Do you ever feel like your attention is being pulled in 12 different directions?
There’s a cool song to learn, scales to work on and memorize, licks to learn, maybe that acoustic thing you were wanting to do… there’s just a LOT of cool stuff out there to learn and do.
I like to look at this way, the alternative is much worse. We’re a lucky bunch in that we’re fascinated and enthralled with something… and it just so happens to be the guitar and making music.
But depending on your own personal level of “go with the flow-ness” you may have a really hard time… it’s easy to feel like you’re abandoning one thing if you go off and work on something else for a while.
Like one of my students who wrote me the other day because he felt like if he worked on that Silver Bells arrangement I sent out that his work on Blues Guitar Unleashed would somehow suffer…
Quite the opposite, in fact, would likely be the outcome… because you see, the rising tide raises all ships.
While working on the Silver Bells arrangement for his upcoming holiday guests, he’ll be learning new techniques and improving many of the same techniques needed for his BGU material.
So in all likelihood (and I know this from both my own personal experience as well as my students) he’ll come back to the BGU stuff playing it even better than when he left without even working on it for a few weeks.
Sure, he might have forgotten some notes, but remember that memorization and execution are 2 different things. Once those notes are back in the brain – the execution will be better than ever.
Plus, the re-memorization time is super fast compared to learning it the first time. Usually a day of refresher is all that’s needed.
But before you run off all willy-nilly learning something different every day – that’s not at all what I mean here.
You still need purpose in your practice each and every day… and you still need to see small goals through to completion.
If your goal is to play “Pride & Joy” note for note… and you’ve got the notes memorized but you’re still fumbling around a lot – feel free to put it down for a while and pick up something else for a couple of weeks.
But if you’re that guy who knows 4 notes of 50 different tunes and can’t use any of them? It’s time to focus more (and you know who you are 😉
And especially if you’re more towards the beginning stages – time on instrument is all that matters. You’re getting better every day you spend on that guitar and it really doesn’t matter what you’re playing!
So when you find you’ve got a few emails of lessons in your folder you’ve saved them to and one catches your eye don’t be afraid to step to the side for a couple of days and work on it.
By and large most of the lessons I send out via email can be done fairly quickly if your skill level matches the lesson. I try and keep the big 30-40 minute lessons few and far between so I don’t derail what you’re working on.
Chances are you’ll come back better than ever!
91 replies to "The Rising Tide"
Griff. Boy. You hit the nail on the head. I am a beginner and I can tell you I used to have those feelings in the beginning. I started with bug beginner course. I picked so much from that . I heard your first intro into the modes. Although neither is easy to play but is so do-able, just having those courses opens up a whole new way at looking at the real world of music. It so much fun going back and forth. Even country is coming along .nicely. God bless.
I like noodling and playing along with Blues Artists way too much. I need to push myself really hard to do lessons but, when I do, am always very happy to have something new under my fingers.
Peace
Griff you always seem to know where my head is, and your other students as well. The comments tell me im not alone. I feel I have found the ultimate corrispondence guitar course and the weekly emails keep me on track I think im in the middle of 4 of the courses and what you say makes sence it does all fit together so glad I found you on the net;
I wonder if there are guitars in Heaven
just wanna say thanks for being there for all of us Griff
from the western slopes of colorado
Ron
Hi Griff,
As above comments I have seen this before and it always works all the time, I follow all your email lessons and save them for later in my progress and Chop & Change with all the BGU Courses I have purchased to be more in line where I want to go in my Blues Guitar playing and learning road map.
I have over the last few months gone into the Acoustic Guitar for simply learning songs within my target songs list and learning the Chords and singing and solos has helped me tremendously. So back & forth from BGU to Lessons on songs and singing has helped me progress even faster..
The Rising Tide Prevails and is good guitar Juice for me..
Thanks for the much loved encouragement Griff you are the best understanding Blues Guitar Teacher .. keep it up we all love it..
Michael- Sydney- Australia 1st August 2017.
I would thoroughly agree . I’ve found in almost everything I do , taking a step back and doing something else for a while has always helped me. Learning guitar is no different.
