Socio - October 2022 - JustinGuitar Blues Lead plus 1st Blues Improv

Well done James. Coming along very nicely mate. As for getting " lost in the groove?"Keep doing that I say. That’s where you’ll often discover the cool stuff :grinning:

Cheers, Shane

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Sounding pretty sweet James! You got the Blues :wink:

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Hi James,
Nice done, good that you started doing this with the electric :sunglasses: :clap:… have fun with it :sunglasses:
Greetings,…

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Nicely done James.
You’ve got the blues-moves coming along nicely.
:slight_smile:

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That was very nicely played James, I enjoyed the listening! :blush:

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@WouterBruffaerts
Thanks for the listen, Wouter, its very much appreciated. Stick with Justin’s course and you’ll be well on your way to playing the blues.

@Notter
Thanks for the listen, Mark, its very much appreciated. For the consolidation of the blues, its worth checking out the minor pentatonic pattern exercises in this post First Steps in Blues Improvisation using Minor Pentatonic Scale Pattern 1. I found them to help get the fingers to break away from playing up and down whilst training my ears to know the notes. Glad you liked the tone as that was a first for me trying to find the right tone to go with the backing track having predominantly played the acoustic.

@TheMadman_tobyjenner
Thanks for the listen and feedback, Toby, its very much appreciated. That little meander at the end surprised me too. After the first cycle through the blues lead I thought of the recent post by Maggie and said to myself “relax, feel the music, just let go and enjoy”.

@sclay
Thanks for the listen and feedback, Shane, its very much appreciated. I think my fingers and ears now know the minor pentatonic scale enough to get lost in some backing tracks and explore what works and what doesn’t work with them.

@jkahn
Thanks for the listen and feedback, JK, its very much appreciated. When I first started the course it never crossed my mind but once you give it a go it doesn’t let go.

@roger_holland
Thanks for the listen and feedback, Rogier, its very much appreciated. Yes, it was about time I started spending more time on the electric and it was a lot of fun. I think getting the wireless system made a big difference.

@Richard_close2u
Thanks for the listen and feedback, Richard, its very much appreciated. Next on the list is the 12-Bar Blues in A guitar challenge. I’ll probably stick to your suggestion of using slides, hammer-ons and pull offs as not covered bends and vibratos in the course yet.

@SILVIA
Thanks for the listen and feedback, Silvia, its very much appreciated. I’m glad that you enjoyed it. Now I need to follow your inspiration and get around to learning a fingerstyle song from start to finish.

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Bring it on … good stuff and a great way to extend yourself.
:slight_smile:

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Good shout for that post James, thank you. Planning on hitting my blues section of consolidation next month :slight_smile:

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:heart_eyes: have you already thought of anything in particular? Have fun with fingerstyle…I think its difficulty is over rated, it just needs practice and patience, just like anything else!!! :blush:

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Sounding great James - timing is spot on. That’s the most important thing for blues I think, and it’s something I struggle with sometimes.

One tiny suggestion to try if you feel like it - for example in the opening bars on the first string you have the frets 5 8 5 phrase - a little motif. When you hit the ‘8’, you could give it a tiny tweak up, not even a half step bend. If you do that, it gives it a bit of “attitude”. I think you’re using your pinky on that note - the tweak might be a bit easier if you use your third finger there. Important thing is to mute the note just as it’s tweaked up - don’t let it come down again, go straight to the 5.

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@SILVIA
I’ve started learning three fingerstyle songs with each serving a different consolidation purpose and level of difficulty. That is so true, it just takes lots of practice slowly and correctly.

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@twistor59
Thanks for the listen and feedback, Phil, its very much appreciated. Yes, I felt there were phrases, like the one you pointed out, that just seemed to call out for a bend. However, I’ve still not learned how to bend strings on the course. In saying that I do like your suggestion of applying just a tiny tweak up as it would give it that bit of “attitude” and something that I should be able to manage. You have definitely given me something to think about when working on a piece for 12-Bar Blues Challenge in A, thanks for that mate. Yes, I am using the pinky on the notes on fret 8, I was initially only using the 3rd finger when first learning the scale but then adapted to the approach of using the pinky when playing through the notes on fret 8 and using the 3rd finger when intending to play a bend etc. Hopefully that’s the right approach?

I’m not really qualified to say what the right approach is :joy: - I’m only about 4 years into this thing!

I just tried it - like you, I think if I’m playing the A minor pentatonic box 1 scale I would use the pinky on fret 8, but if I wanted to tweak that note I would switch to the 3rd finger. It’s possible to tweak it with my pinky too if I bunch those fingers together to support it, but the first way works better for me.

Incidentally, that tweak sounds good wherever that minor 3rd note is - G string fret 5 and low E fret 8!

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Hi James, that sounded really cool :sunglasses:. Great job :+1::clap::smiley:. I’m m already looking forward to my first blues lesson :star_struck:.

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@NicoleKKB
Hi Nicole, thanks for the listen and taking the time to comment, it’s very much appreciated. I’m sure you’re going to enjoy the first blues lesson, it’s a lot of fun.

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So good, James, you got the bluesy vibe in your notes, feel, and tone. Loved it. Just keep doing what you are doing!

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@DavidP
Thanks for the listen and feedback, David, I’m really happy that you enjoyed it. I’ve been inspired by all the bluesy posts. I’ve got the next backing track in the key of A ready to start taking a look at the guitar challenge I said a while ago I would give a go (but without the bends). Once I’ve done that I’ll have a go at the 3-2-1 guitar challenge to see what I can come up with from a beginners angle.

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@Notter

This lesson from the classic course is a good one too and worth checking out Minor Pentatonic Pattern | JustinGuitar.com I don’t recall seeing the equivalent on the new course so far

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Hi James well done on your blues study, it really sounded as it should and I could tap my foot easily and with pleasure to your play. Before getting to bends and vibratos I would try to incorporate a blues note in your play which in pattern 1 in A minor would be 6th fret A string and 8th fret G string. You can nicely slide from and to it or hammer on all three notes on A string, give it a go :wink: hopefully this have been covered already at the stage where you are, the blues note I mean. If not - spoiler alert! :grinning: all the best

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Sweet stuff there James. Very bluesy and I was digging your groove.

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