Having second thoughts.....BLIM vs solo blues

Discuss the Website, Courses, Products & Community Blues Immersion (BLIM)
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Hi everyone, I signed up for BLIM about 2.5 weeks ago, but I’m having second thoughts and am considering requesting a refund before my 30 days are up and going with solo blues instead.

I really would love to expand my knowledge, dexterity and speed around the fretboard and improve my vibrato and bends with my electric which seems to correlate very well with BLIM. But after I’m done practicing blues licks and playing through jam tracks on the electric and have the chance to just sit down and transcribe a favorite song, lately I always just find myself choosing another Jack Johnson song. Which means I’m spending my “funner” :slight_smile: time on the acoustic slap-plucking etc and learning the acoustic solos. Of course maybe if I were practicing finger picking and bar chords as my opener, maybe my “fun” time would be improvising on the electric to a blues track… ugh :unamused_face:

I’m shocked i’m having buyer’s remorse right now. I seriously considered BLIM 4 and kind of regretted when it passed me by so I was roaring and ready to go when BLIM 5 came early. Which makes me wonder if i’m just overanalyzing this whole thing and should just stay the “course” (pun not intended, but i’ll take it).

FWIW i’m not concerned I won’t have the time to dedicate to the practice that is recommended for BLIM. I intend to pratice on average an hour a day and still don’t expect that will be enough to be able to absorb much of it on the first pass. And I expect both courses will complement playing in both styles to a certain degree. I’m just more concerned I should be going a different route at this stage of my learning.

Just curious what others who have experience with one or both of these courses think of them. I’d be curious to hear how it related to their goals going into them, how it met or didn’t meet their expectations and if it complemented other parts of their playing in ways they maybe didn’t expect.

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Solo Blues

It’s true that there are a few ways to look at it. If your goal is just to have a lot of fun learning songs with your acoustic guitar, Solo blues is great. You’ll be busy for at least 1 year learning the songs.

After that, Justin says step two is being able to improvise within the context of those songs. Since the songs are about 12 bars you’re encouraged to make little tweaks so the track lasts longer. Instead of lasting 30 seconds, you stretch it to 1, 1.5 minutes or 2 minutes by repeating structures while adding small variations here and there to keep it interesting.

Both courses being connected

That sort of thing becomes a project for, say, your second year of studying the Solo Blues course. However, for the improvisation part, the course assumes you already have a foundation. In my opinion, if you’ve already done Blues Immersion, you’ll grasp the concepts and find it easier. But if you haven’t done Blues Immersion, I think it’s going to be a lot harder to improvise with this material.

At first, I thought the electric world and the acoustic world were two completely separate things, but at the end of the day, it’s still blues. Both use the same theory, the same minor pentatonics, and similar licks. Sure, Blues Immersion focuses heavily on string bends, whereas in acoustic blues, you can take a lick with a big bend and turn it into a slide instead. Some of them won’t sound great in an acoustic solo blues context, but others will work just fine. Blues Immersion is taught in the key of A, while acoustic solo blues is in E, so eventually, you’ll be able to transpose what you learned in A over to E. Some of those ideas will sound cool on an acoustic, and some won’t—you’ll have to figure it out. But once you’ve done both courses, you realize there are massive connections, and they’re way more linked than you might think. It just takes a couple of years to connect those dots; it won’t happen right when you start the course.

Conclusion

Ultimately, if you love the blues and want to understand how it works so you aren’t just playing the exact same 12 bars over and over, you’ll want to do both courses.

But both courses take time.

If your ultimate goal is to have fun learning those acoustic blues songs, you’re better off learning them right away instead of waiting. Because Blues Immersion is a year-long course, plus maybe another year of consolidation, meaning by the time you actually get around to learning those acoustic Solo blues songs and really diving into them, we’re talking about maybe two years in total. And who knows, you might catch the bug and—like me—end up completely falling in love with electric blues and spending all your time on that, still not having had a lot of time to invest into the acoustic course and signing up again for class 5 instead. :rofl: The same thing happened to my returning Blimmer friend Dominique @dominique7

So it can definitely lead to a huge detour. Both are super useful, but since your time is limited, it really comes down to: do you want to take a detour or go straight for what interests you most? Ideally, doing both is great, but it’s going to take time before you actually get around to learning all those acoustic blues songs if that’s your true passion. In the long term though, the detour will pay off as you will understand every lick from Solo Blues after studying Blues Immersion.

