Now I got all the boxes

Cartgate

Blues Newbie
Now I got all the boxes,and some riffs,it is still not music.
live gotten the dozens of material you put out,any suggestions where to go from here?
 

Elio

Student Of The Blues
That depends on what your goal is exactly. Do you want to be able to attend a jam and play rhythm? solo? Play a particular song and cover all the parts by yourself? By knowing the specific goal you have in mind, it's a lot easier to suggest a strategy to help get you there.

If you don't already have a goal, the first step should be to create one for yourself that is specific and achievable, like improvising a short 12 bar solo over a song you like.
 

Paleo

Student Of The Blues
If you are asking about what courses to go to now that you know the boxes .....

Put the boxes to work musically by playing the solos you’ll learn in Griff's "Major Minor Blues Shapes".

To increase your fluency with the boxes, "Pentatonic Scales And Technique Mastery"

To work the boxes horizontally by string set, "Rutbusters".
 
Last edited:

JohnHurley

Rock and Roll
Could you maybe volley in a video or some audio of you playing where you think it "does not sound musical" maybe that would give us a better place to possibly offer suggestions?

Playing along to a backing track maybe or whatever makes sense to you?
 

Paleo

Student Of The Blues
Also in "Rutbusters" is a mostly overlooked lesson on "Blues Shapes" showing that there are actually only 2 "sub-box" shapes, a right-facing octave shape and a left-facing octave shape that alternate vertically as well.

To me "Blues Shapes" is actually the most important lesson I ever learned.

That may be worth repeating.

To me "Blues Shapes" is actually the most important lesson I ever learned.

Having only 2 patterns, right and left-facing, will also apply to others scale patterns as well as arpeggio patterns and CAGED chord shapes. :cool:
 
Last edited:

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
If I had a nickel for every time I've felt, said or heard someone else say that!
All of the above suggestions are great.
I'd add that you need to listen to LOTS of music. You will eventually hear pieces and understand where they come from in the scales that you already know. Pay particular attention to the beat: When does the lick start & end (Don't start on the down beat of the one); What is the "feel" Straight Swing?

This part takes the most time. You need to be able to hear the solo in your head, know what you want to play, before it will start to sound musical to you (I'm still working on that myself).
 

piebaldpython

Blues Junior
Take, say, any 5 notes from a box..........play the order of the notes the SAME every time.....but change the timing of the notes every time. Syncopate the notes, make them swing, or play them as strict 1/8 notes etc
 
Now I got all the boxes,and some riffs,it is still not music.
live gotten the dozens of material you put out,any suggestions where to go from here?
Lots of great advice as usual.

Here's a couple of things that helped me:
1. The pentatonic is only 5 notes. So when you play a "box" you are playing the 5 notes over a 2 octave range. Plus an extra note.
Try just playing one octave, for example start minor box 1 on the root on the D string and play up to the octave on the high E. Say out loud the scale position as you play each note;
Root, m3rd, 4, 5, m7th, Root.

2. If you have a looper, play in a one chord vamp. For example a few bars of A7. Or use this YouTube A7 vamp . Listen to how each note sounds.

3. Use a 12 bar blues backing track to play the root of each chord. Listen for the chord changes and practice your rhythm.

4. Using the same track, hum a few notes over and over until you get something that sounds good with the track. Then work out playing those notes using the same rhythm that you hummed.

HTH,
Tim
 

Tangled_up_in_Blue

Blues Newbie
Now I got all the boxes,and some riffs,it is still not music.
live gotten the dozens of material you put out,any suggestions where to go from here?
My advice is to learn songs - lots of songs. You will then be making music, and at the same time figure out how the boxes you have learnt are used to create real music.
 

Paleo

Student Of The Blues
Try just playing one octave, for example start minor box 1 on the root on the D string and play up to the octave on the high E. Say out loud the scale position as you play each note;
Root, m3rd, 4, 5, m7th, Root.
Good advice. (y)

Just to relate this to the "left-facing" octave pattern, referred to above, that will be the same from any root on any string. The same 2 scale degrees will always be on adjacent strings, (b7) R | b3 4 | 5 b7 | R (b3), with whichever 2 occur on the 2nd string a half-step higher which creates a different fingering for the scale degree pattern.

Playing the lower octave of Box 1 from the 6th to 4th string is the "right-facing" octave pattern, R b3 | 4 5 | b7 R.

The 4th string R is the "pivot/anchor" going from "right-facing" to "left-facing" going across the neck.

These 2 patterns alternate vertically across the neck from octave to octave in all boxes as well horizontally for the same octave. :unsure:

Then if doing Griff's "Scale Practice Flash Card Generator" you just need to be able to find the root note.:cool:

It's much easier to demonstrate than to describe. :oops:

Same applies for all scale, arpeggio and chord patterns, :giggle:
 
Top