“Discover How You Can Improve Your Blues Soloing By “Trading 4s” With A Professional Blues Guitar Player…”
Instead of just copying licks from a book, you can now trade licks with me,
Griff Hamlin, and improve your soloing ideas, your ear, and so much more.
If you have practiced blues soloing but found yourself frustrated by a lack of creativity, or you’ve had a hard time coming up with something cool to play, then this may be just the thing for you…
Because as you may know by now, music is a language, and the age-old approach to learning a language isn’t writing things down – it’s listening and repeating.
And one of the best ways to really flex those creative muscles and get you approaching your solos in new and exciting ways is to play with another guitar player and “trade fours” (and it helps if that other guitar player is better than you so you can steal his stuff!)
Unfortunately, with most guitar learning courses, you never really get the opportunity to just play and try some stuff out in an environment where falling on your face is not only “no big deal,” it’s encouraged!
So with that, let me show you…
Exactly What You’re Getting…
Trading Fours – Volume 1 consists of 5 “Jams” in 5 common keys and feels.
In each Jam, I’ll play over the backing track for 4 bars, then you “answer” me in the next 4 bars… it’s that simple. It puts you in a situation where you don’t have to come up with something out of thin air, you just have to try and come up with something similar to what I just played.
By trading licks with me in these videos, you are doing 2 things that are proven to work when learning a new language…
First, you are mimicking the sounds you hear. I play something, then you try to play something similar based on what you know and what your ear guides you to say. This is much the same way that babies learn to talk as they grow up… so clearly it works.
Second, you are “solving musical problems,” and focusing on “what” to play, and not “how” to play it (unless you don’t know, and then you get to find out and solve that musical problem.)
Here’s how to use Trading Fours for the best results:
- Resist the urge to just go and learn all the licks. The first several times through these videos should be with your guitar in your hands ready to play!
- For each of the jams, there will be an introduction where I’ll explain the key, the feel, and the basics of where I’ll pull licks from. I’ve tried to use a variety of approaches and a variety of feels and keys. In one tune, I might stay pretty strictly within basic blues stuff, in other tunes I might change scales and patterns frequently.
- Once you watch the introduction, figure out the patterns and scales used for yourself (I’ve included diagrams of most common shapes) and then watch the play along. The jams will start “from the V” so you have a few bars up front to get ready, and I’ll play the first lick over the first 4 bars of the form.
- Once I’ve played, you play the next 4 bars, then I play the next 4 bars, and so on. The only “odd” times are when I happen to be playing as the jam ends, there won’t be a time for you to answer me unless you just want to play something free time while the band is winding down.
- When you’re not playing your licks, feel free to jump in and play rhythm. I’ll have a rhythm figure for each track that you’ll see me play when it’s your turn to solo. You don’t have to, but jumping in on rhythm while I solo is a good way to practice knowing where you are within the 12 bar form.
- Since there are different soloing approaches in different jam tracks, you’ll get used to using all of the options at your disposal, but you’ll learn to focus on one at a time – a very useful skill when you’re out jamming in the real world.
Each jam has about 8 choruses, so you’ll have around 10-12 different times to play in each and every jam.
So if you spend 15-20 minutes, 3-5 days per week, just playing – never even cracking open the “breakdowns” – you’ll see improvements in your ear and your creativity.
But… after you’ve been through a jam a few times, if you still can’t figure out some of the sounds, or you want to “cheat” and look up the answer, check out the corresponding “breakdowns” video where I’ll walk you through every lick I played, note for note, with extra emphasis on where the notes come from so that next time you’ll be able to hear it on your own.
But… There’s Another Cool Thing (Or 2) That Happens…
It might seem like Trading Fours is just a chance to learn a bunch of great blues licks… and while it is that, if that’s all you use it for you’d be missing out on a lot…
Playing music is all about using your ears, especially when you play the blues.
