Please Vote On The Riff Page Activity (Read Below Poll Options)

Calvin Phillips said:

Syn also watched and liked MANY videos last month. You're not looking at all the activity.

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I did look at all the activity, it's all on his profile. The same days I was talking about were the days he he also liked the videos. But that isn't the point. The point was that the community would like him to be more active throughout the month, not just like the videos on the days that he posts only a few days out of the month. The more that he would be on and engage and comment, the more the community engagement and comments would go up. But of course we all understand he has other obligations.

A.C. said:

I did look at all the activity, it's all on his profile. The same days I was talking about were the days he he also liked the videos. But that isn't the point. The point was that the community would like him to be more active throughout the month, not just like the videos on the days that he posts only a few days out of the month. The more that he would be on and engage and comment, the more the community engagement and comments would go up. But of course we all understand he has other obligations.

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I agree with you. And that's something I've talked about with some friends. They all say the same thing: if Syn were more active on the website, the engagement here would be way higher than it is now.
But, like you also said, I understand that he has other things in life, besides this community. Tho I'd really love if someday we could see him interacting more here...

redlipsofdeceit said:

I agree with you. And that's something I've talked about with some friends. They all say the same thing: if Syn were more active on the website, the engagement here would be way higher than it is now.
But, like you also said, I understand that he has other things in life, besides this community. Tho I'd really love if someday we could see him interacting more here...

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Exactly. Of course we all appreciate the contributions that we do get from him (and PG as well), but we'll always want more. If someone asks "Should Syn be on here more?" we're not going to say no lol.

I think soon enough he'll be on here a bit more. Lots going on in the background, and he does lurk on here without us knowing it. Hopefully with the final unveiling of SynTV we'll see a lot more of him as well

Radu-Cristian Perde said:

CJ's videos were great!

But if can give my 2 cents (yes, I intended that) I feel like it really comes down to no one is really leading by example... so what we are left with is highly edited videos like you mention and all that stuff. And so I worry that maybe some people feel uncomfortable posting in the riff section because all they see is highly edited stuff and they feel and think subconsciously like they need to do that and to be at that level to post anything.

I don't think that the riff page emptied out and got filled with highly edited stuff and people who post their stuff and never appear again because the school turned more social. As far as I can remember, there's always been these sort of things happening. And it's not gonna change.

And a part of me feels like it's too easy to just blame it on external factors. So then I wonder, maybe we all just stopped feeding that page. Maybe we let it ''starve'' by not using it. And it may be for 1000s of different reasons. Sometimes life comes in the way, motivation leaves, frustration and also a feeling of insecurity maybe for some.

And so yeah, we could just say ''Hey, let's all make the riff page active again'' and I am sure that for a week or two it will get lots of videos and be back to how it is designed to be but if we turn it into an event and ''force'' it to happen, then people will again leave after the hype is gone.

Instead, what I suggest is to lead by example. Just do it. All of us who want to turn the riff page into an advice and feedback and all the good stuff page, well let's go there and do just that with consistency. With effort. And it's going to require effort and discipline at first but the more we all show how imperfect we are and how we all go through the same struggle, the more people who, for example, might be more introvert will get exposed to that and will see an opening that this is a ''safe space''. See it as a domino effect sort of...

So yeah, maybe we should just take a look at ourselves and how we can make this a better place and then take action. Take a look at what we have done and what we could do. Maybe instead of telling people how they should use this school we should just use this school in the way it was designed to be and so when someone comes and checks what's up, they'll know exactly what kind of place this is.

At least, that's what was on my mind.

But then again, what do I know. I'm a fucking bass player.

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Well said, I 100% agree!

Something just came to me. I do think the base of what the school was is still there. There are still people struggeling, looking for Help or Feedback, there are still helpful comments, Same for the Forum. And I dare to say it's Not much less than when the school started. Only everything around got so Massive that all the social activities, the Riff section Show Offs etc Overshadow the few students that are seeking to improve.

