Bob's Blog

[Silicon Valley Tom]

Thanks Tom. I sorta remembered there were more in the Dashboard than I downloaded. I'll give Bob a week or so to get things up and then shoot him an email.

I like Bob for general guitar instruction. It took a while to get used to the low budget videos after the Gibson DVDs and Griff's DVD's but the content is top notch. Griff for blues, Bob for general guitar and Truefire for specialty instruction is how I generally approach learning.

Someday I'll strike out on my own and self teach like you advise but there is so much good content available from just these 3 sources that I feel like I'd just be reinventing the wheel

Eric

Eric, since I got serious with the Blues, it seems that our paths has been on the same trail! Learn & Master, Bob, Griff, and Truefire. I am doing a lot of things on my own these days, and am working on an approach more like B B King, Albert King, and Freddie King. It is just a matter of preference. I may as well enjoy myself while I am still able to.

One thing that I discovered for myself, is how to arrange a piece of music and then learn the required techniques. Take a piece from someone like Jerry Reed. I love his playing but cannot emulate his technique, nor will I try! I do use Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel techniques for specific pieces of music. With Latin music, I actually use a good number of flamenco techniques, but keep the Latin feel. So you can end up having your own sound. Otherwise you become a "smaller version" of someone else.

For the Blues, it is fun to listen to really old recordings, and emulate the sound of the singer. That produces some really interesting melodies. For me that is best done on my acoustic guitar, so I can play harmony, melody and bass. Who needs a band or backing track?

Tom

 

[Jalapeno]

Yes, I came to guitar wanting to be a rocker but acoustic finger style blues has a hold on me. I just have so much fun with it since I play solo most of the time these days. Maybe some day I'll even get good at it

Eric

 

[MarkDyson]

Who needs a band or backing track?

Heh. I know it's a rhetorical question but I'll bite: we kids in the cheap seats who can't yet do all that ourselves.

 

[Jalapeno]

Heh. I know it's a rhetorical question but I'll bite: we kids in the cheap seats who can't yet do all that ourselves.

Ironically, Bob sent me to Griff when Ultimate Blues Jams was released. I had never heard of Griff or the "4 note solo" and Bob said if we wanted great jam tracks to check out Griff's

My first purchase from Griff was jam tracks, not a course.

Eric

 

[MarkDyson]

Ironically, Bob sent me to Griff when Ultimate Blues Jams was released. I had never heard of Griff or the "4 note solo" and Bob said if we wanted great jam tracks to check out Griff's

My first purchase from Griff was jam tracks, not a course.

Eric

Very cool! I ran across Griff (as so many before did) via his 4 note solo foray. I had just discovered I was enjoying getting into the blues and I'd already started on the infamous "BB Box." Griff's house pattern is just the BB Box (as I learned it) a couple of frets down (rooted under the ring instead of the index). In that context Griff's approach resonated and here I am.