All access pass, custom schedules from Griff

[MarkO]

Hi
I just signed up for the AAP. One of the key things that sold me on the idea was what Griff said in the blurb video about him being able to set up custom practice schedules designed to achieve specific goals. He said he had access to the back end of the system to do this.
I am keen to get a schedule that I can work to for my goal for the next 6 months. My goal is to be able to improvise a 2 chorus solo over a Shuffle 12 Bar. Pretty straightforward I would have thought. But I want to not just learn a bunch of licks and glue them together, and I don’t want to just carbon copy one of the solos in a BGU course. I also want to develop the technique (bends, legato, vibrato) along the way to make it sound authentic.
So the question is, will Griff put together a schedule using his system setup access, to enable me to do this?

Or have I misunderstood what he was saying in the video?
Thanks
Mark

 

[PapaBear]

You can do that yourself in the Practice Generator

 

[MarkO]

Hi there
Thanks for the reply. I realise I can do this myself but I was under the impression from the marketing vide for AAP that Griff was going to set up some 'pathways' through the practice generator aimed at specific targets.
There are dozens of options, maybe more, of solos, licks etc in the course catalog from Griff, I was just hoping to get some guidance on the best route through.

 

[Griff]

@MarkO what you're asking for is larger than a single routine would give you... so I think that would be a little beyond my reach from afar.

Look out for tomorrow's email... I'm going to talk about this more in depth, it's a GREAT question.

 

[MarkO]

@MarkO what you're asking for is larger than a single routine would give you... so I think that would be a little beyond my reach from afar.

Look out for tomorrow's email... I'm going to talk about this more in depth, it's a GREAT question.

Hi Griff

Thanks for taking the time to reply. And thanks for the follow up email which I read with interest.

I may be being a bit slow (most likely!) but I am still struggling to find a practice time routine/regime that I feel is going to deliver for me. My practice feels like lots of small noodles that I fear will either not deliver results or take a very long time, longer than if I had something more structured. Maybe I am just trying to be too structured, but practice time is a premium and I do want to get to a certain place with my playing, not just be an OK jam player or front porch noodler.

I realise that what I am asking would require more than one 'Schedule' set up in the Practice Generator, but I would be fine with that. I split my practice time into two 2 hour sessions each day (or as much time as I can) so separating Technique from Licks from Rhythm etc is fine. I would just like to be able to string together a coherent plan from the plethora of great material available.

Please dont think this a criticism. Far from it. The lessons are all amazing (which is why I have bought so many over the years!) its just that having all the material available (in the AAP) along with the framework of the PG seems to be a golden opportunity to create some amazing practice plans. Maybe even as a paid for service? I would certainly pay for your amazing expertise to put together a custom plan for me to work towards my goals.

Just a thought.

 

[MikeS]

For what it's worth, my suggestion would be to look at the courses as your structure and use the practice generator as your list of what to practice and for how long.
For instance you seem to have lots of time for practice, so set up 20 minutes (or more) in PG&T to work on lesson 1 in PSTM, then the next 20 for lesson 1 in SRM, then the next 20 for a solo from any of the courses and then maybe another 20 for just playing songs for fun.

Only you would know where you need to start and when you need to move on in each of the courses (already have pull offs and hammer ons nailed? then move on to a more advanced PSTM lesson.)

I hope this is what you were asking about...

 

[Griff]

@MarkO I see where you're going, I think, but I fear that without some sort of measuring stick (a "grade," if you will) it's going to be hard to know when you're there - and that means it'll be hard to get there.

Like I said, if you can play the root note over the changes, you're soloing... but I know that's not what you have in mind. Still, you might call that a "grade 1" solo (classical music is all graded like this, and the instructors have "grade 5 material," for example.) Because, after all, you are playing something over top of the blues progression.

I often use 'levels' to describe soloing approaches - Level 1 soloing,, for example, is using the minor pentatonic scale only. That might sound limiting, but you've just included darn near every SRV and Albert King solo ever recorded, so it's a pretty broad approach

So, again, you could just play through the minor pentatonic scale (any box, or all of the boxes) and that might be a "grade 2" solo. It's more than grade 1, but still probably not what you're looking for.

If you add a couple of "Group 1" licks (to steal the terms from BSBB) then you might have a "Grade 3" or a "grade 4" solo... maybe even a "grade 5" depending on the complexity.

For most people, a better litmus test is to record yourself. Pick a tune - let's say, "Sweet Home Chicago," and you're going to play 24 bars over a shuffle in E (because that's how SHC is usually played.)

Record yourself doing your best 24 bars, and then put that away. Listen to it the next day (or maybe 2 days later) and listen to what you do, and do not like about it. If you're not sure, post it up here and let us all take a listen and give you some suggestions on where you might go.

It might be, as is often the case, that you have good ideas that aren't executing well. In that case, BSBB is where you'll want to focus for a while.

it might be that you're just tired of the minor pentatonic sound all the time, but you struggle grabbing the Major sound when you need it, so MMBS might be a good thing for a while.

