Donna -Progress after 6months of BLIM

I don’t really have a “before” video because I didn’t have any real blues playing experience when I started this course. I went through a couple of blues studies that were part of the regular guitar courses in Grades 3 and 4, but I had never had a lesson on proper bending or vibrato.

In the video, there is a little of my practice with a shuffle/scale study, but my main “before” is the Medley from Unit 1. I thought it would be interesting to do the same Medley again after 6 months of BLIM. The last bit is my own improv over the backing track. I still have much work to do, but I feel like BLIM has not only broadened my skill set, but it has also given me more confidence in finding my way around the fretboard.

You don’t have to be an aspiring blues musician to benefit from this class.
Although the blues has kind of grown on me, it hasn’t been my primary focus. The problem is, around the 4th grade of Justin’s course, I lost a lot of my focus all together. This course helped me to refocus and dedicate my time very specifically. By setting aside regular learning and practice sessions with specific tasks in mind, I’ve been able to recapture some of the self-discipline I had in the beginning.

I’ve gotten better at learning licks and songs in small pieces. I’m especially happy that I’ve been able to clean up my technique enough that I’m now able to play a couple of rock solos I’d been working on for several months before the course.

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Nice gains, I hope to do the same. I dig that coral color guitar too (Baby blue?). And that wicked clear strap. Right on Donna.
:metal:

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Cool, Donna! You’ve come a long way in 6 months! Have fun!

Tod

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Hi Donna,
How good to see the progress :sunglasses: :clap: congrets :sparkler:

Greetings

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Some cool blues with guitars to match. Making great progress, Donna.

Bravo

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@ontime1969, @CATMAN62, @roger_holland, @DavidP, thank you for watching. Your encouragement means a lot to me. I brought out the blue guitar because it weighs practically nothing, and my neck was starting to hurt (old people problems :roll_eyes:). It does seem fitting for the blues though.

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Six months well spent Donna and its not quite over yet !! Plenty of progress on display and much improvement. Now its just a life time of consolidation for us all, once the course is over !!
Well done.
:sunglasses:

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Thanks for posting, Donna! I think you’ve learned quite a lot and gave yourself a great foundation to build on. The before/after video inspires me a lot!
Keep on with the good work!

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Nice one Donna. You definitely look and sound more relaxed as time progresses; which means you’re incrementally mastering the material. Keep goin :+1:

Cheers, Shane

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For the last 6 months, I’ve focused on Justin’s advice to just learn the language of the blues. I’m learning lots of licks and using them to grow my technique. Meanwhile, I’m also learning to translate some of the stuff I know in my head down to my actual guitar. In the next 6 months, I’m going to work a bit more on using the “language” creatively.
@TheMadman_tobyjenner: It has been intense, hasn’t it? Thank you for the kind and supportive words. Yes, lots of work ahead!
@Helen0609 : I appreciate your saying that. It always inspires me to see others working and progressing here.
@sclay : Thanks for the encouraging words. It still feels pretty new to me. Slow and steady progress, right?
@Boris1565 : I appreciate the comments. You’re exactly right. The plan is to consolidate, develop, and apply this massive amount of material. Many more months of work ahead. :slightly_smiling_face:

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That was great Donna, the progress is very visible. Well spent 6 months. :slightly_smiling_face: You sound better and you look more confident and relaxed. I would set some time now for consolidation of material and further development of your technique, especially bending and vibrato.

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Donna, that’s great progress and, as others have said, we’re all going to be improving incrementally over time. This has been a fantastic journey and it’s not over yet. Many years of material to get our heads around. You’ve made a great start and should be proud of how far you’ve come.

Cool community name by the way. Is your surname Romero by any chance? lol.

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Congratulations Donna, I can hear you’re doing very well! I’m happy you regained the focus to keep on learning, sometimes being self-taught is no easy thing and having some extra structure does help!

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Great stuff Donna, some serious improvement there. Really liked the improv work - which is the hardest thing to do.

Even if blues isn’t your main ultimate goal, it underlies so much of modern electric guitar music that it’s going to help you.

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