I feel pretty lost?

george_m

Blues Newbie
I am maybe intermediate guitarist at best- been playing piano for over 50 yrs- Piano performance degree- theory etc

I dont have a good handle on pentatonic boxes-not good with finding note names- just play alot by seat of the pants and ear

I am having a hard time putting together a practice schedule to make progress- seems like i need to know boxes for a lot of the videos

I would think it would be a good option to be able to add a lesson to practice schedule within the lesson itself

I am looking for practice lesson advice- maybe schedules

Thx
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
Since we each progress at our own pace depending on available time, I don't know if ONE for everyone schedule is possible. That's why Griff has the Practice Generator. You can create your own schedule.
If you are looking for an order in which to go through lessons, the order in which they are presented in the course is your best bet.
To be honest, after 8 years, I'm still not good with note names (except the 1st 5 frets & all if string 1, 5 & 6). I don't mean that it's not important, because I KNOW that it is, but IF you have a Key and you know your boxes, you can "get by" without knowing all the note names... until you get lost.
Focus on learning the boxes one at a time. Most great players use mainly box 1, sometimes adding from box 2 & 5 (Both adjacent to box 1).

If I've missed the point of your question, please let me know.
 

JohnHurley

Rock and Roll
Just think of the fretboard as 6 pianos keyboards layered one of top of the next.

The bottom string starts at the lowest note the next string aka next keyboard up is five half steps up. Same for next two ... fifth piano is offset by just 4 half steps. 6th piano offset by 5.

Take two and a half worth of piano octaves ( done pentatonic ). Map first two notes onto bottom piano. Next two notes onto second piano.

I do not exactly agree with learning the boxes one at a time. I for one think it is handy to be familiar with all 5 boxes. For someone with lots of music theory experience I think one will make connections faster seeing how all 5 boxes work.

But it's easy conceptually a guitar is just 6 piano keyboards jammed on top of each other starting at different spots.

Except well they took away the white and black keys.
 

george_m

Blues Newbie
Since we each progress at our own pace depending on available time, I don't know if ONE for everyone schedule is possible. That's why Griff has the Practice Generator. You can create your own schedule.
If you are looking for an order in which to go through lessons, the order in which they are presented in the course is your best bet.
To be honest, after 8 years, I'm still not good with note names (except the 1st 5 frets & all if string 1, 5 & 6). I don't mean that it's not important, because I KNOW that it is, but IF you have a Key and you know your boxes, you can "get by" without knowing all the note names... until you get lost.
Focus on learning the boxes one at a time. Most great players use mainly box 1, sometimes adding from box 2 & 5 (Both adjacent to box 1).

If I've missed the point of your question, please let me know.
I appreciate all input. Thx!
 

JohnHurley

Rock and Roll
Thank you

Are you saying map notes of pentatonic box on guitar necj as if on a keyboard?

Sure well play a couple octaves of pentatonic on piano then do ( box 1 ) same notes on guitar ... look at fretboard mapping diagram.

You can go up an octave pentatonic on guitar on one string ...

The boxes force you to do only 2 things on one string then move up.

They are very convenient for playability but just one way to slice up a ( couple ) octaves
 

snarf

making guitars wish they were still trees
If you are looking for an order in which to go through lessons, the order in which they are presented in the course is your best bet.
As for practice advice, this is what I would give you as well. If you're starting out with BGU, start at the front, and work your way through in order. They build on each other. Before you move from lesson one to lesson two, be sure that you understand lesson one. You don't necessarily have to be able to play everything perfectly from that lesson (that's why you're practicing), but be sure that you can play it with some degree of proficiency and that you understand it before moving on. If you don't understand it, you'll just be confusing yourself. If you can't play it with some degree of proficiency, you'll just be getting frustrated because your fingers don't know what they're doing.

Take your time. I think when I was first working through it, I challenged myself to spend at least a week on each lesson. There were those that I felt like I was able to power through and understand and play it within a couple of days, but staying with it for a week just solidified it, and I could move forward with confidence. Then there were other lessons that I'd camp out on for a couple of weeks and then go back and revisit for a while. But I didn't go to the next until I was sure that I understood the concept and had at least a rudimentary skill level in playing.
 

jmin

Student Of The Blues
I think that the "boxes" (blues/pentatonic scales) are the holy grail of blues guitar. I have been doing Griff's lessons for about eight years and still don't have them mastered. One of the several bits of great advice that I remember Griff saying about the boxes was: "If you think you know the boxes well enough, you don't!"
If there is one thing I would recommend is to spend at least a few of your warm-up minutes working on the boxes every time you pick up the guitar. Then do your lesson(s).
Start with box 1 and play it everywhere (all keys). Then do the same with box 2, 3, 4, & 5. It will take way longer than you think to master. You'll need to know the boxes inside and out, as "minor" and "major" AND be able to tie them together AND be able to play them from different starting points on the neck. There is nothing difficult about playing them, it's all just a matter of practice, practice, practice.
 

Attachments

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JohnHurley

Rock and Roll
Well the pentatonic scale aka boxes also just not blues they are a way of going up and down octaves and have been a part of western european music for forever.

Its part of the way we experience music.

Part of warmups involves some scales both full major and minor scales then some pentatonic.

Go from box 1 to 2 all the way to 5 then backwards.

Start on different roots different days.
Box 1 is major when root is under pinky its minor when root is under index finger.

You got this!
 

Silicon Valley Tom

It makes me happpy to play The Blues!
George me lad, I hear ya! :)

I started out on piano (age 6), and also have a degree in piano, as well as lots of certificates and national competition. When I was 10, I took up guitar as well. Now, those two instruments are very different.

The piano has white keys and black keys. It is so easy to play something in the key of C! Just use the white keys! As a bonus, you get Am on the white keys! :) The piano keyboard is horizontal, and progressive. My first lesson: "This is middle C"! Thank you Miss Meyers"!

The guitar is a very different beast. Search for different ways to memorize the guitar fretboard. With the Blues, things can be simplified to a degree. Just create a list of I, IV, and V chords, and root notes. Use a box like the BB King Box, etc. and learn how to have a total blast. The position of the root notes is so important. Knowing when to change is also important. Start with one song in a key signature of your choosing. Let us say A. So you have to learn where all the A notes are on the guitar are located. Then the IV, or D in this case, and finally the E.

Now you can use minor for all I, IV and V notes, or Major for the I, and minor for the IV, and V.

Play on an area of the neck that gives you a sound you like. Use every possible area to achieve that.

Attached is a PDF file to give you a concept of what I am suggesting.

I will also suggest that there are at least 50 ways to look at this problem, with 50 different solutions. Everyone is different. :cool:

Tom
 

Attachments

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ervjohns

Blues Junior
Start with box one and master that up and down before attempting to learn any more. That will get you through solo # 1 in BGU. You don’t need to know boxes to do the rythym sections in the beginning of BGU. Be patient, you will get there.
 
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