My take on St. James Infirmary

[tomgiemza]

I consider myself as an amateur, but showing my songs to the public is my way to encourage myself to play better. So here it is:

[Michael Messer]

Hi Tom,

You are doing great and I am impressed that you want to share your music as a way of encouragement for yourself.

If I as an old timer that has been around all this for many decades playing, recording, performing and teaching, may comment to encourage you and help you to improve....

Your playing and creativity are great and more than anything, your passion and determination are not going to let anything stop you. So if I were you I would look at two areas of your playing. Your timing is not consistent, you are wandering in and out of time with the rhythm guitar and the two soloing guitars. This is a very common thing to do and requires being calm and relaxed about each phrase, and not rushing the notes because you are excited. Just hold back and consider the pulse, the beat and the rhythm at all times. You are also doing the same thing with your singing, you are rushing the phrases, just take more time to say each word.

The other part of your playing you should work on, and it all takes time which I completely understand, is your pitching of the notes. On both of the guitars you are soloing on, there are notes that are out of tune. On the resonator it is mostly the slide that is not hitting the notes, and on the electric it is when you bend the strings that you are not hitting the notes.

I am really only saying these things to be helpful to you and not in any way to be critical. I love to see people enthusiastic and teaching themselves to play. That is what I did and actually I am still doing. We are all just learners trying to play as well as we can and it takes a whole lifetime to achieve. Anyone that thinks they can play well enough and has nothing to learn, is a fool.

MORE MORE MORE >>>>KEEP ON PLAYING THOSE GUITARS!

Shine On
Michael

[tomgiemza]

Thank You Michael for the tips. "not rushing the notes because you are excited" - I think you have put in the words what is my biggest problem. I always have fun with creating and arranging, but when it comes to recording I don't feel comfortable and I want to just get on with it. And I have to develop better skills.
I think electric solo is the worst part, I try to limit myself to just a couple of takes, because otherwise I would never end any record. But I feel I should only leave the space for the first solo

[Michael Messer]

Aug 5, 2022 9:54:13 GMT tomgiemza said:

Thank You Michael for the tips. "not rushing the notes because you are excited" - I think you have put in the words what is my biggest problem. I always have fun with creating and arranging, but when it comes to recording I don't feel comfortable and I want to just get on with it. And I have to develop better skills.
I think electric solo is the worst part, I try to limit myself to just a couple of takes, because otherwise I would never end any record. But I feel I should only leave the space for the first solo

Tom, I am happy to be able to help.

Maybe, don't worry bout the recording for a while, just concentrate on your playing. You can use your phone to record like a note book, so you can hear what you played.

The more you lay back on the beat and not rush, the better the music will sound. Try waiting as long as possible before playing each note. It is not just about the first and last notes of a phrase, it has to be all the notes. When we write there must be space between the words or you cannot read it >>WhenIwritetheremustbespacebetweenthe wordsoryoucannotreadit. Music is the same.

Keep on playing!

Shine On
Michael

[mikeholland]

Great effort Tom, I enjoyed your performance and style very much!

[blueshome1]

Enjoyed that.
I do think you might simplify your arrangement slightly and this might tighten things up a bit. Also you should work on singing, not chanting. The song doesn't need a great vocal range to get away with singing it.
Looking forward to hearing more!