Steve Trovato BB King lesson

[ed5706@aol.com]

I've been practicing the BBU course about 11 months, about 2 hours a day with slow results, maybe trying to learn at 65 is beyond my capabilities. I seem to play better when I'm not trying to play along with the video, maybe I get nervous trying to play with Griff, miss a string and can't catch up, have to start over repeatedly.

I haven't tried much string bending till the Steve Trovato video of BB King licks came out. Try as I might when I release the bend, it don't sound nothing like Steve. I realize Steve is a master, but I can't begin to get that sound. Also, is Steve getting some of his sound from going through some special effects? All I've got is a Strat and a little Fender amp, it sure don't sound like what Steve is putting out.

 

[panther]

If you KNOW the melody of a tune, it is often much easier to learn to play it. Play the backing track until you know it forwards, and backwards.  It seems if you play it through slowly you will retain the memory much quicker if you know the melody first.
Dan

 

[Elio]

I found that I can usually "learn" the exercises better on my own. But once I do, there is always a whole new learning curve of trying to play along with the DVD.  The benefit is that the play-along really seems to help me with my timing and phrasing. At that point, even though I already know the notes, the timing, speed, and mental stress of wanting to keep up will always make me initially feel as though I am making more mistakes and sounding much worse on the play-along than I do by myself. But it does get better.  It's all part of the process of learning to do the same thing in different ways and viewing it from different perspectives. In educational pyschology we call that cognitive flexibility. The only other thing I can say is that it takes me a lot of play-along repetition before I start to feel competent, but it always results in a better outcome.

As far as the bends, I have been experimenting for some time with those and it is definitely a struggle.  I'm finally at the point where I feel as though I have at least a little bit of control over the sound and I can minimize the unwanted noises somewhat.

Here are a couple of videos from Griff addressing bends:
http://bluesguitarunleashed.com/muting-unwanted-strings/#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNAwHFD2i8s

 

[Silicon Valley Tom]

Sometimes it helps to look at something new or difficult from different perspectives.

Here is one example:

http://guitar.about.com/library/weekly/aa031401e.htm



Here is an example from YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIPOeIfBXVc

Try Google to find others if needed.

Do you know anyone who plays blues and can show you how to bend the strings?  How about going to a guitar store and asking if someone can help you out?  There is nothing like personal instruction when you are learning something. 

By the way bends are accomplished a bit differently by different guitarists.  So use the technique that you like best. 

Don’t let your age get in the way of anything.  Just enjoy yourself and have fun.  I am 70 and have been playing guitar for 60 years.  I still have lots to learn and really enjoy it. 

Tom

 

[ed5706@aol.com]

Thanks for the tips guys. Think I'm getting a little better at it. I never thought I would ever start getting the hang of Barre chords, but now look forward to practicing 6th St. Shuffle and Straight Down 6th Ave.

 

[Lame_Pinkey]

Thanks for the tips guys. Think I'm getting a little better at it. I never thought I would ever start getting the hang of Barre chords, but now look forward to practicing 6th St. Shuffle and Straight Down 6th Ave.

... and don't forget the most valuable lesson on Barre chords on the forum - LP's Guide to Barre Chords , you'll find it in the sticky section above 

LP   

 

[Thatman]

Don't forget these guitarists that produce DVDs make things looks easy and the reason for that is because they have experience. When we have a bit of experience then we will impress somebody too, one day. But in the mean time go at your pace and not the DVDs pace, even the slow part. learn the notes in small chunks, build on the chunks, then join in the DVD pace.  [smiley=beer.gif]

Remember it's one bite at a time. 

 

[Alistair]

Hi Although i have not done the course yet I have a Boss eBand recorder which you can use to slow down solos up to 50% Boss call it 'phrase training' and i used this to good effect on the October challenge set by Griff. Either this machine or something similar may be useful to you when first trying to play along with a sound track? I am sure other members will advise on what is available out there. Ally

 

[MikeS]

Audacity (Free) and Riffmaster Pro ($) will let you slow down the tracks.
I find Riffmster easier to use for slowing down tracks & looping. I mainly just use Audacity for recording, but it can do both slow down and looping.

 

[giayank]

Escape, always remember you are building a foundation .Step by step . You are inproving and getting better . It happens in small incriments . While you are practicing a new lesson remember to have some fun playing other songs that you may have learned . End your lesson on a positive note .The more you play no matter what you play makes it easier to learn something new .We might not all be great but we can all be pretty good !!!

 

[ed5706@aol.com]

Thanks, I will try Audacity. I know I have come a long way from not knowing a note much less a chord. I do enjoy playing, just something about it keeps drawing me back.Does anybody have trouble playing the Steve Trovato BB King riffs by the tabs, seems like Steve hits more notes than what is on my downloaded tab sheet? Wish Griff made that lesson and I could see it better and slow it down.LOL

 

[Lame_Pinkey]

Thanks, I will try Audacity. I know I have come a long way from not knowing a note much less a chord. I do enjoy playing, just something about it keeps drawing me back.Does anybody have trouble playing the Steve Trovato BB King riffs by the tabs, seems like Steve hits more notes than what is on my downloaded tab sheet? Wish Griff made that lesson and I could see it better and slow it down.LOL

So I'm guessing you are trying to play along with the video & read the TAB & keep up with the tempo etc etc , sound about right ? Well if it is ,or close , then it probably does sound like he is playing more notes than is written in the TAB the other thing you need to do is to slow down not just slow down the tack/video.
Look at the TAB get use to where all the notes are, figure out the fingerings for these notes then once you have done that you can now pick up your guitar ! Go through it slowly , as Wayne here likes to say "no tempo" that is just playing them slowly one after the other, get the feel of it. Go back listen/watch it again then come back & play it again with a bit of tempo added (about a quarter perhaps ) & work from there.
Remember these wise words :

Rome was not built in a day
Slow and steady wins the race
Crawl before you walk, walk before you run

Take deep breaths & R-E-L-A-X !

LP