For my initial assessment I played hysteria by muse. I chose this song because it showcases my abilities through vocals and guitar. due to only learning it the same day I preformed it, there were some flaws but overall it went well.
In future I need to practice with a metronome since I drifted out of time at times especially in switches between different sections of the song. I tended to go furthest out of time when transitioning to the solo as I was double picking witch I have not perfected yet. Another thing I could improve in future is experimenting with a more unique sounds from just distortion and reverb witch do sound good but not unique, i tried to compensate for this by applying some tremolo on certain parts of the solo. During the playing I felt stiff in my left hand so I need to research into stretching techniques in the future to avoid this happening again. I also used humbucker bridge pickups when playing witch can handle more heavy tones better and sound full and warm witch i chose to do as the characteristics match the song better.
One thing that went well was the transition between my standard vocal range to my head voice witch I felt added more emotion and feel to the song. The octaves at the intro, outro and after one of the choruses comes across as a full and interesting texture witch I enjoy when I listen to the song and I played them well. In future I could record the guitar and vocals through an audio interface for a more crisp and clear sound witch will sound more professionally done and therefore more enjoyable to listen to, I could watch videos to help me understand how to do that correctly. However I do believe filming on a phone camera worked well due to the high quality camera of modern phones. Upon listening back I could also balance the dynamics on vocals and guitar to be more balanced and one not overpower the other.
I learnt this song mostly by ear but did find ultimate guitar tabs for parts of the solo as i was struggling to figure out how to play some parts – 2:12 for example- in future i do need to work on figuring out how to lean more complex guitar parts by ear.
Overall i think the recording went well but there were however parts that i could improve with a bit more practice on the song, such as becoming more confident with lyrics and gaining more fluidity in my playing of the solo.
specific-add more detail and spend more time evaluating and more in depth.
measurable- when I get a improved grade.
achievable- yes with practice.
realistic-yes.
time- next assignment.
s-improve guitar solo by practicing the solo more and refining techniques.
m- when it comes together smoothly and on time.
achievable-yes because I’m close.
realistic- yes with practice.
time bound- if I play it live.