Hey Griff,
Just want to thank you for the lift. I’ve been feeling kinda discouraged about my practicing lately. I took a fall while working in 2007 which gave me a traumatic brain injury. That left me with not much of a short term memory, so my progress on the guitar is pretty slow…kinda like the movie Groundhog Day sometimes. Anyway, your blog gave me the lift I needed. Yeah, we get to play guitar every day! How cool is that?!!
Thanks all you do for us…it’s way beyond what we pay for.
kb
The Video surgeon Griff recommended to us (& we subsequently purchased) may just be what this guy needs to do it at his pace,(works GREAT for me 1/2- blind ) please share the 4-hours FREE ! from the Video Surgeon people.
Griff…Your e-mails are great.I go slow and repeat a lot ,that is how I learn. One question in the song Tore down the picking is down and up on each note? Thank you.Gene
How do I breakdown SRV scuttle buttin’? It sounds to me like a scale played with a145 cord rotation basically.It is so fast I don’t think I can even think that fast.Thanks I love your email lessons please keep them coming.
Hi Griff , spot on once again .
I’m not quite as bad as the 4 note guy but I had to have a laugh at that .
This is however something that I am working on and I am definitely
improving my focus during practice sessions . I know now ( after only 30
years ) that this is what is standing in the way of me being able to do what I want with the guitar .
Many thanks Griff
Andrew
Just ordered caged unleashed hoping to find the aha in there ,still chugging along day by day
Greetings I’ve been playing guitar for over 45 yrs, so you’d think I’ve got it sussed by now, mmm if only. Self taught means learning lots of bad habits, inter dispersed with moments of eureka! Come from a base in the 70s of no Tab indiscerpheral sheet music & no internet. I’ve learnt more in the last 20 years with tab and plethora of guitar mags/ books etc. It all adds up to a broadening of guitar repertoire. Unfortunately retaining a lot of this is difficult as the shelf life of things I learn decays over time. I’ve learnt then lost solos to comfortably numb, hotel California, endless Status Quo songs. Inherent genetic talent must play a huge part. Joe Bonamassa reels off album after album & is such a prolific diverse guitarist clearly capable of retaining his vast repertoire. Whilst us mere mortals gaze in wonder at such talent. Still I thoroughly enjoy playing my guitar as there’s always something new to learn, and derive great pleasure & relaxation from indulging in my favourite tracks. Broadening my horizons via Griffs lessons has been a great boon as well from BGU to theory & more recently the caged lessons, it helps to be open & receptive to new ideas which can only enhance your playing. Cheers Ian Wirral UK
Thanks Griff for the much needed encouragement.Like I always say you have definitely got your finger on the pulse! you are a gifted teacher. Thank you. Billy G.
Has anyone here ever heard of or have experience with an app called YOUSICIAN.COM? It is another “learn guitar ” app.
I don’t know how this happens every time. But if I’m working on notes your email is on notes. I wanted to learn Red House emails on Red House. Learn some SRV boom! There it is! Now Griff I just brought this topic up yesterday of having all this great stuff I’m learning and sometimes I feel that should I be more focused on one thing at a time. So I got sort of the same answer.” Your playing,getting better everyday you pick it up and having fun doing it. So maybe I need to break down how many things I do each time I practice but the main thing is that I’m picking it up and playing. If anything it’s practicing patients! Thanks for all you do in teaching us the way you do. Best thing I did was take a chance on choosing your course. Keep em coming! I’m better today than yesterday.
For sure Griff !! Almost always when I learn something new.are brains are designed that way I guess.I zip through what I know ,then start the new crap ,and its like starting from square 1.thanks ,Griff.
Thank’s Griff,so noted i will share w/son-in-law who is a beginner.Respectfully,Kim Alexander
Thanks for the advice Griff. It is something that was on my mind recently too.
I don’t even understand how I finished up right here, but I thought this submit was great. I don’t recognise who you’re however definitely you are going to a famous blogger in the event you are not already. Cheers!|
Thanks Griff. You just nailed a problem i have been having….trying to get a band repertoire together while working on all that interesting stuff you send out. Ultimately, though, one compliments the other. I’m finding more and more I can work little things into new tunes or ones I have been playing for years. I kinda feel like the Nowhere Man in the Beatles song and cartoon movie…”Hic Haec Hoc and Quid Pro Quo, so little time and so much to know”!
