A personal critique of Griff's soloing courses

[Silicon Valley Tom]

What follows is my personal experience and not meant to be negative but an attempt to describe my findings towards using these courses as a means to learn how to improvise. We are all different. Some people have never taken a guitar lesson and are famous blues players. People learn from different approaches on the same subject.

I want to thank Griff for all his work. It is of great value to the student. These courses have taken Griff a great deal of time and effort to put together. Each of the courses discussed have value.

If I have upset anyone please refrain from commenting negativity. Simply send me a PM. I would hate to be responsible for a "range war" on this forum, and that is not my intent.

Again, my personal emphasis is on learning how to improvise the Blues. Improvising does not just happen. You have to understand what you are doing, why, and practice a good deal.

Soloing Without Scales – The Four Note Scale

Features: 112 pages

Rather than full scales, “Blues Blocks” are utilized. Minor and Major Blocks are used. The Block may consist of from 4 to 5 notes, plus bending of strings to produce two additional notes. Solo 1 is the same piece of music in 4 different keys. This is a good exercise for learning the note positions around the guitar neck. There are a total of 7 Solos. At the end of the course, it is suggested that you might want to look at the complete blues scales and the more traditional box approach.

From the presentation of this course, I cannot see how a student can learn how to improvise. Some good ideas are presented, such as learning the note positions on the guitar neck, and the Blues Blocks. You are given 7 Solos which you can learn to play.


Slow Blues Supplement

Features: 101 pages

The most basic approach to playing the Blues is to use the minor pentatonic or blues scales. You continue to use the minor scales over the IV and V chords, and the use of the major pentatonic scale is introduced for the I chord.

There are five boxes which are patterns of the pentatonic minor and major scales. These are taught with the emphasis on the root note. There are 80 exercises which are used to allow the student to become familiar with the boxes. At this point five solos are introduced. Then “The Composite Blues Scale” is introduced. This merges the minor and major scales into one. One Solo is given at this point and every chord is treated as a 1 chord.

From the presentation of this course, I cannot see how a student can learn how to improvise. Some good ideas are presented, such as learning the five box positions, and the composite blues scale. You are given 5 Solos which you can learn to play using the 5 boxes and one solo using the composite blues scale.



Killer Blues Solos Made Easy

Features: 16 pages

Three techniques are emphasized in this course: Bending, pull-offs, and sliding. The “House Position” is introduced, which is a sub set of the pentatonic scale. Some essential music theory is introduced, which is helpful to those interested in the “why”. An important concept is introduced, which is the power of the 3rd, 7th, 1st and 5th notes. One solo is presented. I found this to be a fun lesson due to the understanding it gave me concerning the 3rd, 7th, 1st and 5th notes. So many examples of Blues music start on the 1, and when you find a piece that does not, you may not understand the “why”. But here it is for you to absorb. That alone was worth the price of the lesson!

From the presentation of this course, I cannot see how a student can learn how to improvise. The course starts out by giving three rules. Remember, rules are made to be broken, but that is another subject and not a part of this course.

Blues Solo Construction Kit: Slow Blues Feel

Features: 30 pages
In addition there is a blank Slow Blues Blueprint page, and Slow Blues Overlap Page

We are introduced to the concept of there being 7 lick positions usable in a 12 bar slow blues. Five examples are given for each of the 7 positions. The Blueprint page is handy to allow you to rearrange the licks to your liking. You have 78,125 different solos possible from these 35 licks. Two solos are presented.

This course requires you to do a bit of work and follow what sounds good to you. It also helps you to understand where and how to use those 7 licks. It is also up to you to explore the use of licks that you create or borrow from others. That can be very rewarding.

Blues Solo Construction Kit: Shuffle Feel

Features: 23 pages
In addition there is a blank Shuffle Blues Blueprint page.

We are introduced to the concept of there being 5 lick positions usable in a 12 bar shuffle blues. Five examples are given for each of the 5 positions. The Blueprint page is handy to allow you to rearrange the licks to your liking. Two solos are presented.

This course requires you to do a bit of work and follow what sounds good to you. It also helps you to understand where and how to use those 5 licks. It is also up to you to explore the use of licks that you create or borrow from others. That can be very rewarding.


How To Improvise Blues Solos

Features: 78 pages

A workshop for using and manipulating blues licks to create solos on the fly.

We begin with the 4 Qualities of a Blues Lick:

1. When it starts – What beat does it start on? Is it in the middle of a bar or is it a

pickup to the measure to come?

2. When it ends – What beat, specifically, does it end on? Does the last note

ring out such that it could be shortened if needed? Know when the last note is

struck, not just how long it rings out.

3. What chords are involved – Is the lick meant over the I, IV, V, or a combination

of chords? We are focusing on blues so we’ll stick to the 3 primary chords

found in a blues progression.