I mean Sure, there were many Threads with people looking for advice in the beginning. But I also remember that by checking in once a day, I saw EVERY Post on the school. It Just wasn't much compared to today.

Now that's Not Just negative. I guess the Point is that we had this conversation before and nothing really changed the Situation. Yeah all of us that seek to use this Site as a school should try to encourage Others to ask and Show their imperfections, by doing it yourself. But that's about all we can do.

I personally can't force myself to record a shitty Video of me practicing If I know what I need to Work on. There's Just No Point.
That's Just my 3 Cents (get it, 3? Cause it's one more than Radu or CJ has?)

MaN, this situation happened to me in the school days as well, when I missed one day at school, the next day I used to get the news that something big happened at the school, and I think the same thing happened here too after I watched this forum post just now, .

I leave reactions on posts, but I do admit that I don't comment very often, and I love to post here (I don't do it for any incentive or reward, my biggest reward is I get to play music and share it with you all) because man I really loveeee to play the guitarrrr and make music . This school is amazing, this family is amazing, and I just want to say that I am truly grateful and blessed to be a part of it!

I thought a bit about this. On a personal level, the answer is easy. My motivation on guitar is at an all time low right now, so the motivation to actively create or engage with user content is low as well. But that is honestly just a natural evolution of highs and lows and nothing to be worried about.

So moving on to site specific stuff: There are multiple reasons why I may or may not comment or even like a video. Like others in this thread have already mentioned, if it looks like a polished youtube or instagram video, I will probably scroll past or maybe leave a curtesy like.
Other than that, yeah it's superficial and typical for social media etc, but if I just see a 10 minute video with little written explanation or a hook, why I want to watch it, I will probably skip as well, or just leave a curtesy like (yeah, I see that you put work into this, but I don't have the energy to actually watch it right now, sorry). I know I can't actually exclude myself from this, I've posted 5 minute improvisation takes before . I'm not accusing anyone of doing something wrong, I'm just explaining when I'm more likely to just skip at the moment (with the general motivation problem in mind as well).

So, after some videos are just skipped or "acknowledged by like": Yeah, I've seen videos where the creator is actively asking for feedback and I don't write anything. A lot of times it is really just a factor of "Well, your technique is better than mine, so I'm not gonna be a critic of yours". Sometimes it may just be a case of "Well, there is is super nit picky thing, but I don't feel like going into that much detail right now, also I don't feel like arguing in case you don't agree". Other times, it is a case of not being able to judge what kind of feedback is even apropriate, or the right thing at exactly this point in the guitar journey of the video creator.
Example: Beginner on day 2 or so somewhat fumbles his/her way through the C major scale, or through their first chord change. I know I'm not gonna say ANYTHING about their mistakes, I know I was at this point just 16 months or so ago, and I know at this point of just really struggling through the super basic stuff I would have ignored any comment about "how to do it correctly". That point just came a couple of months later, after at least some basis of technique had formed.
In less extreme cases, it's always a bit complicated to judge between "This is something they obviously know and it will just take more time for them to really improve their technique in this direction" and "Okay, this may be helpful and new, without being too judgemental".

But yeah, in the end it still boils down to motivation.

Same for actually creating videos. The one string challenge was fun and all, but for more serious "progress" videos: When I have a new video idea and I have to ask myself: "Do I actually need specific help with a specific technique right now" or "Do I want to show something specific that I have learned?"
Most of the time, the idea does not fall into any of those categories, and then I just scrap it and don't post anything.


Okay, this was a huge bunch of "problem this, problem that" and mimimi . So when my motivation rises again (and it is only a question of "when", not "if"), I can maybe also look back on this reflection and see, which aspects I can actually improve myself, now that I made myself more aware of them. If anyone actually read this, thank you .

I think I only ever posted one riff, which was Afterlife, but that's due to me focusing on creating original music. And since I use MIDI and digital instruments for...basically everything, I don't really know what to comment on these. I even tried doing that on IG to gain some growth/exposure, but I literally don't know what to say . Since my shtick is that I'm more of a composer rather than an interpreter of music if you will, I don't feel the need to comment on this.