Hey Griff,
I already wrote something here a while ago. Now that I am retired and in our new House with a Much larger Music Den, I practice on the Courses that I purchased in BGU and have recently backtracked to getting the Blues Guitar Unleashed Course which I should have started with but now happy with that and then going through 52 Rhythm Fills & Variations for FUN and on the sideline working on the technical side of Pentatonic Scales & Technique as well as reverting back to Soloing Without Scales for How to Find Notes on your Guitar. During each task I work on your Video Lessons but still have the Plan in force. All Great and your words of wisdom here are very much WORTH IT and the results are happening.
Michael-Sydney- Australia
Hey Griff,
Here I am again and your words here are very true, most of my delays were due to poor eye sight, but in March & May 2016 I had cataract surgery now 20/20 vision.. that enable me to progress much faster through all the BGU Courses I have purchased. So for Planning keep to the BGU courses, check out your email lessons save them in my Library for another time and if they are attractive do it now then back to courses. I now Jam with Jools Holland – Later UK TV program on Foxtel late at night where he has this show for last 30 years + and has Bands etc who have an Album so you know they will be good. All diversions that help me to keep enjoying playing the Guitar and most of all enjoying your BGU Lessons & Courses.
Michael-Sydney-Australia – 10th August 2016.
Hey Griff,
Here I am again, just wanted to let you know I am approaching the big 70 in December 2016 and that makes that I have started to learn the Electric guitar from scratch and started part time in 2013 with BGU in Jan 2013. Even though I had a Teacher locally, I found that your BGU Lessons helped me the most to advance and understand Blues Guitar. I have a good memory but it takes a little more time to work out your lessons but I make sure I get it down before I move onto the next.
I have already been offered to do a Jam with a Rock n Roll Band doing 50’s to 60’s On stage in 12 Bar Blues and take the Solo… I have postponed this until next year in 2017. When I do it I will get it recorded and post it up in the BGU forum….It all happens because of you Griff Hamlin & BGU.
Thks
Michael-Sydney-Australia-10th August 2016
Your comments are so true. Sometimes I am surprised at myself to find out I can play a little faster after playing some of the videos you send once in a while. The more one plays, the better. The memory is not the sharpest, but thank you.
Was wondering what kind of guitar do you play when you play your electric guitar?
Yes quite true . l to often feel my attention is pulled in many directions ,and with youtube ,and other sites it pulls me to where sometimes l lose track of time chasing all over the place .The desire to learn is overwhelming sometimes .
Thanks for the encouragement! I have started working on BGU 2.0 now, and I always feel guilty when I am distracted by another song or lesson. You are absolutely right – a rising tide does raise all ships!
You are an excellent teacher!
Hi Griff, thanx for the blog. I actually started laughing at “the 4 note guy” part
After two plus years, I’m leaving feedback. Why? Cuz I felt like you were looking thru my window. Yes, I’m “that” guy. The 4 notes from 50 tunes guy. Led Zep, about half a dozen melodies. Mountain, a couple more. Throw in some slow and upbeat blues progressions, and you about have it. I guess the bands mentioned date me so I’ve had a looooong time to get it together. The point is it’s a labor of love. At 61, I most likely won’t aquire talent but who cares. It’s fun and I’ll stop when the fingers don’t work any more. Keep up the great work and I’ll keep hackin’ away.
So I, like everybody else, that works on certain things on a daily basis do too. Scales, and all the bends and other nuances, riff development, and original guitar instrumentals. So yesterday I heard a song I have always wanted to do, and its been on my bucket list for ages, so for shits and giggles I checked out the piano version of “Come See About Me” by the Supremes and I liked it, then I checked out the guitar version of it and liked that too, so I decided to learn the guitar version. I have always been enthralled with the opening chordal riff of that song and I hear it my head a lot. An hour later I have the song down. I am happy and now back to my normal routine…..
I have had the acoustic coarse for a year. I bought it to learn how to apply music notation to the fretboard and it is slowly sinking in, thank you very much.
I, however, have found out that I am not a fan of late night electric blues!
I have rediscovered that I much prefer the works Chet Atkins, to SRV.
Having said that, I do find that your courses in fact prepare me for learning a broad range of music.
THANK YOU.