4. What scale(s) and pattern(s) is it from – What scales and/or patterns created

the lick? Is it from the minor blues scale? Is it box 1 or box 4? Is it a major

blues sound or a minor blues sound

This course takes effort, knowledge, and has great rewards for those who care to learn how to use licks successfully.

We start with a Shuffle Blues in A, then learn 3 licks, and then combine them to create a solo. Next we interchange the lick positions and we have a total of six solos that are presented. At this point shuffle licks 4 and 5 are introduced, and we have reached:

How To Improvise Part 1 – Create Your Solo.

All five licks are used, in four examples. We then go from A to D for Solo 2. More examples are given before we begin the Slow Blues in G. There are many fine examples and ideas introduced in this section, which continues with the basic concepts form the preceding Shuffle Blues section.

Starting a lick on a different beat is discussed and examined in detail.

Pulling Licks From Solos You Know (Or Want To Know)

Solo 3 is presented.

To me this is a well thought out course and of great value for those who wish to improvise Blues Solos. Each of the courses critiqued has value and we all have different interests and abilities.

Tom

 

[Rancid Rumpboogie]

Let the range war begin.
I think you did a great job Tom, but I'm leaving my guns at home. (Still have a slingshot for varmints though).

 

[HotLks]

Thank you Tom! I always appreciate your contribution to this forum.

No complaints.

See you down the road!

 

[sdbrit68]

What I would wonder Tom , and just to be straight, some of my background.........I am really just starting to build my " Licks catalouge". I have worked hard on trying to be a in time rhythm player at the get togethers, and shrugging off my turn to solo. Next year, my goal is to start taking a few turns soloing........so to me, reading some of this, helps me to decide where to start learning, the How to improvise I have, but not for me yet.

What I wonder, I believe you have a flamenco background, if I recall correctly, this along with you experience.......could that be part of why you think that some of the courses wont help to learn to improvise , because you might be looking from a been there done that point of view, instead of a what the heck do I do direction like I am ?

I think about how I always hear, the pro's dont improvise, they already know what works, so they just change it up a little, but its all stuff they kind of know. For someone like me, I dont even know what I dont know, so for me, a course that shows how to chain a few licks together is a needed type of thing.

I am still at the point of, learn a lick, climb up or down to it................my one " solo " I do, to me is improvising, I learned 4 licks and play them in a certain way that appealed to me and practiced it as my go to in every key if put on the spot.

So, I guess, what I am questioning would be, what really is improvising, if it is nothing more than licks that we know work and re-arrange them for certain songs , dont these courses do that ?

A side question......since you have kinda taken the solo courses apart, what order would you suggest doing them in for maximum bang for the buck learning ?

 

[OG_Blues]

Tom,
Excellent work on the reviews, and I think spot on analysis. Thanks for taking the time to assemble your experience and thoughts.
I have so many thoughts and ideas on this whole subject I can't begin to state them now, except to say this.
I believe that teaching improvising is as incredibly challenging to the teacher, as learning to improvise is to the student.
There are so many parts and pieces of knowledge, intellectual creativity, and physical skill that have to come together in real time.
Until most of those pieces are second nature, it probably isn't going to happen - or at least nobody's gonna pay to hear it.
Couple that with the fact that different people learn in so many different ways and at different paces.
Most of the courses you mention are pieces of the puzzle that lack specific methodology for improvising. There are implications, and no doubt some people manage to put it all together.
Griff's latest course on improvising is probably the best I have seen with respect to defining a methodology to follow, and he is to be applauded for that effort. It will still require a great deal of discipline and effort.
Tom

 

[LLL]

Nice Job Tom on the courses you have outlined. Personally, it would be nice to see your analysis of BGU - the anchor course for all of Griff's stuff and Blues Gig in a Box - in relation to the idea of improvising.

I agree with you that improvising just doesn't happen - generally it's planned out to a degree and you play what you have probably played many times before.

However I would add this for food for thought. Once you (not you personally, but the collective "you") have the boxes under your fingers (for example when you go through the BGU course) if you don't have the curiosity and drive to then try to "play the sounds in your head" or to try to "play what your blues idol played" then I'm not sure if any course may help you develop that inane desire to get that plank of wood singing - if you understand what I'm saying. As soon as I had learned the boxes, I was "improvising" solos - putting on backing tracks and playing my fingers off, seeing what sounds I could get and how they worked in the song > to my ears. Then add to that all of Griff's tips and ideas and suggestions in other courses and free videos - but bottom line it was up to me to take the initiative to "play" around with what I was learning - the curiosity if you will that allowed me to "play solos".

Just my thoughts - YMMV.