On a jam, you might be filling in the space between vocal lines where you want to play something similar to what the vocalist has already just sung…
So getting more comfortable with using your ears, and more importantly feeling like you can rely on what you hear, is a huge benefit to your playing – in any situation.
You also have probably noticed over your years of playing that there is more than one way to approach a blues solo…
- Use the minor pentatonic/blues sound the whole time using the “5 boxes” approach.
- Use the “4 Note Solo” pattern to get around the pentatonic sounds without really caring that they are pentatonic scales.
- Using the BB King style, “House Pattern,” to create major and minor sounds using a single bend, or turning that pattern around and connecting it to the “boxes” approach.
- Combining the use of the major and minor blues sounds over the I chord, while sticking to the minor sound over the IV and V chord – and using the “boxes” to handle it all.
And there are many others, but these are the ones that are most common (and, you really don’t need any more than that.)
Well, it’s easy to have a soloing opportunity come up and now know where to start… or which approach to use. And while there is never a “right” or “wrong” answer to that, with the guidelines I’ll use in Trading Fours, you’ll finally have some experience playing with each and you can choose the ones that work best for you in your situation, based on your experience and comfort level.
Oh… and I sort of leaned a little heavier on those boxes and positions and patterns that often get ignored… just to give you a little extra playing time in those areas (I’m talking to you, boxes 3 and 4!)
And, did I mention that it’s really fun to play this way? Just grab your guitar and play… try stuff out… make mistakes and laugh about it. That’s the best way to approach this to not only learn the most, but have the most fun with it.
So Here’s What To Do Next
Trading Fours Volume 1 is just $67 and you can get it instantly as a digital download or stream it from your own private Member Portal on your computer or mobile device (as long as you have an internet connection.) It never goes away and you can access it any time.
However, if you prefer to have me print out the manual I can do that for you, and there is also an option for DVDs and Data CDs if you want.
You can have the course however you prefer, just click the “Add To Cart” button that fits your style, and complete the secure checkout to get your copy today.
Is That It?
Pretty much.. that’s about it.
As always, you get my iron-clad, 90 day guarantee. If you don’t love Trading Fours Volume 1, just let my friendly helpdesk know and you’ll get a complete refund, no questions asked – and you don’t even have to send it back.
My private students have to pay $120 just to sit with me for one hour and trade licks with me, but you can get this complete course: all the videos, TABs, audio playalongs, and breakdowns, for just $67. That seems like kind of a no-brainer.
There’s no catch, no hidden continuity thing, and no shenanigans to be found. The order form is secure and you can rest assured that your privacy and data are safe. You’ve got absolutely nothing to lose…
Now Is The Time…
Putting this off until “someday” is just putting off success that much longer, and there’s no reason for that. If you really want to make improvements now, you have to act now, it’s that simple.
And with my 90 day no-questions-asked-you-don’t-even-have-to-send-it-back guarantee, this is the perfect chance to strengthen those soloing chops and improve your ear using Trading Fours.
So click the “Add To Cart” button below that fits your style (digital, digital with printed manual, or digital with the printed manual and the DVDs and CD.)
To get your complete copy of Trading Fours - Volume 1 just click the yellow “Add To Cart” button below with your preferred delivery method. Just as soon as your order is complete you will receive an email with your access instructions to the secure Member Portal so you can be creating exciting new blues solos in just a few minutes from now!
This is a one time payment, NOT a subscription. 3 Payment option is available on the next page.
PS – In case you thought, “Oh, I’ll just scroll down to the bottom and get the scoop,” let me hip you to it…
I’m offering you a great chance to try my complete Trading Fours Volume 1 course that will help you to be able to solo better over blues songs by improving your ear and your creativity and by “trading licks” with me on screen.
There is about 4 hours of video, 5 full-length jams, and a complete manual with TABs for all of the licks I played (11-14 per jam) included.
You can get it all for just $67, with my iron-clad 90 day guarantee.
Sound good? Great! Then get yours here.