And then there’s me … haven’t cracked the cellophane on my “Learn to Play Blues Guitar” … not sure what am I afraid of?
Like me, just getting started is the problem. Start and it will flow. Hell, I am on just lesson five and see a drastic improvement.
Don’t feel bad.
I have a “few” of his courses that haven’t been started …
We call it “Blues Guitar Unopened”
I guess we just gotta jump into the deep end.
This blog is making me feel guilty.
Good luck
DREW
(another 4 note for 50 songs guy)
You got me again Griff,excellent thanks.
It’s amazing how your emails are all so timely to so many students! I was working “I Believe” but could not seem to improve the overall feel. Then I took a shot at ABGU for couple of weeks and went back and tried “I Believe”again and all of a sudden I have climbed over the wall I ran into earlier! It works every time.
Yes Griff,that has happened to me ,I started to work hard on pull offs and hammer on and neglected my usual routine practice drill .but quickly adjusted. I remember that you said less = more, so I work on everything now and go back and forth rather then get stuck on one thing all day.I remember you said playing what you know already isn’t practice. Learning something new is practice.
neil young said it best from Hank to Hendrix.Sometimes i wanna play electric guitar, other times pick up my acoustic and write songs,
always caught between the two.
Thanks for the advice Griff I’ve been working on note finding Then my scales then chord changes and then on BGU then my head overloads lol
Griff,
I have a question with regard to your statement above about time on the instrument. In addition to playing guitar I am also teaching myself how to play drums. I am trying to get my practice schedule organized and am wondering the best way to split my time between the two instruments if I only have an hour or so per day? Is it better to practice both every day for 30 minutes each, or alternate instruments each day for a full hour?
Thanks!
Earl
Since he always recommends 20-30 min sessions I’m sure that Griff will say that you should do both every day, particularly in the beginning. This doesn’t mean that on any given day you shouldn’t stick with on for the full hour if you are making progress though.
Griff I play a Fender Tele with a Maple neck and Humbucher pickups. I would like to know what strings you or anyone in this blog would suggest for playing blues.
Thanks
Mark
From memory Griff uses Regular Slinkys from Ernie Ball. If you’re relatively new to guitar you might want Super Slinkys
Strings are a personal choice, but the last time I spoke with him he played Ernie Ball 10s (on his electrics), but any brands that you like will be fine.
Thanks Griff
I was moving through acoustic blues unleashed fairly well,learning a lot and playing much better. Then about 6 weeks ago, tennis elbow struck both my elbows. Needless to say,my practice has been side lined. I did work on Christmas Bells about an hour the day Griff posted it. But it killed my elbows again. Don’t know how long it will be before I can practice every day again. Its a pain getting older (65).
I’ve been told that getting older ain’t for sissies! I’m 68 and having trouble with my wrists . So I can relate, kingbee!
Epicondylitis! I was shocked when I resumed playing regularly in my older years. After a few short months my elbow hurt like crazy! (Taking up golf at the same time didn’t help!) Older guys (and gals) need be very aware about exercises, stretching and warm-ups. Also, limiting practice time sessions – recovery from these things is long and slow (6 months!)…take it easy!
I eliminated the issue by doing reverse wrist curls with ten pound weights. Workin for me at 67.
Try applying DMSO everyday for a week or so. That should help, then do site specific stretches (which are available on the net if you look). It worked for me, I could barely pick up a guitar much less play when the pain was at it’s worst.
Just read The Rising Tide and you are quite right
makes so much sence thanks
I used to get into that rut of working up this classical piece and then a contemporary classical from Andrew York and wonder what direction I was going. My teacher said, it doesn’t matter everything you practice and learn is going to influence everything you will play in the future. You can’t go too wrong.Thanks
Thanks teach ! Its a nice change of pace to keep things new and fresh, and it does help when you go back to the lessons in bgu.
Thanks for the encouragement. I am currently playing bass for a local band and I am constantly torn between practicing guitar (what I really dig) and working up worthwhile grooves for our twice weekly band sessions. I do find that when I ignore my bass in favor of my guitar I still seem to find something that improves my bass playing.(I have been playing bass for about a year now and I still have to work at it pretty hard to keep up with a band that’s been together for 20 years, and it is a lot more different from guitar than I first realized)
Thanks again for the good instruction, especially the timing breakdowns.
