After literally years of being stuck in almost 100% maintenance mode, I actually anticipated this video by a few weeks. I wrote down a long list of guitar goals for 2023. I divided the list into three categories: Technique Learn to bend accurately and reliably Learn left and right hand muting techniques Learn vibrato Improve my picking speed and accuracy Learn to fingerpick and hybrid pick for rock Repertoire Learn the fundamentals of Alt Country Learn the fundamentals of Blues Learn the fundamentals of Chuck Berry style Rock and Roll Learn the rhythm parts to a ton of REM songs Learn the rhythm parts to a ton of Rolling Stones songs Holistic Gain more left and right hand dexterity and speed Know what's what on the fretboard, which includes scales mastery Begin to establish my own style of improvisation This obviously is much more than a year's worth of effort. In this first week of the year I'm trying to map out quarterly goals, while writing down practice structure for the next few weeks. Great, inspiring video, Brian. It reaffirmed my own sense of what I need to do...
Thanks Brian.. very clear, interesting story my wife baught me an f hole hofener.. for my 21 birthday.. all thorough my life ,Itried and would get some resault but was always starting back a a beginner.. now 82... I am trilled working and listning to your style of teaching and playing joined you a few months ago.. love to hear the sounds I am getting...and your value is a no brainer.. wow looking forward to share a video.. later Eddy Rob Fild Austraia .thanks
Brian, your sage advice applies to life in general. I hope your viewers are thinking about your message far beyond playing our favorite musical instrument.
I stopped playing somewhere in my early 20's when I was diagnosed with arthritis in my hands, thumbs, and wrists. At that time I knew a few power chords and could keep decent time, but wasn't serious or disciplined about setting goals and learning. Now that I'm being treated in my 40s, I've built a Tele partscaster (to learn more about that, too) and progressing faster than I've ever did as a teen/20 something. I'm taking a more theory based approach, which has been invaluable. This channel has been one of the best finds, not just for theory and technique, but for great advice like in this video. Eternally grateful. Keep pumping out the great content.
Thank you Brian in helping to setting my goals for this year. 1. Surely, get back to participating in the monthly challenges. That includes playing 20 minutes a day. 2. Attack the list you made one by one. In the process, be better in understanding the Blues. 3. Have 12 easy, popular songs as a repertoire, for those awkward times when in a friend and family group people ask you to play something (and actually expect you to play something that they know). Cheers, and wishing you and your family, and the entire AM community a very Happy New Year 🙏
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. Around 10 years ago, partially due to family commitments, partly from a shoulder injury, I stopped playing. I was looking for a way back in. Although never a good player, where I'm at now seems such a long way to where I was, let alone where I'd like to go. This is a very useful guide to finding my way back.
I’ve been watching your vids for years, and have grown in my abilities by following them. However this is by far the best yet, for me anyway. While my playing has advanced, I never set any meaningful goal. One that if achieved I could say, I’ve made it, I hit my mark. This vid helped me to re-access my thinking and in the process realize that this is not an easy undertaking. I had to really step back, and in doing so realized my improvements, while good were aimless. Taking your advise I wrote a goal, and while reviewing it began to see that to achieve it there were sub goals I needed to hit first. In the end, having spent close to three hours, I devised a plan that would ultimately lead to my top tier goal. It’s not an easy undertaking, but one that helped me understand that planning in detail is worth the effort you put into it if you are serious about improvements, and I thank you for helping me, and hopefully others on their road to being our best.
This was very clear and logical and helpful. My goals for this year: 1. Mastering the barre chords and incorporating them; 2. Committing to a daily 20-30 minutes of genuine, directed practice; 3. Adding in knowledge of scales and modes; 4. Learning a new song weekly. (I recently retired, so this set of goals is manageable for me.) Happy New Year!
I can't thanks Brian enough for the improvements his course has done to my guitar playing skills. I've been "playing" guitar for years or at least thought that I had until I joined in ACTIVE MELODY. CAGED tick SCALES OVER CHORDS tick But if I could pick the most important lesson for me it has to be KEEP IT SIMPLE!!! 💯
Great start to the new year! 1. Keep a daily journal 2. Define Maintenance and Discover for the week. 3. At the end of the week, record myself ( with my phone) in a simulated environment performing a set of 10 songs. 4. Review the performance and set goals for the next week. 5. Then repeat. Thank you, Brian!