I find myself enjoying the forums more because, like the hermit that I am, I much enjoy spending time writing answers to topics usually found on forums. I guess I could post some "videos" of my riffs, though they'd be more visualizers than me playing. Not that I don't know how to play my riffs, it's just that the motivation to set up everything and attempt to record it is not there. Way easier for me to open Reaper, toss a few MIDI notes in, and export everything.

I don't really think this problem is exclusive to the website, it's a thing in general (see also my IG example from earlier, where aside from great tone, nice playing, etc. there's really nothing else there, other than promotion bots).

Someone leading by example would be good, but it's important that all of us be honest with ourselves: do we care/have enough time to invest to give some feedback? I know I don't, but again, that's because I've been busy writing music and somewhat promoting, what with it being my main thing now (I despise the word career because of the corporate hellholes I've been blessed with).

I dunno, maybe it's the nature of such content. but who knows, maybe if giving feedback gains some momentum, people might be more inclined to do so.

I've been a year and a few months in this beautiful community, there are times when there is a lot of activity and at times it's very quiet. I don't participate uploading riff videos and all that, but I love to see every advance, progress, the effort that each of you put in and the happiness it gives you. I support you guys in your videos, comment on them and want you to keep growing. I think the fact that Syn is not present influences a lot and perhaps the students become demotivated because they feel that they are not evaluated by him, and they do not receive the support they would really like. I propose the idea that you could do every month is to choose a student, to know you even better, see your progress and propose a more dynamic activity that month, Idk, i'm just trying to help, but always count on me I am here to support each of you always.

Ed Seith said:

I'm honestly not playing very much at all right now. I have some personal/physical reasons that I'll get into hopefully in the next few weeks and things should turn around then. If they do, I can commit to playing more, and I'll push to share more as well - the stuff I get to working on and looking for progress.

But I definitely also agree that the notable lack of Syn presents challenges for the community. It's a double-edged sword for him, really. In the early days of the site, it was almost entirely hardcore guitar players in training, and his commentary was an insightful reward. As the site got bigger, his comments turned into fifty responses of OMIGOD SYN WAVE AT ME PUT A BABY IN ME and that distracts from the whole meaning of the post. For example, I recently read an anecdote where Eminem went to his daughter's graduation or prom or something, and in order to ensure the spotlight stayed on her, he watched the whole thing from a nearby classroom so HIS PRESENCE didn't take away from her moment. I think Syn started seeing that happening here with well-meaning but misguided fans and retreated. I get that.

I don't know if there's a solution. I don't think impregnating all the fans would fix the problem. I mean, then I'd just be hitting him up for child support, and that's a whole different problem.

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Exactly, who wouldn't be excited to have their guitar hero like or comment on their post. At the same time it can get out of hand like Ed pointed out. I've heard him say (hopefully I'm not too off the mark) he made this school for us, so we could have a community that is built for guitarist by guitarist. I think like most of us he doesn't want the art of guitar playing to go away (neither do I) he spear headed this operation (as well as papa gates) and it is up to us to keep it going.

Get well soon Ed

So my anxiety riddled brain is overthinking things. I see a lot of comments here about people just showing off and I hope my videos haven't come across that way, not that I have anything to show off. I just like having a platform to show my progress that isn't strictly social media. But it's nice to have a place to share videos where fellow musicians will see it.

Gabby Heafy said:

I propose the idea that you could do every month is to choose a student, to know you even better, see your progress and propose a more dynamic activity that month, Idk, i'm just trying to help, but always count on me I am here to support each of you always.

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That actually gives me an idea. What if we did some kind of group project/contest where 2 or more people get paired up to do certain tasks and at the end of the week or month, the winning team gets a small prize or something. I haven't thought about the fine details, just an idea that came to mind when I read that part of her post

A.C. said:

That actually gives me an idea. What if we did some kind of group project/contest where 2 or more people get paired up to do certain tasks and at the end of the week or month, the winning team gets a small prize or something. I haven't thought about the fine details, just an idea that came to mind when I read that part of her post

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yeah it's a good idea, everything could be tried. More than a prize, give them the chance to be the outstanding student of the month or something like that. the idea is to focus on giving them more motivation and more desire to show their progress!

