30 days has September…
April, June, and no wonder…
All the rest eat peanut butter…
Except Grandma, she rides a bicycle!
Like my literary genius?!
This was a poem I learned as a kid and, obviously, it’s nonsense. But I loved it as a 10 year old, and my kids thought it was hysterical until they got to high school (my youngest still loves it.)
But hey, you’re not here to read nonsense poems so what does it have to do with guitar, you might ask?
I’ll tell you in just a minute…
First, look at the first 2 lines of that poem… they sort of go together, right?
But then the 3rd line is from another state and the 4th line is from some other planet. It’s funny because it doesn’t say anything that anyone can understand.
“Duh,” you might say, but aren’t you doing the same thing when you play guitar?
If you take 1 lick from solo A, 1 lick from solo B, 1 lick from solo C, and 1 lick from solo D… and you put them all together, what do you think you’ll get?
Will your solo have a cohesive feel and flow? Will it lead your listener through melodic ideas that take them on a journey through the chord changes?
Bottom line… will you sound like you know what you’re doing?
I’ll give you a hint… not likely.
Classic solos are more than the sum of their parts and to completely abandon trying to learn a solo all the way through is going to miss a lot.
And, to be fair, it’s not even really about the end result… shoot there were dozens of solos that I was never able to learn note-for-note perfect, but the process of trying to play them as close as I could to note for note perfect is what taught me (and every other professional guitar player I know) how solos are supposed to go together above and beyond just the licks involved.
Even better is if you CAN’T play them note for note, but you pretend like you have to play something at your next gig which is in 5 days. That puts you in a position where you have to come up with something that sounds similar and has the same vibe as the original but is within your technical grasp… now THAT is a surefire way to some massive improvements in your playing (deadlines work wonders 🙂
The Gettysburg Address isn’t just a bunch of sentences strung together… neither is the Iron Curtain speech or the I Have A Dream speech or any famous speech. And your solos shouldn’t just be a random group of licks or notes strung together with no thought as to where you’re going or why.
That’s a lot to chew on for today so I’ll let you think about that until tomorrow….
85 replies to "Grandma Rides a Bicycle"
I read it years ago in 17 magazine & the end was “She drives a Buick.
The nonsense poem is:
‘Thirty day hath Septober,
April, June and no wonder,
All the rest have peanut Butter,
Except my Grandmother.
She has a little, red tricycle.’
I read it in MAD Magazine in the late ’50s or early ’60s.
I’m in my 70s. It’s my favorite poem.
Griff, you hit it right on again! the mind wanders.
30 DAYS Has September,April,MAY and November.
And no wonder
All the rest eat peanut butter.
Except Grandma she rides a bicycle.
Thanks Griff.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Some poems Rhyme,
and some don’t
The entire old testament is written the form of music. Based on the writer you are either captivated by the style or you are bored silly.
I don’t know the solution to writing the best solos but your class on the simple first three strings in the box have led to my discovering Eric Clapton starting with the Box in LAYLA for instance. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, and here I was thinking that you had to be a gifted mechanic on the scales and music theory. Al Eric did was change the order he played the notes in the box. In fact he only played 4 notes in the box to get off the ground with Layla.
I now see there is hope for me yet.
Harm
WHEN I DO A SOLO I USALLY MIMIC THE MELODY AND MIX IT UP A BIT. I WAS RTYUM GUITAR AND SECOND LEAD WHEN I PLAYED IN A BAND BETWEEN VERSES OF THE VOCALS, I WOULD THROW A LIL LICK LIKE IN CROSSWORDS. AFTER DOWN ON MY KNEES, CLAPTON TRHOW’S IN THAT SIGNATUER LICK THAT I THINK MAKES THE WHOLE SONG. I HAVE NOT BEEN PLAYING GUITAR. HAVE A LOT ON MY PLATE. THEN JUST THE OTHER SUNDAY NIGHT I WENT TO SEE MY NIEGHBOR PLAY IN HIS BLUE GRASS BAND. THEY SOUND REALLY GOOD. THEN HE ASKED ME IF I WOULD DO HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN. WHAT? THATS NOT BLUE GRASS, BUT THEY DO IT. LUCKY FOR ME I HAVE MY OWN BLUSE VERSON OF IT AND I GOT UP AND SANG THE SONG AND DID A FEW LICKS BETWEEN VERSE’S AND THEN MY SOLO CAME. I USED JUST BOX ONE AND FULBED IT. I PULLED IT OFF, BUT WAS VERY SLOPPY. I PLAYED IT IN E AND THE BAND DID A GOOD JOB OF KEEPING ME IN TIME. JUST FELT LIKE A LOSER WITH THAT LOUSY SOLO. GOT A GOOD APPLUASE. LATER MY NIEGHBOR TOLD ME THAT THERE DRUMMER THOUGHTT I STUNK. WELL HE WAS NOT THAT GREAT EITHER. 15 YEARS SINCE I DID A LIVE PERFORMANCE AND IT WAS A NERVE RACKING EXSPERANCE.
