Beginning Blues class problem...

[FrankTroscher]

I'm currently working my way through the Beginning Blues Guitar classes and I'm struggling with the Deep Sea Blues and I'm not sure why. Also, Fast Walking Blues, my speed doesn't seem to be getting any better without making lots of mistakes. I know there is really no answer, but I'm just venting I guess.

 

[Jay Dee]

Hi Frank, When I was learning the Fast Walking I just played it over and over. I would play it while watching tv. It will come, just keep at until its second nature. You will look back to the time you had difficulties and realize how much you have learned. I still play it every day for warming up.
Hang in there it will come!

 

[Silicon Valley Tom]

One nice thing about this kind of learning, you are not in a race. If you had a traditional teacher, you would have to keep up with the teachers schedule established for you. Just enjoy the ride and have fun! You can go as fast as you like or as slow. You are the boss!

I feel that basic techniques are so important to learn and practice. Do not over do anything. Just learn the basics and use them as a warm up for perhaps 5 minutes before you start a session. Break your lesson into parts. You decide if you need to learn one bar or more, or play through the entire piece. Listen to the example before you start a new lesson. Play with the music.

We all develop our own habits when it comes to music. This is mine, and you should find your own. What I do is to practice a new piece 20 times a day. That gives you 140 times in one week.

As adults we have duties and responsibilities. So you must determine your own schedule. If you want, you can practice a piece of music until you have it down cold, and then move on. Or you can get to a point with a new lesson and then move on. Again, you are the boss!

Tom

 

[Many Moons]

Try it with a slow metronome until you get it right. Stay on that speed for a few days, (practicing regularly) then start increasing the speed by just a couple of BPM every day, and see what speed you can reach. It may surprise you.

 

[MikeS]

Try it with a slow metronome until you get it right. Stay on that speed for a few days, (practicing regularly) then start increasing the speed by just a couple of BPM every day, and see what speed you can reach. It may surprise you.

I'll just add that Griff always tells us (particularly in soloing) that you need to slow it down so that you can play it perfectly, but you also need to try to play it 20% faster than you actually can. Yes, you WILL butcher it, but it "Let's your fingers know what you expect of them".
Play it slow and perfect many times & Play it fast and maybe awful a few times.

 

[Silicon Valley Tom]

Try it with a slow metronome until you get it right. Stay on that speed for a few days, (practicing regularly) then start increasing the speed by just a couple of BPM every day, and see what speed you can reach. It may surprise you.

That is an excellent idea! Heavens, I have been doing that since day one! That was 1948, with my piano, and ever since.

Tom

 

[Robb H]

Frank, You seem to be right about where I am in BBG. I'm not sure what it is about Deep Sea Blues but I'm kinda struggling with that one also. Well I guess it might be that I'm still struggling with the C7. And I'm just not crazy about the tune. But still working to improve technique.

As for Fast Walking Blues, I'm getting it and picking up speed. But when I try to pick up too much speed, I find myself hitting up strums on down beats. So I go back and slow it down concentrating on the alternate picking down picks on down beats. I'm also working at it playing at 4th and 7th frets so as to use 1st and pinky fingers.

 

[sdbrit68]

I'm currently working my way through the Beginning Blues Guitar classes and I'm struggling with the Deep Sea Blues and I'm not sure why. Also, Fast Walking Blues, my speed doesn't seem to be getting any better without making lots of mistakes. I know there is really no answer, but I'm just venting I guess.

I am kinda with hangman on this for fast walking blues...................I did something @Griff mentioned at one time, I believe he talked about looping a section.

What I do, I break it into 4 notes, Reason being I work the speed on 4 multiple times, then move on adding two more notes, then two more.

Some things like the intro to Zepplins Rock n Roll, I break it into 3 notes, seems to work better for this particular one (although for some reason I cant get the feel of it).

For me, the trick on fast walking blues was play the first 4 notes, then do it without looking, when you can get it correct more times than not without looking, you own it

 

[FrankTroscher]

Frank, You seem to be right about where I am in BBG. I'm not sure what it is about Deep Sea Blues but I'm kinda struggling with that one also. Well I guess it might be that I'm still struggling with the C7. And I'm just not crazy about the tune. But still working to improve technique.

As for Fast Walking Blues, I'm getting it and picking up speed. But when I try to pick up too much speed, I find myself hitting up strums on down beats. So I go back and slow it down concentrating on the alternate picking down picks on down beats. I'm also working at it playing at 4th and 7th frets so as to use 1st and pinky fingers.

C7 is a hurdle for me as well. I guess if it were easy everyone would be doing it.

 

[ervjohns]

You can also play C7 in another place, cowboy C between first and third fret, or as an A shaped chord between the third and fifth frets which is based on a 5th string root

 

[Robb H]

You can also play C7 in another place, cowboy C between first and third fret, or as an A shaped chord between the third and fifth frets which is based on a 5th string root

Yes, it also entails correctly engaging the pinky finger cleanly on a string. And therein lies the issue. LOL But I'm working on it. I'm trying to follow the program/chords as written but I have experimented with the G7 barre and C7 5th string root.