Synyster Gates School Report Project (Jak's June Contest)
- Thread starter RoaringRowanThunderBender
- Start date
J
Jak Angelescu
Guest
Thank you so much! I don’t know how long you have been active on the school but there has been several forum topics it shoud were people were allowed to post their riffs there specifically for those who are having issues posting riffs on their page. So just for future reference keep a heads up for those kinds of posts and they will help you out! I got your videos! Thank you so much 
This reply was modified 4 months, 3 weeks ago by Jak Angelescu.
This reply was modified 4 months, 3 weeks ago by Jak Angelescu.
You guys are knocking this out of the ballpark. I have finally taken the time to check out Jak’s forum and this one, and catch up on everyone’s reports now that my migraine warning signs have simmered down. It is such a pleasure to get to know you all in a way I probably never would have without this contest.
Anna, I relate to and understand you so much. The only advice I can offer for you is to take a leap of faith with the school and uploading videos here. I was terrified, especially because I had such negativity on one of my covers on YouTube that I ended up deleting. However, everyone here has been more than kind and constructive in the most polite ways. It’s easier for me to learn visually and some people have even taken the time to make videos for me when something just isn’t clicking the right way and I need help. Never be afraid of this school. I am still quite a bit afraid of YouTube, but that’s nothing, uploading and leaving your video on “unlisted” is easy and you can post the link here and on your riff page to share with the school so only the students here can view it. I am also a bit of a coward at heart because what I upload and try to do is so vulnerable and dear to my heart. Never feel afraid here at the school. I actually got both of my tattoos to help me with my fear and depression and anxiety and to remind me to never give up, even when I’m afraid or it gets really dark inside of my head. I think you’ll do great and grow here. Try the unlisted YouTube method like I do, and if anyone here gives you shit (I haven’t found one yet) just let one of us know and I’m sure it will be handled appropriately. You are and always will be apart of this family, too.
Anna, I relate to and understand you so much. The only advice I can offer for you is to take a leap of faith with the school and uploading videos here. I was terrified, especially because I had such negativity on one of my covers on YouTube that I ended up deleting. However, everyone here has been more than kind and constructive in the most polite ways. It’s easier for me to learn visually and some people have even taken the time to make videos for me when something just isn’t clicking the right way and I need help. Never be afraid of this school. I am still quite a bit afraid of YouTube, but that’s nothing, uploading and leaving your video on “unlisted” is easy and you can post the link here and on your riff page to share with the school so only the students here can view it.
I am also a bit of a coward at heart because what I upload and try to do is so vulnerable and dear to my heart. Never feel afraid here at the school. I actually got both of my tattoos to help me with my fear and depression and anxiety and to remind me to never give up, even when I’m afraid or it gets really dark inside of my head. I think you’ll do great and grow here. Try the unlisted YouTube method like I do, and if anyone here gives you shit (I haven’t found one yet) just let one of us know and I’m sure it will be handled appropriately. You are and always will be apart of this family, too.
@rowan I just read your message on my break at work, and honestly you made my day a whole lot better. I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels that way – and I definitely want to try and upload something. I just hope to god my head won’t get in the way like it usually does. YouTube is probably one of the most negative sites out there, and the unlisted video idea sounds amazing tbh. Thank you so much again for making me smile today. I hope you have a great day!
Anna, it means a lot to me to read how much I’ve made your day better. Sometimes my head gets in the way sometimes too and I just have to click the “Upload” button really quick. If you need any help with the “Unlisted” option on YouTube or anything, feel free to contact me and I will make sure I give you easy instructions to follow. You’re so very welcome! Stay bright and positive! Thank you.
Hello Rowan, thank you so much to check my videos!!! It means a lot for me!! Of course you can subscribe, now I can post my videos here, so in my acount I have all my videos, including some videos of me playing live with my old music school. I hope you all like, i do it with love! Just check out your profile Rowan, you are going good, dont stop, its awesome!
J
Jak Angelescu
Guest
Here’s mine. I’ve never been any good at putting thoughts into words so here it goes
I have been in this school since the beginning and I have to say it is one of
the greatest communities I have ever been apart of. The amount of support and
help you can receive from all of the members is incredible!
