in time.. but all you really need at first is simply: Play, Stop, and that tempo box. 😀 GP6 is so cool. The only thing which could possibly make it cooler, would be to adopt an all black, blacker than black leather color scheme. And also if it merged Audacity into itself. Then it could become the most perfect software ever.

      Also Doug isn’t your original S&A “How to use GP6 Speed Trainer” video on youtube somewhere, if so, you could point to that one too.

      I'm an intermediate student of Metal Method. I play seitannic heavy metal. All Kale Seitan! ♯ ♮ ♭ ø ° Δ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
      And on the Seventh Day, Mustaine said: ∇ ⨯ E = - ∂B / ∂t ; and there was Thrash; and it had a ♭3; and it was good.

      • #14506
        Doug Marks
        Keymaster

        Yes, I’ve done a few GP6 videos.  The difference is, I tried to kick the production values up a notch on this one.  I agree with what you’re saying about being willing to pay more for an unrestricted file.  I also understand the artists’ perspective. Once the Genie’s out of the bottle you can’t get it back in.  You pay $30 bucks for the video.  A friend makes a copy of the file while you’re out of the room and posts it to Pirate Bay.  There are many wonderful things about this era and many darker elements that go along with the technology.

        Metal Method Guitar Instructor

    • #14490
      superblonde
      Keymaster

      and specifically for my application where the files have included a flute or other instrument for the vocal parts- I’ve found to be very productive into learning chord/melodies/fills

      Oh on this topic, I have used GP6 to practice vocals. The idea works the same. I can’t hit the pitch correctly on some lyric word, so I get a tab with the vocal melody as the piano instrument (or quickly write 1 or 2 measures myself), slow down that section to 50% tempo, and then practice the sing-along. Sometimes holding a vocal note while looking at the guitar tuner to see if my vocal really is the right note, or not. Basically I have needed this for “gotta hit those high notes” type of practice. I don’t know how others practice vocals but this is how I have approached that problem (I am a bit suspicious that frontmen do not actually practice at all).

      Also, the vocal scales that I use to practice vocals on a weekly basis, I originally made in GP6 too. It was simply much easier than trying to use a MIDI DAW. Amazing! I have been using those GP6 tracks for maybe a year now, time flies. Because I made them in GP6, I know the note pitches in each vocal exercise block. Much better than a vocal instructor just progressively hitting notes on a keyboard (or sometimes making keyboard mistakes) and then not telling me how high I’m singing on any given day.

      That’s also way off topic of the video. But GP6 is not just for Guitar. 😀

      I'm an intermediate student of Metal Method. I play seitannic heavy metal. All Kale Seitan! ♯ ♮ ♭ ø ° Δ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
      And on the Seventh Day, Mustaine said: ∇ ⨯ E = - ∂B / ∂t ; and there was Thrash; and it had a ♭3; and it was good.

    • #14493
      rorygfan
      Participant

      Oh on this topic, I have used GP6 to practice vocals. The idea works the same. I can’t hit the pitch correctly on some lyric word, so I get a tab with the vocal melody as the piano instrument (or quickly write 1 or 2 measures myself), slow down that section to 50% tempo, and then practice the sing-along.

      You are getting alot more use of GP6 than I am then, and for that matter probably most people- great ideas you mention.  That application and those exercises you should document with your forum postit-sticky notes or start another thread explaining that for others as it would be helpful.

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