We have a friend who was smart enough to invest in Zoom about three months ago. Of course, I didn't see that one coming, even though I've been using Zoom myself for live online workshops and Q&A sessions since last fall. And given that I'm writing this while both my kids are slugging away at schoolwork in their bedrooms, and half of that involves showing up for Zoom sessions with their teachers, I assume this is how my dad felt in the 1970s, having let go of all his Xerox stock around the time the first man orbited the moon.
So yay, Zoom. But I have to say, for the six months I've been using it for my membership, I've always thought the audio quality in particular was, in a word, sucky. And that's been a drag, because the thing about doing a live class is that not everyone can always be there when it's happening, so I routinely post a replay of the original live session. And this being the internet, those things are going to be up for a looong time, so I'd like them to look and sound better than they do.
But a few weeks ago, chatting with my pal and fellow online guitar dude/Truefire colleague Jeff McErlain, I happened to mention how unsatisfied I was with Zoom, and he hipped me, as the cats like to say, to a bit of software called OBS. Basically, you download and run this higher-resolution software on your computer, grab a bit of code from Youtube so OBS will talk to the internet, and you can stream on Youtube with the fidelity of a pre-recorded video. A few how-to videos and a couple of test calls later (thanks, Cliff!) and I was in business.
All of which is to say, I used this new tech to run Saturday's live session, and it was a huge improvement. Which was good news, because something like 90 people showed up to my lesson on finding dominant chords up the neck and how to apply that to an arrangement of the eight-bar blues "Crow Jane." And now, I can still make a replay available, and I don't have to cringe when I hear the audio quality. (I still have to help people with their 7th-grade algebra, but compared to sorting out internet audio, that seems like a walk in the park.)
So here are two links to check out my Dominant Dozen lesson. You can find it on the Fretboard Confidential Youtube channel:
Watch It On YoutubeOr watch it as part two in my three part series that started last week with the Horizontal 3-Step lesson:
Watch The SeriesWhichever link you choose, you'll find downloadable tab to accompany the lesson and a place to post your questions and comments.
More soon,
David
