Thoughts of a beginner....

[Bluesgrass]

I'm back into it my fingers are feeling it a bit on both hands. 

What a surprise eh?  Never even considered having to develop callouses on my right hand before ABGU.  When they get hard enough it makes your playing sound better; since the hardness seems to bring the tone out better. 

I honestly think to truly master this course could take years.  I'm still working on St. Louis Blues and keep going back to previous lessons to work on particular parts.  The good news is that every time you go back it gets easier....assuming you continue to push the progress. 

 

[Adam_Mc]

I'll look forward to fingertips of steel but for now I'm about to swap DVDs over.....

 

[Oldmann]

I'll look forward to fingertips of steel but for now I'm about to swap DVDs over.....

I certainly don't have fingertips of steel, but my callouses are coming back nicely. At times, my back makes my legs all jittery, and I can't concentrate to play at all. The pain from the surgery isn't too bad, and it is healing. The nerve issues in the legs will drive my crazy, however. I have spent more time playing the folk music of Gordon Lightfoot and some 60's stuff rather than my ABGU lessons, but I guess I had better pick up where I left off. It is so hard to concentrate for long. Well, back to the grind, eh? Have a good one. Jim

 

[Jim pyron]

Welcome Adam!  Like most of us here on the forum I "played" for years until I found Griff and decided to do it right.  My reasons for going ABGU were pointed out by SVTom and Griff himself.  You need to play the entire song, not just parts of it.  Switching over to electric just needs a little warm-up.  I too have back issues and I admire the courage you two have shown in this debilitating condition and wish you both a speedy recovery.  I'm up to lesson 15 ABGU and see no reason why also studying BGU would be incompatible as you're taking 2 approaches simultaneously to the same end.  Either way practice, pay attention to Griff, and have a blast!

 

[Raymee]

Do not rush! This course for beginners is not setup to hurry thru. It is setup to give you plenty of practice time. If you stick with it you can't help but learn. 

 

[wfb]

Learning so much in the first few lessons. Counting out loud works! Now how do I get my wife to stop laughing at me!

 

[Jim pyron]

In 6 months when you play her favorite song in perfect time!

 

[kingbee]

I started ABGU in early August (2014), I progressed nicely up to lesson 22. Then, tennis elbow struck me in both my elbows in late October. I,ve had to cut way back on practice, so I'm still on lesson 22. But, I've got all the parts of Mean Old Woman Blues memerized in the last 2 days. Now it just needs the speed and polish. I'm really enjoying the course and learning more about the "how and why" concept than I ever knew before. Only problem is, the tennis elbows is messing with my picking fingers co-ordination.

Someone was talking about toughing up their fingers on the right hand to finger pick; I might suggest that its been a good idea for me to let my finger nails grow out some on my right hand and then shape them for finger style picking. I use a thumb pick and have a pick on 3 fingers.   

 

[Olivia]

I can’t help joining in! This is my first post on this forum. I have never been on a forum before and I am not on any others. I am utterly lame with technology and I’ve heard too many “horror stories” about the internet.

This said, I “found” Griff Hamlin whilst being adventurous on YouTube looking for some guitar chords/riff to a tune… and how to actually play it. I can't even remember which tune it was now!

There are two points which made me decide to (finally) join in the forum right now (wow! I’m so brave  [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif])

Obviously… guitars! Then I’d also really like to wish Adam and Jim all the best, and to all those who know the difference between back pain and back problems/nerves - kind of quoting Adam here, although not word for word.

As the saying goes: “there is always someone out there who is worse off than you”  :'(  so in this light, I really can’t complain, because from what you guys said (Adam and Jim) I have no doubt I’m way better off than you so far, but it’s getting worse! I’m not trying to "compete" here... by the way  :-/

I’m grateful for any/every day I can “hold” my guitar on my lap and my right arm/hand is not “tingling” non-stop, triggering spasms in the neck and back - which then makes me drop the guitar! I drop everything anyway - nerves have gone “mad”

And to top it all up, I burnt two of my fingers on the stove cooking a meal which wasn’t even nice (!) so for the past few weeks all I’ve been able to do with my guitars is look at them 

I should write a tune called “The Dropping Syndrome Blues” or maybe “When Your Back/Nerves Are Gone Blues”    not really of course but, this said, since I do count out loud, all the time, kind of non-stop, driving everybody around me crazy (Griff Hamlin's fault of course!) I do put lyrics to my 1-2-3-4 and it goes “drop, drop, drop, drop, and a 3 and a 4 and a drop, drop, drop, drop and a 3 and a 4 and a..." and so on and so forth... that’s when I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to pick up what I dropped… good job guitars are “resilient” hey! Plus they’re “big” so it’s easier to pick up than small things… like the plectrums for instance!