Hi everybody,
Well said Griff.
Just for information: the origin of Griff’s hilarious nonsense rhyme is as follows:
Thirty days has September,
April, June and November.
All the rest have thirty-one,
Except for February: It is done
At twenty-eight, but leap one more
When the year divides by four.
This is one of very many versions of the mnemonic designed to help us remember how many days are in each month and also when a leap year arrives and what then happens to the number of days.
We could start another discussion on the mnemonics used to remember the names of the strings on a six string guitar in standard tuning: here are some I have heard:
Elephants And Dinosaurs Got Big Ears
Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good By Eddie
Every Adult Dude Guzzles Beer Everyday, that’s how I remember it
Another way to have the solo ‘make sense’ is to use the method Griff talked about in a previous blog where he suggests ‘quoting’ a vocal melody. This mimics a note pattern that always sounds good and, even better, doesn’t have to be perfect.
Does anyone use anything to make your fingers slide along the strings more easily? When I’m practicing solos I find that my fingers one one day slide easily and on other days stick a little. If I have washed dishes (heaven forbid), the problem is worse. What do you all do?
Rub your eyebrows, then the strings. Washing dishes removed natural oils from your hands.
Best not to buy a used guitar or used car, you never know what the previous owners have been rubbing on them 🙁
I understand completely what you are saying Griff and I am guilty of it that’s for sure ……… I learn something from your course then I get all cocky and try to ” improvise ” well it sounds bland and repetitive. I know in my heart I need all the tools to do the job but I have a problem with self discipline LOL……. BUT I am making a great deal of progress when I stick to your course and lesson plans. Thank you for the emails to remind me to get back on course : )
Thanks for the advice griff
Well seems You might be taking things very seriously . Sure that it should be ,but , one thing for sure is that it is supposd to be fun too! I get the fact about just noodeling around with something that does not make any musical sence is a waste of time . I have found some musical applications noodeling around . Always go back to the root . Try a diffrent root . Thats part of what makes sence . Try picking a tune you do not know try to play it without viewing the music and see how close you got later . If you are any good at it you might just shock yourself . But thats just me . heres a dumb one why do cows wear bells their horns dont work . first of all only bulls have horns so grab a hold of them and play like you mean it put some attitude in there . some words of wit from a fellow guitarist . Like the mood you were when the girl left you kinda thang.
I have just started lesson 16 of BGU “THE FIRST SOLO” – Man do I sound awful!Exactly as you describe – but I’m sure I will get better.
Griff,
Thanks for the wake up call! I sometimes get ahead of myself. And if I get back to your structured learning method. I achieve much more..and get less frustrated.
In ADHD,(no excuses)
Jerry
lf you notice most note for note solos appear on You Tube by amateurs trying to impress , but if you listen to famous bands playing their best material they hardly ever play them note for note on their live shows. Yes certain passages have to be the same , but often they improvise where they can , its more fun ,and less stifeling.
That is very true. Learn a lick completly then move on to the next. Practice ,practice ,practice.
Thanks Griff,
Good as usual..makes real sense.
Great explanation, I learn something everytime!!!!
Hi Griff
First of all I’d like to thank you for what I’ve learned over the years since I purchased your blues lessons and to this day I still mess with them daily . And I do like your soon to be a song lyrics . So much so I wrote one of my own and I hope you don’t mind that I used your name in it .” Hey diddle diddle the Cat and the fiddle while Griff played the guitar little boy blue was blowing the horn and the cow jumped over the Moon”. I apologize to anyone who reads is.
awesome thoughts Griff! Love your teaching style bro, your helping me become a better player all the time!
We play music and write to feel.
