I think thatās the test at the end of grade 1. No wonder I canāt move on.
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Bending a lick or two is definitely not enough. I have learned all the first 3 position licks, but still feel too less to put together and make something musical. The Blues Lick App is too difficult, waiting for Justin to come up with more basic licks to feed us.
The rabbit hole is deep, but I feel being stuck somewhere at shallow.
Mark
Have you tried just using those licks over other backing tracks, not just the app (which I have never used). I just find various BTs off of YouTube and worked the licks over them. Takes time at first and they will most likely be a lot slower than Justinā slow, thatās normal.
Edit in the same key off course !
Cheers
Toby
For sure, Mark. It is definitely another case of āA thousand mile journey that begins with a first stepā.
If I had to lay down some Dream level aspirations (borrowing from Justinās Three Types of Song idea) then Iād pop these on my list from Justinās website:
And in my mind, perhaps I am delusional but I donāt think so, I see no reason that one day I am able to play this. Just lots of technique to learn and apply to get to this.
Now I am on more shaky ground. My belief is that with just a lick or two one can be able to play something musical over a BT.
Sure one will not be free-styling blues lead like your favourite players, and may take some perseverance but I believe it is possible.
BY way of an example to show what is possible, take a look at @CTās bluesy jams. To my ears these are musical, beyond what I am currently able to play yet within reach with some practice.
My suggestion would be to put on a blues BT in whatever key is sweet to your ear and record a jam using just licks from minor pentatonic position 1, just a simple video recorded with your phone. Then share. I think I am safe in guaranteeing that you will receive encouragement, tips, and perhaps feedback to improve your playing.
Perhaps youāve done this and I donāt remember, too many folk who were posting in the old Forum AVOYP for me to remember each and every person. If so, apologies for that and maybe re-posting will help you to get unstuck
David, Iām glad to see you know very well the way forward.
When I started guitar last year with acoustic rhythm, following the JG beginner courses, the progress was fast, recognizable and rewarding. I did post one or two in the old AVbYO session. But after started Blues, it slowed down. I have listened tons of blues and rock over the years, but what I can do now by my fingers has a huge gap from what I can almost sing out from my mouth, much wider gap than that of rhythm playing. Maybe I need to more patient. Iāll take your advice, do some recording with BT. Agree, recording makes huge difference.
We will meet somewhere deep in the rabbit hole. Merry Christmas.
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The train has left the station, the bending lesson watched and practice underway.
Iāve decided to make some short recordings of my practice. Firstly it is useful for me to look and listen. Secondly, useful for me to share in the Community. Iām long past worrying about how well I am currently executing. The possible benefits from sharing more than out-weigh what anybody may think about how well or not well I am doing. Thirdly, if I make regular recordings, perhaps eventually Iāll make one of those ālearning journey/experienceā videos that may make me feel good to see the gap between departure point and that moment in time and perhaps encourage others.
Had to decide where to post the video and ultimately ruled out my Roadcase, AVOYP, and the lesson Topic. I think having declared intent here, it is fitting to share progress here.
So here it is. This was day 3 in the first week.
I am not so into detail and journaling that I can say how many hours etc and donāt want to be counting hours and days for the next 6 months, 12 months, as I progress to the point where I declare this leg of the adventure done and time to set the next objective with a new Learning topic post.
Thatās another interesting thought, what would I have to be able to play to declare this Topic and leg of the journey done Perhaps a good enough (yeah, I know that is not specific) improv using the position 1 first five licks keeping the Using blues licks effectively pointers in mind but not yet giving focus to vibrato.
Iāve picked up some things watching and will keep those to myself. Free free to share your observations and suggestions.
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Your bending looks cool, with arm and shoulder all get into the groove. Enjoy!
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@DavidP , I know that there are several trains of thought when it comes to just starting out playing the blues, Iām no expert I just love playing bluesy stuff. It really starts, at least for me, with dialing in a bluesy tone. If my tone is right, nothing can really be wrong and if the tone isnāt right, nothing can really be right. Consider adding some delay and/or reverb and dial down the tone on the guitar just a bit. See if that doesnāt help things along tonewise. 
I think your bends matched the desired pitch, so thatās a great start. 
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I think patience and gentleness with self as one learns is enabling, Mark.
Look forward to hearing more from you as we explore the warren. Blessed Christmas to you and yours.
Thanks, I appreciate the encouraging feedback!
Thanks for the feedback, Clint. For now I am just focused on technique and pitch. Iāll worry about tone down the line.
My amp has a built-in reverb and delay for me to dial-in plus some crunch and overdrive voicings. So I should be able to produce something that sounds OK. But it needs some servicing as the controls are noisy. Iām guessing all the standing unused wasnāt good for it and need to get the knobs off and some contact cleaner applied.
Bends looking good David! I love seeing all the behind the scenes work that goes on inbetween AVOYP submissions. You should definitely post these exercises you do to your road case!
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Thanks Ivan.
