End of January Progress Report and February Plan

[CraigHollander]

All

Here is end of month report I am hoping that since after wasting decades thinking I could not play now that I am making massive progress these reports can help newbies and even in some case people who have tried many times or for a long time to practice better and make rapid progress. All I can say is I made more progress in last 22 hours of practice then in 3 years so I think is worth posting to you all......

-Started this insane focused practice on Dec 19th 2023
-Out of 6 weeks 42 days actually had time tp practice on..... 22 days on average 1 very focused hour.
-22 Hours later here is the results

Goal 1 - Memorization -Used 50 Slow Licks to practice memorizing-Result I have all 50 Licks Memorized

Goal 2- Being able to play at speed of at least 140 BPM on Triplets and 90 On Sextuplets which is top speed in Blues speed builder course
Result Level 3 Nailing Level 4 95% perfect.

Goal 3 - Strumming and learning to play through entire song not just parts of songs - Reviewed all of Guitar Mastery then using very nicely done Springsteen site Learned 8 songs. Never sounded better on strums steady smooth with accents and varied strum patterns.

Goal 4 - Fix Technical Problems holding back progress. Attention to playing 100% accurate and clean . Establish repeatable mechanic of playing.
a- changed medium pick to jazz 3 immense help . Today on last day put picking over the top because I remembered what HS friend trying to explain how he picked fast and clean - think small motion not large and... imaging the pick is the point of a pencil choke up with very little peaking out and keep contact with strings whenever possible and you will see it work. Did I get that or do it. Hell no. Today I finally realize why sometimes I sounded better than others by saying the next time I just feel locked in I will stop what I am dong just look at my hand and... I realize at that moment exactly what my palm fingers and pick grip was I went away for a few hours picked up guitar put it all the same exact way and boom right back into it . If you think this all doesnt matter I strongly disagree you need to find a sweet spot but many players do things the same way and as griff says nothing is hard and fast but if you see many greats doing it likely it may be worth a try?

Fixed hammer pull off bends left hand positioning . listened to griff about proper playing position left hand muting as well. I think the only technique I have not worked on is tapping and whammy bar but thats more rock metal deal with it later.

Guys I could not have done level 3 and 95% clean on level 4 of speed builders if I did not address all these details above straight away. Once you do and realize wow it's working it becomes second nature . This is why the. old timers who already maybe can do this cant explain it because to the its like yeah I do that so what . If no one ever taught you correct you likely have 1 or many bad technique habits and you will not sound like Griff or anyone competent if you dont address it.

Goal -5 better use of spark amp and tones. Okay I have time to download all the Positive Grid made tones in each category there is like 22 in blues they are way better then the user ones in general but I will post results separately when I have time to experiment. I Alsop downloaded Paul gibbert and zach wylde created tones as they are legend. Now I realized that if you go to tone cloud and click a category or all it comes up by amount of downloads. If something has 200k downloads it may be a good way to find some usable tones. I

I also read up researched how to dial in my own tones by finally understanding different pedals and knobs and settings. So in good shape here.

All noice problems from amp are eliminated working perfect sounds fantastic.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Plan for February

1- Goal to use the 50 licks with backing tracks and have the solos sound professional.

Here I get to combine various things Griff has courses on and talks about
A- I will use major over the I chord Minor over IV and V
B-I reviewed last night How to structure Slow blues solos course. Here he says not every solo is like this structure but ..... after hundreds of transcriptions a ton are. So might be good when learning to do it to follow that structure ? Although the solos examples in 50 slow blues lick doesnt seem to follow that structure? Anyone know why?
C- I learned quick 50 licks by organizing them by the note they start on per soloing without scales course. But now I need to also think which beat do they start on. I reorganized by beat last night and I realized something by counting how many of 50 start on each beat The & of the 1 beat is in 1st position with 16 licks then the 4 beat with 11 and the 2 beat with 10 . The least popular seems to be &of 2 beat 2 licks and beat 3 only 1 lick. This makes sense if you look at the structure Griff shows in the how to construct slow blues solos.
D- Once I create these solos I will play them without tab just memorized and over all different keys and backing tracks in slow blues by box course .

yes I could just experiment and see "what sounds good" that comes later when the licks are ingrained in a more organized way initially . The idea being that again it will become second nature to just do it on the fly.

2-Goal 2 finish up level 4 speed builder and ... utilize every skill learned to date to get perfect solo 6 of slow blues supplement course. Lots of speed and notes in that one may be the hardest in course

3-Strummiing - add 12 more varied strumming songs all different bands styles and strum patterns to the 8 sporingsteen I have down. Make totally ready to go on acoustic or electric someone comes over says hey you play? Play something and I just pick up and start playing all the way by memory any of the 20 songs. This also helps memory .

I think this stage could take all of Feb and March but on the other side I will have gained on ton. I am going to do it right not rush it concentrate on technique that I have been able to develop makes sure not just doing it but rather playing in tight time . clean and sounding good.

