Home › Forums › Active Melody Member Challenge Response Submissions › May 2026 Challenge Response – Jonathan Amos – Slow riff in A minor
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Pap.
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June 14, 2026 at 12:06 am #417654
I thought this was an excellent idea for a challenge. I took three great licks from EP622, one of Brian’s best with a fast tempo, slowed them down and changed the key to fit the much slower backing track on EP576. Then added some more of my own ideas to flesh it out.
On a technical note, I do sometimes find it difficult to bend strings smoothly. For example, in the first lick, when I bend up the third string and then pick the fretted first string, I have to let go of the third string so my ring finger can fret the second string, which makes the open third string sound. Played quickly with a noisy backing track it does not matter so much but when played slowly, as in this piece, precision is important.
Jonathan Amos, Matsuyama, Japan
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June 14, 2026 at 12:36 am #417671
Very soulful playing.
Dieter
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June 14, 2026 at 12:39 am #417676
Very good composition, Jon! Your guitar weeps nicely.
Lights. -
June 14, 2026 at 1:33 am #417685
Excellent playing Jonathan on that Quist BT.
Great riffs from Brian that fits this BT.
Well done.AndréM
AndréM
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June 14, 2026 at 2:55 am #417693
Sweet sound. Nicely done.
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June 14, 2026 at 3:37 am #417697
Very soulful, lovely moody music. Great composition and playing.
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June 14, 2026 at 5:07 am #417716
The licks sound perfectly at home in the new tempo. I like the repeated motifs keeping it all anchored and cohesive. Nice work!
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June 14, 2026 at 5:25 am #417726
What a superb, moody bluesy composition. Sounded so good and those licks worked perfectly. I had to go to 622 to check them out as they sounded so different here. Though that’s the point of course. They made an excellent foundation for the song. Excellent playing and I love that tone
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June 14, 2026 at 5:25 am #417727
I very much like your lead with these licks incorporated into that sad Quist track.
The repeated motif sounds very effective and your playing sounded fantastic.
I remember that I played an own lead over that track a few years ago.More Blues!
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June 14, 2026 at 6:50 am #417755
Jonathan
Man-this oozes with gorgeous tonalities and melody… what a beautiful arrangement. Your bends are spot on my friend. Love that guitar!John
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June 14, 2026 at 7:06 am #417763
Ah , I remember that backing track it’s a fine one to play over , as you so well demonstrated, clever use of the borrowed licks using them in a different context.
Your own ideas fitted in so well to .
I agree with the bending technique the clean tone doesn’t hide anything, I thought your bends were spot on .Martin
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June 14, 2026 at 7:38 am #417772
Love the nice slow groove great playing Jonathan
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June 14, 2026 at 9:07 am #417800
You’ve put together a beautiful composition around these licks, Jonathan. Beautifully played, with so much soul. A perfect arrangement!
Take the chance to meet your AM friends on Zoom
The next Meetup will be July
There will be a detailed announcement here in the forum
I look forward to meet you.
Manfred -
June 14, 2026 at 10:13 am #417811
Some wonderful work – and lovely audio production work too!
"I hear you talkin' son, but you 'aint sayin' nothin'" - Will McFarlane quoting Muddy Waters hearing a really fast guitar player
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June 14, 2026 at 12:08 pm #417846
Great job working these licks into that track, Jonathan. Such a relaxed groove. Really enjoyable listening.
James
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June 14, 2026 at 12:45 pm #417852
What a nice melodic piece Jonathan. Great bends and prebend/releases. Space was used very nicely to let the licks breathe. Beautifully done.
Joe
The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge -
June 14, 2026 at 3:19 pm #417889
I checked out the lessons you mentioned beforehand and would have never thought to marry them together, so the way you implemented the licks was brilliant to me. A perfect example of what the challenge was about. Love that slow backing track by Quist and I love the soulful blues solo you played over it!
🎸JoLa
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June 14, 2026 at 3:22 pm #417891
Super good playing Jon. That slow blues gets me every time.
Go slow and practice correct technique, and your abilities will dramatically improve.
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June 14, 2026 at 4:12 pm #417902
Nice arrangement, Jonathan. There were indeed a lot of bends in it, but to my ears you did a great job on all of them. I especially liked the phrasing throughout, and some pretty good dynamics also.
Sunjamr Steve
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June 15, 2026 at 1:08 pm #417991
Hi Jonathan, what a wonderful, mellow, track, and melodically expressed playing. Very enjoyable to listen. As fantastic as bends can sound, they are a lot of work to get right, aren’t they? I only play acoustic, so I’m limited to start in that arena, but we do our best. You’re here sound really nice… in tune and timed well. I enjoyed it.
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June 15, 2026 at 3:45 pm #418007
Wow Jonathan….really moving emotional and expression-full! Pap
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