Even though there are a lot of useful lessons in the school I haven’t looked
into most of them. For example I have wanted to add hybrid picking to my skill
set for a while now and still can not find the time or motivation to properly
study it(this may come when I finally start working on Cliffs Of Dover). Out
of the lessons I did study I like lesson 78(3-1-3 pattern), lesson 102(Phrygian
dominant scale) and lesson 106(altered scale) the most. Unfortunately I only
can do the 3-1-3 pattern pentatonic just up and down at the moment but I’d
like to try and mix it up with the regular pentatonic pattern in the future to
create a bit more different licks. I do sometimes (try to) write a song that works
in phrygian dominant. My interest for the altered sclae mostly comes from a
conversation I had with Syn(yes he answers questions when he has the time) on
gypsy jazz. Basically, He told me that the altered scale is a scale that works
over the dominant 7th chord in minor swing. I still tend to use double har-
monic major scale and diminished arpeggios/scale over the dominant seventh
chord but im working on it.
My greatest improvements has to be my increased interest in music theory.
This also means that my knowledge of music theory has increased a lot since
I joined the school. One important skill I have developed is (trying) to teach
in a video an explaining stuff that someone may not now, which I never have
been very good at. A really great improvement I notice in my playing is the use
of inflections. Before the school I would have bends that would be slightly off
key, kind of mediocre vibrato and would barely use any of the other inflections.
Right now after a year and a half I use inflections like slides, rakes etc a lot
more, Further more I’m actually really satisfied with my vibrato(I can do both
aggressive wide and a smooth vibrato now). One of my biggest achievements is
an improved confidence in my guitar playing and self-confidence in general.
In the future I would like to work a bit more on my own material and record
a record/ep and put it up on all the streaming surfaces. I’d also like to work
on my singing and songwriting a bit more. Besides my own material I’d like to
work on some covers for fun as well. These covers mostly include John Mayer,
SRV, Django, Eric Clapton and B.B. King and maybe some A7x. One thing I
start to notice is that I’m losing some of my past interest in shredding a little
bit so I’d like to develop to write/improvise melodic feely solos that really hit
you where you live.
My passion niches in music would be Blues and gypsy jazz. There’s also some
(hard)rock and metal but I’m starting to notice that I don’t listen to those that
much anymore. I like blues as much as I do because of the chill vibe a lot of
the songs have. Then there’s the licks and tasty melodic solos a lot of the blues
greats have(Eric Clapton is very lyrical player and I love that). Then for gypsy
jazz It really is a combination of Django’s genius and the scales/theory involved.
Also the fact that melodies tend to come from arpeggios and the very rhythmic
way of playing guitar(they don’t actually have a drummer most of the times).
I think this is about it. If you made it this far, thank you for reading
I have been in this school since the beginning and I have to say it is one of
the greatest communities I have ever been apart of. The amount of support and
help you can receive from all of the members is incredible!
Even though there are a lot of useful lessons in the school I haven’t looked
into most of them. For example I have wanted to add hybrid picking to my skill
set for a while now and still can not find the time or motivation to properly
study it(this may come when I finally start working on Cliffs Of Dover). Out
of the lessons I did study I like lesson 78(3-1-3 pattern), lesson 102(Phrygian
dominant scale) and lesson 106(altered scale) the most. Unfortunately I only
can do the 3-1-3 pattern pentatonic just up and down at the moment but I’d
like to try and mix it up with the regular pentatonic pattern in the future to
create a bit more different licks. I do sometimes (try to) write a song that works
in phrygian dominant. My interest for the altered sclae mostly comes from a
conversation I had with Syn(yes he answers questions when he has the time) on
gypsy jazz. Basically, He told me that the altered scale is a scale that works
over the dominant 7th chord in minor swing. I still tend to use double har-
monic major scale and diminished arpeggios/scale over the dominant seventh
chord but im working on it.
My greatest improvements has to be my increased interest in music theory.