My hobby is writing fiction, non-fiction (novels) and nonsense songs that make people fall down laughing. They often appear to make no sense but some how they slide a twang down heart strings and flips them into a roll that pops head off .
Grandma could become a great song and powerful but it’s unfinished. The part you have could be the chorus or one of the lyrics:
“30 days has September…
April, June, and no wonder…
All the rest eat peanut butter…
Except Grandma, she rides a bicycle!”
Remember Hee-Haw, songs were nothing but crazy hits knocking on hearts.
I’m polishing an old one of mine now and when I get it to behave enough — it’ll open its own gate and if that bull stomps and kicks I’ll shoot you an e-mail of it.
I love interruption lines, “Grandma, she rides a bicycle,” pure nonsense but magic and many people will love it — the others, the critics feed ’em some beans.
Sid
Hej there Griff I get your point, the lyrics don´t me sense.
But sometimes you have to “make no sense” to get it right.
And sometimes “make no sense” is the right thing. Because in the listener’s ears it could “make sense”. Any way if we talk about lyrics what about Get Back with The Beatles. Does the lyrics make any sense? Still we love to sing it.
With love and respect Tman
Get Back’s lyrics make complete sense, did you ever listen to it???
That isn’t directly the point Griff was making. The lyrics of the poem are a metaphor.
I believe your poem has gone through what is called the “folk process.” The original went something like this:
30 days hath September
April, June and November
All the rest have 31
Except for February alone
Hmm. There’s a song in there somewhere.
Great point, Griff. Most teachers on the web seem to want you to learn a lot of licks and just put them together randomly. That may be fun for the player, but not necessarily the audience. MOST jazz and blues are more fun for the player in that way, with the exception of classics such as “Take Five” or “Fool for Your Stockings”. I’m glad you brought this up.
Right on. Good Griff.
Thank you Griff for your on line instruction. I’am just a “wanna be” guitar player trying to improve even after years of trying. I am just starting to catch on with the basic lead riffs. I just want you to know that its starting to catch … “the spark” is almost igniting, I can feel it. I am determine to keep on “keeping on. Your easy to understand lessons helps a lot. Thanks again.
Griff,
I discovered you after having played in R&B bands for 50 years and consider you my greatest find! I can burn up a lead using the pentatonic scale which I learned almost from day one (15 years old), but I have never been able to blend the melody in with my leads. ANY SUGGESTIONS???
As always, thank you for helping those of us who play guitar play a little better…Old School and Still Rockin’
Well put, sir, well put. I’ll ceaintrly make note of that.
You’ve impressed us all with that posting!
Help, I’ve been informed and I can’t become ignorant.
You’ve really helped me understand the issues. Thanks.
Finding this post. It’s just a big piece of luck for me.
Apparently this is what the esteemed Willis was talkin’ ’bout.
Hey Griff , I like the way you put things in perspective , i can play a little and yes that really makes sense, and keeps the music flowing ..Deb..BIG FAN ..luv ur stuff..
apples peaches pumpkin pie ! do not have a real comment bye bye
Hi Griff,
Your Poem is true to the word. When we are learning your courses we always try to blend different licks into a solo because we are relatively new to Blues Guitar. I have been learning guitar now for 20 months as part of my Bucket List and enjoying your lessons by email as well as all the ones I purchase. I am thoroughly enjoying your Soloing without Scales which I received a week ago and some of the stuff I have learned before but always great practice. Part of my Guitar goals is learning 12 Bar Blues songs such as Route 66,Johnny B Goode but you have to learn to sing them and in key while playing the lead guitar such a great challenge so they are on the back burner for a while until I master playing the BGU much longer. etc with majority going to be BGU stuff. Colin just stick with the guitar you will like it just have to keep at it. I am a past Drummer and it would have been much easier to take up the drums again but I wanted a challenge and play the musical side and I am loving it. Looking forward to retirement in a couple of years and now have 5 electric guitars ( Different sounds) and one electric acoustic and still learning.
