Home › Forums › Active Melody Forum Announcements › Participate in the September 2016 Member Challenge – EP131
- This topic has 22 replies, 17 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 6 months ago by TaylorL.
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August 30, 2016 at 1:41 am #49766
Hi Active Melody Community!
September’s Challenge will be lesson EP131. It is a no accompaniment Country Blues piece. I have not fully mastered this lesson and wanted to finally get the rhythm down for this piece. Keep the rhythm consistent and smooth is going to be the challenge for this piece.
EP131: https://www.activemelody.com/lesson/country-blues-guitar-lesson-ep131/
** If you need assistance with how to record yourself and post to the forum see this post and/or private message me and I will be happy to help you out.**
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GOALS FOR SEPTEMBER 2016 MEMBER CHALLENGE:
1. All Playing Levels: Be able to play lesson as shown by Brian smoothly and in time.
2. Participation Goal: 20 Active Melody Member Participant Videos/MP3 posted.
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GROUND RULES FOR PARTICIPATION:
1. Post your Youtube, Vimeo, or Soundcloud links of you playing EP103 with the backing track anytime between Friday, September 23rd to Sunday, September 25th. (i.e. The last full weekend of September.) Please do not submit earlier. I think it is fun to see everyone’s posts at once.
2. Submit individually in the “Showcase Your Playing” forum. Title your posts “EP131 Challenge Response – [Your AM Screen Name]”
3. Have fun and don’t be intimidated by these challenges!!! Use these challenges to help you set goals and complete them by a deadline. You can also use this as an opportunity to chat with your fellow Active Melody members and share tips or tricks on this challenge that you think are useful.
I look forward to seeing everyone’s posts! Happy Picking!
-Bryce
Anchorage, Alaska -
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August 30, 2016 at 2:53 am #49769
Trying to get in at this time!
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August 30, 2016 at 3:30 am #49770
ooh, country lesson. always a good thing 🙂
My Youtube Playlist
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August 30, 2016 at 4:07 am #49771
I have not as yet played or learned any country style music(I think), so I am interested to see if i can play this, I suppose it wont do any harm to add this lesson to the bb king lesson for my practise sessions each night…
..Billy..
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August 30, 2016 at 7:03 am #49776
Billy dont go too wild but do allow yourself to pick up onseveral lessons at a time. I think it helps keep the intrest up. Many lessons i have hit a physically tricky bit and so i have diverted. The secret is to always come back to it until you break through..which you surely will. This will make it even more fun. You will suddenly realise that you can play a previously tricky bit…because your skills have improved whilst you were off practicing other tunes.. it is a win win provided you eventually complete the lesson. That has been my approach and it helps soften the steeply uphill parts a great deal.
Regards John Strat -
August 30, 2016 at 7:08 am #49778
Good bit of advice there John, thank you.
Billy
..Billy..
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August 30, 2016 at 12:16 pm #49794
I wanted to learn that song the minute I heard it for the first time. I shied away from it, however, because I thought it was too difficult for me. I think the biggest challenge for me will be the transitions between strumming and lead parts and of course hitting the right strings with the pick! However, as you keep saying my Chief Motivational Officer: Progress over perfection! Let’s see how far I can get this within the next three weeks.
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August 30, 2016 at 12:18 pm #49795
Sounds great Bryce! Im in!!!
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August 30, 2016 at 6:27 pm #49827
Somehow I completely overlooked that lesson, never downloaded the tabs. I just went back and listened to Brian’s intro, and liked it a lot. I do think the word “country” in the title is a bit misleading, because it’s much more than just country.
Sunjamr Steve
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August 30, 2016 at 6:54 pm #49830
I am in. I also think country is a little bit of a misnomer. It’s closer to old-timey, folk, or traditional than anything we now consider country (which in my opinion is a good thing).
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August 31, 2016 at 1:30 am #49847
I’m definitely in for this one. This is the piece I am currently working on, it will give me a chance to finish it off properly.
