Feedback on video lesson

Hey, Joe,
Good luck with the lessons.
The one big thing that stood out:
I don't know the song and I have to wait 3 minutes or so to hear it 'all put together'.
Lots of lessons I view are songs by artists I've just discovered. Maybe I found one I like and want to learn more of their stuff. I wouldn't assume that everyone interested in the lesson already knows the song.

So I'd have 15-20 seconds of you playing the intro and verse at the beginning :) and then dissolve into where you're starting now.

Nice presentation and very personable style.
All the best.
:)

Edit to add:
The song's also got some elements as novice might find too tough, especially the barres. Maybe mention them (sort of a 'degree of difficulty' rating) very early on in your intro, so people don't waste their time if it's beyond their capabilities.

Thanks for the feedback!

There were a couple of things that I wanted to accomplish

1. Was not talking down to the viewer. I wanted to make it basic, but not so basic that an intermediate person would feel bored. I think mentioning the barre chords are challenging for a beginner is a good idea, I'll have to do that.

2. I broke a pet peeve of mine, I like hearing what it's supposed to sound like first too, thanks for pointing that out.
I wouldn't assume that everyone interested in the lesson already knows the song.
Well, for me anyway, if I've heard the song then I go search for it not the other way around, but yeah, like I said above, it's a pet peeve of mine too. DOH!!

Thanks again, I appreciate the feedback!!

Nice job Joe. :)

+1 to Boxboy's suggestions about playing some of the song to introduce the lesson, and also to his idea of giving some idea of the difficulty involved.

There's guy who goes by the name of GoldHat (Mark Easley) who I think does a pretty good job with his lessons. He does pretty much as Boxboy commented. Might be worth a look.

Goldhat

Another thing that varies a lot is the backgrounds people use. Some use a drop sheet to keep things uncluttered and clean, Goldhat has a homely looking corner which has plenty in it but which doesn't seem to distract from him. I'm still trying to figure out what to use in my own situation (i.e. not having a clarinet apparently growing out of my head, or a metronome stuck to my shoulder.... :roll: ). So it might be worth shifting your bear a bit.

The resolution and captioning looked very professional (which I guess reflects your work). What resolution/definition or whatever did you shoot it at, and/or use to upload it to Youtube? It seems that you can shoot at one setting, change it to another in the software, and then Youtube will re-compress it yet again. Apparently some paths give better outcomes than others, but yours looked good, so any tips would be great.

I don't know Keith Urban's music (although I know he's an Aussie) so I've found a clip of his song, and downloaded your lesson. I'll give it a go, and make some notes about how the process went. Don't wait up though.... I can be pretty erratic with these things...

Cheers,

Chris

Thanks!

I've heard of GoldHat actually, I used to subscribe to his videos.

I usually play upstairs with my guitars in the background, it's fairly uncluttered and I can get a good sound, but with my son being "on the move" I have to alter where I do it (hence the background). I may have to try doing it when he's not around.

As far as the video goes, I use a 3-chip Panasonic camera, it's not HD though. I then import it into Adobe Premier Pro CS4 and edit it from there. I export it to a High-Quality WMV so that it will compress it down to about 60-75MB and then upload that to youtube. I think WMV is a format that is native to Youtube so there isn't much more compression.

Thanks again! I'll take your advice when doing the next one!

Great job Joe! :D

Usually I don't use video lesson for learning. I only have some subscriptions to some bass lessons channels because they have some videos that I like them and I want to see the new stuff. However, I watch a lot of videos and I think you did a great job!

The video quality is pretty good, as the image as the sound (YouTube tends to compress the sound but here it is pretty good). And I like very much the graphics that you used!

Congrats!

Thanks! I think or the next one I'll be taking all the advice.

I guess people seem to like it, I've gotten over 300 views in two days, so I guess that's motivation for me to do it. I'm not sure I like the strumming pattern questions though, it's really straight forward. I keep referring them to "find their own way" we'll see how that goes over.

Joe

I thought it was a pretty good tutorial, over 8000 views as well :shock: well done.

I remember your first singing videos and there is alot of improvement in your voice, hopefully if I stick at singing I can improve to.

I appreciate it man!

My tutorials seem to do well, the last one not so much because Barenaked Ladies have a nich audience.

I think the biggest on I have is on the Intro to Chicken Fried by Zac Brown Band, that's got something like 26-27,000 views.