Michael- Sydney Australia
I know what you mean. Its like spliting you faculties in half. Its one thing to play amd another to sing but consider this..you can drive and sing. And to dribe you are soloing and improvising all the time but the part of you doing it is conditioned to operate without thinking. I just watched this travis picking manic. The guitar had more seperate sounds coming from it than it seemed posible. Like jerry reed. Well i listened to him for an hour and then came the nugget…he said open a book any book and read it while you play…wham it works…we consentrate too much…focus gets stronger when you can split it in two.
excellent message and analogy! – You make a good point.
very true im guilty of it. hey griff do you remember this old one,fuzzy wuzzy was bear fuzzy wuzzy had no hair fuzzy wuzzy wasnt very fuzzy wuzz he!
As an ex drummer – I am a lazy guitar player- I play by ear – Dont have a clue what notes on the fretboard are called apart from E and A and D really need , I know how to skip down octaves from different strings and can play bass and follow along virtually any song. I know i need to study and memorize the notes and scales but find life gets in the way of my practice time. Griff mentioned this in his early emails- SO – Mental note – Griff – you inspired me to take 30 minutes out for me each day. from today!
I sometimes say humans sing because we come from birds, from an evolutionary perspective. When birds sing, they’re also consistent, generally. I mean a sparrow doesn’t sound like a duck one minute and a crow the next. I think that’s what Griff means. Our lead solos should have a theme, a tone, an approach, or a voice that’s consistent and that determines the choice of riffs and the way they’re played.
Cheers
Yeah great except we didn’t evolve from birds, they came from dinosaurs and we came from mammals which already existed at the time of the dinos.
Your point about being consistent is good though!
Some of you think that it’s (HARD)to deal with the six string monster,I am now 77 years old,I started when I was 25,and went through the,”I DON”T WANT TO PLAY SCALES,THAT”S KIDS STUFF” So over the years I’ve played every genre of music,and found that the further I got into it,and the more I tried to make my SOLOS,sound good,they fell over due to the fact that I didn’t know my scales,which is the foundation of music,if the foundation of a building are not correct it will fall over the same as music.This is were the real tough part came in for me,I stuck my hand in my power saw and hacked of two fingers and part of my thumb on my left hand,so they sowed them back on,to cut the story short,I am still playing,and gigging,and I miss a note or two now and again, but I’ve found that If they know the tune,they will hear that note in there head.Anyway,if it’s hard now,go cut some fingers off,and try playing (Just throw your heart over the guitar and your fingers will follow)
hi Griff I have been with you about two years I enjoyed your work and learning solo’s but I like to do something different so now I am playing acoustic ele. guitar and have learned the song malagunea there are about a hundred different tabs for this song so i found the tabs that sounded best and work for best sound and tabbed my own song I did not want to be playing solo’s over and over. I like the fingerpicking and I learned a lot of guitar from you and still like your info you can’t learn to much thank’s Griff see you /
Hello All
Well, I guess I’m here to make Tom look good! Six strings, you say? Oh!
I just got my first guitar guitar learning package today from Griff H, and I am starting from way back, as I have no idea at all. To be honest, having made this commitment – getting the lessons and so on – has made me a bit apprehensive. What if I am just really hopeless? Do I keep the guitar as an ornament, or trade it in.
I am a bit older than you Tom, and had a good friend (passed away now, alas) who was very much into the guitar (steel strung acoustic) mostly, and just knocking around with him over the years, everything else has rubbed off but for the playing! So, doing this will probably bring back a few memories, and I can just imagine his occasional disapproving looks as I master six-string fumbling!…..
Anyway, here goes nothing – I’ll open the package tomorrow, and maybe pleasantly surprise myself with a few runs on the board! Not to mention my wife who thinks my little Maton is just another conversation piece – can’t blame her….
Cheers
Colin (Australia)
The other couple of days ago I was in the process of having my 1942 D-18 DREADNAUGHT GUITAR being appraised thru ” NORMAN RARE GUITARS,”began thinking what big step it was for my uncle to take by giving me his GUITAR. At the age of 12yrs.old I began to take great interest in great sounding ” MARTIN GUITAR ” to learn to play it correctly thru lessons provided by my JAZZ instructor for the next 4yrs. Turning those 4yrs., the importance of fundamental musical expressions in non-technical terms would eventually lead to the more specific procedures like HARMONIZING, RHYTHMS,TEXTURES, MELODIES, and PHRASE STUCTURING to help me understand the correlation in non-technical terms, to sound itself, it’s colors, then the movement of sound, it’s strength, how it is set in motion, it’s pace, it’s regularity and how it reaches its point of arrival.To be honest, this love for playing my uncle`s guitar made me appreciate playing my lessons with more PASSION and learning to analyze and evaluate music more with choosing,soloing the riffs, trying to perfect the best that I could .Rhythm to me was the most beneficial the formulation of all my fundamentals to playing my MARTIN GUITAR. Now at the age of 66yrs., I still have PASSION with me. So my friends, Mr. Hamlin picked a good point to be important.