Lord Help Me

Report at end of February

The Scientist

 

[CraigHollander]

Took the 50 memorized lick out for 1st Test Drive Today...... Road Test Results are in.

- I put on the backing track and at 1st just checked still know all 50 licks. I played them over backing track and was able to do it no problem and in time.

- I wanted to try to use major on the 1 and minor on the 4 and 5. This is where the challenge came . I know how to do it using the 50 licks but I realized in the major minor and slow blues course the same type of licks used in 50 licks say box 2 are either fragments or with added blue notes which the 50 Licks didnt have so at 1st I am like why when I play major over the 1 is it not fitting and sounding right. I took hard look at all Griff courses slow blues and major minor.. tonight I am going to map out 12 bars if I have to alter the licks to sound better over major I will no problem. I will do this while watching TV not even playing so I can try to see how it works tomorrow quickly . I will also try to just know I am on 1 chord play a major sound try to do it on the fly just making it up.

- I think the for instance A backing track is way longer then 2x through it may be 4x have to listen tonight . If 4 times I can try to vary and use most of the licks I memorized.

- I did notice that from doing all this can hear major minor sound much better then ever before and playing with he pulse is not to difficult ..

- I also could hear that although there are endless combinations of 50 Licks some do not sound great together even with spacing if played back to back

- While I looked over about 12 solos of Griff I tried to see how much the last month is practiced improved playing by not having tab open just playing the solo and pausing after a lick and by ear trying to play it back .Doing Trading like In 50 licks course . Again it's working I was able to do it over 90% of time 1st try.

-Whats interesting is in the slow blues construction course he give you "a library of licks" that you can then try out in the slow blues format he suggests. I did and am doing the same thing using the 50 slow blues licks by the box and from doing this I also was successful visualizing playing by the root note rather then box soloing without scales. I used to do the cards Griff provide to test yourself on pattern by string and root left and right and sort of got it but like everything you think you cant do it from the intense practice last month learning these 50 licks I know exactly where I am left and right major minor. Learning to solo without even thinking box and being able to hear major and minor on the fly in my opinion super important to playing . I am glad I went from understanding but not doing but now being able to hear and do. All anyone has to do is work the plan it just happens.

- I can tell anyone trying to learn these things so they can effortlessly jam with confidence memorizing licks first then trying to use it is in my opinion the way to go. without thinking and stalling and stopping to look up licks or even read off tab now my full focus is not only playing over the jam tracks but making it sound correct and interesting and locked in. Going to take more doing but once you learn it I see it really does stay with you. I am also hearing the nuances more of how Griff plays the solos. How the notes connect flow , vibrato , bends phrasing etc and am able to incorporate to make it sound more musical less boxy.

-I think that most people start the lick on right note but I really think of it now as 1 blob where I know what the final sound of that lick is and I am looking to land it right where it should be this is I am guessing how people can just play eventually in time by ear . I am not sure but I think this is called the intonation? May be wrong word but I also think Griff did a video about how you land matters . Do you choke off quick do you slide off do you hold and use virbrato. I see this a super important to my ear to make it sound correct . If I am playing in A and land on time on A great but if I dont end it the right way it doesn't sound good .

So to sum it up If using the 50 I memorized I can make tons of combinations out of them right now and stick a fork in it and walk away but, I want to ingrain using major and minor mixed. That will take a little time but I think within the month I should be jamming well in multiple keys using the backing tracks provided.

Any additional insight or suggestions on jamming phase are welcomed .

Back to the lab

 

[tommytubetone]

but, I want to ingrain using major and minor mixed. That will take a little time

I use the scale trainer every time I practice, and it's still way too easy to revert back to all minor pentatonic at jams or with the band. It's coming though.
You've made amazing progress it seems. Keep it up.

 

[CraigHollander]

Good Morning

Thank you for kind words.... My main thing at moment if Griff happens to be reading this is....

The leads in the slow blues supplement do seem to follow the blueprint provided in the slow blues construction course. However the leads in 50 blues licks by the box top not seem to follow the blue print ,

The licks as I see them are fairly hard as is to fit into the blueprint format and to use major and minor format as well.

Is this because 50 blues licks course was done in all minor so that students could more easily play rather than shifting back and forth from the major to minor ? Is this why straight pentatonic without blues scale which is used in the soloing without scales and slow blues supplement course? Or more likely I am missing something?

For fun I organized a all minor 24 bar solo using I think about half of the licks in what I hope is logical order that sounds good last night going to play it over all backing track keys today and if good use the other 25 licks in same way . This will be good to further burn them in brain by playing in more random order and with backing tracks

If Griff answers the above before I try to figurer out how to use them major minor or anyone on the boards can comment it would be helpful.

Back to the lab .......

 

[CraigHollander]

Feedback Needed.... 50 licks jamming

1st attempt yesterday on taking the 50 Licks out using backing tracks . I described it in above text,

Today as stated stayed with just minor not trying to mix major minor.