Talking of guitars (my main reason for joining in) I have a "serious" question, although I think I’ve probably figured out the answer… I started with the “health” thing, because it doesn’t feel right not to acknowledge it since in “our” case (wanting to play/practice our guitars) it’s a nightmare not to physically be able to do so (not to mention the pain!) All the best to you both, Adam and Jim, and to all others like "this"

Now, down to the crunch: guitar courses query… I could do with suggestions/feedback… guidance… please [smiley=huh.gif]

I first got BGU, then realised I needed to go back to basics! Just like many others (!) I’d picked up real bad habits… I’ve been “playing” (awfully and uselessly) for nearly 33 years now with, of course, like many others (!) giving up a lot for weeks/months at a time, possibly even a whole year, or maybe even more…. It’s so clear to me now: I needed Griff Hamlin!

So, I got me the Strumming and Rhythm Mastery course and the Pentatonic Scales one. I felt (and kind of still do) like I’m back in nursery school when I should be heading for university, or at least secondary school [smiley=embarassed.gif]

Also, I got greedy... well.... Griff did have a 40% off sale a wee while back, so I also got me the Delta Blues Slide Guitar one - the price was good, and I’m planning for the future! I sure am not that advanced yet and never used a slide before! I also got the beginner's course, but that was for whomever asks me if I can teach them guitar when they find out that I play - little do they know... I actually can't "play" (!) maybe I need the beginner's course for myself ???

Way before those two though, I'd gotten the Acoustic Blues Guitar one, because that’s what I play… one of my guitars is semi-electric and I do have great fun “messing about” with the amp and sounds, but I mainly play the other one, the classical one – it sounds so nice! “it plays itself” my man says - I say: yeah it sounds lovely, but it doesn’t really play itself… it needs me to really, really, really learn how to play... because that guitar deserves better...  My strumming "was" flamenco-style and now… well... I’m in trouble  :-?

I think I need to do this one, the Acoustic BGU; I thought/decided I needed to stick to a maximum of two courses only in conjunction (focus and stay on track) so I’ve been plodding along with BGU and the Rhythm one, which worked well (until I burnt my fingers... and I was only in the first few lessons!) but my gut feeling says I should swap BGU for the Acoustic BGU. My fingers are “back" and it’s been a good while since I could do nothing else but look at the guitars, so maybe I should start afresh? forget nursery school though, this would be like being back in nappies I guess… but it might be my best bet ???

Thanks in advance for any feedback on the courses. I'm pretty sure this one (ABGU) is the "lucky winner" but it would be really nice to have some "input" - let's face it, whichever one is the "main" one, it's going to take me a while (!!!) to finish it, so I'd better make sure I do the right one for me! The Rhythm one is cool to keep as the "secondary" one I think (plus I was "sailing" through it before the burnt fingers)

I will pay heed to any suggestions "offered" to me though, because that's the whole idea of asking 

Olivia[/b

 

[Jim pyron]

Welcome aboard Olivia.  I'll just briefly mention that most of us suffer from one ailment or another and we just adapt.
It seems from your words that you have enough skill to tackle the ABGU course.  I'm about halfway through myself.  I played electric rock guitar in my youth and still enjoy it now, but what you learn in ABGU is critical to being a well rounded player.  You learn the tricky business of sustaining a bass rhythm while playing a melody, and rather than being part of a song you have to play the whole song on your own.  From there it's fairly easy to switch to electric with the added bonus of fingerpicking skills along with your plectrum.  My advice is to stay focused on the ABGU and use the other courses if you need a break.  Just remember to count and have fun and you're on your way!  You'll most likely get good feedback from some of the regulars as we all want to see a "newbie" succeed and enjoy the learning experience.  Rock on!

