THE ORDER OF THINGS......

[piebaldpython]

Recently there were 2 excellent threads that I hope the Moderators will put in the "must see" area......the "BB Box Confusion" and the "House Pattern Confusion". Based on the info in those threads, would the best way for someone to learn to solo in the most efficient manner be as follows........BBG...SWS....Killer Blues Solos Made Easy....BGU?

 

[david moon]

For yourself you could go to the thread and click "Bookmark". Then you can always find it fairly quickly without searching.

As far as the order of courses, I shouldn't talk since I've jumped around a lot. I think SWS is considered more advanced than the others.

 

[Paleo]

..would the best way for someone to learn to solo in the most efficient manner be as follows........BBG...SWS....Killer Blues Solos Made Easy....BGU?

I would agree.

These courses each introduce new concepts and build on previous ones.

1) BBG
2) SWS - The 4 Note Solo Pattern
3) KBS - The House Pattern
4) BGU - The 5 Pentatonic Boxes
5) PSTM - counting & "Mastering" the Boxes
6) EBS & 5 More EBS - some "easy" solos to apply what you've learned
7) MMBS - Mixing Major & Minor
8) SBS - Mixing Major & Minor (More "advanced")
9) Blues Solo Construction Kits & How to Improvise Blues Solos - Building your own

I certainly didn't do them in that order, but in terms of building concepts, I think it's the most logical.

But most of us aren't that structured.

 

[david moon]

Just sayin' BBG and BGU have quite a bit of "rhythm" content, not solos, but still pretty fundamental stuff.

 

[piebaldpython]

I would agree.

These courses each introduce new concepts and build on previous ones.

1) BBG
2) SWS - The 4 Note Solo Pattern
3) KBS - The House Pattern
4) BGU - The 5 Pentatonic Boxes
5) EBS, 5 More EBS, PSTM - some "easy" solos to apply what you've learned; practicing the Boxes
6) MMBS - Mixing Major & Minor
7) SBS - Mixing Major & Minor (More "advanced")

8) Blues Solo Construction Kits & How to Improvise Blues Solos - Building your own

I certainly didn't do them in that order, but in terms of building concepts, I think it's the most logical.

But most of us aren't that structured.

Thanks so much for this. About 6-12 mths ago, Griff put out a chart that showed the "path" one should take through his courses, depending on what they wanted to play.

Well, the recent posts and Griff's responses seem to indicate a re-structuring of that "path" and Paleo seems to agree. Getting the concepts down first seems paramount.

 

[Paleo]

Getting the concepts down first seems paramount.

And each course has a solo or 2 (or more) which applies the new concepts you learn as you progress along whatever path you take.

 

[Paleo]

I need to make clear that I'm not advocating for taking the courses in any particular order.

I certainly didn't do them in that order, but in terms of building concepts, I think it's the most logical.

The OP is specifically dealing with soloing. The order I presented is meant to show how the scale concept "evolves" from 4 notes to 5 notes to 6 notes to 7 notes to mixing Major & Minor to get 9 notes (Composite Blues Scale) as you progress through the listed courses.

 

[MikeS]

On Griff's catalog page he has (at least had at one time) a map of the courses and where they each fall on the learning curve.
I couldn't find the map that I mentioned, but the courses are grouped by skill level here:
http://bluesguitarunleashed.com/course-catalog

BTW, I know that Griff recommends SWS AFTER you have begun BGU and gotten through the first two or three solos.

 

[Paleo]

Here's a quote directly from Griff as stated in the thread, "House Pattern Confusion". This is what piebaldpython is referring to.

"Which is very much exactly how I intended things to work - start with the 4 note solo pattern, maybe add in something from the house pattern, then expand to the boxes later.

In fact, I've been rethinking a lot of my course material lately and I think it would be really effective for a new soloist to go through that process exactly that way."----House Pattern Confusion, reply #18, May 2, 2017

This would be following the order of "complexity" I suggested above.

And I repeat, my list is not suggesting you should necessarily take these courses in this order. It merely shows how the scale patterns get more complex as you progress in this order.

4 Note--5 Note "House"--Full Pentatonic "Boxes"--Blues Scale "Boxes"--Mixing Major & Minor "Boxes"--The Composite Blues Scale

 

[piebaldpython]

Exactly what I had in mind and when I read what Griff had to say about it (rethinking his course material).....it was an eye-opener.....it as Paleo posits it, it makes a lot of sense. Of course, it may be good to keep a student's interest too!

 

[Paleo]

Check out today's blog video (email 5-19-17) titled "No. Scales. Allowed".

http://bluesguitarunleashed.com/blo...ent=2017-05-19_no-scales-allowed&utm_term=all

 

[Griff]

Probably a lot of the confusion about these things has as much to do with technical ability (how hard stuff is to play) as conceptual...

For soloing, I learned in this order:
1 - box 1 (top 4 strings only, I wasn't taught the lower 2 strings because who needs those for soloing?)
2 - box 2 (the "extension" only, the top 3 strings)

And, to be honest, from there I'm not sure how I picked stuff up because it was a hodge podge of stuff from a lot of different sources.

If you are brand new to soloing, stuff like the 4 note solo is a good place to start because it's easy from a conceptual point of view. However, if you're new to soloing, trying to play my "4 note solo" as it is on YouTube, for example, would be a challenge because of the technical ability required to play the triplets, slurs, etc.

Understanding some history might also help:

1 - BGU came first and was the only course available.
2 - I noticed a lot of people got BGU that weren't ready... hence BBG came to be. That covers all of the conceptual and technical basics required to get through BGU.

Now, do you need more than BGU? No, absolutely not. A large number of people only have that and play very well from it.

However, some folks really like the 4 note solo and noticed that it's not part of BGU - so SWS was born because it is a cool alternate way to look at soloing and many people really gravitated towards that.

I believe the next problem was technique - so PSTM was born, followed by theory for obvious reason.

After that, I felt like a lot of people were learning the first 2 solos out of BGU, but the technical leap to get through solos 3-6 is pretty big after 1 and 2... so 5 Easy Blues Solos came on board.

And I could go on, but you probably get the idea. Every course fills a need that I noticed.

Conceptually, you can do this stuff in any order you choose... technically, you have to judge for yourself where you are at and where you struggle.

The solos in the Easy Blues Solos (5EBS and 5moreEBS) are the easiest, aside from solos 1 and 2 out of BGU. Some stuff in SWS is pretty easy, some is more challenging.

But again, you should use the mental model (boxes, 4 note pattern, house pattern) that works best for you, first. Then add in the others later. I believe it's worth striving to see the fretboard from any and all of those points of view.

 

[piebaldpython]

Now thinking it should be....Ultimate Counting Workshop.....BBG....Rhythm for Blues Lead Guitar......etc