My current plan is to post updates here and then in time can consolidate with a Learning Log (note the new name for Roadcase in its new Category āCommunity Hubā entry)
Ah right, old habits 
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@DavidP
Good stuff David. I agree with Ivan about posting in your LL. Itāll get lost in here.
The clue is in the title. Learning Log. 
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Firstly thanks for the encouraging feedback, Gordon.
You make a good point ā¦ and not like me to miss an opportunity to add more posts to my Topic that challenges for longest by number of Replies and Word Count, Topic in the Community 
My thinking was that this Topic was focused on a specific learning focus and seemed an appropriate place to share the progress on that specific learning in the āWhat Are You Learningā Sub-category until I declare the immediate learning objective achieved.
maybe this Sub-category would fit better in the āCommunity Hubā category ā¦ just a thought @Richard_close2u
I would have agreed with you if rather than a Topic, this was just another Reply embedded in a āWhat Are You Learningā topic, which is I recall it was on the Forum.
And as I say, in time learning to bend, play those first licks would eventually become another juicy episode in my Learning Log.
In this update video also trying to add a little vibrato and trying a couple of the licks.
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What a great idea, David, Iām going to steal it from you although the videos will likely be just for me to watch and see progress.
As a total newbie to soloing I have little constructive input, but I will still pass on the following input - comments - suggestions:
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you are sometimes hitting the note and sometimes not. Thatās what you would expect since you are just starting out. It will be nice to see your progression over a series of posts
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Justin says to make music, not just play scales. Youāre playing licks, not scales, but the same thing might be helpful. Have you tried practicing over a backing track / with a looper? It could even be just 1 chord over and over. Maybe even just at the end of your practice session you could play 2-5 minutes with a backing track, make some music with the licks. I think that could more easily show you the progress you are making over a period of time as well. Plus itās just fun to do!
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re Where to Post, here or in your Learning Log, I think it would get more exposure in your Learning Log.
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a question: how did you (and anyone else if others have input) decide on learning blues licks vs the major scale module? I need to learn both so I just kind of arbitrarily picked the Major Scale Maestro. Maybe not entirely arbitrarily, because I would like to be able to play along with friends and add something besides strumming, and so for the kind of music weād play around a campfire Major scale jamming seems more suited. I donāt really know though. And I love the blues. But I want to pick something and stick with it rather than feel unfocused. Iāve started both paths on and off in the past, and both interest me. I only started yesterday this time, so I could always still change my mind. Iām therefore curious as to how / why you picked this route, since Iām not entirely confident in my choice.
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re tone - well thatās a big one for me, as in Iām crap at getting the tone I want. I donāt need to be able to dial in the exact tone for hundreds of songs, and I donāt want to go down the rabbit hole of figuring out the tone bank in my katana 50 (ie how to hook it up to my laptop and get all sorts of song-specific tones). I do want to figure out a handful of tones that I really like though, that I can pick and choose from when Iām playing. 5? 10? Probably somewhere in there. So what Iām planning to do is try different settings every time I practice, then I can experiment a bit with tone while I am practicing learning to solo. Maybe thatās something that would work for you or, as you say, worry about tone down the line.
But enough of all this, Iām off to practice now!
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Great stuff David letting it all hang out. Chappeau !
In respect to Mariās post, Iāll add a couple of cents.
There is another way to check the bend once it is in position. Keep it held and on the string below fret 2 frets back, its the same note. And if you have seen Unison bends its the same principle. You bend the note and play the lower string 2 frets back at the same time and they sound the same. But its a good way to check once you are up there. Hold the bend and compare it with the unison.
I know you have recorded impros but working each lick over a backing track really cements how it fits in. It may sound boring but over a 12BB its weird but the same lick sounds different over the 4 and 5 even though its the same notes. That will make you think about how to use the lick.
Blues Licks or MMS - I went for both. All the āclassicā rock I love and want to play is based on Blues licks, think Pete Green, Rory Gallagher yada yada yada. So working the minor pent and blues scales was a given. BUT when I learnt the minor scale (pent or full) was relative to the Major scale and I could use (most of the time) the Major and its relative minor on the same track, was an epiphany moment. I could toggle between Minor and Major adjacent positions and open up a whole lot of voicings. Now I know I can stay in positions and change the CAGED shapes to do the same thing.
@mari with what you said about jamming with friends, so your pal kicks off in an A minor blues, good chance C major will fit over it but not always. Buyer beware. But if you get used to impro-ing between the Major and its relative minor (pent or full scale) youāll see it becomes easy to merge the two.
As for tone ? Use pre-sets or twiddle knobs until you find the boat floater. Simples.
Hope that helps. PM for specifics if either of you need to, without mudding the waters here.
Cheers
Toby
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Thanks for that input, Toby. I hadnāt thought about relative minors, but yes thatās a good point. I just finished my practice so I will try that out next time. (Donāt mean to hijack your thread, David, maybe I will start something in my Learning Log.)
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I was just going to mention about soloing using pentatonic scales - this tells about it
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