Iris said:

So my anxiety riddled brain is overthinking things. I see a lot of comments here about people just showing off and I hope my videos haven't come across that way, not that I have anything to show off. I just like having a platform to show my progress that isn't strictly social media. But it's nice to have a place to share videos where fellow musicians will see it.

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You are overthinking; keep posting

One more thing I'll add to all of this is that while the Riff section may be dying out, there's still a lot of students receiving help and feedback on the Forums. A big portion of guitar is mental aside from physical, and people would rather type out what they don't understand mentally than make a video. Also, being a guitarist goes far beyond physically playing guitar.

For example, people make threads about theory, scales, chords, guitar hardware, pedals, tone, etc. and receiving a ton of feedback and suggestions and getting the help that they seek. Look at this thread, Jak wanted feedback on an issue and received a plethora of feedback and opinions.

Some people are more comfortable asking for help when it's text based rather than video. Less of a commitment than getting out your phone, filming it, uploading it, and making a thread. Probably a similar reason to why we text everybody and not Facetiming or calling them lol. But there are some things that need to be shown rather than typed out.

Reading through all these comments, I agree with pretty much all of them and it's great to hear everyone's thoughts. For me personally, I suck at leaving comments mainly because, while I know a few bits about guitar, I feel I definitely don't know enough to start telling people what they could improve on (Hell, I'm still sat begging for advice on pretty much all my vids, lol). I tried to a while back, but I felt like I was spouting generic stuff. So instead, when I leave comments, I try to simply be encouraging and supportive - For me, knowing someone's rooting for me and enjoying seeing the progress I make is a nice bit of motive. I know I need to get into commenting a lot more (especially as I'm here a lot more now) even if it's just that, and that's something I'm eager to get back on track with. The good thing is though, as A.C mentioned above - the forums are still a great place to get advice for all sorts of questions. I just like the idea of using media for getting feedback too since you can demonstrate what you'd like help with

I'll admit, seeing the overly professional vids does just make me feel like I'm on Instagram, etc. and that place is just a highlight reel where we don't see the imperfections and all the hard work it took. When you see stuff like that, it's hard to feel motivated by it because it all looks so easy and so simple when it's anything but. I find it much more interesting and inspiring to see people trying their best, coming up against obstacles, and working to overcome them - because then it makes everything that seems impossible and perfect seem actually doable. Now, saying that, I understand that the longer videos can be daunting and a lot to watch - Trust me I'm guilty as hell of it (cough cough 10min vids of NRtD).

I really like the idea of having some sort of monthly highlight/prize/challenge/task sort of thing. Maybe setting some sort of small, realistic and achievable goal that any student could work towards might help with motivation with posting - and even if they don't win or whatever, they can still look back on the progress and say "Hey, I've learnt something/I've improved!" Let's face it, motive across the board sucks right now with how the world is and for our own varying reasons (and that's also why I say a small task, so it's not too daunting) so anything to give that small hint of encouragement and pushing in the right direction?
But yeah, that's just a few of my thoughts on things, and it's been great to hear from you all!

Millie Imber said:

I really like the idea of having some sort of monthly highlight/prize/challenge/task sort of thing. Maybe setting some sort of small, realistic and achievable goal that any student could work towards might help with motivation with posting - and even if they don't win or whatever, they can still look back on the progress and say "Hey, I've learnt something/I've improved!" Let's face it, motive across the board sucks right now with how the world is and for our own varying reasons (and that's also why I say a small task, so it's not too daunting) so anything to give that small hint of encouragement and pushing in the right direction?
But yeah, that's just a few of my thoughts on things, and it's been great to hear from you all!

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One of my beginner groups on Facebook does this. No prizes but it's a weekly challenge. Everything from playing a specific song to singing while playing to fun stuff like playing with a hat on and it greatly encourages people to post videos.