Lessons On Different Genres

[Rickey]

Hi,

I really enjoy the blues guitar series u posted. Very helpful and extremely easy to follow.
I have a few ques hoping u could shed some light on:

Do u have any plan to do different genres as well?

So far, I’m quite comfortable w/ playing licks, songs etc. I’m curious if there is anything else I should be focusing on. Any suggestions?

Lastly, I’ve been thinking about getting some experience playing in public. But, I’m not sure where to start..

Thx. I appreciate you taking the time to put together these awesome videos and set up this online community. Do keep up the great work!

Peace.

[Brian]

Glad you’re liking the blues series and even more glad to hear that they are easy to follow – I’m always paranoid that I’m glazing past some important detail.

Answers to your questions:

Do u have any plan to do different genres as well?
I definitely do, I want ActiveMelody to eventually grow into a resource for all instructional guitar styles. I’m starting it out with just electric blues for two reasons, 1) it’s what I enjoy the most and 2) it’s where the biggest audience of learners are… it is always surprising how many people there are out there that really want to learn this style of blues guitar. I’m starting with a lot of blues lead stuff and then I”m going to be focusing on blues rhythm. In the meantime, I’m actually working behind the scenes on some premium lessons (download and DVD) that will be a very deep dive into how it all works, so be looking for that in the coming months.

I’m curious if there is anything else I should be focusing on. Any suggestions?
I suppose this depends on what your goal is. In the beginning a lot of it is about being exposed to the right music and told what is good and what isn’t. When I first started playing it was the late 1980s and as you can imagine, there was a lot of really terrible guitar at that time. That was when glam rock was in it’s prime and being a young (dumb) 14 year old I had a really hard time distinguishing what was “real” and what wasn’t. When it comes to playing electric blues (the style that I’m currently teaching) the best album you could focus on is the John Mayall Bluesbreakers album featuring Eric Clapton. That to me is is about as pure as it gets in terms of quality guitar playing and keep in mind Clapton was around 18 years old (still blows my mind). If you don’t have that album, start there… if you are able to play those licks and make them sound like that… well, you’ll be a better guitar player than most. I’m still working on it by the way.

Lastly, I’ve been thinking about getting some experience playing in public. But, I’m not sure where to start..
Playing in public is totally necessary for really learning how to play because it forces you to figure it out. If you can join a band that’s the best experience there is – it’s learning by peer pressure. If you’re just sitting in your bedroom trying to learn to play something.. you can easily cut corners or skip past the “hard parts”, but when a group of people are depending on you it’s a little different.. it forces the issue. So definitely try and join a band if you’re not in one – check your local music store for a bulletin board (most music stores have them) and they’ll have other musicians looking for a lead or rhythm guitar player. Definitely where I’d start.

[Author]

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