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(2 votes) 
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Hello again!
This is my second post of this nature, and I really appreciate all the things everyone said about my first post, entitled "advice needed 
" in the video sharing forum, But this topic is going to be more specific. I've been having trouble making my slow tunes sound professionally polished, in tune, and beautiful. There's just always things that make it sound less than perfect. So here is a link to me playing Danny Boy/You Raise Me Up (a recording that i don't think sounds all that great) and i would love it if you guys could tell me what I need to do to make it sound prettier, more lyrical, and just more polished in general. Thank you very much!!
There are other slow songs that I've posted on YouTube as well if you want to find them on my channel page.
-Jake
Advanced member
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I forgot to give y'all the link haha oops! Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....v6jUrkQpWI
And here's my channel:
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First of all,
I like your style. You play with heart.
Try closing your eyes, at least when you practice and hear yourself play like a pro, like you want to hear it being played. Possibly try singing it at the same time at least in your head.
Also, I think you know exactly, after listening to your recordings, which notes are not clean enough intonation wise. Listen to your recording a few times with a pencil in your hands (if you have the sheet music) and make marks. If you are playing too low such as the 2nd finger C#, just draw an arrow pointing up on the sheet and think about it the next time you practice it. You have tendencies that are consistent meaning that if you fix it it will be right in the future.
Don't get me wrong, you sound great, but you can sound better and you know it. We all play out of tune.
I love that you do dynamics, but I want more dynamics. Especially the soft heavenly entrances and endings.
Thanks for the post. 
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Advanced member
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that's great advice, thanks! I do notice the out of tune notes in the recoding, yes... But for some reason, I usually don't notice them while I'm actually playing. Maybe it's because I'm not paying quite enough attention or I'm concentrating on something else. I've never really tried closing my eyes for some reason, but I bet it will help be concentrate or focus a lot more, so I'll definitely try that.
More Dynamics! Yes!! I hadn't even thought of that!! Haha that's great. I'll definitely experiment around with lots mo dynamics.
Thanks for the great critique! I love your website & your videos!!! Me and my fiddle partner were inspired by seeing your "we will rock you" video to try and write out a twin (duet) version of it. We'll see how that goes...
-Jake
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Great playing... I love watching you play. Thank you.
Loved all your comments Pierre... gives me a LOT to think about.
Toni
Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato
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Rock on Jake,
We love having you here.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
King
Regulars
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Nice playing, Jake, I love it. It appear's that you are reading off sheet music, get rid of the music and play it from the heart. Also, you can lighten your load if you cut about 14" of your bow, you're only using half of it, wud up wit dat ? 
Use the whole bow, that's why it's 29" long. Put some feeling in your song as if you were singing it in a choir, in church. Even your very last note played was only half a bow stroke.
Pierre's right, you need a more dynamic's in several place's and play with a lull where it's called for, maybe not on the sheet, but in your heart, the way you feel it.
You play beautifully. I especially like the way you merged the two song's together. 
Advanced member
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wow.... i think its beautiful
~Grofica
Regulars
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One of the best vids I've seen in a long time... Keep it up. Practice practice practice... then listen to yourself play and do it some more.
awesome dude.!
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
Regulars
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Nice one, Jake! it's sounding good as it is, but if you really want to lift it up, make the whole thing sweeter and polished, etc .. here's what I'd do (and I *do* do it!).
Those slow airs need to be slow and long-bowed, with some of the notes really drawn out.
If there's one single thing you could do to improve the tone, it's - play it up a half-step, in Eb. It's a softer, sweeter key, and you don't have all those open strings ringing out, vibrato-less - when a touch of vibrato would otherwise enhance the tone.
As mentioned before, you need to draw out the tone more with longer bows. For dynamics, on a full bow on one note, you could start away from the bridge, then closer to the bridge till you are at mid-point, then move away again toward the fingerboard. "Swell" up the tone.
Give it a try!
You're on a good road
Mr Jim
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wow Jim, thanks for the coaching... even if it wasn't directed at me. LOL
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
Regulars
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Nice! I hope to someday play as well...
Honorary tenured advisor
Regulars
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Jake, that was beautiful. I'm not a professional, so I didn't notice any intonation problems. I also didn't have any comments at all, until I opened my eyes to watch you. Then I noticed the problem that has been mentioned already. I once watched an instructional on Youtube by Violinlab (Beth), stating just the same problem of bow usage. She recommended adding a little more bow length each practise session, till it becomes more habit. At my level of experience, more bow just means more wandering off course. But you have the control to be able to bow a lot better than me.
BTW I loved your channel videos too.
Keep up the good work, you're an inspiration to us learners.
If you think you can, or you think you can't, you're probably right.
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