This also means that my knowledge of music theory has increased a lot since
I joined the school. One important skill I have developed is (trying) to teach
in a video an explaining stuff that someone may not now, which I never have
been very good at. A really great improvement I notice in my playing is the use
of inflections. Before the school I would have bends that would be slightly off
key, kind of mediocre vibrato and would barely use any of the other inflections.
Right now after a year and a half I use inflections like slides, rakes etc a lot
more, Further more I’m actually really satisfied with my vibrato(I can do both
aggressive wide and a smooth vibrato now). One of my biggest achievements is
an improved confidence in my guitar playing and self-confidence in general.
In the future I would like to work a bit more on my own material and record
a record/ep and put it up on all the streaming surfaces. I’d also like to work
on my singing and songwriting a bit more. Besides my own material I’d like to
work on some covers for fun as well. These covers mostly include John Mayer,
SRV, Django, Eric Clapton and B.B. King and maybe some A7x. One thing I
start to notice is that I’m losing some of my past interest in shredding a little
bit so I’d like to develop to write/improvise melodic feely solos that really hit
you where you live.
My passion niches in music would be Blues and gypsy jazz. There’s also some
(hard)rock and metal but I’m starting to notice that I don’t listen to those that
much anymore. I like blues as much as I do because of the chill vibe a lot of
the songs have. Then there’s the licks and tasty melodic solos a lot of the blues
greats have(Eric Clapton is very lyrical player and I love that). Then for gypsy
jazz It really is a combination of Django’s genius and the scales/theory involved.
Also the fact that melodies tend to come from arpeggios and the very rhythmic
way of playing guitar(they don’t actually have a drummer most of the times).
I think this is about it. If you made it this far, thank you for reading
Hi everyone! I finally got some time to write the report, so here you have it
I can´t choose a favorite lesson because I have learnt a lot form every single lesson I have watched, but there is a lesson that made me realize something that I didn´t learn in the rest of the lessons and that lesson is the lesson 59 (introduction to modes), from the rest of lessons I have learnt a lot of technical and theorical stuff that is so useful to me but in lesson 59 I learned how really important the tone center is and how the notes I choose can change a melody and that made me realize that I must focus on the important notes of each key/chord to really manipulate the scale how I want.
Thanks to the Syn etudes (I use this lessons in my daily exercises routine) my technique has improved a lot, the practice lessons of PG helped me with that too, but my biggest achievement that I reached is learning the theory from the lessons and apply it to my playing because literally every single theoretical concept I know is because the Syn School, and I just have learned the half of what PG have to teach me, I can´t wait to learn every single lesson! Another good achievement in winning the May contest, I will never get tired of saying thank you, Jak.
My biggest ambition is becoming a more legendary guitarist that Syn, it will be hard but I know I can reach this goal just because if all my idols could be a legend I also can make people remember my name foREVer.
My passion in music is just play it, playing guitar was by far the best choice I made in my life, it always make me feel good, it is the only way that I have to express myself and to liberate any kind of tension or stress and that make my live much happier even though sometimes my friends get mad at me because I rather be practicing that hang out or my parents tell me to stop playing because they don’t understand why can music be my passion.
The Syn School is so important for me because I live in a small village without music schools and this school has given me a great opportunity to develop my musical formation, also I started playing guitar at a relatively old age so I feel pressure for being as good as possible before I start to have more responsibilities and loosing hours of practicing and this school helps me a lot pushing my improvement speed.
I can´t choose a favorite lesson because I have learnt a lot form every single lesson I have watched, but there is a lesson that made me realize something that I didn´t learn in the rest of the lessons and that lesson is the lesson 59 (introduction to modes), from the rest of lessons I have learnt a lot of technical and theorical stuff that is so useful to me but in lesson 59 I learned how really important the tone center is and how the notes I choose can change a melody and that made me realize that I must focus on the important notes of each key/chord to really manipulate the scale how I want.
Thanks to the Syn etudes (I use this lessons in my daily exercises routine) my technique has improved a lot, the practice lessons of PG helped me with that too, but my biggest achievement that I reached is learning the theory from the lessons and apply it to my playing because literally every single theoretical concept I know is because the Syn School, and I just have learned the half of what PG have to teach me, I can´t wait to learn every single lesson! Another good achievement in winning the May contest, I will never get tired of saying thank you, Jak.
My biggest ambition is becoming a more legendary guitarist that Syn, it will be hard but I know I can reach this goal just because if all my idols could be a legend I also can make people remember my name foREVer.
My passion in music is just play it, playing guitar was by far the best choice I made in my life, it always make me feel good, it is the only way that I have to express myself and to liberate any kind of tension or stress and that make my live much happier even though sometimes my friends get mad at me because I rather be practicing that hang out or my parents tell me to stop playing because they don’t understand why can music be my passion.
The Syn School is so important for me because I live in a small village without music schools and this school has given me a great opportunity to develop my musical formation, also I started playing guitar at a relatively old age so I feel pressure for being as good as possible before I start to have more responsibilities and loosing hours of practicing and this school helps me a lot pushing my improvement speed.
Hi all. I’ve just finished reading all of these wonderful testimonies, and there are a few things I wanted to share with some of you; just thoughts I had while reading and watching your RIFFS.
First, y’all have no concept of what a “half page” is. Lol.
Second, I need to spend more time in the RIFFS section reviewing everyone’s submissions and progress. There’s so much great content there. Y’all are awesome, and I really wish commenting was working there, because there’s so much I want to say to so many people. I have let the school and all of you down by largely ignoring it most of the time, and I feel bad about that. I will be better. “Cooking with Captain Ed” will subscribe to anyone’s YouTube who posts in the riffs section, once I see it. I *will* be better.
Individual reflections….
CALVIN: I can’t hold the pick that way, either. It looks broken and downright PAINFUL to me. Find what works for you and grow it. Troy Grady has a great video about the different ways people hold the pick. I don’t know if it’s free content, or only part of the most excellent “Pickslanting Primer.”
ANDREW: Sweaty hands never go away – the reasons for them just change.
MARLYN: Probably a bad auto-correct, but I loved that you called Papa “Pope Gates.” On your “Livin on a Prayer” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” videos, I noticed you’re having an issue with timing, specifically focusing on or accenting the “and” parts of a beat (“1 and 2 and 3 and 4”). I think working on that should be one of your goals – it’s not hard, you just need to make it “click” and then it will be second nature. Maybe listen to and learn some REGGAE to get a feel for it. If you want, I can work with you. You’ll GET it, I have no doubt. Nice job on the Trivium. SITS was my youngest son’s on-ramp on the highway to metal. Unfortunately, after that one album he got off at the Imagine Dragons exit and never got back on. Sigh.
Anyway, if you haven’t gathered by now from these comments and all my likes and subscribes to your collective content, Jak has asked me to judge the contest. Since the rules state that it runs until June 30 (or 30 June, if you prefer), I cannot announce anything yet, pending additional entries. The announcement will be tomorrow morning, Arizona USA time. If you have not yet submitted an entry and want to, there’s still time.
You all made it hard. You put so much of yourselves into it, and just reading all of your stories is so rewarding, and lets me in to who you are, and that’s incredible. Picking the “winner” will be hard. I thought briefly about an honorable mention, too, and then realized that would be almost everyone that didn’t win. In the end, you’re ALL winners, and that’s not some bullshit platitude.
What Syn and Papa have created here really is amazing. The most amazing thing about it, for me, is that with just a little guidance from them, and a few great voices following that lead, it’s such a POSITIVE and SAFE PLACE to share the things you’re all most guarded and protective of – your souls and your fears.
I have a lot of thinking to do today and tonight. Thank you ALL for making this a VERY DIFFICULT decision.
PS: Any contestants trying to influence me in direct messages or some other private contact between now and the announcement will be immediately disqualified. I don’t WANT to make that announcement, but I feel it’s important to make it clear that this WILL be impartial, especially since that’s a huge part of why Jak felt the need to recuse herself. I’m too old to do drama and bullshit. Final choice will be HARD, but it will be honest – that much I promise and guarantee.