 

[mountain man]

Interesting synopsis Tom. Thanks for your thoughts. As a member of this forum I've always been interested in your music training and the guitar disciplines you have studied. There are a few other courses that you did not review. Courses that I use similar to the two Blues Solo Construction Kit courses are the Major and minor Blues Shapes and also the Steve Trovato course Building a Better Blues Solo. I look at all 4 of these courses as riff base courses. As I practice the many many riffs I end up going off on my own using many of the techniques and scales I have learned from the many courses I've taken. I take bits and pieces of everything and combine concepts and riffs creating my own favorite riffs.......... Part of the challenge I have is that my first many years were less disciplined play. I learned how to strum and finger pick the acoustic and could take a basic songbook written for piano to learn the songs from the boxes above the G clef and read the music for a basic melody that distinguishes the song as recognizable. I learned scales and developed my ear. I played diatonic scales and would unwind after work by jamming to great back-up bands like Eric Clapton........ So for me taking courses like the 4 note solo helps me stick around a few frets and play more music there instead of riffling up and down the neck playing what sounds like a diatonic scale solo. So I think some of these courses which may not be so good learning to improvise actually help us learn discipline which also helps us in the long run learn to improvise and hold our thoughts together. I found that one of the best courses for me to keep me localized and develop skills needed to understand the riffs needed to improvise is the Pentatonic Scales and Technique Mastery. Especially when learning to combine the Major and minor scales.......

But all this only has to do with improvising. The BGU curriculum has many other courses that are needed to learn how to play the guitar.

 

[PapaRaptor]

Tom,
Your thoughts and analysis are excellent. In one respect, I agree with your assessment " I cannot see how a student can learn how to improvise," with several courses strictly on an academic level. I think that assessment may be true in an academic vacuum, but I don't think most people who buy Griff's courses are approaching it strictly from that viewpoint.

From my progress so far, I agree that Griff's "How To Improvise" course is the only one that sits down with a specific roadmap to do so, but each of the other course give you the tools, that along with a little extra-curricular "reading between the lines" should have you improvising in very short order. The creative aspect of improvising can start as soon as you learn box 1 of the minor pentatonic scale. I would suggest that used as a reference, rather than a course material, any of Griff's courses provide the tools you need to improvise. What I see of Griff's How To Course is a means to quantify what is otherwise a rather abstract process.

I'm not disagreeing with the meat and potatoes of your reviews and in fact, we may be agreeing throughout. I see the tools for improvising in all of Griff's course, but only the most recent course defines an actual step by step process.

 

[HotLks]

With all the courses providing various and sundry tools for soloing, all students must, at some point cross the great divide and teach themselves. No improvising will happen without the self teaching. I don't believe a person can teach others what they must teach themselves in regard to soloing. At some point learning to solo is a solo venture. All the mental connections to be made are unique to each individual. That's what makes music so interesting. It's what the learner brings to the table for him or herself.

As far as providing the tools, presenting them in the most helpful way and getting people as prepared as possible to successfully cross the great divide - I've found Griff to be the best.

I love this forum. You guys are great!

See you down the road!

 

[BoogieMan]

+1 Well said. If improv was teachable I'm sure Griff would find a way to do it. He gives us the tools and the rest is up to us.

 

[twbuff]

I agree with HotLks - You guys are great and I love the Forum! It makes me think and provides an outlet. As a clarinet player in an earlier existence, my goal was to play the music exactly as written to put across the original composer's message. Improvisation had no place in classical music! Getting into the blues and more modern music (jazz, country, blue grass, etc.) I find that staying within the lines is restrictive and makes for dull listening - if consistent! I struggle with improvisation and appreciate the tools and insight provided by the courses and the members of the forum. I also think the the old saying "if it is to be, it is up to me" covers improvisation in this context.
I really do appreciate Tom's evaluations of the courses as well as his insight - and agree with the others above that these are tools, properly used they can help someone develop improvisation as well as where and how it works. My 2 cents. Thanks.

 

[Rancid Rumpboogie]

Well, I haven't spotted any real varmints for my slingshot so far.
I think OG_BLUES pretty much sums it up ... it requires two "minor varmints" discipline and effort.

 

[Momantai]

LLL pretty much sums up what I've been doing ever since I picked up my guitar.
I follow the lessons, try to remember things, learn theory, etc... but when it comes to playing songs note for note I simply fail because I get bored playing the same thing over and over.
And that's where improvising starts and where (in my view) it helps if you know your fretboard and theory.
All these different approaches from Griff help me to improvise better, but I have not finished any of the courses yet. I just use bits and pieces and throw them, on the fly, in my improvisations. It doesn't always sound right.....

I really think you have to be an "improvisor by birth". It's not something you can learn. Some people have it, others don't. Which is fine, we can't all be the same. I know people who can play a lot of songs note by note, I envy them. Some people can do both, those are the really lucky ones.