But…

At the same time, Blues Immersion is a really cool group and live experience, so it would be a shame to miss it. :grinning_face: It’s a lot more motivating to study with a community. That’s a downside to Solo Blues: you’re on your own, and it’s just not the same experience.

I don’t think you can regret taking Blues Immersion. The only thing you might regret is not having enough time left for your other passions, like Jack Johnson, for the next year (or longer) due to the intensive nature of the course. Meanwhile, Solo Blues requires less time investment and is much easier to do on a part-time basis.

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FWIW, I’m definitely into blues and thought really hard about BLIM the first and second times it was offered. But especially after hearing from folks who have taken it, I came to realize that I need to learn more before I take it.

I’ve done other live classes (both in person and online) and I tend to progress slowly when I’m really challenged. So I knew that I was going to struggle. But when solo blues was offered, I jumped on it. It’s still somewhat of a reach for me, but being self-paced, that’s okay. If I get to a point where I’m stuck, I can shift to other things and pick up what I need, then come back to it.

Even though solo blues is built for acoustic, I switch back and forth between my acoustic and my electric for it. I like that I can just do whatever as my mood takes me. I’ve been shopping for a resonator for awhile, as well, and that will be pretty awesome for the solo blues material.

As long as Justin continues to offer it, I’m sure I will eventually sign up for BLIM. But I need a better foundation so I don’t get left behind. That’s a lot of money to spend to reach a point where the live sessions are beyond the point where I’m currently working and I’m unable to pull much from them.

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Oh, I thought that the 30 days will only start in october with unit 1? But I am not sure, you could ask the JG support, Fanny about it. They’re always nice and help us in case of questions.

That would give you more time, once Blim really starts off to see if it works for you!
Or if you’ll have enough fun comparing it to acoustic Blues.
Me personally, I had loads of fun and joined again for the community and challenges aspect. (As an alumni you get a huge rebate for re-joining as you have access to your lessons anyway).

Oh, @math07 above did a great write-up!
I always have problems choosing what to learn now and next, but I want to learn both, electric Blues and acoustic Blues for certain and I am sure both help each other, and at least me personally, I am less concerned about which to learn first, it’s fun anyway and I believe I’ll be halfway good one day in the (very :laughing: )far future.

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I’ve decided to do both simultaneously. I purchased solo blues a while back and will keep working on that as a secondary course to BLIM. I’ll decide as I go along in BLIM how much time I can commit to Solo Blues. I own it forever so I can manage my time between the two. I imagine it will be 80-20 or 90-10 but may very well become 100-0. Solo Blues will always be there for me when time permits. So, I’d recommend sticking with BLIM and manage your time as you see fit as we progress. Good luck!

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I have done both. BLIM first is the way to go IMHO.

If you have the time, energy and the stoke. Do it you won’t be sorry in 8 month. Although you might be tired. Follower the course as best you can and stay with your group, be active and you will be a way better guitar player at the end.

It simply an amazing course. Basically a batchlors degree in Blues guitar or atleast a 2 year accociate. :joy:

I not even a Blues guy. Seriously, I am old school punk rock with large knowledge base of Metal and Rock and I could not be more thankful that Justin took to time to actually write this course up. Its amazingly thorough and detailed with History of the Blues and development of this important music. And learning skills. The whole balence.

I am not trying to sell the class per say, just trying to let you know you made a solid decision signing up.

The solo blues is super cool absolutly and I am half way through the songs and loving it. Everyone loves the blues. You will like that and be able to play those much better because of what you learn in the BLIM. I have played a couple things I learned in the blues solo to punks and they love them. :sign_of_the_horns:t2:

Here is how I look at the two.