No problem¡ I have to stay right on my course.HaHa
Hi Griff,
Thank you and again thankyou, Great helpful blog. We are in the middle of selling our house at present with all the people coming through with agents, I have had to pack up all my guitars and stuff in my music room and every week I change my Guitar over. During the past few weeks and the next few weeks, I am practicing the Pride & Joy ( Part 1 & 2), then I have a break and just play some 12 Bar Blues stuff for relaxation and experimenting with sounds on the Amp and composing new licks. Then I keep learning the technical stuff for about 1hr like Fret Notes etc.Once we sell and find our new house with a much larger Music room and looking at retirement next year for Full Time learning BGU with Band playing in site at end of next 2 years whoopee !
Michael -Sydney Australia
RISING TIDE RAISES ALL SHIPS [EXCEPT THOSE WITH HOLES IN THEM]WE NEED TO WORK ON THOSE HOLES.
POPEYE T S M .
Michael, I know what you’re going through. I am in the process of selling my house, too, and I have guitars and lessons scattered all over the place. I am making the effort, though, to work on some lesson/lick/song/scale each evening when I get a chance to center down and can grab a guitar that’s not under an accumulation of detritus. Hang in there. It’s rough now, but the reward is in sight. And Griff has our backs.
Dave
Silver Bells was a great change. I am just starting to finger pick and I thought I would never start to get it. But after about 3 hours of time on this one, I am now up to a choppy, out of time, but kinda sounding like Silver Bells. Thanks Griff.
Thanks Griff,
This is why I have always stayed with you and bought your courses.
You have jumped straight out of the top drawer!!
I cannot extol “with sufficient words” the tremendous teaching matter you put up for us always not tiring to teach me even when I feel tired.
Thank you so much and I wish you and your family A Very Merry CHRISTMAS and
A Healthy, Joyous and Prosperous New Year 2015.
peter
Great advice Griff!!!
Silver Bells was a nice change. Besides reaffirming that you play all guitar music well, it shows newer students another side of guitar music. Myself…I’m more jazz and surf guitar but blues is also from the USA! I love playing jazz style Christmas songs this time of year. Your version was different than the way I play it so it was fun learning your version too! Thanks for showing how all music impacts playing the guitar. You’re the best out there, Griff. I’ve been playing since 1961 and have seen many players…and you’re right up there with the best!
Great timing for me. I have hit a plateau but following your advice I’ll take a break from what I’m doing and will focus on another aspect for a while. Works every time.
Blues Guitar instruction by the numbers:
7 notes, 6 strings, 5 boxes, 4-note solo, 3 chords, 2 hands, 1 guitar.
All there is to know…now PLAY!
I can relate to the rising tide theory. The first 3 lessons of BGU are so important as they are focusing on my horror subject “timing” I am now making modest progress with rhythm. (if you haven’t got rhythm you haven’t got music). Those first three lessons (and probably 4 & 5 etc. I don’t know I haven’t got that far yet) are the foundation blocks of just about everything you are learning to play. I have now just nailed “Down to the Station” well I have been able to play the notes for a while now but it never sounded right due to timing issues. Now I can play it to Jam track or metronome, all thanks to putting in the spade work on BGU. Counting is also very important, if you cant count it you cant play it, if you can count it you can play it and don’t need to count it, I think that’s called catch 22. I look forward to opening my emails every morning always looking for something magical from Griff. (I am never disappointed and save them all)A big Thank-you Griff.
I bought the Acoustic BGU because I wanted to kern how to put the written notes on the fret board, and was impressed with Griff’s teaching style. I don’t have a deep passion for the blues, but look at as the gateway to a higher understanding of music in general. I learned many tunes back in the early 60s from friends that were very accomplished guitar players but I never got the basics or keys to extending my abilities, such as the pentatonic scales, and the basic rhythms.
I now have a great feel for the basic blues and am progressing through the course to my satisfaction, Thanks you very much!
In the future I want to learn Hawaiian “slack key”. I think it can also classified as “BLUES” (central Pacific blues?)
Got any suggestions?