Yes the the divide between practise and discovery is crucial for progression (took my years to realise) . As a singer , harmonica , ,keyboards and guitarist is has moved me on. concepts such as the cage system, modes, scales without thrashing them, tirade’s , arpeggios along with song progression and writing some of my own material. Great guitar tutors like yourself cut through the miasma of information and keep you moving ahead.I’m 63 and have played consistently since 30 (first learnt at 10 via several teachers.) Using the net today ,with set goals is the way to go. I just love music , an eclectic of most styles . I see myself as a work in progression and luckily I have the time and facility to do this. thankyou so much for your work Brian , You are amongst the top in your field!🇦🇺 scott
Spent two years trying to find a teacher like you. Thank you for taking my understanding guitar journey to a 10! Really feel like I'm learning how to play, not what to play. Thanks Brian!
Right now I took your video with the 1357 targets in blues with a minor pentatonic. I wrote out on paper the scales and the triads to see the links and then play starting easy: one chord as backing plus to hear the sounds of the target notes. Then learning to fill up with minor pentatonic notes. That is where I am. I really want to master this soloing in minor pentatonic with chord tones. Your recent video on that was awesome. It is a great basis to have. Thanks
My goals are to realise it takes time to learn this stuff. Just because another video comes out next week it doesn’t mean it is time to learn something else. Give myself time and be patient. Be realistic.
I really cannot see well enough to write things down and read again later. I have mined a few nuggets of pure gold from you this year. Thank you for that. You do explain things so well that I can figure it out.
I've been a member of Active Melody for a few years and my only problem is there's just too much good stuff to absorb. This however, is one of the best informative videos i've seen. Thanks Brian and Happy New Year!
Great lesson, Brian, as always, thank you! Goals: (1) memorize the fretboard fully and completely - I have a decent percentage of it down well, but I really want to have that as programmed knowledge (2) build fundamental techniques - I am still early in my guitar and music journey, and I know I need these to be more solid and subconsciously part of my muscle memory (3) add songs to repertoire (4) build competence and confidence to play with others and contribute positively Looking forward to working hard on these and other worthwhile objectives with Brian, the good folks in the Active Melody community, and beyond!
Brian, your videos provide the best instruction on the internet. Not only are you a gifted player, but you have the added gift of being an exceptional instructor... 🏆🙏
Brian, nice lesson. Shows a lot of insight and empathy. You are asking all to be masters of our own guitar fate. So my goals. Practice finding building scales using WW 1/2WWW1/2 and marking them on guitar neck paper graph. 2. Use the scales in the E, D A SHAPES OF THE CAGED- SYSTEM. 3. RELEARN AND integrate the pentatonic part of the scales with “CAGED NEIGHBORHOODS’’. That should do me for the next 6 months. And of course I’ll keep watching practicing your weekly lessons .
Really good video. Thank you! 1. Learn about five Blaze Foley songs the way he plays them - say one per week. 2. Get stronger in playing rhythm for Jump Blues songs. I'll try one song per week here as well. Happy New Year!
My goal in the current year is to develop my technique (accuracy and speed) in my thumb and index, middle and ring fingers in my quest to play in the style of Merle Travis and Chet Atkins. And it feels good to define this goal publicly! Other goals are to 1)keep learning musical theory and to 2)learn to play 5 songs (or more, but definitely 5)…
Thank you for the encouragement that you shared. Each of us needs a nudge once in a while. As a retired person I need to know where all this "extra time" went (;-- )
Thank you for this. The suggestion list you talked about is what I searched the lessons page yesterday to get out of the rut I feel I’m in. I’m trying to find a way to learn the notes on the fret board so I can make the triads where ever I need to make a cord. That’s my goal for now. Thanks for the content you put out there. Jim
Great lesson Brian. I am a long time premium member and have learned so many valuable lessons from you. The goal I’m now working on is to be able to play the chords of the CAGED positions with their corresponding pentatonic and major scales for each. I’ll get there, it’s just a matter of time. I’m a patient man and look forward to enjoying the journey. Thanks again.
My goals for 2023 are to learn all the minor shapes and scales for the CAGED system. To incorporate more triads and modes into my improvisation. To record more of my pratice than I do now. Keep up the good work Brian. I have played for many many years but I realize there is so much I want to learn. Its a fsacinating thing, the more I learn only shows how much I don't know.
Can’t tell you how timely and helpful this video is. Thank you. