Isaac I cant remember if you were here when we did those challenges. So honestly all it was was someone did a video of anything. Then they mentioned the next person they wanted to do it. Just a video really. It brought people out of their comfort zone which was nice but you weren’t really being pointed in a direction so I felt people couldnt learn together it also died after I nominated someone and they never posted. So it died instantly for some reason. For anyone curious though that’s really all it was.
Essentially the live stream or homework videos do the same thing but push you to learn a lesson each week rather then a random video of you doing a riff. Were all on the same page. The live stream idea probably wont really happen until were a bit bigger but theres ways.
I also have one last thing to say. Who’s to say the rest of you can’t jump on an idea jak cant do? I know shes a big part in it but if we all started our mini projects wed have so much variety out there cause well we all have our interests.. strengths flaws. We all wanna play different. Let’s show it.
Essentially the live stream or homework videos do the same thing but push you to learn a lesson each week rather then a random video of you doing a riff. Were all on the same page. The live stream idea probably wont really happen until were a bit bigger but theres ways.
I also have one last thing to say. Who’s to say the rest of you can’t jump on an idea jak cant do? I know shes a big part in it but if we all started our mini projects wed have so much variety out there cause well we all have our interests.. strengths flaws. We all wanna play different. Let’s show it.
Weve done a few different challenges. Usually we get one every 4 to 6 months. They last maybe 3 months. The first challenge we did was scale based. Picked a scale and improved it. Jak made the huge point that we were scattering ourselves rather then focusing on one scale. So the challenge became monthly. Once it became monthly it was pretty over.
However focusing on one scale really helped me. I suggest others do it too.
Then we had another one that was mainly more “hey i nominate you to make a video!” That’s the one I was talking about that I’m sure other know about too. Again it went for a while but once one person misses it for an extended period of time it tends to die.
Those types of videos I feel we already do together so realistically the weekly challenge is in every challenge. That’s why I said we pretty much can merge them all cause in the end they all end up the same anyways. The question we have to ask ourselves is whether we wanna focus on the homework for our challenges or free for all.. and free for all like i said scattered me too much at once. That’s why I love the weekly lesson. Cant really overwhelm yourself there.
However focusing on one scale really helped me. I suggest others do it too.
Then we had another one that was mainly more “hey i nominate you to make a video!” That’s the one I was talking about that I’m sure other know about too. Again it went for a while but once one person misses it for an extended period of time it tends to die.
Those types of videos I feel we already do together so realistically the weekly challenge is in every challenge. That’s why I said we pretty much can merge them all cause in the end they all end up the same anyways. The question we have to ask ourselves is whether we wanna focus on the homework for our challenges or free for all.. and free for all like i said scattered me too much at once. That’s why I love the weekly lesson. Cant really overwhelm yourself there.
I may be too late to contribute here but this is what I think.
I absolutely love idea no.3. The reason being, on youtube, more people are searching for A7X tutorials than those other options. You can not rely on students of this school (me included) for your videos to get traction. Because the other options may not be appealing to everyone (even after a vote). There are many types of learners here who may or may not be in sync with your vision about the other options. On the other hand, Syn is the main reason why everyone is here in the first place (not even learning guitar, trust me). Learning a7x stuff can be a more attractive option since a vast majority of players want to jump straight into those solos instead of improving the actual playing. And many players actually learn this way: first covering solos THEN learning the actual techniques.
I absolutely love idea no.3. The reason being, on youtube, more people are searching for A7X tutorials than those other options. You can not rely on students of this school (me included) for your videos to get traction. Because the other options may not be appealing to everyone (even after a vote). There are many types of learners here who may or may not be in sync with your vision about the other options. On the other hand, Syn is the main reason why everyone is here in the first place (not even learning guitar, trust me). Learning a7x stuff can be a more attractive option since a vast majority of players want to jump straight into those solos instead of improving the actual playing. And many players actually learn this way: first covering solos THEN learning the actual techniques.
Eh.. I’m a little in the middle.on that. If you post tutorials you’re not really making your own stuff up. So your song writing wont really improve. On top YouTube is FULL of trolls waiting to make you feel like crap regardless of whether it sucks or not. You’ll get famous but it could be for the wrong reasons. Lol
J
Jak Angelescu
Guest
Thank you all so much for the feedback. I’ve received a LOT of helpful insights, especially the idea of combining some things into one. I was really wanting to do the tutorials because Sayonil made a great point, in that EVERYONE loves to learn songs by the majority. But I approached them differently. I forced students to have to learn the techniques in the beginning of the tutorials that would apply to these songs and I’m also referencing lessons to help showcase WHY learning the lessons here and technique is very important.
However, I’ve got to be honest. It’s VERY confusing that I get told all the time that students and my followers alike appreciate the work I do, but they don’t tell me WHAT, exactly. So I don’t know exactly what to continue. Guitar inspiration videos? Pep talks? Tutorials? How to change your strings? What, exactly? I DELIBERATELY asked for feedback in my video announcing the tutorials. Didn’t get a damn thing except for Sayonil over a week after I posted them. Can you imagine nearly 400 people begging you for the tutorials and then it seems like it was a dud after spending 16 hours on it? But no one will tell me how to improve the content. Hector gave me some tips on releasing content, but that’s it. So I found out yesterday in a poll that over 50 people found my videos (not just tutorials) helpful and were in the process of using them. I’ve had seriously like 3 people tell me they liked them. So I felt like I’ve been wasting my time doing certain videos that people may not really be using. To put in almost 60 hours worth of work to practically have crickets on your videos is to be frank, upsetting. Especially when the content has been asked for. I started to feel people just watched them for entertainment, and my time was wasted. I did the “milking the lessons” videos because every other day, students were saying on the forums “I don’t know how to apply the lessons”. So I did that series and three people have liked them in almost a year. So they stopped. So I tried the homework assignments because firstly, some students can’t post videos and I thought it’d be great to let them shine and give them feedback in the live streams. A total of like 4 students did the homework assignments in 5 different live streams. And they were filled with people not active on the school but they just wanted to “show off”. So that stopped. The weekly advice seemed to stick and people seemed to have fun with the weekly challenges/goals, but that also tapered off. So when I got my new camera setup, I was SO stoked to really light a fire under people because we all love Syn and do the tutorials. Needless to say, yet again, hardly anyone seem to care. That is, until I posted the poll.
I’m becoming extremely busy but this school will ALWAYS be my love. And when I do these videos, it’s because I’VE learned something along my journey I want to share. But setting up the camera, filming, cutting, editing, uploading, all that stuff takes time. And if you mess up you have to redo it. So I’m really trying to cut down on things that aren’t helpful to people.
Or maybe I should just go back to doing what I use to do and that’s just commenting on people’s videos and giving constructive feedback. What do you guys think?
However, I’ve got to be honest. It’s VERY confusing that I get told all the time that students and my followers alike appreciate the work I do, but they don’t tell me WHAT, exactly. So I don’t know exactly what to continue. Guitar inspiration videos? Pep talks? Tutorials? How to change your strings? What, exactly? I DELIBERATELY asked for feedback in my video announcing the tutorials. Didn’t get a damn thing except for Sayonil over a week after I posted them. Can you imagine nearly 400 people begging you for the tutorials and then it seems like it was a dud after spending 16 hours on it? But no one will tell me how to improve the content. Hector gave me some tips on releasing content, but that’s it. So I found out yesterday in a poll that over 50 people found my videos (not just tutorials) helpful and were in the process of using them. I’ve had seriously like 3 people tell me they liked them. So I felt like I’ve been wasting my time doing certain videos that people may not really be using. To put in almost 60 hours worth of work to practically have crickets on your videos is to be frank, upsetting. Especially when the content has been asked for. I started to feel people just watched them for entertainment, and my time was wasted. I did the “milking the lessons” videos because every other day, students were saying on the forums “I don’t know how to apply the lessons”. So I did that series and three people have liked them in almost a year. So they stopped. So I tried the homework assignments because firstly, some students can’t post videos and I thought it’d be great to let them shine and give them feedback in the live streams. A total of like 4 students did the homework assignments in 5 different live streams. And they were filled with people not active on the school but they just wanted to “show off”. So that stopped. The weekly advice seemed to stick and people seemed to have fun with the weekly challenges/goals, but that also tapered off. So when I got my new camera setup, I was SO stoked to really light a fire under people because we all love Syn and do the tutorials. Needless to say, yet again, hardly anyone seem to care. That is, until I posted the poll.
I’m becoming extremely busy but this school will ALWAYS be my love. And when I do these videos, it’s because I’VE learned something along my journey I want to share. But setting up the camera, filming, cutting, editing, uploading, all that stuff takes time. And if you mess up you have to redo it. So I’m really trying to cut down on things that aren’t helpful to people.
Or maybe I should just go back to doing what I use to do and that’s just commenting on people’s videos and giving constructive feedback. What do you guys think?
Thing is Jak, I think for most of the school members guitar plays only a minor role in der lives. Not that it is not important but more of a hobby. And so everybody has to decide how much time they put into it. Which is also why I would think twice if I wanted to see a 30 min video about the Hail to the King solo or just look at some tabs. Or if I put time into the basicly awesome homework assignments or just play for fun, because I also have other stuff I need to do besides guitar. And lets not talk about instagram followers who think everything is just entertainment.
Having said that, I think it is absolutely awesome what you do. I am sorry you dont get much feedback though I understand why.
So what of all this stuff you do is the MOST helpful? That is hard, but I would say Milking the Lessons is awesome because it is quick and something very much needed reguarding some lessons. I love your tutorials and will continue watching them (unless maybe its a redo, because time) but maybe keep it short or split it up? Because seeing that a video is 40 min long when there are 8 min videos will more likely lead to it not being watched. Also I still hold onto the idea of having homework fitting to a milking the lessons video. Hope that somehow helps.
Having said that, I think it is absolutely awesome what you do. I am sorry you dont get much feedback though I understand why.
So what of all this stuff you do is the MOST helpful? That is hard, but I would say Milking the Lessons is awesome because it is quick and something very much needed reguarding some lessons. I love your tutorials and will continue watching them (unless maybe its a redo, because time) but maybe keep it short or split it up? Because seeing that a video is 40 min long when there are 8 min videos will more likely lead to it not being watched. Also I still hold onto the idea of having homework fitting to a milking the lessons video. Hope that somehow helps.
I like 1 2 and 3. But the A7X tutorials series is too hard for me at the moment 
. The homework and milking the lessons are fun. And I learned a lot of it. But lately I’m not that active! Need to change that. Had a lot of things going on.
Jak,It’s amazing what you do for the community! Thanks for that. It was because of your peptalk message on the forum a while ago that I posted my first video.
. The homework and milking the lessons are fun. And I learned a lot of it. But lately I’m not that active! Need to change that. Had a lot of things going on.Jak,It’s amazing what you do for the community! Thanks for that. It was because of your peptalk message on the forum a while ago that I posted my first video
.
My 2 cents,
I would suggest possibly streamlining things by merging homework and weekly challenge together, worth keeping for sure. The same could be done with milking and learn to apply perhaps?
As for the A7X song tutorials, there are so many out there it’s easy for new ones to get lost in the noise, but if you get enjoyment out of it, I say go for it. I would suggest, if you want to compete, investing in some good quality cameras, mics and editing software to lift the presentation a bit. As Dominik mentioned, try to keep them tight and focused.
As for advice, I would leave it, unless someone is asking for a particular piece of advice. No point spending time answering a question no one has asked.
It would be great if the forums were set up a little better with sub forums, we could then have a FAQ section and sticky common questions and advice given. The current forum set up is really bad IMO.
I would suggest possibly streamlining things by merging homework and weekly challenge together, worth keeping for sure. The same could be done with milking and learn to apply perhaps?
As for the A7X song tutorials, there are so many out there it’s easy for new ones to get lost in the noise, but if you get enjoyment out of it, I say go for it. I would suggest, if you want to compete, investing in some good quality cameras, mics and editing software to lift the presentation a bit. As Dominik mentioned, try to keep them tight and focused.
As for advice, I would leave it, unless someone is asking for a particular piece of advice. No point spending time answering a question no one has asked.
It would be great if the forums were set up a little better with sub forums, we could then have a FAQ section and sticky common questions and advice given. The current forum set up is really bad IMO.
I didnt feedback on your video cause inhonestly saw you already making improvements on your own. The extra camera was a beat edition. That alone added so much more to the videos.
I totally understand you’re frustration.. I should probably sub to your channel I think I already am tho. Considering you can comment on YouTube.. I’m gonna start leaving my video comments there. If they are a YouTube video I’ll try to sub and comment when I can. Goes for everyone. Not sure we I never thought about that before. Lo
I have one thing to add to this post. For people who do cover videos.. I always wonder why they do camera cuts 56475838 times during the solos.. I’d rather see it all in one take so I get a clear look at the fretboard and fingers.
This reply was modified 7 months ago by Calvin Phillips.
I totally understand you’re frustration.. I should probably sub to your channel I think I already am tho. Considering you can comment on YouTube.. I’m gonna start leaving my video comments there. If they are a YouTube video I’ll try to sub and comment when I can. Goes for everyone. Not sure we I never thought about that before. Lo
I have one thing to add to this post. For people who do cover videos.. I always wonder why they do camera cuts 56475838 times during the solos.. I’d rather see it all in one take so I get a clear look at the fretboard and fingers.
This reply was modified 7 months ago by Calvin Phillips.
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Jak Angelescu
Guest
Adin- thank you so much for your feedback. The biggest problem is that these things were things that students and some of my followers have asked for. There were a couple of times that I would see multiple students asking the same questions on the forums so I thought that maybe I could kill two birds with one stone and start issuing videos that anybody could watch at their convenience so that more than just one person could find help in it. Then there are more often times that I get multiple people writing me on Instagram asking me the same question. So I would make a video so I don’t have to write 25 different people the same thing and I’d pass this video onto them to watch to answer all their questions at once. But it seems to me that nothing is really sticking other than the things like the weekly challenges and homework assignments. Those are very fun to do! And I feel everybody benefits from it equally. I can understand that if somebody is very Adept with playing Hail to the King or nightmare or scream they won’t really find those tutorials useful. And advanced players may not get much use out of milking the lesson series for the very beginner series. But everybody benefited from the weekly challenge and the homework assignments because it was varied on a skill level.
I understand, I guess I only see what goes on here and haven’t seen the questions asked from outside sources, and it makes sense to not have to repeat yourself. Perhaps if you have a prefered youtube teacher that has helped you with content relating to some of these questions you could direct people there? Not ideal if building your channel is something you want to do, but it could save you a lot of recording and editing time that you could use elsewhere.
I understand with your tutorials that you want to be thorough and really explain everything, but from the stand point of a time poor viewer, if I search for a Hail to the King intro tutorial and the first video is 27 minutes and the second one is 5 minutes, guess which one I watch? I guess my suggestion, if I explain it a little more is to keep the video on point, if there are other techniques used in the lick, tapping, muting, pinch harmonics, etc, perhaps have seperate vidoes explaining those techniques that you can point people to if they need help with them.
The homework assignements are a great innitiative and certainly worth continuing with, kudos to all involved in that idea.
I understand with your tutorials that you want to be thorough and really explain everything, but from the stand point of a time poor viewer, if I search for a Hail to the King intro tutorial and the first video is 27 minutes and the second one is 5 minutes, guess which one I watch? I guess my suggestion, if I explain it a little more is to keep the video on point, if there are other techniques used in the lick, tapping, muting, pinch harmonics, etc, perhaps have seperate vidoes explaining those techniques that you can point people to if they need help with them.
The homework assignements are a great innitiative and certainly worth continuing with, kudos to all involved in that idea.
I’d watch the half hour one. That 5 minute video is probably tabbed out from a site.. and was not done by ear. If it was.. theyd understand youd need more then 5 minutes to learn just the techniques in the solo. You dont even needs to watch it all. Skip.parts. j guarantee you its worth watching the longer videos. Who care about this solo itll help in others too.
And who is to say that the half hour video isn’t tabbed out from a site and wasn’t done by ear? I am not suggesting Jak’s video is either of these, just that the length of the final video is by no means a reflection of the time and effort spent working out the material beforehand.
I am not saying learning the technique required to play the material isn’t important, just that it doesn’t necessarily need to be in every video bloating the run time. Are you really going to explain how to do the same technique over and over and over again every time you do a tutorial video? Or would it make more sense to have single videos explaining those techniques in detail seperate to the solo tutorial? Then you can link to those videos for anyone who needs further instruction.
I am not saying learning the technique required to play the material isn’t important, just that it doesn’t necessarily need to be in every video bloating the run time. Are you really going to explain how to do the same technique over and over and over again every time you do a tutorial video? Or would it make more sense to have single videos explaining those techniques in detail seperate to the solo tutorial? Then you can link to those videos for anyone who needs further instruction.
It could be.. but I mean a lot of people here are trying to learn new techniques and methods. I feel you dont learn that from tabs. Just seeing the numbers.
I also dont normally play cover solos so my opinion is obviously different then most. I used to watch the 5 minute videos too. But after being here a year. It has given me a huge respect to the theory side. And I want to hear everything.
Stuff I never thought of before hearing the song. A7x break down videos are also 20 minutes. I GUARANTEE you EVERY a7x fan watched every second of it. It helps to be famous lol
I also dont normally play cover solos so my opinion is obviously different then most. I used to watch the 5 minute videos too. But after being here a year. It has given me a huge respect to the theory side. And I want to hear everything.
Stuff I never thought of before hearing the song. A7x break down videos are also 20 minutes. I GUARANTEE you EVERY a7x fan watched every second of it. It helps to be famous lol
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