After I didnt like the sound of what I had planned on paper while watching tv last night in terms of lick choices I decided to just try to use a variety of memorized licks over jam tracks in different keys bounce around try to be in time and not get tripped up vary the space between them and the boxes etc.

First the good news in general the sound was very good in time and not many bad notes. The choices of which lick to use came natural I just kind of felt when to go up to higher on neck or lower based on pitch I wanted and could just feel where the turnaround was going to be. This is all great.

I have no idea how I did this. ...which is not good for where I am heading.... one more good one today I realized the below.

I had no problem changing keys because of a video I watched on net that said after box 1 box 4 is most popular because say you are going to solo in D but dont want to drift to farther south then 12th fret in pitch box 4 for D is at 5th fret based on D note 5th string 5th fret so I have room above to do box 3 and 2 and below box 5 and 1 without going so high up on neck This hint about thinking about box 4 where it is really helped me. when in E you may not want to play to high up in pitch so the the 1 box becomes the highest you go all the others are above it and your not forced to use open E unless you want to . So basically I realized I am moving around at will the patterns major and minor this is good but ...


QUESTION 1

am I the only one that if I fully concentrate can hear the chord changes but when I am also playing I cant hear it as well. This may be due to some hearing loss I have where low frequency or ambient noise makes fine hearing of detail more difficult . How many of you struggle with this or do you hear each beat and chord change easily?

Question 2

Do you all count while playing or are you hearing and thus anticipating the chord changes to keep time better without having to count. I find it much easier to count now when learning playing with tab but now I find I am going to have to practice doing it while playing and the backing track is going. Not impossible but another thing that I need to work on.

So let me know on 1 to 10 how difficult you find hearing not tapping or counting the beat while you play and hearing chord changes

Then tell me any techniques you do to lock a solo in with the backing track aka the band.

I am going to change goal for Feb to 1st use the simpler minor only (less thinking) and get used to be able to count out the memorized licks while playing with backing tracks . it will make the future easier to do this annoying task first.

So now this will be my goal for month
1st the above jamming
2nd will be to finish level 4 perfect speed builders
3 rd will be to memorize and work on solo 6 slow blues supplement to lock down and stabilize speed ability
4- will be to try to have 15-20 strumming songs down and memorized by end of Feb

Everything is straight forward except getting the jamming down to a science ...

Feel free to give any advice on that as I can use it I am getting on internet to try to find some better specifics as that seem to keep solving my issues. Best The Scientist

 

[CraigHollander]

Paleo

Yes we are once again in agreement . . I think it's positive that I realized that to use major over the 1 chord in any box positions you need you cant just take these minor structured licks to use they dont fit well . You seem to confirm this. I look forward to the new griff courses they will really help me.

Yes I know that slow blues supplement was also not meant to show major minor but it does use the exact blueprint of the solo construction course.

I was just surprised that when we do 50 slow licks by the box the solos provided are not also in the same format? Griff mentioned that of course not all blues solos are but ... he said after dong hundreds of transcriptions a hell of a lot are so I wanted to kind of practice it.

You confirmed these licks in 50 slow blues not only are not the greatest for major use but do not fit that well into the solo construction pattern. Thank you now I dont feel incompetent.

I love that intuitively it only took me the first day 1 day to hear this and ask about it. It means to me I am moving to another level. I will now use the. memorized licks differently while I work on my other Feb goals.

See my last text and please weigh in on jamming 2 questions .

Your response is appreciated

 

[Paleo]

The leads in the slow blues supplement do seem to follow the blueprint provided in the slow blues construction course. However the leads in 50 blues licks by the box top not seem to follow the blue print ,

The licks as I see them are fairly hard as is to fit into the blueprint format and to use major and minor format as well.

The 3 courses in question emphasized different things.

In the "construction kit" Griff defined 7 places within a 12-bar where you can "fit" licks and provided 5 licks for each position. There was no emphasis on Major over the I chord and I don't remember if any of the licks were even Major. He's not suggesting that all solos will, or should, have 7 licks that follow this "blueprint".

The emphasis of Slow Blues Supplement was specifically to "mix" Major and minor, always using Major over the I chord.
He subsequently created Major Minor Blue Shapes as an "easier" course covering the same approach.

50 Blues Licks were all minor using the 5 Boxes of the Minor Pentatonic/Blues scale. You can play any lick over and over or in any place over a jam track without any regard to what chord is going on. He calls this Level 1 soloing.

When this course first came out I suggested that a 50 Major Blues Licks By The Box may not be far behind,

Griff replied that such a course was in the pipeline.

Then you'll be able to practice playing your 50 Major licks over the I chord and your 50 minor licks over the IV and V.

 

[Elio]

Feedback Needed.... 50 licks jamming

1st attempt yesterday on taking the 50 Licks out using backing tracks . I described it in above text,

Today as stated stayed with just minor not trying to mix major minor.

After I didnt like the sound of what I had planned on paper while watching tv last night in terms of lick choices I decided to just try to use a variety of memorized licks over jam tracks in different keys bounce around try to be in time and not get tripped up vary the space between them and the boxes etc.

