Hey all,
Well after that little unplanned improvisation at the end of the Justin Guitar Blues Lead set piece that I posted a week ago I decided to close out the Grade 2 Blues Consolidation with some improv over a backing track. So far in the course I’ve not covered bends, vibratos, hammer on, flick offs etc, so it’s not quite as bluesy as it could be but hey its a starting point and something to build on. First Blues Improv - YouTube
That was great James had a good theme throughout kept in time with the backing track. all around good improve. 
Where improve goes wrong is when you start using things you don’t know well enough to put into you playing. The biggest misunderstanding about improvising is it isn’t made up on the spot, it isn’t. Improvising is doing things you know very well and using them in a new way. You did that very well. Congrats on you first solo 
A great way to close it out and open the next door. Sounding good, and I like how you didn’t gum it up by trying to play too much. What you have sounds confident and a good start for moving forward with all the embellishments.
That was excellent James. Really great vibe you had going there and definitely sounded bluesy to my ears. Very enjoyable listen and thanks for sharing!
The was an impressive start James. Good solid theme throughout and well timed.
Well done.
Very well done James. A really great start to your blues improv. Right in the groove, solid, and hitting the sweet tones on the chord changes.
Cheers, Shane
James you are clearly ready to enter another level, sounded really bluesy and you managed to play in time and well, so kudos and I am keen to see how are you getting on in a while 
all the best!
Great work James, timing was spot on, and you were using motifs nicely!
Edit: The Epi looked really good too. How is it to play?
Bravo, James, you are getting stuck in, making use of what you’ve learned, and sounding delivering the goods. I especially liked the run around 1’20". But it all sounded good. Keep at it along side what you start working on in grade 3.
Sounding really good James, do like the “home base” lick with the flick off as the central theme of the improv. Nice slides and in the pocket throughout, you’re certainly killing at the moment mate
Good one James 
,
And I can’t say it better about what improvement actually is than Rick,…(Justin,Buddy guy ,Eric Clapton and more I’ve heard that too) ,so print it out and hang it above your bed,… …
But you can build on this First Blues Improv ,… have fun,
Greetings,…
Very nice, i especially liked the way you slid into some of the phrases plus the odd tempo change to add some sparkle
Indeed, a great starting point and one you can explore further down the road as you add new elements to it!
All the best to you and keep up the steady paced timing and vibe!
LB
@stitch @oldhead49 @Eddie_09 @TheMadman_tobyjenner @sclay @adi_mrok @twistor59 @DavidP @EndlessRepetition
Thank you all for the listen and your kind comments. I certainly didn’t have the blues when I logged on this morning.
This is a really good point to highlight and something that I learned from the blues discussions on the forum. Without having a bank of licks I listened to the backing track to feel the groove of the music and work out some ideas in my head for licks. Then it was about applying the right musical idea at the right moment from the licks I now had access to in my toolbox.
Yes, I tried to keep it as simple as possible and go with the feel of the slow blues. I figured if I try playing too much or attempt techniques that I don’t have in my toolbox then I would lose the feel of the music and it could end up sounding poor.
I’m glad to hear that a theme came across and not just some random notes played. Watching all the blues AVoYP posts on the forum gave me inspiration and a better understanding of how to approach improvisation.
That’s another good point to highlight. From the beginner blues lesson and following the blues discussions on the forum I learned that it is good to get as much info as possible about the music you’ll be accompanying as the key and the chords tell you which scales and notes will sound harmonious.
That’s good to hear as I was always a bit unsure how things would pan out when I started playing along to backing tracks as when playing unaccompanied you can get away with playing at your own tempo.
The Epi feels and plays fantastic, it was certainly worth the wait for it to come into stock. I need to learn more about creating tones on the amplifier.
Definitely, I’ve got a chicago blues in E and a classic blues in G to explore improv with but first I’ve got some fingerstyle blues on the horizon to work on.
The “home base” lick was my attempt of the “response” to the “call and response”. I had the idea that it doesn’t matter how you phrase the question you always get the same short answer.
The slides from the D to the E notes on the G string was mainly as I can’t do bends yet. The opening slides was something that I had seen when watching a few blues videos and thought that may work.
@roger_holland @LBro
Thank you all for the listen and your kind comments
That’s the plan, laying down the foundation and building upon them with learning how to apply correctly the techniques that really define the blues to take it to the next level.
Hi James, and thanks for sharing your first blues improv 
. It sounded really good to my ears 
.
As I haven’t touched the blues topic yet, I can’t offer any qualified feedback - but I really liked it - and, yes, it was definitely bluesy 
.
@NicoleKKB
Hi Nicole, thank you for the listen and taking the time to provide feedback. That is very much appreciated. I’m glad that it sounded good to your ears.
Hey James, a bit late to the party here, but that was great
You must be well chuffed with how far you’ve come in such a short time. It suggests to me that you are actually following the course as well as practicing in a focused manner, unlike some of us butterflies 
Keep it up and you’ll have us all crying in our beer in no time at all 
@brianlarsen
Hey Brian, it’s never too late to join the party. Thank you for taking the time to give the recording a spin and provide feedback. Yeah, I’m well chuffed at the steady progress I’ve been making and how my first blues improv turned out. Here’s hoping I can keep up that progress ditching the pick and going fingerstyle.
Super stuff James, a nice theme throughout.
A great way to consolidate!