The solo blues class can be done on its own for sure, but i did it after blim so it was as if it were an expanded extra sauce that you would get from the first month of BLIM for Acustic guitar. Its like that guy who just showed up at some place after getting off work and he invited you into the back you didnt know excists where there were just a few old timers playing a few special songs for each other and said grab that bottle of bourbon with you on the way.

Blim on the other hand. Is much more refined and academic learning experience way of learning the blues, very hip and groovy. With a syllabus. Learning from the ground up all the aspects, history, technical stuff, ideas and changes over the years. Why the music is unique, and special and unreplicated. Examples music play lists. What I particularly loved, and why I took the class, was the way he taught how it led into the music that was released in the 60s, and 70s. And music I listened to in the 80s and even into the 90s and todays era. Basically the evolution of my music.

PUNK is the Preacher and BLUES is the Teacher.

I heard that long ago

Good luck, super stoked for you Tom

These are just the pre marrage ceremony blues.

Looking forward to hearing your bends of fire :fire: and licks of awesomeness :call_me_hand:t2:

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I am signed up for BLIM for the first time so can’t speak from experience like the others have. But, I notice you say you have time and plan to practice an hour a day. Maybe you remain signed up and spend a half hour a day on BLIM and a half hour a day on Solo Blues. I think they would be a good compliment. FWIW, I purchased the Solo Blues a while back and haven’t had time to work on it. I now have time and hope to work on that side by side with BLIM.

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I always love it when you write that quote Jason. I took up guitar so I could learn to play my punk favourites from my youth. I hasn’t turned out that way as I don’t play that many punk songs (but at least some Ramones) as I got distracted by other songs. But what I particularly like in punk are the solos (which I can’t do), and when I looked at Justin lessons of some punk songs he often mentioned that the solos have some classic blues licks in them (especially Steve Jones, Sex Pistols), which is what makes me really interested in doing BLIM in the future when I can play better.

I can tell from your post, you must be on the mend Jason.

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Hi Tom

I think you have have good advice from others already.

I am on my 3rd pass of BLIM, first time is not easy for me anyway too much other stuff going on after 3 months. I rejoined on BLIM4 and that was much better. On both I tried to keep practising some repertoire songs which was random the first time but better on BLIM4.

I would suggest you consider doing BLIM but keep up with other material as well which will give some relief from the Blues. How this works for you will depend on your current guitar skills and level, BLIM is quite a demanding course especially if you engage fully. I know some found it a bit overwhelming early on, I think mainly due to underestimating how much there is to learn, also trying to do too much in each unit.

Whatever you decide have fun😃

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Hey Tom, I think everyone who signs up for Blim has some of the same doubts about it as you expressed here. I know I did before Blim 4. Sounds like in paragraph 2, that what you’re looking to do with the fretboard knowledge, vibrato and bends is just what you need and will find throughout the Blim course. I was in the middle of grade 3 when Blim 4 was offered. I hesitated, tried some blues material in grade 4, and posted a short video of me playing a few of those lessons. I got great feedback and encouragement and went for it. I was glad I did. Sounds like you’re willing to, and can, dedicate some time to the material. No, you won’t grasp it all the first go around, and probably few, if any, do so. They remind you of that throughout the videos in the lessons. Take it slow, build, and you’ll find yourself playing the lesson material before you know it, with great feedback when you post videos. I re-signed up for Blim 5 and am looking forward to it. See you there, and I look forward to seeing your progress in videos.

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Thank you to everyone for their feedback and opinions. After digesting all this feedback and some older posts on the same topic, I think at least for now I’m going to stick with BLIM 5. I have a couple weeklong committments during the course where I will be away from my guitar and computer, but otherwise I will try to take advantage of submitting videos, making posts and getting involved in discussions to maximize the course effectiveness. I’m not so crazy about the history stuff so I might go light on that aspect unless something really piques my interest; i’m hoping that might give me a little more bandwidth to work with.

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Great to hear that you are sticking with it Tom, I think you will be able to manage your commitments as this BLIM is effectively a year long, so much more time to practice and keep up. The listening list for each unit are all very good and I found very interesting hearing the relationships/influences between artist over the last 100 years.