Wow! You were talking to me weren’t you. Do you have a camera in my house? LOL. Yep, know the begining of a lot of songs and about 3 all the way through. I hereby promise to learn more songs all the way through this year. Thanks for all the inspiration you provide all year!
Griff , great advice. It seems that I get a little frustrated sometimes, and stop playing for a couple days. I switch back and forth from both of your courses. Thanks for this blog. Mike Z.
Life does seem to get in the way of BGU, SBS and other guitar related activities for me lately. My only consolation is that I am working on “music” almost every day – just not with a guitar in my hand. I know I can use some of the music knowledge I’m learning to my guitar playing once I get back into it. Thanks for your motivation, insight and help Griff!
For me, it is not getting to the point of being able to play this or that but just playing. So many miss out on the opportunity to enjoy playing since they are here and now but looking towards tomorrow’s goal. If I see it as something that is part of me everyday to enjoy, I can empty my mind of bondage that holds me back from feeling the music. Hitting the keyboard or strings with a standard towards being a musician vs a guitar player lets me build on the natural musician that is letting the student of music never forget that each lesson we pick up gives us a better command of the voice we hold in our hands.
Being side tracked is a rabbit hole that leads us to meeting something magical in ourselves so I try to embrace with an eye for it is the journey and I still get to play today, tomorrow and next year. Thanks Griff for letting us play along side you at which ever level we are, u give energy to something that matters.
I’m glad that you have touched on this subject! I’m in healthcare, travel 110 miles one-way to work, and work a 12 hour shift. So, I don’t have a lot of spare time to practice like I would like too. I ordered your BGU DVD set some time ago, but can’t seem to get to because of all the great e-mails you send. I have at least 85 archived videos and another 15 in my inbox to view. My question is do I unsubscribe you for a while and focus on the BGU set or keep trying to keep up with the e-mails?
I have said it here before and I will say it again Griff is a superb guitarist, teacher extraordinaire ,and is willing to stay with you his willingness to send our daily tips and suggestions for his clients is unheard if in today’s commercial world of “pick their pockets clea”n. Hats off to a real winner !
I agree with Ed. And the messages and tips are always timely for me. I was just now wondering if I shouldn’t get back to working on BGU solo #4 after a side trip to other stuff (including not-the-Blues and some piano).
Thanks Griff, was just going to ask you that same questions, I was feeling a little overwhelmed with the e-mails….this’ll work thanks again. Fraser,
I’m still too much of the “4 notes of 50 songs” guy but getting better…I’ve always figured as long as I learn something, I’m moving ahead…still working on more focus…later.
cowboy
This is such good advice. Of everything you said though I think the most important is the part about caring about “something.” We are lucky to have something to be passionate about, even if you (like me) split your guitar playing time between a whole bunch of other interests and obligations. Sometimes it is important to stop and rest and notice what is going on around us. At 65 I’ve made my peace with the idea that I just love the guitar and if I’m tinkering around on my Martin learning a Robert Johnson turnaround or practicing my power chords on the electric at least I’m engaged with life and learning something new. Playing music at this level is such a great example of “life is about the journey, not the destination.” Thanks Griff for adding constantly to the process.
“But if you’re that guy who knows 4 notes of 50 different tunes and can’t use any of them? It’s time to focus more (and you know who you are :)”
Laughed out loud at that. Soooo right. Nearly 50 years “playing” and I still can’t handle Stairway, Hey Joe, Big Yellow Taxi etc etc…
Love guitar all the same. Ta much.
I was that guy…but i found a way to end the scattered fragment approach…pick a song…one song…forget the licks …learn the rhythem and the lyrics. One line at a time. Sing it. Find your voice…dont quite till its yours. What ever else you do in an undisaplined way is finger play and trivial persuits..it has a use but only when you can use it in a song…any song..try it youll make yourself very happy after the struggle to gain the ability to focus..its not a given its an earned.
Amazing!!! This is exactly what I needed at this time. I’m struggling with a lesson right now in the BGU course. I need a diversion. I think the Silver Bells lesson is what I need now! Hopefully the new techniques from that lesson will help me get over the hump on the other lesson I’m working on. Great advice Griff! And great comments from all of you out there! Thanks!!
As well as guitar, I am also learning Pedal Steel guitar. I used to be conflicted about practicing one and not the other. Now I find that the time I spend on one instrument helps me absorb what I’ve learned on the other. Do you other multi-instrumentalists out there also find this to be true?