 

[kingbee]

Olivia, I agree with Jim. I'm more than half way through ABGU, and I've learned more in a few months than I had in 55 years on my own. ABGU is such a good course, when I'm finished with it, I'm going to go back over it a second and probably a third time, just to do it justice. I may have pushed through some of the material to fast (who can be content to take the course one example, one after the other at a time and move forward with patience?) I can't seem to find the time to practice all the material I've covered so far. I still have some trouble counting out loud while I play. I think that comes from trying to move to fast through the course. So, may I suggest, take your time, do and practice all the examples as you come to them (along with the counting as Griff instructs) until you have them down. There is so much material in the course to cover, but its the stuff we will need to really play the blues the way the old masters did. And all the tools we need are in the course.

I also have the Delta Blues Slide course, but I'm holding off on starting it until I finish the ABGU. I think what we learn in ABGU may well be the best foundation to lay for the slide course, in my humble opinion.    

 

[luckylarry]

Great post Olivia. Here is my take (btw, I have all of Griff's courses and started with BBG). First ask your self what kind of Blues guitar is your favorite. Is it Acoustic or Electric?

Then ask yourself if you are looking to play in a band or just want to entertain yourself and possibly some friends. If you are going to play in a band or with others you should look at the electric side. If you will mostly play by yourself then the answer is Acoustic.

Remember if electric is where you are headed Griff's course on theory, slide and Slow Blues etc. will be the challenge (take years to master them all).

If Acoustic is the route then theory and slide are the goal.

In summary only you know which direction you are headed but keep in mind it is all guitar and learning to play the blues so you can change at any time and what you have leaned is valuable.

Here is what I mean. I started with the BBG and really learned a lot. Griff did not have the Acoustic course at that time. I started BGU and at some point the ABGU came out and I switched. Much of what I learned was transferrable to acoustic. Yes I did  have to learn some different techniques but that is no different than going further in BGU and learning new techniques or chords or solo's. It is all learning.

While doing this I also did Griff's Theory course because I was interested in how things worked musically. I also strayed from the actual course (called chasing the shiny objects) from time to time. Mostly it is Griff's fault. LOL His emails may have had a lick of riff that I liked and I chased it. lol

Plus Griff had some posts on really easy but cool acoustic songs that I stopped to learn. The neat thing is these songs had the same riffs that are in the ABGU course. They made my playing Down To the Station easier so it was not a wasted time.

I also work on his technique course and strumming course for warm ups. Again this is not wasted time.

Because I live in a small village and don't have other electric players and because the old time Blues really resonates with me this route makes the most sense.

I have however attended one BGU live and really learned a lot, made friends and gained confidence in my ability to learn to play the blues. I also co-hosted a jam with another forum member and had the privilege of playing with some more members. Again it just moved my playing ahead.

I also take private lessons and my teacher challenged me to play live to an audience. That was a real challenge but I lived through it and again grew as a Blues player. BTW, everything I played that night was right out of Griff's teaching.

I know this is a long post but I hope this helps you.

 

[Olivia]

Many thanks for the feedback/input – or if counting (Griff’s fault of course!) it would go:

Thank you, thank you, thank you and a 4 and a
Thank you, thank you, thank you and a 4 and a

(…and so on and so forth…)


Now… seriously... that’s 3 “thank you” to the 3 replies I got – many thanks indeed - and I truly mean that.

I will get back to you(s) because I am very grateful and there is so much you guys said I’d like to “respond to” but if I do that now… well… I’ll never get to grab “that” guitar… there is only so much time in a day!

Plus... as I am “religiously” following “The Master” I’ve (only) gone as far as listening to the introduction, lesson 1, lesson 2 and 3… got greedy on the last one, I know, but it kind of followed nicely!

So… now... I’m (somewhere) on lesson 2 - with a guitar at last (hooray!!!) and that is why I won’t properly get back to you(s) right now – got a lot of practicing to do... back in nappies here… aiming for nursery school  [smiley=embarassed.gif]

I’m also pretty sure I’m going to have plenty questions (need for help) in the very near future with the lessons...