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It’s nice to hear that you’ll be joining us! :slight_smile:

I can understand this!
Maybe watching a film is a nicer way to still get into the topic then?
For Unit 1, I much liked the Wim Wenders documentary (from the Martin Scorcese series) which was half film, half documentary. Or the Leadbelly film was quite nice too. I watch films rarely, but at least for me, it’s a comfortable way when I’m lazy or a bit tired in the evening to enjoy some music and a little backstory, often get motivation out of it and still learn a bit about history (depending on the fim).

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Honestly, if the cost isn’t an issue for you, BLIM is well worth the money.

You’re part of a group that’s moving forward together, each at their own pace. You can measure your progress, and it gives you both discipline and structure.

I’ve done both courses. The solo course left me wanting a little more because you don’t really get to play the classic blues songs. BLIM, on the other hand, really helped complete my knowledge of the fretboard, and today I feel ready to tackle the solos I’ve always dreamed of playing.

There are obviously many different ways to learn guitar, but BLIM allowed me to focus on technique and theory before diving into the rock songs on my wish list.

What I’m trying to say is that, compared with some other players who have been playing for about the same amount of time, I feel that I’ve already developed things like bends, vibrato, slides, and maybe even some improvisation skills that they haven’t necessarily worked on yet.

All of that said with complete humility, of course.

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BLIM has some amazing standards. People who were advanced enough to go though and come out in the end with all those standard under there belt have some serious ammo in their belts. With that, they will certainly do themselves well for a lifetime of blues open mic nights and Blues jams anywhere in the world.

I learned a fair number of them on top of all the other stuff. Honestly this would be one of my main goals the during any second personal run through. One of my main goals would be to learn and nail each and ever standard givin to us. This would be especially true while having getting feed back one on one from the live instructors.

:sign_of_the_horns:t2:

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@RichieLbv Wells said, Richie, and with that same, unwavering, high level of humility as always. :slight_smile: :grinning_face:

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Good for you, Tom! Happy to have you in the class. You’ll be glad you signed up. Take your time with the material. You can always come back to the essays, although I have to say, I did learn a lot reading them all. Transcribing is fun for me, takes a bit of time, and helps me realize when I hear a lick I learned during Blim class. If time’s an issue, you can always come back to that as well. Listening to the backing tracks and other videos mentioned is a great learning tool. I found other blues artists not mentioned, ones I’d not heard of I really liked too, and could hear some of the licks I learned during Blim in their playing. I also learned to recognize playing styles of various artists by listening to them as often as possible. I knew signing up I’d have one month when I’d be away for over a week, but managed to fit most things in, and come back to the rest later. No one gets it all down pat the first go around, but you get the material for life. That’s priceless!

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That makes me sad. You can’t really understand blues unless you understand the history, the social climate, and the people behind it. They all connect deeply to the music and the emotions conveyed by it. It is a blues immersion course and it would be remiss to go light on the history.

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I actually did end up borrowing the first CD of the Scorcese Series and watched the first 2 episodes. I thought they were pretty OK, but I wasn’t left wanting much more. After finishing I picked up the next CD in the series, but soon after starting it I just ended up turning it off and returning it back to the library. I also bought the Devils Music and started reading it, but after about 50 pages or so I ended up returning that also.

FWIW I still enjoy listening to some blues and even moreso I really enjoying playing it so i’ll take what I can get!

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Oh sorry to hear this, I didn’t want to bore you! I watched two or three of them, but yes, I liked best the Wim Wenders one with that part like a film about a Delta Blues player inside.
Now, most videos that I watched about the Blues were documentarie and they weren’t as exciting as “Whiplash” or “Once” (did you watch those? About music, but not about Blues.

I am also not the keenest researcher about the Blues history, but I plan to do it a bit to get into the topic at the end of Septpember. And like you, listen to Blues music. I still have a lot to browse and look for my personal favourites. Quite a few yet are outside of Justin’s playlists.
ANyway - I am sure we’ll have lots of fun during the class!