I also play guitar and pedal steel it’s a whole different technique and requires a different physical attitude but great fun
Hi Tom,
I wouldn’t call myself a multi-instrumentalist, not even a very able guitarist, but I do play a bit on a keyboard now and then, be it mostly one of these kids toys kinds. Or dable in a riff composer app on my phone, or on these 5 tone toy xylophones, or V-Tec baby “music makers…”
It helps me train my ear as I usually try to reconstruct licks or melodic fragments from songs (any kind: lullabies, pop song earworms, traditionals, … the typical stuff that’s all around us or that is stuffed into these method books I stopped buying 🙂 Often by sheer serendipity, it gives me insight into some music theoretical point, demonstrates it or helps me simplify it to bare bones.
In other words, it helps separating the purely musical from the instrument-technical or motor skill training. This in my opinion is especially important when learning to play an instrument as versatile and complex as the guitar. I know you can do this by keeping your playing simple but it is not always possible to mentally decouple the playing technique from the musical device.
That is, apart from just doing it for fun of course 🙂
Stepping away can sometimes be just what you need sometimes. Just like drilling through thick dense material. If you don’t back the drill off a bit as you go through you’re liable to break the bit and be left with a mess.
Relax, change direction for a day or two and then come back refreshed.
I am the guy at the smiley!!!!!!!!
Hi Griff,
Amazing timing on this blog email being sent to me as I have been thinking about this all week, have been playing now daily for 11 months and with the help of you have come along way since my initial inception.
Was starting to feel a bit guilty for swapping between songs, riffs etc., but have noticed exactly what you just said, my playing technique and memory recall when going back to a piece has improved greatly, so thankyou for this confirmation and for doing exactly what you said when I first signed up to your courses, that was stick with it and you would stick by me, you are an inspiration to the masses, thanks again
Kind Regards,
David from Oz
Thanks Griff. For me, this was a very timely blog. I felt exactly as you described. The silver bells lesson is something I really wanted to get down because I am having my son and daughter-in-law, and 2 year old grandson over for our monthly “pizza night”, tonight actually, and I knew it was something they would enjoy. At the same time I have been intent on learning a solo that has proven to be difficult for me. There is a lick in one of the measures that has frustrated me to no end. As it turns out, stepping away from it for a few days has been just the thing I needed. The silver bells lesson wasn’t very difficult for me. It took a couple days to get it down. I remember it from last year, and I guess my old brain had stored it away. Then last night I went back to the lick that was getting the better of me, and well, as you have probably already guessed, it flowed out of my fingers like it had never been a problem in the first place. Somewhere along the line I had forgotten what I once knew; that sometimes the best thing I can do when faced with a trying guitar lick is to walk away from it for a few days. This also applies to other areas of life beyond music. Music is supposed to be fun. I need to remember that if I start feeling frustrated over learning a particular song, or riff, or lick, maybe I should give it break! What a valuable lesson for me, and thanks for the reminder!
Absolutely right.. I have found i get so far in BGU and i switch to SWS which has some great solos and looks at things in a different way.. when i return to BGU my speed and technique seem to have improved.. it is also good to have the occasional spell with the acoustic and ABGU to freshen things up.. variety never hurts..
True for me. I have BGU & Acoustic BGU & when I get frustrated on one I go to the other & have lately been rotating to the 5 Easy Solos as well. When I rotate back with a fresh mind I usually “get it” fairly fast.
Many thanks Griff, you’re the best out there!
Great feedback Jim. I sent a question about this to Griff, as I was wondering how much switching to do. I am alternating between Killer Blues Solos and 5 easy solos, doing them each every other day. Also I’ve been trying to nail Johnny B Goode, and find if I practice it in a slow heavy bluesy style it is easier to get a feel for.
I’ve been working diligently on the ABGU course but recently felt like I’d hit a wall. It was becoming more and more like work. For the last week I’ve put down the acoustic and gone electric with blues/rock songs from my youth. Everything from ZZ Top to David Bowie to Iggy Pop. Smartest thing I could have done. Got back on the acoustic horse and found I’d jumped the wall and was ready to move forward. Thanks Griff!