What 3 pieces of advice would you give to future BLIM classes?

So my little bit of input is,

1:-Don’t overwhelm yourself, break it down into bits you’ve got this material for a life time, if you’re struggling move on and come back to it.

2:- embrace the course, get your teeth into it and ask questions, no question is a silly question.

3:- finally just enjoy your journey :flexed_biceps:t2::musical_notes::musical_note:

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Nearing the end of Class 3, my advice to future Blimmers….

  1. Don’t let the sheer amount of stuff in the course overwhelm you - it’s all there for a lifetime.
  2. Prioritise what you do each month depending on your starting level and available time.
  3. Keep up with the initial 6 month course even if you can’t nail things within the month. At the end of it, you can go back to the start.

In the Unit 6 workbook Justin has a paragraph where he talks about building something too quickly and not giving the mortar time to set. The build becomes shaky and wobbly.
I have a slightly different take on it…

In the last 6 months I haven’t built the real thing. I’ve looked at the building blocks and stacked them up but I haven’t used any mortar. What I’ve built is a model and it’s giving me a good idea what the real thing looks like.
Soon, I’ll dismantle my model, without damaging the blocks and set about building it properly. This time I’ll use mortar and give it time to set. If all goes well…. I should end up with the real thing!

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My advice to future BLIMmers is this.

  • Set aside a set time to practice everyday and if possible minimum 1 hour/day, and stick to it.
  • Focus on what Justin says must do for practice for each unit and use the JG practice assistant to keep focus or make notes.
  • Video of yourself playing and post them so the instructors, Justin and other BLIMmers can give you advice and feedback. Believe me it is invaluable, you also will see and hear you own playing issues and can address them, just get over feeling awkward recording yourself, it’s worth it.

I could put much more, but the main thing is enjoy it and have fun learning new things.

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Adding these as I think of them. Not necessarily in any specific order.

  • Justin has probably already said this multiple times over, but when you’re playing a lick, try to see how it fits over the pentatonic pattern you’re in and it’s blues notes extensions. When you’re bending or sliding, think about where you’re bending to - is it to a note within or outside the current pattern? I found this really helped me to make a better connection in my mind between the licks and the patterns.
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Here are my 3 advices for future Blimmers. Hope it helps.

1. Don’t give up!

Feeling lost during your first month of BLIM? Totally normal. Everyone arrives (at least me :wink:) thinking they’re signing up for Blues Guitar, and suddenly they’re also studying course navigation, community communication, practice tool mastering, recording technique, playlist downloading (it’s that simple …when you know :wink:) and the mysterious art of “how do I upload my recording!?”

Relax. First of all, you will receive amazing support from the JG team all along the way, especially the first month and then, after Unit 1, things start repeating like a blues riff — you’ll know the standard structure of each Unit, where everything is, how it works, how to organise yourself … :wink:. So, don’t give up : Ca va aller :wink:

2. Manage your own expectation

No, you won’t become Stevie Ray Vaughan (at least : I won’t :wink:) in just six months while managing your daily life, even if you’ve secretly hired someone to do your job, cook your meals and pay your bills :grinning_face:

The 6th and final month / Unit is there to help you understand how to continue your blues journey afterwards, building on everything you’ve learned. It’s not “just” 6 months; it’s the beginning of something long-term, based on a strong basement : the BLIM knowledge. Knowing this upfront can help - I think - to reduce the pressure we put on ourselves during the 6 months of the BLIM course.

3- Record yourself … but don’t focus too much on recording technique

Record yourself when Justin encourages it. Record before starting the BLIM course, record for challenges or even record just for yourself to analyse what you play. Share your recording and don’t worry about your level — we all start where we are. It’s not a competition. You’re simply taking advantage of a unique opportunity: receiving world-class guidance from world-class teachers (including Justin) plus generous support from other students, in a super-welcoming community of blues lovers just like you.

So yes — record!
But don’t stress about achieving “studio perfection.” You’re not recording for a record label — you’re just providing something clear enough for teachers to help you. BLIM is already demanding; if you try to master advanced recording techniques on top of it, the risk is you to spend hours on gear instead of what really matters: learning and practicing the blues.

4- And … a fourth advice (for free and probably the most important one …). As Justin often says : don’t forget that the ultimate goal of all this is to have fun ! So : have fun :wink:

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  1. Be aware that you won’t be able to cover all the course content in 6 months. Commit time to it and enjoy the process, and if you feel a bit saturated with blues, take a couple of days off. After the immersion phase, the consolidation phase will come.

  2. Record yourself and don’t be afraid to share your performances. It will push you to aim for the best performance you can and you’ll receive very valuable feedback.

  3. Don’t compare yourself to others. Each Blimmer is starting from a different point and will experience a different sense of progress throughout the course.

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  1. Be diligent in practice mode. Be free in playing music mode
  2. Take your time
  3. Have fun with it
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  1. Use Guitar Pro and Transcribe to play along, slow pieces down, and transcribe, of course.
  2. Make sure you have extra high E strings available.
  3. Depending on your available practice time, learning speed, playing level, and the reason you started this course, choose what you want to learn from each unit to achieve your goals. You can do the rest later.
  4. I’m an older learner, so I loved this video from Justin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xY1VS5-rqQ
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  1. Immerse yourself in the Blues: listen to a lot of it. Listen to it carefully, not mindlessly. Try to identify things you particularly like. The curated playlists are a good start, but don’t stop there.

  2. For each unit make a plan and decide what you’re going to prioritise. For most people it’s impossible to dedicate the same amount of time to everything, so decide what you want to focus on and measure your progress. For example, for each module my priority have been the licks and the medley. Once I got that done I moved to something else. The 5 minute practice routines don’t work for me. You can revisit what you haven’t been able to cover when the course is finished. When a new unit starts, don’t go back to the previous unit. You won’t have time. Start the new one.

  3. Record yourself and post the recordings in the community. When you do this, don’t do more than a few takes, because you need to record your average way of playing the piece, not your best take. You will get useful feedback from the community and the teachers.

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