SBS-solo06-2ndAttempt

[bluesmadd]

New benchmark, after 3 days of solid practice (2 - 3 hours per day, in smaller intervals), now memorized (although had the sheets stung out in case I panic ), playing/recorded in one take. Having it memorized (almost) I was able to pay closer attention to timing, (especially at the end of the measure, i.e. holding notes for their duration etc.) although still some rough patches, hopefully a little smoother over the difficult measures (you be the judge) although measure 32 is still a work in progress, and played at ~75% speed.

sbs-solo06-2nd

Thanks for listening. (warts and all)

Please note: I'm terribly addicted to reverb, my bad

 

[bluesmadd]

BTW, FWIW, here's a little breakdown of this solo. I listed all the measures with more than 12 notes, i.e. since it's 12/8 timing signature, that means these are measures with a combination of grace notes, 16ths and 32nds. Say your prayers before attempting!!

SBS-Solo 06
Timing Signature 12/8
Measure number:Number of notes
5 :15
6:24
14:21
15:20 (3 1/2 bends)
16:33
17:21 (3 full bends)
18:18 (1 full bend)
21:20 (2 1/2 bends)
22:19 (1 full, 2 1/2 bends)
23:24 (2 full bends)
25:15 (2 full bends)
26:24
27:17 (1 full bend)
28:26 (3 full, 1 1/2 bend)
29:15 (1 1/2 bend)
30:14
32:34 (1 full bend)
33:31 (1 full bend)
34:26 (1 full, 2 1/2 bends)

Note: I did not differentiate between a full/half bend i.e .one that takes place from the original plucked note up to the top of the bend, versus an 'immediate bend' i.e. straight up, where the note is plucked at the top of the bend. I could say the former takes up some extra real estate i.e. 2+ notes, all other things being equal. Although for this simple analysis, I counted all bends as one note.

 

[OG_Blues]

Very nice Warren - much improved in a short time!!
For me, one of the hardest things in this solo is those phrases where you have bends, pull offs, hammer ons, and slides ALL in the same short phrase, at high speed. It's really hard to keep the timing steady on those licks where you have to mix all those techniques seamlessly together. In addition, picking is critical in order to get the right feel to those licks.
As we have both commented before - this solo has it all!
For me, the "money" phrase is not the most difficult ones, but rather the last 7 notes of measure 33 and the first note of measure 34. Note that the first note of measure 34 is a QUARTER note - there aren't very many of them in this piece! You can hit and hold that note and put some sugar on it, and it really stands out in the solo IMO. Because it is buried right in the middle of almost a million other notes played at warp speed, it's really easy to short change that note, but giving it full time and emphasis really makes it sound great. I'm still working on that!
Good job!
Tom

 

[bluesmadd]

Thanks Tom. As we've both written, this is a work in progress, but good to lay down these benchmarks where one can hear progress. I appreciate your feedback, as I concentrated on your point about the timing at the end of the measures. I didn't get them all, but I know that some I short changed on the first recording, got their full due on this one. Measure 33 is interesting as it transitions on ~ beat 4 (if you will ) from Dmajor to Cmajor ahead of the IV chord in the next bar. I totally missed the first note in 34, just gave it a quick passing. Better next time, thanks for pointing this out. Yes, there are some other 'money' measures in there for me also, I really love the sound and feel of 21, and the picking in 28 (except I found the first 4 bends challenging). Some of these measures like 21 are right out of Griff's 'Intro to Blues Modes', under BGU Insiders. It's a great solo as well, only 24 bars and hi tempo. It uses that composite run from the 1st string descending until the 3rd string where it goes 12 10 11 and then descends on the minor pentatonic. This happens in 6 and 14 as well in the C scale (these 2 almost identical), but ends using the composite scale.

Like you, I'll probably give this one a rest for a while and work on something else, perhaps some speed exercises so when I come back I'll be able to pick it up a notch!
Best,
Warren

 

[bluesmadd]

Btw, I've PM'd Griff for his recommendation on speed exercises. Obviously there are a ton on the Internet, however I want to know what has worked for him. When received, will post to the forum.

 

[bluesmadd]

Btw, I've PM'd Griff for his recommendation on speed exercises. Obviously there are a ton on the Internet, however I want to know what has worked for him. When received, will post to the forum.

Griff's answer: PSTM (should have guessed)

 

[OG_Blues]

Warren - I can't really give you any other advice on gaining speed, except to practice slow to get fast.
I seemed to be getting nowhere as far as speed goes for a long time. Then I was doing a bunch of transcribing, and some of it had some short, but fast flurries in it, and while practicing those, something just "happened" and I found a new "higher gear" so to speak. It still took a while to gain some level of consistency at that new speed, but it came. Now I seem to be stuck at that speed, but it's faster than I have ever been able to play before, so I am happy just concentrating on making that speed more fluid and consistent. I expect that at some point, that effort will lead to another "gear". I just don't think that a person can rush some of these things - they just happen when you are ready for them to happen, and patience is persistence is the key. I think that some of the longer fast phrases is the SBS solos are very helpful examples / exercises, and are quite challenging to play cleanly and fluidly. It requires really good technique that I will be working on forever.
Tom

I don't have PSTM - maybe should look at it.

 

[bluesmadd]

Your experience is very similar to mine on this front Tom. I was somewhat disappointed with PSTM (if you want more details, you can PM me).

Also from my limited experience, some fast flurries can be awkward as written (tab`d), where a similar (tempo, number of notes etc.) but slightly different arrangement of the notes, perhaps all the while producing a similar sound and feel, can be played faster. Even Griff has written the transcribed notes are as correct as he can produce, given his resources, however he does make the caveat that they are not necessarily perfectly accurate (not his exact wording, going from recall here). And I`m a big `kiss`fan (not the band), i.e. I believe we over complicate things we don`t know well, and the closer you get to the truth of it, the simpler it turns out. I`ve transcribed some music in a way that made sense at the time, only to find out later that the actual way it was originally played was better and simpler.

Having said all this, you hit the nail on the head, `patience`, of which I have very little. I always feel in a rush when on a learning curve that I`m excited about, don`t seem to be able to relax into it. Spending time with my grandkids helps me to learn better patience.

 

[bluesmadd]

Another comment for those of you working on this solo or similar. After re-listening to this recording several weeks later and continuing to work on this solo particularly the difficult measures, it occurs to me how much better the solo sounds at full speed and the associated confidence-boosting as well. I realized that I can play 80+% of the measures at full speed, and the only reason I recorded at 75% was due to at best 4 measures out of 36. Believe me, it sounds way better at the faster tempo, IMO.

Do yourself a favour, when you get to this point don't hesitate to record at full speed. Either re-write or substitute those 4+ measures to something that will work for you. It's a great confidence booster and it sounds great. Playing at 75% for the whole piece is not/does not!! The speed will come for those tough ones if you're willing to put in the effort and time (years perhaps).

My 2 cents, FWIW.