First the good news in general the sound was very good in time and not many bad notes. The choices of which lick to use came natural I just kind of felt when to go up to higher on neck or lower based on pitch I wanted and could just feel where the turnaround was going to be. This is all great.

I have no idea how I did this. ...which is not good for where I am heading.... one more good one today I realized the below.

I had no problem changing keys because of a video I watched on net that said after box 1 box 4 is most popular because say you are going to solo in D but dont want to drift to farther south then 12th fret in pitch box 4 for D is at 5th fret based on D note 5th string 5th fret so I have room above to do box 3 and 2 and below box 5 and 1 without going so high up on neck This hint about thinking about box 4 where it is really helped me. when in E you may not want to play to high up in pitch so the the 1 box becomes the highest you go all the others are above it and your not forced to use open E unless you want to . So basically I realized I am moving around at will the patterns major and minor this is good but ...


QUESTION 1

am I the only one that if I fully concentrate can hear the chord changes but when I am also playing I cant hear it as well. This may be due to some hearing loss I have where low frequency or ambient noise makes fine hearing of detail more difficult . How many of you struggle with this or do you hear each beat and chord change easily?

Question 2

Do you all count while playing or are you hearing and thus anticipating the chord changes to keep time better without having to count. I find it much easier to count now when learning playing with tab but now I find I am going to have to practice doing it while playing and the backing track is going. Not impossible but another thing that I need to work on.

So let me know on 1 to 10 how difficult you find hearing not tapping or counting the beat while you play and hearing chord changes

Then tell me any techniques you do to lock a solo in with the backing track aka the band.

I am going to change goal for Feb to 1st use the simpler minor only (less thinking) and get used to be able to count out the memorized licks while playing with backing tracks . it will make the future easier to do this annoying task first.

So now this will be my goal for month
1st the above jamming
2nd will be to finish level 4 perfect speed builders
3 rd will be to memorize and work on solo 6 slow blues supplement to lock down and stabilize speed ability
4- will be to try to have 15-20 strumming songs down and memorized by end of Feb

Everything is straight forward except getting the jamming down to a science ...

Feel free to give any advice on that as I can use it I am getting on internet to try to find some better specifics as that seem to keep solving my issues. Best The Scientist

I generally only count when learning a lick during practice. After I've played and counted it enough times and over different backing tracks at different tempos, the count becomes fairly engrained for me. Trying to count while improvising for real takes a lot of mental effort.

If I'm playing with others, I sometimes have the same issue with respect to hearing the chord changes, but if you are solid on the timing, they are usually easy to anticipate for a 12 bar blues (or any other I IV V variation). About the only time I consciously count while playing with others is on occasion if I am playing bass and am having a hard time locking in to the drummer over all the other instruments and/or a over lively guitar solo where I don't want to lose track of the chord changes. The same is true when comping, although if you miss a chord change on guitar, it's easier to just stop playing until you pick it up again.

As far as tapping, I used to find it really awkward and uncomfortable trying to tap my foot ...until I started counting in earnest. At some point I realized that I was automatically tapping my foot without thinking about it or consciously even trying to. When I am not automatically tapping my foot now, it's a clue that I don't have the timing quite internalized.

With regard to the major/minor licks, my thinking is that it is probably best to initially focus mostly on minor licks first until you build up your comfort level. After that, start to integrate some major licks one or two at a time. I think there's some benefit to incorporating them earlier on since my problem is that I just tend to forget about them, and when I do remember the chord has changed and the opportunity has passed. Had I made more of an effort to learn and integrate more major licks, I think I would be much more fluid with them.

It sounds like you are doing great and super-organized, I would keep doing what you are doing.

 

[CraigHollander]

Your clear response is what the doctor ordered. When people hit a problem it's good to have confirmation on if it's really not a problem or suggestions to solve. Your response is what I believe to be the norm in relations to hearing the changes counting while playing with band and chord tone targeting.

1- count to help learn strumming or soloing and develop internalize timing.
2-When Playing with a band you need to feel the timing
3- Been doing my homework again and ... see below.

Your last paragraph that you realize you playing and miss chord changes yes I also have lost my place as I lean into it and miss the chord changes. All through Griffs course and in all styles of soloing and music chord tones and chord targeting is stressed. This is not just using major over the 1 and minor over the 4 and 5. Its targeting the 3 5 and in some case even the 7th of the chord you are playing over . This is another thing that makes blues or any form of music more pleasing melodic and above average sounding and ... its extremely importatnt in what emotion you want to elicit in the listener.. If I am having initial problem and you say you do the same thing I am sure most on this foirum have dealt or deal with it. So lets used that focus and solve the problem ...

-I went to the lab (the internet) and I asked " how do I hear the chord changes" Guess what? Thousands of videos came up. I have gotten very very adapt and disposing of posers on the web and finding what I need fast and bingo . I found good answers. All by the way which are touched on by Griff and many others going back to my earliest teachers but... I was not guitar awake at time and they could not reach me. This is why its important to look at what you need in many differeent ways not just one because its sometimes how its said that boom lights goes off .