Main thing is you enjoy what you're doing, right ?

 

[MikeS]

Tom, I think your analysis is spot on, but I don't think that the goal of several of the courses listed was "How to Improv" at all.
I think that they were intended to get people up and playing "Canned" solos as quickly as possible.
Given that goal, I think they have succeeded beyond any reasonable expectation. And it's probably how most of our idols learned. Copied someones solos until they could pick them apart to mix and match.

 

[HotLks]

+1 MikeS -

Johnny Winter started out memorizing everything he listened to that he liked. And he turned out OK by most peoples opinions. Now, we copy him (if we can).

See you down the road!

 

[Paleo]

Griff himself has told us, on many occasions, about the old days of wearing out lps, needles (of record players), cassettes, etc trying to learn songs and licks from the "masters". Then, after analyzing hundreds, if not thousands of songs, he noted the things that seem to be in common among all or most of them. These have become the "common practices" he now teaches us. They are not "rules" written in stone. He also says, "If something else sounds good to you, use it".

Many years ago, long before I "met'' Griff, I used to record chord progressions on a tape recorder and improvise over them. All I knew were Major Scale and the Minor Pentatonic Scale "boxes". I didn't know anything about "licks". I just jammed. Eventually, cassettes and then CD's with jam tracks came out and I was in heaven. I would play for hours.

Once I was playing a jam track for a friend and we took turns improvising. Interestingly, he told me he liked some of my licks and how I put them together. I didn't have the nerve to tell him I don't actually know any licks. I just play and what ever comes out, comes out.

I'm obviously in a very small minority, but to this day I don't know any licks. To me, composing licks and then plugging them in different situations isn't really improvising. Yes, you are deciding when to play them on the fly, but it's the order and place you play them that is improvised, not the licks themselves.

I find it interesting that some have stated that they only play licks and don't know any theory. Some are "plug and play" improvisors, with complete solos as well as licks in general.

I was once at a blues guitar camp and one of the featured performers was asked, "What do you think of when you are playing?".
He responded, "I don't think, I just play."

Please note. I have almost all of Griff's courses. He is my guru. I agree that he provides all the tools and theory you need to start to improvise. But at some point you just need to let go and let it flow. Whatever comes out is "you".

 

[Scott 2.0]

I like to improvise to a jam track. I can noodle with some success. I don't intentionally memorize licks - I certainly don't have a library of licks. I just improvise. Strange thing is that a lot of what I play is scary close to the solos/licks in Griff's courses. I am not trying to memorize them - but it seems that I do assimilate. Darn you Griff - just when I thought I might be finding my voice - it's yours. I'll keep assimilating....

 

[Norfolk Bill]

Paleoblues,,, thats exactly what i was going to say but couldnt be bothered ,,, i know no "learned" licks or solo's ,,, just play,,,

 

[cowboy]

...And it's probably how most of our idols learned. Copied someones solos until they could pick them apart to mix and match.

.........

some good explanations given and kudos to Tom for his evaluations...

a friend of mine, who now plays in Nashville, once told me, "the difference between guitars players is that the better ones have more in their pockets"...more can mean a lot of different things but he is on the right track...Griff's 4-solo is a great example...I keep looking in my pockets and realizing that they are way too empty...later.

cowboy

 

[Silicon Valley Tom]

We spend a good deal of time on Slow and Shuffle Blues forms. There are about 50 different forms available, so choose what you are interested in. Do not worry about the rest, unless you are ready. The timing and feel of each different type of Blues is different. In this case we are talking about the 12 bar Blues form. We have to learn several things:

1. The I, IV, and V Chords – what they are and how they are used.
   
   
2. The rhythm of the form of interest.
   
   
3. The Pentatonic or Blues Scales, the 5 (10 both major and minor) Boxes, or the House Patterns.
   
   
4. The location of the notes on the guitar neck.

One approach is to use House Patterns and learn the position of the root note of the chord of interest. You can stay in a relatively close area of the guitar neck, go from one end to the other or as you please.

Play a lick and add it to your library. Change the starting point of that lick. Change the sequence it is played in within a piece. Always keep in mind what it sounds like and how it fits. Interchange your licks while playing over Jam Tracks, to hear where they should go. Become the Master of Your Licks!

Another degree of difficulty is to learn the a few House Patterns, and learn what each finger position is for the minor progression (1, b3, 4, 5, b7) and major progression (1, 2, 3, 5, 6). I have attached a sheet with a similar concept in the Key of A, which includes the so called “Blue Note".

Many of the Solos start with the 1 of the chord. Griff tells us (and has examples) that we can use the 3rd, 7th, 1st and 5th notes. Look for examples and learn how to use these concepts.

Tom