In the meantime, all the very best to you(s) and, again, many thanks 



Olivia

 

[Oldmann]

Olivia, thanks so much for your well wishes! I hope your ills lighten up as well. Getting old is not for sissies.

I was having a problem holding the guitar as well, and ran into a problem with my strap slipping off of the button. My luthier is putting a larger button with a quick release on the classical guitar I just got, and will replace the buttons on the Yairi with the same kind shortly. I found that trying to play standing up just won't work with my back, and now, my left shoulder. Because of the shoulder, my left arm is weak. So, I am a sitter until things change. I dropped my Yairi, and nearly freaked out. I don't want to do that again.

The only course I have worked on to date is the ABGU course. I made it through the first song, and then started over in order to try to learn the notes on the fret board, and how to count. My wife says that my lack of memory is due to the pain meds, and she may be right! It won't hurt me to do things over, however, as the practice is helpful. Like throwing cooked noodles against the wall, every once in a while something will stick. My advice is to stick with the ABGU course, and work through it until you you feel that you have made good progress. There is so much in there to learn, each pass through it should be beneficial. What you learn will transfer over to the electric guitar, as will the Strumming Mastery course. I have the Delta Blues a Slide course, but do not see tackling that one for several years. Right now my course diversion has been finger picking. I am trying to learn the basis of a Travis Picking, just a slower version. My fingers will not move fast enough to pick any faster. I hope to get better and pick cleaner before I get faster, and all of it will help me play the different types of music better, blues, folk, acoustical stuff.

Anyway, thank you for your post, great and encouraging. I know that you will continue to improve, and look forward to hearing about it! I personally do not have a lot of advice that is useful, as I am still trying to get over the early hurdles myself. However, the folks on here have been extremely gracious to me, offering help and advice and other things. They are genuine, and someone wishing to learn has come to the right place. Good luck, keep in touch. Jim

 

[Olivia]

Thank you guys...

This has been so helpful - I'm now "in business" with direction! thank you for your kind/wise words and advice...

Please accept my apologies for the "lengthy" posts AND the "over-use" of "smilies"  :-/

I do have a tendency to rattle on... (typical woman!)

I am new to "any/this forum" and as I said before, I'm utterly lame with technology... but I'm trying to learn! Maybe I should send PMs instead of making a "fool" of myself...

COURSES: definitely sticking to ABGU with the Rhythm one as the "secondary" one (accompanying/comping) and thanks to the feedback you guys gave me, I've been throwing in some of the Pentatonic Scale one here and there in the past few days... and the blend of the three is "perfect" for me right now...

Many thanks indeed for your feedback,


Olivia

 

[Jim pyron]

Olivia the forum is here for us to "rattle on"!  Everyone is interested in how the others are progressing so we can share in each others' victories as well as help each others' rough patches.  "Ramble On" girl!

 

[Yvonne]

In a recent post Griff mentioned that there only 12 notes in the universe.
So now when I go to the 7th fret in the first string to hit an E and then bend the string until it is an F, there is a continuos sound that is not an E or an F.
Are those not notes? if so what are they?
And what are they doing in my universe? :-/

 

[MikeS]

Ok, well first things first:  1st or 6th string 7th fret is a B. Bend it half a step and it's a C.
Bend it somewhere between and you have found something else. Are you playing a Sitar??? That might explain it. 
Yes there are other (dissonant) notes  in the universe (a bit of hyperbole on Griff's part, I think), but in our "western" music ( as opposed to eastern music) we have, as Griff said 12 notes.
||: A, A#, B, C, C# ,D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G# :||

 

[david moon]

In Western music there are 12 notes in the scale, but singers and instrumentalists add expression with vibrato, glissando, and with bends that are not exactly to the target note. See the first few notes of "Rhapsody in Blue". See Albert King or SRV teasing us with bends that approach but never quite reach the target. It's why some synths have a pitch bend wheel.

 

[Momantai]

I think bends are supposed to go from one decent note  to another, half step or whole step higher. But that's just for normal people. Some really talented people get away with bending to "something else".  ;D
I still believe western music only has 12 notes, but I heard violin players say that there is a difference between C# and Db or G# and Ab for instance  .
Ahhh, isn't music an interresting subject ?