Here it goes in the most simple of terms .

-Somebody says I hear colors in music. They dont always mean they know instantly which note that is something else. They definitely mean the tonal quality or better yet the emotional quality of a chord or a note played over a chord.

-modes for example are same scale different tone center played over chords that actually determine which mode to use. Meaning they are colors and emotions happy Ionian Sad Aeolian Futuristic Lydian etc etc. Thats all it is .

-Example we all know major chord songs sound upbeat happy and minor sound sad . Most people if you play one after another and ask them to guess which one that they can do.

- We are dealing with 3, 7 chords the same family but in a progression chords take on function that has a sound but also an emotional feeling even if all 3 are 7 chords. In a 1 1V V progression here it is

I we all know is called the root or home because it feels perfect an at peace and the song may not start on it but it almost always resolves and ends to it

IV- Walking- you do not feel you are at home. You are not anxious but in motion to get somewhere

V- Your knocking on the Home door you want in you feel the anticipation and almost anxious

Sit and listen to some backing tracks without playing and I assure you will now if you listen for the above hear the changes and start to feel when they are coming. This is subconsciously what happenned to me today when I tried to count even just in my head sounded off not musical just wrong when I relaxed having already memorized the licks I started to feel where they go. As I said I didnt know why but this is the answer.

Listen to Griff solos and think about the structure he puts them in that makes sense when you think about above and which chord he is soloing over .

====================

I will put link below if you want to try to hear the colors it's a website tool free that trains you . I am adding to my practice 5 minutes a day. He plays you guess which chord it is but it is done very very well easy fun and if you do it you will hear the colors and the chords change always think of the emotion of the sound as well. My neighbor can sing opera and plays very good guitar. he can hear colors play any chord he can tell you the type instantly. I played the composite blues scale solo from griff without telling him nd he said Whoa this is all over the place knew that it was combining major minor yes this helps playing because your can follow other instruments by ear.

Exercises to Hear (Almost) Every Chord - 1 Hour of Ear Training

Use this series of progressive exercises to learn how to tell the difference between almost every chord you are likely to encounter. LESSONS 1-3 OF MY EAR TR...

www.youtube.com

===================

I am bit tired long day so part 2 of this I will send in morning. Which is how to easily solo over the changes and target the I 3 and 5 chord tones.

=================

You see by changing my approach to practice each time I advance and hit roadblock I am addressing it direct full on to eliminate without heavy music theory or receptive boring practice I just focus on getting understandable right answers.

I post for all the kids right now just like I was then who are getting frustrated and for us old timers that want to actually make progress. The pros on here likely know all this or just somehow can do it.

----------------------------------------------
Best The Scientist

 

[CraigHollander]

Part 2 Soloing challenges

Elio

This guy below is a huge resource. See link and his site. Yesterday we knocked out some of the issues I came across taking the 50 slow licks by the box I memorized . We were in agreement and I spoke to some solutions I found to hearing and feeling the chord changes.

I stumbled across one of my best learning finds ever last night researching how to solo using chord 1 3 5 7 tone and targeting chord tones. Hours of screening shit sites. Take a look however at how he goes about explaining it on these 3 videos then go to his web site most things I have discussed for last 6 weeks are touched on but in what I think is a bit different approach. Again one way or another Griff and others touch on these same topics and again no one has taken me further than griff course but I need all the help I can get because I want to play like a professional guitarist not a garage band so check this guy out and let me know what you think its all free 115 lessons nothing to lose. I believe his angle is kinda different and very useful.

Please let me know what you think.

Uncover the Secret to Soloing Over Chord Changes - Soloing Made Simple!

I can't tell you how many times students have come here for guitar lessons and asked, "How can I solo over the chord changes?" Or "How can I break out of Min...

www.youtube.com

Target Notes the Easy Way (guitar solos to the next level)

Take your guitar solos to the next level by learning to target chord tones in your solos the easy way. Guitar teacher from Vancouver, Blue Morris, shows you ...

www.youtube.com

Why You Don't Need the Major Scale

Do you really need to memorize the full 7-note major scale? As guitar players who enjoy rock, blues, pop, folk, and country, the truth is that these genres r...

www.youtube.com

 

[Paleo]

Yes we are once again in agreement . ..

I'm not sure I'm confirming what you think I'm confirming???

I know that slow blues supplement was also not meant to show major minor

Just the opposite. It was specifically created to show mixing Major and minor. As was the subsequent Major Minor Blues Shapes course.

..... to use major over the 1 chord in any box positions you need you cant just take these minor structured licks to use they dont fit well .

Using Major over the I chord is an optional alternative to using minor. Using minor over the entire progression works just fine. That's why you can practice all the minor licks over all the chords in the jam tracks.

I was just surprised that when we do 50 slow licks by the box the solos provided are not also in the same format?

