Initial Assessment

This is my first video my plan was to play the solo all the way to the end of the song but I had problems with recording the solo where it wouldn’t sound in time. I had no problem playing the solo with the backing track I just couldn’t record it right as I was recording the audio from a phone screen recorder. Because of the huge delay caused from the screen recorder I did the solo without a backing tack to save myself from breaking something .

This is the ending of the song with the backing track as it was not as difficult to record this part of the song without it sounding out of time as it just a pretty basic riff. i had problems with the ending solo again as it would sound out of time i would have to play the notes on the solo really early so it wouldn’t sound out of time when i finished recording there was some type of delay whilst recording both of these but i managed to get the ending solo right as it is no where near as difficult as the first one.

Why did I choose this piece?

I chose this piece as i knew i don’t have the skills to play the guitar skills to play the ending of stairway to heaven I wanted to push myself and try something on a level i though i would never reach. However through pushing myself I was able to play most of the solo within the 2nd day of learning it I immediately realised the difference on how i move my fingers around the fret board me pushing myself was a good thing. another reason for why i have chose this piece is because I am simply really into this song at the moment I couldn’t perform m any other song at this time as I wasn’t into other songs as much as this one. I also remember listening to this song for the first time I told myself i will never be able to play guitar that well so i decided to challenge myself as i felt like i have grown my skills on guitar over the summer.

What did I do well?

On the second video id say i played the riff with the backing track almost perfect it just sound a bit out of time in the beginning I also think I did the ending solo pretty well as well with just a couple mistakes. On my solo without the backing track I think I played it relatively well I missed out on a bit of the solo as I got confused a bit because I had no backing track. The backing helps me play which part is where.

What could I improve on?

On my solo without the backing I didn’t play very smoothly it sounds a bit rugged especially from 0:17 to 0:22 I could’ve practiced that part a bit more so it can sound much better I missed a bit of the solo from 0:26 they’re should’ve been a couple more notes but I forgot about it as I was playing without a backing track. I also played the ending really bad i need to practice that more. One of the main lesson I learned it to not learn a piece of music in which I only had 2 to 3 day to practice. On my second video the only thing that I really need to do is to play the riff just a bit slower as it sounds a bit out of time other than that it sound that bad at all.

How could I improve next time?

I should record my initial assessment at college next time so i shouldn’t have many recording problems as I did with this one. I should’ve also recorded at college as my guitar amp isn’t that good the tone doesn’t sound nice. I should also practice my pieces of music in gaps as I was practicing this piece non stop which would sometimes make me very frustrated as I would constantly make the same mistakes but I had to continue as I had a deadline. And I should pick a piece of music that should push me but not to this level.

Overall I enjoyed the intensity of practicing this piece I felt pushed to somewhat of my limit on guitar skills. I am looking forward to improving more and more and hopefully be a guitar player just as good as Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page and play solos like this like it is a chore.

In order to improve my initial assessment I need to pick a song that I will more realistically be able to perfect playing before the dead line.

I need to record my next initial assessment at college to not have as many recording issues as I did with this one

I also need to work more on practicing my fingers for a guitar piece for an initial assessment