First, y’all have no concept of what a “half page” is. Lol.
Second, I need to spend more time in the RIFFS section reviewing everyone’s submissions and progress. There’s so much great content there. Y’all are awesome, and I really wish commenting was working there, because there’s so much I want to say to so many people. I have let the school and all of you down by largely ignoring it most of the time, and I feel bad about that. I will be better. “Cooking with Captain Ed” will subscribe to anyone’s YouTube who posts in the riffs section, once I see it. I *will* be better.
Individual reflections….
CALVIN: I can’t hold the pick that way, either. It looks broken and downright PAINFUL to me. Find what works for you and grow it. Troy Grady has a great video about the different ways people hold the pick. I don’t know if it’s free content, or only part of the most excellent “Pickslanting Primer.”
ANDREW: Sweaty hands never go away – the reasons for them just change.
MARLYN: Probably a bad auto-correct, but I loved that you called Papa “Pope Gates.” On your “Livin on a Prayer” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” videos, I noticed you’re having an issue with timing, specifically focusing on or accenting the “and” parts of a beat (“1 and 2 and 3 and 4”). I think working on that should be one of your goals – it’s not hard, you just need to make it “click” and then it will be second nature. Maybe listen to and learn some REGGAE to get a feel for it. If you want, I can work with you. You’ll GET it, I have no doubt. Nice job on the Trivium. SITS was my youngest son’s on-ramp on the highway to metal. Unfortunately, after that one album he got off at the Imagine Dragons exit and never got back on. Sigh.
Anyway, if you haven’t gathered by now from these comments and all my likes and subscribes to your collective content, Jak has asked me to judge the contest. Since the rules state that it runs until June 30 (or 30 June, if you prefer), I cannot announce anything yet, pending additional entries. The announcement will be tomorrow morning, Arizona USA time. If you have not yet submitted an entry and want to, there’s still time.
You all made it hard. You put so much of yourselves into it, and just reading all of your stories is so rewarding, and lets me in to who you are, and that’s incredible. Picking the “winner” will be hard. I thought briefly about an honorable mention, too, and then realized that would be almost everyone that didn’t win. In the end, you’re ALL winners, and that’s not some bullshit platitude.
What Syn and Papa have created here really is amazing. The most amazing thing about it, for me, is that with just a little guidance from them, and a few great voices following that lead, it’s such a POSITIVE and SAFE PLACE to share the things you’re all most guarded and protective of – your souls and your fears.
I have a lot of thinking to do today and tonight. Thank you ALL for making this a VERY DIFFICULT decision.
PS: Any contestants trying to influence me in direct messages or some other private contact between now and the announcement will be immediately disqualified. I don’t WANT to make that announcement, but I feel it’s important to make it clear that this WILL be impartial, especially since that’s a huge part of why Jak felt the need to recuse herself. I’m too old to do drama and bullshit. Final choice will be HARD, but it will be honest – that much I promise and guarantee.
I honestly have to agree with Kfir. I think Ed was the best choice as well.
Ed, I think we really just got into writing and lost track of the length. LOL and thank you so very much for taking the time to read all of these and participate in your own way. I’m sure we all really appreciate it.
Good luck to each of you. I’m just happy this contest has brought us all closer and let us get to know each other a bit better. Here’s my newest video, I’m a little shy of posting it but everyone else is too so…Good luck to each of you. I want to win honestly, but truly this was just a lot of fun and I’m happy for whoever! May each of your dreams come true. I know they’re going to with how hard some of you have been working.
This reply was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by Rowan Morris.
Ed, I think we really just got into writing and lost track of the length. LOL and thank you so very much for taking the time to read all of these and participate in your own way. I’m sure we all really appreciate it.
Good luck to each of you. I’m just happy this contest has brought us all closer and let us get to know each other a bit better. Here’s my newest video, I’m a little shy of posting it but everyone else is too so…Good luck to each of you. I want to win honestly, but truly this was just a lot of fun and I’m happy for whoever! May each of your dreams come true. I know they’re going to with how hard some of you have been working.
This reply was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by Rowan Morris.