These licks are all minor. There are no major licks to use in the same format as SBS.

You confirmed these licks in 50 slow blues not only are not the greatest for major use but do not fit that well into the solo construction pattern.

The "solo construction pattern" was about where licks occur. Not what kind they are. The positions were defined for the course. Not all solos will fit the same way.

I'm not sure what you mean by minor licks don't work for Major.?

The solos in SBS were created to demonstrate the purpose of the course, mixing Major and minor.

In the 50 licks course Griff combined all 10 licks in each section into a "solo".

 

[Paleo]

Take a look however at how he goes about explaining it on these 3 videos

I'll just point out that while he is talking about targeting notes. he is however playing in the key of A minor in these examples, using Am-Dm-Em.

You may not like same approach to switching boxes with the chords over the Dominant 7 chords in a standard 12-bar.

Which up until now has been under discussion.

(Easy shape and Funny B string shape = Boxes 1 & 4)

 

[CraigHollander]

Good Morning

I read response and. Apologies it seems 1 mistake I made composing email caused a bit of a stir. See below

- I meant to say 50 slow licks by the box was not mean to show major minor
-point 2 yes we are in agreement
-point 3- yes also agreed
-point 4 was not referring to major minor format it was referring to I believe slow blues construction course the most used structure which yes I know is not a hard rule.
-point 5 - meaning was that the minor licks provided in 50 slow lick by box do not fit well into the pattern spoken about in slow blues construction course

So on the above we are actually 100% in sync. All I was saying is me being newer to all this that I kinda figured out what your are saying from trying to combine all skills into my jamming using the 50 memorized licks from slow blues by the box. I asked about it for confirmation and you and Elio I believe confirmed what I had deduced was reason.

From all this so that we dont lose the newbies or the pros just think of it this way if you eliminate chord based courses and jam tracks and how to play like and caged and modes (more on that later) you should be left with courses that are geared to learning how to solo

-50 Blues Licks (and classic rock) - this helps you to practice moving up and down neck between boxes , chance to practice memorization and chance to practice also playing off the roots on different string "solo without scales" By doing this your jamming becomes more interesting as you have so many lick to memory and can alter them

- Major minor - Griff stresses is of just that mixing by playing off major over 1 chord minor over 4 and 5 Important to sounding next level.
-Soling without scales -Also crucial as really what you are learning is to hear the sound of major and minor licks and to pivot off of the root
-Blues solo construction slow and shuffle show the most common structure of solos also important
-speed builders I think critical in terms of being able to actually play and execute properly the concepts you learned.
-how to improvise blues solos -self explanatory
-slow blues supplement - yes uses major minor so good to work also uses structure from solo construction course

Okay so guys once someone like me can play through most of these courses which I can (if not from memory with tab) its time for the final stage putting it all together into tasty solos and being able to pick up and play in any situation as easily as strumming chords. To do this comes my response to your 2nd email in my next text .....
-

 

[CraigHollander]

After you kinda of understand all the last text soloing material what I think separated the. men from the boys and has yes been highlighted by Griff many times is not only using major and minor sounds correctly but also chord targeting over changes and highlighting 1 3 5 and 7th of the chord mostly 1 3 or 5. Finally another skill fluid back and forth between chords and licks.

There is very little else thats not in the last text and this one need to play any blues rock metal etc if you have the last concept down you can really solo. So what is the challenge. I have realized that this is why even griff did a full course on .... caged and modes.

This goes is so important to understand. Many newbies and players do not get it " Music is different types of sound that evoke emotions in the listener"

People hate to learn modes because they see all the freaking formulas and complex explanation how to do it. Major is generally upbeat happy and minor is downbeat sad. Etc etc execution is not hard same scale different tone center Why all the scales just another way to find the right notes but the patterns change and note emphasis changes but not which notes are in the scale. Thats it. Then someone destroys your mind with this scale can be altered by changing this and that note by this and you get Dorian or Lydian etc that does not work for me and many.

CAGED

Now my goal to target chord changes and chord tones professionally.

When anyone has tried to explain caged it's lengthy its sounds complicated and I just start to drift off. What I am telling you is A-this guy I found does talk about 7th chords and yes he just used minor chords as an example of his way of thinking. What you're not seeing is the beauty in the simplicity of his way of thinking .

Caged is usually promoted as a good way to learn and see the fretboard. What the hell does that mean to a newbie or most oldsters who cant ever seem to fully play? It means nothing its to unspecific . Or they say you use it to outline chord shapes ? Again no good doesnt penetrate.

Hear is the what is missing

- Using cage is to be able to play chords of all types in different voicing all over the neck .
This is useful but in itself learning a million inversions and chord voicing is to much perhaps at once and maybe hard to remember but yes you should work a little a time so you can see below mix licks with chords effortlessly in time and sound in key and professional

- Okay so what about outlining the chords simply put that is great skill called arpeggios griff covers in multiple course about this in terms of soloing okay so no problem but you are not going to learn all of them overnight .