Without knowing which area to focus on, it'll be hard to find your way and even harder to measure your progress.

With all that said, I'm working on some "built-in" practice schedules to work on certain elements that you'll be able to copy to your custom schedules and modify as needed. I'll keep these things in mind while creating those.

 

[MarkO]

Hey Griff

Thanks so much for taking the time to provide such a complete response. Amazingbyou find the time for doing this with everything you must have going on.

Some great ideas there. Especially the recording. Hadn’t thought of that. Solo time flies by so fast, by the end of it it is hard to remember how it actually sounded whilst you were in the moment. I will definitely do that.

The more time I spend thinking/working on this phase of my playing the more I think it is coming down to 2 main areas of shortfall; technique and vocabulary. Which I guess pretty much means everything . But I reckon I am ok (not great) with scale shapes, major/minor mixing, timing etc. But I feel like my accuracy/coordination is lacking (technique) and my playing sounds like scales (vocabulary). So that’s where i feel I need to focus my efforts, just not sure how best to practice them.

Looking forward to seeing some of the custom practice schedules when you do them.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Scotty R]

I love where this is going.... Thanks for pushing this forward @MarkO and for the detailed responses @Griff.
Looking forward to days ahead where we're better able to target our approach based on specific goals or needs.

 

[Griff]

Hey Griff

...

The more time I spend thinking/working on this phase of my playing the more I think it is coming down to 2 main areas of shortfall; technique and vocabulary. Which I guess pretty much means everything . But I reckon I am ok (not great) with scale shapes, major/minor mixing, timing etc. But I feel like my accuracy/coordination is lacking (technique) and my playing sounds like scales (vocabulary). So that’s where i feel I need to focus my efforts, just not sure how best to practice them.

AHA! That's something I can work with... it usually takes a few back-and-forths and we get to something more tangible.

For speed and technique, the new course (BSBB) is obviously the way to go, that's what it's for. You can also do PSTM for that, but you may find it a bit more dry.

For vocabulary and licks, do the BSCK stuff, if you have time. One of the main things about BSBB is that it does incorporate solos into the program, so you would not have to do anything else if time is short (<20 minutes per day.) However, if you have time to also try some of the BSCK licks with the click track from BSBB, you'll see that they can also be played that way and their speed improved as well.

Plus, the repetitive nature of the BSBB system will ingrain those ideas into your fingers very well - they'll fall out of you when you start jamming more.

 

[MarkO]

That sounds li,e it will work. Thank you Griff and all others who helped with this. Having a structured practice plan really works for me. I know some folks like things to be a bit looser and if tha5 works that’s great but I need a bit more structure to stop me having too much fun . Just joking. I actually really enjoy practicing. Although nothing beats getting up there and playing live. Terrifying and amazing all at once!
So, time to get into the BSBB regime and to build myself a solo with the construction kit. Fun, fun, fun

 

[Scotty R]

AHA! That's something I can work with...

For speed and technique, the new course (BSBB) is obviously the way to go, that's what it's for.

For vocabulary and licks, do the BSCK stuff, if you have time.

I’m surprised that HTI isn’t part of the prescription. Maybe that comes later?

 

[MarkO]

Hey Scotty
Yeah that illustrates the challenge I felt. There is soooo much great material here that finding the path through can be difficult. For me at any rate.
I remember a blog post Griff put up some years ago about his dog and shouting “squirrels!”. Sent the dog crazy running all over the place. Just how I feel when I see all the BGU courses on offer.
I do feel some kind of roadmap would help. I read today’s email from Griff about there being many ways up the mountain, which I totally get, but sometimes you (I) need some help picking the route that suits you best.
Just my thoughts.
Griff helped out with some ideas in this thread, for which I am very grateful. I imagine there are others in this group that could equally benefit from a push in the direction they want to head.

 

[Griff]

I’m surprised that HTI isn’t part of the prescription. Maybe that comes later?

HTI would be good after BSCK. It requires more counting and more thought. To get @MarkO going quickly I'd do the more plug-and-play stuff which is BSCK.

These questions are great and I'm glad we're doing this... hopefully other folks will read this thread and also get some clarity.

 

[Scotty R]

Okay, good to see some of the logic that separates the courses and the thinking that goes into the sequencing.

I for one, never really got a handle on the BSCK's. I saw the value when they first came out as I was super keen to learn more Stevie, Albert, and Eric licks but never invested the time to build solos. I remember that there was a challenge related to BSCK but I missed that one, which I now regret. Maybe this discussion and further expansion through AAP will help stitch them together for me.

Thanks again for keeping up on this post @Griff, it's been very helpful.

 

[Larry H.]

Thank you to @MarkO for posting his question and sticking with it to get a detailed answer. Thanks to @Griff for hanging in there to get clarity. Thes result was an ansswer to my question never posed! I’m sure I am not the only one. I feel like MarkO posted it for me because I couldnt articulate the question.