I’m glad to see this. I admit my training, even with your material, is far from time-consuming enough. I’m one of those who “plays along”, which is hardly legitimate practice–but I find a affinity for certain stars and especially Clapton and Johnny Winter; somehow my fingers and mood fits their work, and it also seems that because of this, I can anticipate what they’re going to do.
I also find that I wind up going the wrong direction sometimes, and my best response is to STOP playing at that point–or rather just to miss that beat–and the silence is often better than going in a silly direction. I have some “natural” licks that instantly brand me as someone who doesn’t have any talent, and I think, more or less objectively, that I do–lots of support and good feedback, even from competitive other guitar players, and we all know how they can be–so I wonder if the value of silence is appreciated, at very least as a device to miss all those idiotic licks that probably most of us slide in there every once in awhile.
Would look forward to thoughts about this, and other ways to avoid the bad stuff and save time for the next “talented” move.
Guess that many of your students are like me… 62, trying to figure out this 6-stringed thing.
you and i are the same age. my problem is artritist. my left hand will lock up after 10 minutes of practice. thanks Griff for the insight. i have been playing guitar for 40 years and played professionally for half that. i have written so many songs , i can’t even remeber some of them unless i listen to the bands cd. or my own demos. a lot of my solos sre mostlly to the tune of the song the way it is sang. mimicking a verse. i was never a goood lead gi uitar player. i always would pick the brain of lead guitarist, even eric clapton back in the 60’s at ma ma cas’s parties. theres always that lick you trow in between volcal changes, or between the chorus and then comes the solo. bam. i’m stifled and start with little licks and try to make it sound like the song. I’m disabled and don’t have the energy to play in a band. i jam with my old band buddies from the last 40 years we have played togther and it sucks getting old.
The album by Napolean IVX Jerry Samuels had a top 5 hit in 1966 The title song off of the album “They’re coming to take me away” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_XIV
Yes! I remember it well…It didn’t take long before the rumour started up that THEY carted him off to the Nut House not long after!!! Probably not true, or was it?
Somehow it got into your head and try as you might, you just couldn’t help singing it and just hoped no-one could hear you. Either that or you hummed or sang it as a rebuke when one of your mates was talking a right load of old Tosh. Bonzo Dog DooDah Band could have done that one justice. Oh the good old days.
Once again an email that addresses exactly where I am at! Practicing a particular solo for the Jam and it was at first a little frustrating cause it’s not exactly one of my favorites. I decided to learn it note for note and, at 90% done, I realize that now, I have the “feel” and can play licks other than original and make them work. BGU is the only reason I am still working at playing guitar.
thank you!
Yes, I understand, or know, this to be true; but to know this, doesn’t mean one can do it. To me, the issue isn’t knowing this truth, it’s another matter of understanding how and doing it! Sound frustrated, yes a little. I’m enjoying the BGU course, presently learning/practicing Lesson 25, Slow Blues In G, Solo #4. This is a real milestone for me because blues shuffles are some of my favorite blues. These take me a month to two months to get fairly decent, but using Griff’s extra comments, I work on other things side by side. Speed and timing are my most difficult things. Learning the above will be a great step for me; to improvise and have it work along someone playing chord progressions. I sound like the poem right now; but not as interestingly mysterious.
Griff, This is the first time I’ve posted on your site! As usual, you’re spot on. I’ve been playing with the BGU course for some time now and thoroughly enjoying it, but consistent with your “where do you want to be 30 days from now” advice, I’ve been flopping around with the minor pentatonic and blues scales. While they’re super fun, I lack direction. Your “kick in the pants” is perfectly timed!
