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December 2025 Challenge Response – Tremelow

Home › Forums › Active Melody Member Challenge Response Submissions › December 2025 Challenge Response – Tremelow

  • This topic has 19 replies, 19 voices, and was last updated 1 day, 1 hour ago by JoLa.
Viewing 18 reply threads
  • Author
    Posts
    • January 11, 2026 at 6:09 am #407120
      Tremelow
      Participant

        Hi dear AM members,

        I am glad that I made it again to the Challenge submissions.

        This time, I opted for a little back and forth/Call&Response duel with the Quist himself! I think EP 392 is a great way to practice that.

        I didn’t map out anything beforehand, other than playing mutilple times against this backing track before recording it. At least for this challenge, I decided to not compose anything, just because I didn’t have the nerve. May be next time.

        As you will notice, I mostly used the minor D-scale, some good old trusted pentatonic licks and a few harmonized 3s and 4s. Playing in the key of D anyway, I had the E-string tuned down to D.

        Anyway, I hope you like it and before I indulge myself in YOUR contributions, let me say:

        THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!

      • January 11, 2026 at 7:28 am #407161
        JoeD1
        Participant

          You really did a great job with the duel! Cool idea.

          Joe

          The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
          Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
          --Graeme Edge

        • January 11, 2026 at 7:29 am #407162
          Bill
          Participant

            Cool concept to go with the lick trading. Very nice.

          • January 11, 2026 at 7:58 am #407187
            Mark T
            Participant

              Nice approach to the challenge, Tremelow – gives you time to think of the response and take a breath each time. – Mark 👍🎶😎

            • January 11, 2026 at 8:11 am #407190
              sciencefiction
              Participant

                Awesome, Tremelow!!! I think this is one of your best. You were really hitting all of your licks very cleanly, and with speed and in time. Sounded great. Wow, this was really cool. Great job.

                I forgot about this lesson. This track will be great to practice with–both to warm up, and to learn to improvise. I need to check it out. (Kudos to Brian, for posting just about every kind of thing, to get members to learn guitar and to improvise.)

                Thanks for posting!

                Larry

              • January 11, 2026 at 8:17 am #407191
                Alan L
                Participant

                  The whole thing is very cohesive. You were responding well to the call from Quist

                • January 11, 2026 at 8:38 am #407199
                  Michael Krailo
                  Participant

                    I’m curious why you decided to use drop-D while a playing lead jam? That would have confused me during the lead playing because I like to go down low a lot in the standard patterns. For rhythm playing, that’s fine but 99% of the time it’s more desirable to be in some form of standard tuning while jamming lead.

                    Tremelow, you picked one of the more difficult tracks to play. It would take me ages to get this one up to normal speed. I’m willing to bet no one else even dares try this one at normal speed like you did.

                    So hat’s off for even considering playing this one. We won’t get there unless we challenge ourselves.

                    Go slow and practice correct technique, and your abilities will dramatically improve.

                    • January 12, 2026 at 4:59 am #407430
                      Tremelow
                      Participant

                        Hi Michael, thanks for your comment and question. I don’t often use Drop D tuning and if, only if the tune is in the key of D. I like to have the option of playing the e-string to all possible chords within the key. And I agree that it threw me off in the beginning, but you get used to it. One nice feature is that you can play harmonized fifths so easily by just barring the E- and the A-string.

                    • January 11, 2026 at 8:39 am #407200
                      Lights
                      Participant

                        Hi Trem!
                        Very creative stuff really! Your licks fits to this soundtrack perfect If I closed my eyes I cant feel the difference between the players at all.
                        Lights.

                      • January 11, 2026 at 10:14 am #407265
                        Guido
                        Participant

                          Wow, you chose one of the most challenging lessons in the entire catalogue (IMO) and your parts were just creative and brilliant, they flowed seamlessly as a response from Quist’s! A challenge won with great leads!

                          Guido

                        • January 11, 2026 at 10:38 am #407280
                          charjo
                          Moderator

                            Cool, Trem. Quist’s licks seemed to have a lot of repetition, yours were more varied. Loved the licks at 2;15 and 2:50 and you went out strong.
                            John

                          • January 11, 2026 at 10:54 am #407290
                            Mike W
                            Participant

                              That was so impressive – great idea very well executed. Well done.

                            • January 11, 2026 at 11:31 am #407305
                              James B
                              Participant

                                You’re laying down some hot licks, Trem. Cool idea and you’re holding your own with the “Quister”.

                                James

                              • January 11, 2026 at 11:45 am #407311
                                AndréM
                                Participant

                                  Nice rendition Trem, this one is difficult.
                                  I remember doing it it was a blast.

                                  AndréM

                                  AndréM

                                • January 11, 2026 at 12:52 pm #407324
                                  Paul S.
                                  Participant

                                    You are a braver man than me! You were undaunted in the face of a master of the fretboard and more than held your own in the back and forth. You got great tone out of that Les Paul Studio model, too.

                                  • January 11, 2026 at 2:17 pm #407332
                                    Manfred M
                                    Participant

                                      Yes, that’s true, Kevin, this call and response duel is a great way to practice. And it looks and sounds like a whole lot of fun.
                                      What’s more, it’s great fun to listen to.
                                      Your part is at least on a par with his and full of creativity. Simply brilliant!
                                      Liebe Grüße und ein gutes neues Jahr mit vielen Gitarrenerlebnissen, vielleicht auch ein paar gemeinsamen.

                                      Take the chance to meet your AM friends on Zoom
                                      The next Meetup will be at the beginning of next year 2026

                                      A detailed announcement will be posted here in the forum in good time.

                                      I look forward to meet you.
                                      Manfred

                                    • January 11, 2026 at 3:07 pm #407344
                                      Dieter
                                      Participant

                                        Very nice playing.

                                        Dieter

                                      • January 12, 2026 at 6:32 am #407450
                                        Juxi
                                        Participant

                                          Those good old trusted licks did serve you well, Kevin. Very cool challenge response, I did not encounter another of our friends that tackled this lesson and man, you really dug into this conversation with Quist! Well done!
                                          Beeindruckend! Gesundes neues Jahr – freue mich schon auf unser nächstes WEM 😊👋🏽

                                          Bluesige Grüße
                                          Juxi

                                        • January 12, 2026 at 8:00 pm #407540
                                          Michael L
                                          Participant

                                            Hi Trem, love the driving bass on this track. You held up your end nicely with some great licks and excellent tone. This sounds like it must have been fun to put together.

                                          • January 12, 2026 at 9:31 pm #407551
                                            JoLa
                                            Participant

                                              Holly Molly, Kevin! You do have guts to take on Quist on that power track! And not only that, you sounded fantastic and kept your composure throughout while improvising – truly remarkable! No one else dared play that one! Bravo!

                                              🎸JoLa

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