One of my mantras is “take what you know and learn to do more with it.” I say this a lot because a lot of people get hung up on learning more instead of learning how to do more with that they already know how to play.
In my experience, it’s a lot easier to take something that you can already play and use it in a new way than it is to learn something totally new from the beginning.
So to that end I made this video about how to take a simple blues lick and move it up an octave. This effectively doubles the use you can get out of the lick in most cases.
I know, it’s a simple trick and you might say, “well of course, I know that.” But just because you know it doesn’t mean you always remember to do it.
Perhaps this can server as a reminder 🙂
Enjoy, and leave any comments you have below.
90 replies to "Double Your Mileage – Change Octaves"
A handy bit of advice that is often overlooked. Thanks Griff.
Hey Griff,
Thanks for this lesson today. You always bring something up that I just forget that you can do. I always enjoy your lessons.
Alexander
Thank you griff, again very informative. I’ve been trying that and it really helps.. I always look forward to your videos.
Yup, it’s really fun to take a lick up “up to the mountains” and play it up in the high frets, then sliding back down to the lower elevations, making a few little stop-offs in between, along the way. It is that CONTRAST of sound between the low bass and the screamin’ upper notes joined by the UNITY of the repetition up hi and down lo. My Gibson SG has that big neck with a few extra frets, giving me plenty of room for quick elevation changes, sometimes all the way up to that very last fret…and maybe a little bend to squeak one more high step for kicks. Thanks for reminding us of the freedom of multiple octaves
Good training for us Griff. Thanks!
11/6/18
Thank you Griff always appreciate your Video’s.
thanks Grif
awesome video !! going to go try this right now as I usually stay below the 12th fret
Simple concept but like you said Griff “get a lot of mileage out of this” great idea. Gonna make this part of my daily practice routine. Thanks.
No video attached for me, either.
Sorry, FYI..no video was attached.
That sounded great,found me a new lick!!!
t will have to work my muscle memory – when playing in front of people even the simple thing sometimes disappear – the mind doesn’t go blank I just seem to revert to the tried and true.
Your lessons are the best, Griff! I always look forward to them.
I have learned so much from your courses and only have a couple courses left to buy.
Good stuff to have broken down. May seem a bit basic to some — but the more I see here, the more I realize there is to learn. Starting to know what I don’t know, know what I mean? My thanks!
Check this band out Billy Price he has a new CD coming out one song I think is called this ain’t no juke joint. Listening to this song all I could think about was stevie ray Vaughan thanx Richard
Not one of you clearest lessons Griff. If, for example, I can play a “little chord” D on the 2/3rd fret, why can’t I replicate that easily enough above the 12th fret?
Actually you can. Griff didn’t demonstrate that. But you can duplicate anything you can do at the lower frets, above the 12th fret. Even in D.
You can. Just add 12 to each lower fret number, i.e., 14 and 15, and finger the same way at those frets.
Love getting your awesome lessons everyday Griff. They really inspire me and keep me learning.
Griff
You wake up our brains in what you teach.Or should I say, You teach what no others Do.
In just this one simple fret board road map of how it is divided brings as you say a new world of licks and phrases.
Steven
Sometimes I stop and wonder how someone like you gets to be such awesome guitar maestro
Griff,
Hey man, hope your doing okay! Watching you online has sure helped me in my guitar playing. Thanks very much for this set of tips.I’m sure you and your tips are welcomed by many, many people across the world surface! I know I’m sure glad to see you in my emails. Thanks again Griff!
I realize that beggars can’t be choosers, right? Well, I’m not so much a beggar (having made a number of purchases from BGU), but I think it would be way cool if whenEVER you do a video lesson, that you Tab out the cool stuff for us. The solos in this lesson are a great example. I realize that I could sit and rewind/play/rewind/play the video and probably be able to work it out . . . but holy crap, Batman . . . it would be SO COOL if you published the tab along with the video.
And, as always, great work Griff. Thanks
Joe, I know it’s tedious the first few times you try it, but learning the lick by repeated listening and yes, writing it down in tab notation, you will get much more out of the lesson by figuring it out your self. The lick is only 7 notes long. Figure out the starting note, write it down. Figure out the 2nd note. Write it down. If you figure out 1 note per day, in 1 week, you will have the whole lick and the satisfaction of knowing you can do it! It makes the next attempt a lot easier. Good luck.
Good advice. The sooner you can see the notes on the fingerboard and hear them, the better. Tabs can be a crutch.
TO help learn the tab in the video, you can go to the setting gear and pick a slower speed.