Being an old man of 72 I find that learning the major and minor blues scales are what are helping me the most to do what I want which is to enjoy myself playing along with backing tracks,MY WAY.I am of a musical disposition so do not have trouble feeling my way round notes and always relying on my ears to assist.I am taking lessons but I really love having jam sessions with my tutor who plays along with my improvisation.I am at present learning the location of notes of notes on the whole fretboard which is not easy but I feel essential.I also am not concerned about bending,sliding etc although I do use them when I feel like it.I feel lucky that I can actually enjoy playing the guitar without filling my head with riffs and licks but there are some simple ones that I have found easy to incorporate into my soloing.My main concentration is on faster fingers which I know will come with practice.I do also follow Griffs “Unleashed” but only take what I want from it.I really do wish that I had taken up the guitar 60 years ago then perhaps I would be offering advice on You Tube.
Griff: With your help I now understand the big picture, not just struggling with patterns, but knowing the HOW this goes together to have the freedom to play what is in my head and come out in a melody that makes sense. I NOW hear solos that just ramble and some that fit!!!! There are a lot of guitar teachers out on the web but you are one of the best. Please keep it coming.
Hey Griff, good comment but my playing sucks and seems to get worse with practice. I’ve worked my way through your BGU course and follow your video lessons but there is a lot I don’t get. For example I’ve learned your 5 boxes but in some of your lessons you do not play the boxes in the position I learned from your initial lesson. I have also learned some of your licks with great difficulty but have no clue as to how to put any of them together in an improv solo. All I know is the lick in isolation as you presented it and heaven help me if I was in a band and had to change the key for any of them.
Sorry for this rant of frustration. I still like your lessons.
Very true, how often do we here a jumble of note, someone trying to impress with his/her speed, and then all of a sudden it just ends? Hunh?
Not the notes you play…..not how fast you play….not for how long you can play. Very few notes, played in the correct context of the harmony makes all the difference in the world….that is why every day I strive to become a better listener…the rest will come
I have always felt that if I was going to do song by somebody, or a band
and it has a terrific lead to it that it is my responsibility to learn that lead as close as I can get to the original, otherwise you are cheating the song and how it was originally played. I have seen guys do their own take on a lead and in most cases it sounds like crap, and it shows immediately that either he doesn’t have the skill to figure out how the lead goes, or he lacks the knowledge and creativity to make his own lead sound like it could belong had he done the song originally. When I pick out songs I want to learn, the first thing I go to is the lead to see if it is within the realm of me being able to learn it nearly exactly, if not then I probably won’t do the song because I know I can’t come close to making it sound like the original. That is the way I feel about it.
The poem was a great way to make your point. I would like to see you revive your forum October Challenge from a couple of years ago. It really drove home playing a melodic embellishment of the underlying tune.
There have been places where you have suggested mixing and matching licks, but the Challenge and this message really drive home that you cannot just mix and match ANY licks randomly for best effect. One must really pay attention to how they will sound against what the rest if the band is playing.
Those are some great speeches. My level is more on the – eany, meany, miny, mo. Catch a tiger by the toe level. Mr. Hughes’ suggestion is excellent.
Sadly, I’ll never be able to have a solo be nearly as good as the above speeches you mentioned. My level is more like–eaney, meany, miny, mo- catch a tiger by the toe. I like Mr. Hughes’ suggestion.
I’m one of those on the forum who stresses learning licks, which boxes they work best in, and being able to spontaneously use any of those licks when improvising. I also stress INTEGRATING every new lick you learn with every other lick that you already know … getting to know which licks work well with which other licks, which licks lead into other licks, etc. That’s all well and good, but as Griff is saying here, THAT’S ONLY HALF OF THE STORY when it comes to putting a good solo together. There is much more to a good solo than simply stringing random licks together. I’ll put it to you this way: What are you going to play if you don’t know any licks? The same memorized solo over and over again? The first half of the story is to LEARN LICKS. The second half of the story is to LEARN HOW TO USE THEM TO CONSTRUCT A GOOD SOLO. Learning solos by the “greats” (or trying to) is the best way to do this. You will soon come to recognize that good solos are constructed in various ways. They usually have a theme that repeats … it might start with that theme, build to a scorching lead, then return to that theme, but even that scorching lead plays to that same theme … or it might consist of many variations of that theme. But the licks that are being used are NOT RANDOM. A good solo “tells a story”. Well, a story is made up of words (licks). You can’t tell much of a story if you only know a few words. Let alone MAKE UP a story (improvise) on the fly. So YES! There is much more to creating a good solo than simply stringing a collection of licks together at random!
