BBBS feedback/reviews

[bluesmadd]

I'm seriously looking at purchasing this course, but I'd like some feedback/reviews first.

Preamble: I learned a riff from Steve via Griff's daily emails and it's become my goto riff on many occassions. I suspect he has more and I really like the 1x12 concept which I use with this riff.

I am currently working on SBS And BGIAB2. Don't get me wrong, have learned a ton from Griff also.

Any takers?

Thanks in advance,
Wb

 

[BoogieMan]

When I bought this course I felt that if I just got a few good licks that I could use I would be happy. Turned out that I got a lot more than I expected. I also really like the 1X12 idea. There is nothing wrong with repeating a good lick if it works with the chord progression.

 

[mountain man]

I'm having fun with this course. There are certainly a lot of licks to learn. Some are not so easy and some are more difficult!! OK OK, there are a lot of good concepts and licks you can easily learn and then there are many that will keep you challenged.

 

[blackcoffeeblues]

I got the course about a month ago.....I am loving it.....it is working for me....You got to love this quote from him...."what ever gets you through the night"..and like Boogie man said "I got a lot more than I expected" No wonder Griff plays the way he does he picked the right teacher...

 

[mountain man]

I got the course about a month ago.....I am loving it.....it is working for me....You got to love this quote from him...."what ever gets you through the night"..and like Boogie man said "I got a lot more than I expected" No wonder Griff plays the way he does he picked the right teacher...

I've been taking my time through this course. I'm trying to retain as much as I can and actually make some of these great licks part of my playing. I did the first chapter, then went to the 2nd chapter. At that point I would practice the 1st and the 2nd chapters. Guess what I did at the 3rd chapter? Yep, all three 1,2,3 chapters. I just got to the Slow Blues chapter 4 today. WOW!!! I love Slow Blues!! I'm really glad I picked up this course.

 

[TK1978]

I started this course a few weeks ago and am taking my time with it. I work on a lick until it's committed to my muscle memory and I can play it without thinking about it and then move on to the next one. I also spend a lot of time playing the licks over various jam tracks, mixing and matching, playing them in different order etc. So far this is really working for me. My only minor complaint is that there don't seem to be any turnaround-specific links but that is easily remedied. Corey Congilio's Truefire courses, for instance, have some great 4-bar turnaround links that work great with Steve's 1x12 approach.

 

[mountain man]

I started this course a few weeks ago and am taking my time with it. I work on a lick until it's committed to my muscle memory and I can play it without thinking about it and then move on to the next one. I also spend a lot of time playing the licks over various jam tracks, mixing and matching, playing them in different order etc. So far this is really working for me. My only minor complaint is that there don't seem to be any turnaround-specific links but that is easily remedied. Corey Congilio's Truefire courses, for instance, have some great 4-bar turnaround links that work great with Steve's 1x12 approach.

That is good to know. Do you have a link for that specific course? Truefire has hundreds of courses......... I've got 2 so far.

 

[TK1978]

Try 50 Texas Blues Licks and Texas Blues Solo Factory.

 

[JestMe]

Corey's TF courses are all excellent! He's a great player and teacher!

 

[TK1978]

The second half of Lick 11 and the entire Lick 12 from BGU solo 5 work great too with the 1x12 approach. I am actually starting to go through the various solos in all of Griff's courses to see if I can steal some nice 4-bar phrases to incorporate. This idea of playing long, 4-bar licks really works for me.

 

[bluesmadd]

Well, I pulled the trigger yesterday with the 40% Memorial Day discount. I'm happy to say that I feel I got my money's worth already with just the first riff, i.e. example 1.1. (I hope Griff doesn't use this as evidence to raise the price! ) Looking forward to all the other 'gems' I'll find in this course.

 

[bluesmadd]

Steve has a solo at the end of each of the 5 sections yet I don't see a video for the solos. Am I missing something?

 

[Scotty R]

Videos for the solos should be in your firebox, at least they were in mine....

 

[bluesmadd]

Ok, I see them now, in the download list, thanks Scotty.

 

[TwoNotesSolo]

Well, I just got the course today with the 40% discount but it's not what I expected. It's mostly a collection of licks in different styles. Nothing really about how to string then together in a cohesive solo. On the contrary he recommends playing each 4-bar lick 3 times to solo over 12 bars. Not sure it's "building" a solo. I expected more tips around the lines of "Killer Blues Solo Made Easy".
I only listened to the first section, I think I'll go through the others to see if there is more content than just licks, otherwise I'll likely put for a refund and get something else.

 

[bluesmadd]

Well, I just got the course today with the 40% discount but it's not what I expected. It's mostly a collection of licks in different styles. Nothing really about how to string then together in a cohesive solo. On the contrary he recommends playing each 4-bar lick 3 times to solo over 12 bars. Not sure it's "building" a solo.

On the contrary, there is a solo at the end of each of the five sections that is exactly this, a cohesive solo stringing together many of the licks/riffs/ideas from that section. I'm a big fan of the '1 x 12' (using one lick 3 times over 12 bars albeit Steve does suggest varying it slightly) as opposed to solo 'diarrhea' where nothing is connected. The pros use this often (the 1 x 12) and if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me. Although a well constructed and connected set of licks is just as useful and pleasing to the ear, however this takes more work. Steve has given you a shortcut, i.e. made it 'easy'. IMO.

 

[mountain man]

I have the course and have spent a fair amount of time with it. I like it. I like that it provides good riffs and allows me to develop sound fingerings that I use in my playing. It also has allowed me to work on some styles of music that I was not connecting with and get a fundamental handle on them.

 

[TwoNotesSolo]

On the contrary, there is a solo at the end of each of the five sections that is exactly this, a cohesive solo stringing together many of the licks/riffs/ideas from that section. I'm a big fan of the '1 x 12' (using one lick 3 times over 12 bars albeit Steve does suggest varying it slightly) as opposed to solo 'diarrhea' where nothing is connected. The pros use this often (the 1 x 12) and if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me. Although a well constructed and connected set of licks is just as useful and pleasing to the ear, however this takes more work. Steve has given you a shortcut, i.e. made it 'easy'. IMO.

Yeah, I guess I though the course would be about "a well constructed and connected set of licks is" which is why I am disappointed. There isn't even a video for the final solo, just an MP3, so no "explanation". (Only had time to look at shuffle blues, not sure how the other sections are)

I think it comes down to learning styles. In order to retain something I need to understand it, not memorize it. This is why I enjoy Griff's videos, he tells you why, not just how, whereas this course is 95% "how", at least that's how I see it so far.

It's great others are enjoying the course and getting satisfaction out if it.

 

[bluesmadd]

Actually there are videos with the solos, however they were not easy to find (this could have been done better). They're in the download list of files.

 

[TwoNotesSolo]

Still couldn't find the solo videos. I think I've decided this course is not for me, the BGU site is good about refunding a course that doesn't work for you, so I think I will try the B.U.I.L.D course instead.