Hi Matt…. Thx for your input! You mentioned slowing down a lick on a video. Could you tell me how that is done? Do you have to download a App from App Store or can you do the slow down right from the video? I have a newer iPhone. Thx Matt. John
Hey Griff,
I just understood how to play a lick in G in a new Octave.. I often wondered if there was a 6th Box in the Pentatonic scale beyond the Am Box 4. Q: When you use a Capo on the A 5th Fret do you count down 12 frets
from the 5th Fret?
This is one of your great simple lessons. Which of your courses addresses How to mix & Match Licks using the Octave method?
All cool.
Michael-Sydney-Australia
There are just five pentatonic boxes or shapes, no more. After shape 5 you get shape 1 again etc. Thus Am shape four lies between frets 12 and 15, so Am shape 5 is between 14 and 17 and shape one repeats between 17 and 20. Using a capo does not affect where you would use pentatonic shapes further up the neck.
Thanks Rod for the advice that helped me to understand this when I first read it.
Michael -Sydney-Australia 14th March 2018
Guitar players like Les Paul or Buddy Merrill seem to play a lot in those higher frets. But many of their recordings are done using dubbing and other electronic technology so is it possible that they record a lick on a tape recorder and simply speed it up for the final recording?
Mii-Gwich, Griff,
I appreciate your simplistic approach to learning Guitar. You are the MAN! I say Mii-Gwich for your Sharing
from MC Bellanger
Cheers Griff
For the advice
Very cool,you always explain to where it’s easy to pick up on,nice lesson Griff…
I’m no beginner but I think the way you explain things, especially for a beginner is second to none.
Nice!
Griff you are the greatest. After a long break from the acoustic im totally rocking electric blues and im 60. Where are the women electrics. I never could figure that out.
Carol, I’ve also wondered the same thing. I’m female 65 and rockin the electric blues too. I have lots of Griff’s courses and enjoy learning and playing guitar even if that means being in the minority. Would love to see more female BGUer’s. Thanks Griff for all you do.
Griff, I would like to learn that lick – could you put up the tab as I’m trying to learn – thanks
It’s a variation on a classic chuck berry lick. Whole tone bend 3rd string 7th fret, mute don’t bend down then followed by 5th fret on 2nd then 1st string. Whole tone bend bend 2nd string then 1st string 5th fret, then 7th fret 3rd string semi tone bend up & down back to 7th fret pull off to 5th fret. May require some palm muting to prevent string cacophony. Essentially Griff repeats the same pattern at different octaves up the neck, although he rocks out a bit on the A octave.
i don’t know why i didn’t think of that – i guess because my name is Bob and not Griff. Tried it – it adds challenge and spice to practice.
Griff can you tell us something about string gauges? Ive always bounced around going from 9s to 11s but I’ve pretty much standardized on 9s. I have a 335, a Strat and a Gretsch hollow body
so if you were to start a lic on the g string on a and play two three four notes then move it to the d string on the a and do the same notes what is that? cause i dont know what to call it . I guess its the beauty of repatition. Like you said the guitar has many more notes than a piano.
Griff what help can you give me on learning vibrato? I have been struggling for quite some time without success.
Griff,
I’ve been 3 years as of March, working with BGU, and all of your great e-mails, and I am really blown away.
I’ve been playing acoustic guitar for 35yrs. and the whole time never thought I would be able to play the things I felt deep inside of me.
Now I own a Strat and an ESP, and GBU. DREAMS CAN COME TRUE!
I am a slow learner, but after 3yrs. of 15min. here, and a half hour there, can now play riffs, and leads I never thought I would ever even imagine to play. And I get it. (or at least a good part of it).
From the truest of hearts: Thank you for your teaching skills, and your willingness to help others grow to new levels in music.
Thanks Teach! another great example of taking something you know and doing more with it. 🙂
Lately all I get is the text no videos, did you change something or is it my computer???
Always get great ideas from your mini lessons. Thanks again and keep the blues coming.
Griff,
You do the coolest stuff and you just helped me understand something. I heard Keith Richards say during an interview, “Six strings and twelve frets. Every time I pick it up I learn something.” I recall thinking well the guitar has more than 12 frets, but now I understand what he was saying.
Thanks Griff for all you do to help those of us who play guitar – play better.
Old School and Still Rockin’…Gary
I am trying to learn how to play the guitar, I have been trying to change from 1 cord to the next but just can’t seem to get it, I spend about 15 to 25 minutes every day, but I don’t seem to get it, any ideas. Please.
Bill
Hi Bill,
Just start with two chords, like a D and an A. Then just go back and forth between them, as slowly as you need to. But do it perfectly. You are teaching your muscles where to go. Once you have the muscle memory, you can speed up slightly. It’s like typing or throwing a baseball. Then add a G, and just go back and forth from D-A, D-G and A-G. Once you have those three down, you can play a ton of songs, and you’re off.