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August 31, 2016 at 7:12 am #49856
Count me in Bryce.
Play guitar just like you live; don't get bogged down in theory, it's just a tool without feeling.
Wilfried
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September 1, 2016 at 2:49 pm #49943
Hey Bryce, now that’s a 2 page challenge in one month!
I did print this when it came out, but then thought it sounded and looked (2 pages) complicated so completely left it. So really pleased you chose this one and so forces me to give it a go.
I’ll be delighted if I get this one in the bag, or perhaps may be a ‘work in progress’ at end of the month; we’ll have to wait and see.
Cheers Bri -
September 3, 2016 at 3:46 pm #50033
I know it’s quite a big challenge for me because I have just taken a couple of lessons with Brian and I haven’t learnt any piece yet. I am very curious how much I can learn during 3 weeks. I am in for this challenge 🙂
Slawek
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September 4, 2016 at 11:47 am #50072
@slawek-zdunekinteria-pl: that’s the spirit! You can do it!
-Bryce
Anchorage, Alaska -
September 4, 2016 at 5:06 pm #50079
Hi Bryce,
What a great choice of lesson for this Month’s challenge. Count me in! I tried this lesson when Bryan first posted it, and found it very challenging! As Tremelow says, the transition between strumming and lead licks is not easy. But that first four bar D strum in itself is excellent! I will keep working on it, and hopefully get there…
Like Billy, I am also working on another lesson: as a nice contrast to Country Blues, I am working on EP153, Slow Blues in A Minor. That’s a really nice lesson…
Cheers,
Rich F
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September 16, 2016 at 12:54 am #50846
As I’ve been working on this song, it’s pretty, but it is also pretty melancholy…anyone else feeling that? Something about the scales all descending down, the sad minor chords. I wonder if Brian was depressed when he wrote this one. Not knocking it, it’s great and I’m glad Bryce picked it. Fortunately, I’m working through Blues Lead Guitar which is full of happy sounding licks to counter-balance my malaise as I memorize this dirge. 🙂 It’s not really a dirge, I’m exaggerating.
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September 16, 2016 at 5:15 pm #50893
Hi Taylor,
I hope I haven’t confused you! The September challenge chosen by Bryce is EP131 Country Blues. I was then referring to another lesson that I am practicing: EP153.. Slow Blues in A Minor. This is NOT the challenge chosen by Bryce. Hope you are not practicing the wrong lesson for the challenge!
Regarding the mood of EP153, yes, it is melancholy, but that is the feature of Blues in a Minor Pentatonic scale. I love this sort of slow blues: I love the emotion of it…. The happy sounding licks that you refer to are in The major pentatonic I guess…
Cheers,
Rich F
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September 16, 2016 at 6:58 pm #50902
Hi Rich – thanks for clarifying – actually, I was referring to EP131 as a bit melancholy. But you’re right, EP 153 is also sad. You must have a super happy constitution to be doing both at the same time without curling into the fetal position. 🙂 I jest.
Also, anyone else find the scale walk down tough to pull off with enough speed to stay in rhythm? Any tips?
Taylor
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September 16, 2016 at 7:01 pm #50903
@taylorlongoutlook-com: I struggle with that part too. I figured out it is my right-hand picking that was tripping me up. I had to double pick and just do it over and over and over again. I can nail it about 50-60% of the time now. I practiced it REALLY slow at first.
Remember, you set the tempo for this piece so go at the speed that works for you.
-Bryce
Anchorage, Alaska -
September 16, 2016 at 9:09 pm #50911
reminds me of bluegrass rhythm and can here this rhythm in fiddle tunes,, i like ep 131 ,, i will enter this challenge too
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September 17, 2016 at 9:55 am #50925
@taylorlongoutlook-com, I have been using a series of 3 pull-offs, on the first and then each subsequent 2nd beat, for that descending run. I can’t remember if Brian does that, but it sounds good to me.
John -
September 17, 2016 at 10:43 am #50926
Thanks guys, good suggestions.
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