I can totally see the point of trying to learn solos, but I have a lot of trouble with timing. I have no problem counting and playing through the entire measures, but I have all kinds of difficulty counting through the bits when I’m not supposed to be playing and then beginning to play again at exactly the right time. Anyone have any tips for me?
Rick, I also struggle with timing. My private instructor has me play two measures of the 12 bar rhythm , at a comfortable speed, and then 2 measures of solo . I play the rhythm in A then the A minor pentatonic scale. Start on one and count one and two and etc for 2 measures. Initially it doesn’t matter where you start or end. Just count. Then back to the rhythm for 2 bars ETC.
I initially used a metronome and learned to hate the thing but it don’t lie.
You have to know when ONE is if you’re not going to start on it.
The goal is to sense the timing as well as count it.
This is harder than it sounds but I don’t know any other way to do it.
I hope this helps.
Pat
Awesome Griff the magic is in the fingers!!!!!!!!
I knew I’d gone too far with my experimenting on Blues solo 1. My bad and I apoligize. Im hoping to learn from my mustakes.
Prior to buying the “Blues Unleashed” course I was getting the free stuff, but figured out that the downloads were not in a logical progression. It seamed to me that the resulting mish mosh of unlinked licks that Griff is referring to is a result of the free lessons being supplied out of the proper order
so I bought the course and am happy with it.
Love you post Griff. Hope to someday visit one of the gigs you play. but living in ok. makes it a little difficult. Great poem, love your lessons, please keep them coming our way….
This finally puts to rest the thread running in the forum with people claiming it’s all about licks and each box must be played by itself. As Griff makes abundantly clear, solos are not collections of riffs in a box. Solos are melodic lines played over the rhythm. LISTEN TO GRIFF PEOPLE!!!
Griff, your posts are the only guitar tutor posts I take seriously, out of the endless dozens I get.
Of course, as an old rocker, I agree with your remarks on soloing. The dreaded shred school fails to grasp what music is about. Physical virtuosity rarely has anything to do with it.
But, as an ancient Brit, I never before came across the little poem you start off with, and I have to say along with your ten-year-olds I absolutely love it.Far from being nonsense, it has a surreal allusiveness which is close to perfect.
Respects and agreement to James Jones and Michael Hughes.
Thanks Griff, That makes a lot of sense. ( I like the poem too.)
Thumbs High Griff!
Griff you keep coming up with inspritional comments that thus far surpassing any I have read or heard from other professionals and sudo / would be professionals. Do keep them coming.
Griff:
Great stuff. What I’d like to understand is WHY, from a music theory perspective, certain solos sound so much better than others. For example, are they generally following the root notes of the general chord structure? The 3rds, 5ths or 7ths? Or is simply “anything goes” as long as it sounds good?
Mike
Griff,
you just get better everyday at letting us play the way we feel, instead of playing the way we hear other people play it. I’ve been playing for fifty years and you help me keep it brand new. thank you.
Jack
Great article, Griff! I have noticed that Clap[ton, Stevie Ray, all of the great players…never play a song the same way twice. What I have also noticed is that, no matter how they play a solo, they always stay with the root note progression. I believe that if you stay with the root note progression, it will always sound right? Do you agree?
Hi Griff,I played in a small band when I was young & always knew I would again pick up the guitar one day. Now for my 74th birthday my family bought me a beautiful acoustic/electric & a practice amp & I was
one happy guy.Nothing ever goes to plan these days as arthritis is giving me a hard time.Fingers & wrists wont work like they used to,but I keep trying. Just realised this “comment”is probably in the wrong place so will close now. Thank you for the terrific lessons.Yours faithfully, James.
I don’t play in bands anymore, but I do guest occassionally.
If I get asked to play a solo for a song I will play once its not worth nailing the solo as the original.
I find you have to identify the key licks that identify the song and make sure you return to them during the solo. You will be surprised how good it sounds and how far from the original you can get so long as you nail the memorable licks adn the way they link together, thats what prevents a solo from being a mishmash of techincal showmanship
( I am agreeing with Griff ! )
Very good point you make Michael
Mike wrote:
“I find you have to identify the key licks that identify the song and make sure you return to them during the solo.”
I agree with this entirely. I am mainly a harp player but am learning some guitar as well. If I am soloing on harp and I start with the “iconic” lick, or very close to it, and circle back to that lick I can keep the feel of the original alive and for me personally that is what works best.
Cheers,