Best of luck,
Doug
I have tremors in my hands. I’d LOVE to tell my muscles “WHERE TO GO!”
Hi Griff – A very handy reminder! Thanks for imparting these interesting mini lessons, much appreciated! Cheers
Pete
would be great to tab this out for us beginner’s,regards Leo
Thanks for another good lesson! Just a few questions…
How many octaves on a guitar? Where does my guitar run out of frets?
Do you always just go up (or down) twelve frets?
I don’t try this often while I’m playing. Too busy learning the licks in BGU!!!
Thanks for all you do for us players out here Griff very cool tone on that lesson !!!!
THANKS GRIFF FOR THE REBOOT ON MY MEMORY. YOU CAN DO THAT LICK ANYWHERE ON THE FRET BOARD. SOUNDS LIKE A BB KING LICK.
Thanks for continuing to implement new ideas, a sign of genuine interest in your students.
Thanks Griff,
This is one of the rare times that I knew this b4 watching the video technically. Playing the lick so smoothly is another story.
Can’t U just move down one string and up 2 frets ? I know it also has its limitations also does this repeat at the 12th fret?
Thankyou for your musicalinsite and help.
Good stuff. Sax players utilize octave licks and patterns quite a bit. I did not think of doing the same on guitar.Thanks man!
jbjr
I Like and enjoy your videos. I started late in life so the information is great
You are a wise man Griff Hamlin, and I thank you!!
Nice lick to run with
Good stuff dude thank you .
Have bass, classical, acoustic. Like ur lessons. Thxs.
Thanks grifdiggity.
Griff
I appreciate your interest in growing our abilities. Thanks for the reminder. Liked the lick too.! Always a nugget in your lessons!! 🙂
It also gets tricky if you try to do it with an acoustic guitar!!
Great little video. I will have some fun today with practice using this technique. Terry
cool Riff Griff , gracyas , You make that Jacket look like note’s
Griff, I always hit the mute button on the tv when I get a visit from you with some nice info about playing the guit-box. I just watched your lesson on moving up to play a lick an octave higher on the neck. Nice to get players thinking like this. As I was watching I herd you mention when you get up in higher keys it gets harder to play up high on the neck and I thought you could revers your thinking and play high to low on the neck! I find in the key of D this works quit nice. So thanks for the little kick in the brain and I look forward to your next visit…….Mike
I like easy…octaves make sense it many ways…thanks for the reminder…
Cheers griff, all was good content.
thanx griff….your bgu course has been,,,,still is quite the course as is your style…..i get ahead of myself and need to go back and then i gotta’ kick myself for skippin’ over that particular lesson 🙂 i am ’bout halfway thru your course here after ’bout 2 yrs but i enjoy it fully…you can see by the spilled coffe on the pages …more than once 🙂 and as a testimony to the quality of the materials you use to assemble the instruction book….it’s still solid to the binder !! 🙂 i owe ya’ man ..thanx griff…jb
I am going to have fun with this today. Thankyou! Sal.
Thanks Griff, it is always helpful to be reminded of the basics. Jane
This is one of the things I have been trying to practice.
It really does work best in the lower keys as you say but well worth the effort in giving extra milage to my playing.
ciao
Bronwyn
….h.mmm.. mm…your recent hacking problems must have cost you some video posts to this blog because no video is coming through, not here anyway and I’ve noticed on a few other of your blogs although some of those do have a download option still.
hey griff good double your mileage video..pls tell me how you get that great blues sound from your amp..be as specific as u can i have a vox 4 watt tube amp and a fender amp so you can adjust reverb,gain tone and chorus… thanx
Thanks Griff, I like how you go nice and slow at first, and how you box it in separted parts, so we can get the first part first, than the next part second. and, so on and on. I like how you teach, you seem to be very patients with your students.I’m on disablity I’ve had three back surgries so I cant work right now I just want you too know how I’m greatfull for these great little licks you do. I cant afford your full lessions right now. I’m in deep debt to you Griff. Thanks, freddie
You also can get the same effect by moving lick from lower strings to higher ones , without climbing higher on the fretboard. Perhaps not the same exact sound , but still works , n adds variety to solo.
appreciate your lessons. They are informative and well done. and put in laymens terms,’THANKS’ I look forward to what’s next.
thanks, good stuff
Good idea Griff. But what can you do on acoustic guitar?
More cool stuff. Thanks Griff
Thx Griff,
Sound advice!!!! Cheers mate..
New server looks good…John
Hi Griff
I always appreciate your lessons. They are always well done and very informative. I look forward to seeing both you and Bob Murnahan in my inbox.
Thanks so much for all you do for guitar players everywhere
Gary
Cool