-Mixing licks with chords

-The value of the videos dont learn major scale 1st is kinda like the thinking of soling without scales but the other 2 about using what is basically caged and are focused on solving my freaking problem and he says it listen to the whole 2 videos all of it...... How do you find the chord tones without memorizing scales and formulas on the fly on the spot in the middle of playing instantly?

We all should know that which scale you use depends on the chords and the progression right? So why does everyone teach soloing by scales before concentratiing on the 2 things that Griff even agreed when he said the 7 chord family we use in blues makes it sound like blues if we used all major everyday non 7 chords it would not sound like blues would not feel the same . So people should I think learn about this stuff and this guy I found has a good way of explaining this by hearing the quality of the chord what emotion its eliciting minor major 7 mode understand that hearing it will help you keep your place when playing because a 7th in the home 1 spot vs in the 4 5 same family different feeling. I asked a million freaking guys in my life when you say I just feel the music what does that meant but they cant describe what it is they shrug. This is actually what it is .

The second is if the chord you play contains in our blues case 1 3 an 5 sometimes 7 . What that means is ... if you are noodling around and then want to quickly target a chord change you anticipate and you can rather than think of the scale and scrambling to memorize or where is 3r or 5th etc if you know how to play the chord in that area of the neck you know exactly where the chord tones are and the arpeggios as well.

I will keep saying this I have been doing Griffs course for awhile My awakening was dec 19th when it all came together Its the best course out there but sometimes you need a different perspective to jolt your playing to next level then you can also better use griff courses master the material faster etc. In all my years of scanning web I have only found a few worthy teachers .

The big 2
Griff Blues
Ben Higgins Insane for rock and Metal

Everyone else

Claus kline -Guitar masterry- Weird buy never bought his course but has hundreds of video this crazy guy is amazing player but he is the one who's ranted about focus of practice got to me and boom more progress in 6 weeks and 24 total hours of practice then in 3 years
rick beato- Griff mentioned him the other day- He has useful ideas but is obsessed with how to pick fast . mainly another guy who opened me up to the physical of guitar the execution he know all major rock stars interesting interview but just as supplement
troy Grady -similiar as above just YouTube supplemental but some good ideas
zombie guitar-found before griff but is mostly amazing at explaining guitar theory modes etc but helped at the time

So 3 years after finding Griff looking for useful info intently on net this is it. However now I found this guy and his way of looking at things is useful especially to newbies

Recent thread if starting over how would you go about learning see this geared towards beginners and intermediate many at this point dont need but useful

How I Would Relearn The Guitar From Scratch

My reaction video to ... let's just say there is some bad advice out there from some very high profile guitar YouTubers. The thing is, I don't want you to wa...

www.youtube.com

About is Caged worth learning and what you use it for

Is CAGED worth the TROUBLE for guitar?

Since starting my YouTube guitar lessons channel, people have often commented things like, "you seem to be teaching the CAGED system without mentioning the C...

www.youtube.com

here is another thing Griff talks about connecting chord scale shapes together 3+2 2+3 pattern and lays out using caged to do it as well.

Unlock chord-scale connectors on the guitar

Combining chords and scales on the guitar is something that so many guitar students ask me about in their lessons with me here in Vancouver. To many, it seem...

www.youtube.com

There are many many other useful short to the point videos I am saying that sometimes Griff is very good at explaining it clearly but sometimes a little different way of explaining the same thing goes a long long way . He even has comments about practicing another subject I rant about.

LOL to all

 

[Elio]

Part 2 Soloing challenges

Elio

This guy below is a huge resource. See link and his site. Yesterday we knocked out some of the issues I came across taking the 50 slow licks by the box I memorized . We were in agreement and I spoke to some solutions I found to hearing and feeling the chord changes.

I stumbled across one of my best learning finds ever last night researching how to solo using chord 1 3 5 7 tone and targeting chord tones. Hours of screening shit sites. Take a look however at how he goes about explaining it on these 3 videos then go to his web site most things I have discussed for last 6 weeks are touched on but in what I think is a bit different approach. Again one way or another Griff and others touch on these same topics and again no one has taken me further than griff course but I need all the help I can get because I want to play like a professional guitarist not a garage band so check this guy out and let me know what you think its all free 115 lessons nothing to lose. I believe his angle is kinda different and very useful.

Please let me know what you think.

Uncover the Secret to Soloing Over Chord Changes - Soloing Made Simple!

I can't tell you how many times students have come here for guitar lessons and asked, "How can I solo over the chord changes?" Or "How can I break out of Min...

www.youtube.com

Target Notes the Easy Way (guitar solos to the next level)

Take your guitar solos to the next level by learning to target chord tones in your solos the easy way. Guitar teacher from Vancouver, Blue Morris, shows you ...

www.youtube.com

Why You Don't Need the Major Scale

Do you really need to memorize the full 7-note major scale? As guitar players who enjoy rock, blues, pop, folk, and country, the truth is that these genres r...

www.youtube.com

I think that hearing even the same thing from different individuals with different perspectives has value. I can't tell you how many times I've had something explained that marginally made sense to me until someone else explained it using a different explanation or analogy that suddenly made the light bulb come on. The videos mostly mirror what I have heard from Griff, my local instructor and others. I really the fact that they are relatively short and direct.

