david moon
Attempting the Blues
I recently got this course and started looking at it last night. Those warm-ups are pretty challenging! Not very musical but calisthenics for your fingers. The one based on the maj7 chord is particularly hard for me.
Warm-ups, WOW
- Thread starter david moon
- Start date
one of my favorite courses!
Paleo
Life Long Learner
This course will put you on the map. I consider it a "sister" course that can be taken at any time concurrently with any other course.
The sooner the better. I would almost consider it a prerequisite. It's that important. (At least to me.)
Peace
PapaBear
Guit Fiddlier
This course will put you on the map. I consider it a "sister" course that can be taken at any time concurrently with any other course.
The sooner the better. I would almost consider it a prerequisite. It's that important. (At least to me.)
Peace
Well that's good advice, the benefits surely show in what you've been posting lately!
ramblin james
Blues Newbie
I have seen a lot of exercise books, that one is the best I have seen. the warm ups are good and the workouts are great.
getting the muscle memory down to what you are thinking automatic is so important
getting the muscle memory down to what you are thinking automatic is so important
DixiJohnson
Blues Newbie
Holy crap! I'm still on Warmup Example 3....how the heck do you keep all your fingers in place while moving the first finger one fret over?!? I can't get past the first move, LOL! This is kicking my ass already! Love it!
Paleo
Life Long Learner
Holy crap! I'm still on Warmup Example 3....how the heck do you keep all your fingers in place while moving the first finger one fret over?!? I can't get past the first move, LOL! This is kicking my ass already! Love it!
Don't get too hung up on this one exercise. I still can't do it. But I have done the entire rest of the course. Just move on
and work this exercise in to your practice a little at a time. If it doesn't come, don't sweat it. The "meat" of the course is yet to come.
And quoting Griff "Keep in mind that your sitting and hand position is more important that your ability to stretch your fingers. In most cases, stretching isn't what makes the difference on this one."
Peace
OG_Blues
Guitar Geezer
paleo's advice is good
It's good to develop a big finger stretch, but honestly, for all of the common blues chords, especially what you will play when comping, you don't need to play any chords that require a big stretch.
When you get into playing chord melodies and altered chords used commonly in jazz comping - that's a different story.
I would not get hung up on that exercise at all, or let that prevent you from moving on - there's MUCH more important stuff to practice and learn.
Tom
It's good to develop a big finger stretch, but honestly, for all of the common blues chords, especially what you will play when comping, you don't need to play any chords that require a big stretch.
When you get into playing chord melodies and altered chords used commonly in jazz comping - that's a different story.
I would not get hung up on that exercise at all, or let that prevent you from moving on - there's MUCH more important stuff to practice and learn.
Tom
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Thatman
Playin' for the fun of it.
I reckon Griff should have put the finger stretching exercise at the end of this course as a something to aim at feature. The first time I went through the course I shelved it for a very long time cause I knew I couldn't get anywhere, but since then I've gone back and now appreciate the rest of the course especially after the February "Triplet Mania" Challenge.
Paleo
Life Long Learner
My thoughts exactly. When I first started the course I went into a panic. No way can I do this. And this is only the introduction
to the course.
But I decided to just skip it.
However, Griff does say you may be only able to do 2 or 3 frets, but in a few weeks you'd be surprised how far you can go.
So he doesn't expect us to be able to do it right away.
I think a lot of us have our "school days" ingrained in us, thinking everything has to be done "just so".
As if there's a classical piano teacher, with goatee and monocle, standing over us at the piano with a ruler, ready to whack
our knuckles whenever we make a mistake.
So my personal advice, such as it is, is if you don't want to do something don't do it.
You'll eventually figure out if it was something you really needed after all.
Again, in the introduction, Griff talks of the 2 years he "wasted" trying to "force" himself to be a strict alternate picker.
Just some thoughts from a "duffer" who can't do the stretch, but is doing pretty well otherwise.
I have had this course for way over 5 years and still pick it up to learn stuff from it
First few months I just did the basic warm ups and that alone loosened my hands up tremendously
then I started doing more and more of the stuff in the book, I now use some of the stuff when noodling around between riffs as they are programmed into my muscle memory.
It is a good course to have, but use it on your time schedule, everyone is a bit different and needs to realise that.
First few months I just did the basic warm ups and that alone loosened my hands up tremendously
then I started doing more and more of the stuff in the book, I now use some of the stuff when noodling around between riffs as they are programmed into my muscle memory.
It is a good course to have, but use it on your time schedule, everyone is a bit different and needs to realise that.
Mike A
BLUES NOODLER
the reason i punch the like on this old post is i have PSTM and i skipped past the warmups now that i have Griffs new Coarse BSBB this course forces me to try to do the Stretch warm up..i believe i will try both courses hand in hand
Mr.Scary
A Blues Legend in My Own Mind
Same here, I skipped the warm ups in this courses but with the new course I'm going by the book and I'm up to the 5th fret with my pinky. Little here little there and I'm going to make it to the 1st fret and then I'll go for accuracy and better hand position.the reason i punch the like on this old post is i have PSTM and i skipped past the warmups now that i have Griffs new Coarse BSBB this course forces me to try to do the Stretch warm up..i believe i will try both courses hand in hand
Mike A
BLUES NOODLER
wow that is awesomegood job!,,i kinda gave up..i had my pinky up on the : well! you know what! i was going to woooos out and say i gave up ..but you post challenged me to stop pick up my guitar and give it another shot , and i was able to do the stretch 3 fretts wasnt pretty but that was farther than i had been before thanks for the challenge
good job!,,i kinda gave up..i had my pinky up on the : well! you know what! i was going to woooos out and say i gave up ..but you post challenged me to stop pick up my guitar and give it another shot , and i was able to do the stretch 3 fretts wasnt pretty but that was farther than i had been before thanks for the challenge
davidc252
Blues Newbie
The part I'm really struggling with is keeping my thumb on the back of the neck. My thumb wants to point toward the headstock like Griff said not to do. And it's more comfortable for me to have my thumb hanging up and over the fret board. I have always played like this. Do I have to re-learn everything with my thumb on the back of the neck?
jmin
Student Of The Blues
I'm in the same boat, david. I'm really trying to follow Griff's advice, but my thumb is badly misbehaving! I just do the best I can and keep trying to keep that wrist out and the thumb in back of the neck. But, if the notes are coming out ok, and it's "close enough," I ain't gonna sweat it! There are plenty of guitarists who "do their own" thing as far as technique goes. I'm sure that the closer you can get to Griff's technique, the better off you'll be!
davidc252
Blues Newbie
Thanks for the reply Jimin. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one.
I'm going to keep working at it even though it's tough. I know that Griff's advise is always the best way. I never paid any attention to my thumb position before I got to these warm ups.Take care.
mountain man
Still got the Blues!
It's been years since I took this course. I remember I liked it very much. I kept wanting to get back to it to work the fingers and the sequences and count out the triplets and 1/16 notes properly. Now that I've started the BSBB course I can see that the best method for the PSTM would have been to jack the speed up to 140 BPM. If I ever get back to it, that's what I'll do. But for now I'm focusing on the BSBB and then I plan on starting the Arpeggio course hopefully next week?