With that said, I do disagree with the major scale advice. In terms of music theory, I tend to think in terms of the major scale while playing to identify where the intervals lie on the fretboard. While his approach of using the chord shapes to determine the intervals is well-taken, I don't think that negates the advantages of knowing the major scale. Notice how he is telling you where the intervals are found within the shape. How would you figure that out had you not been told and then memorized it? Or, if you opt for a different voicing not based on a standard bar chord, you are faced with having to determine which notes are present in that particular voicing. Given the major scale, you always have a consistent road map to follow, as well as some alternatives that are available if you use an alternate major scale pattern.

In terms of actually using it, my wake-up call came during a private lesson about 10 years ago when my instructor (not Griff) decided to nudge me out of my comfort zone a bit by pushing me more into a jazz direction. He began playing rhythm for Breezin' by George Benson and then told me to improvise over it. I ended up hitting the wall pretty quickly with the major pentatonic, and then fumbled around incoherently trying to remember the major scale well enough to create some runs over it. After that, I began working the major scale into my practice warm-ups. Coincidentally, a year or two later I attended a guitar clinic led by Robben Ford, who placed a huge focus on the value of understanding and being able to harmonize the major scale in his jazzy blues approach. I still have some of his exercises that he handed out, and really should start working with them again.

While I think there's value to the video's chord-based approach, I think he's doing a disservice discouraging someone from learning the major scale or finding their own value in it.

 

[CraigHollander]

Fair assessment I dont totally believe that the basis of music the major scale can be eliminated however... he says that later I think the problem with the very few helpful videos I have found is that the sites themselves not well organized by topic and in a chronological order. Griff invested in very professional website but most dont. This guy self corrected by putting out a free pdf roadmap of the order to work on things beginner to intermediate that I think if I was a newbie would follow . I think chord connector and other videos about caged are totally the reason I have grasp now of these important items. See my new thread on targeting chord tones triads and playing back and forth lead rhythm. I am trying to really make it easy for newbies and people who never saw value to understand how in 48 hours I 100% get it now....

 

[PapaRaptor]

With that said, I do disagree with the major scale advice. In terms of music theory, I tend to think in terms of the major scale while playing to identify where the intervals lie on the fretboard. While his approach of using the chord shapes to determine the intervals is well-taken, I don't think that negates the advantages of knowing the major scale. Notice how he is telling you where the intervals are found within the shape. How would you figure that out had you not been told and then memorized it? Or, if you opt for a different voicing not based on a standard bar chord, you are faced with having to determine which notes are present in that particular voicing. Given the major scale, you always have a consistent road map to follow, as well as some alternatives that are available if you use an alternate major scale pattern.

Bingo!You cannot know the structure of either a major or minor pentatonic scale without knowledge of the underlying major scale.
You can know a pattern, but that won't help down the road when you want to color outside the lines while soloing.

 

[MikeS]

Bingo!You cannot know the structure of either a major or minor pentatonic scale without knowledge of the underlying major scale.
You can know a pattern, but that won't help down the road when you want to color outside the lines while soloing.

thanks to Griff, I've known the SHR for many years. I can build Major & minor scales, but how does that help me "Color outside the boxes". I've yet to be able to apply it to anything but building scales on paper.

 

[Paleo]

thanks to Griff, I've known the SHR for many years. I can build Major & minor scales, but how does that help me "Color outside the boxes". I've yet to be able to apply it to anything but building scales on paper.

Without the Major scale there would be no SHR for Major keys.

There would be no “box” to be inside, let alone be outside of.

 

[PapaRaptor]

thanks to Griff, I've known the SHR for many years. I can build Major & minor scales, but how does that help me "Color outside the boxes". I've yet to be able to apply it to anything but building scales on paper.

The biggest thing I've found in "coloring outside the boxes" is that I no longer see distinct minor and major pentatonic scales. I should have said "outside the lines," since I'm not literally talking about going outside the pentatonic boxes. Also, I find that when playing bass, my train of thought is much more focused on the major scale rather than either pentatonic scale. EDIT: I did originally say "outside the lines," which is what I meant.

It is easier for me to do double stops on the fly if I think of them in terms of where they fit in the major scale, especially when I'm doing walking double stops while improvising.

In order to understand modes (which admittedly, I have trouble coming to grips with), one must first know the underlying major scale. No matter which mode you're "in," you are still just playing a major scale. You're just not playing it from the major (Ionian) scale root.

tl;dr... I learned the major scale and how to construct it at the very beginning of my musical training, before I had ever heard of pentatonic scales or the SHR. So it's more or less the trunk of my musical learning tree.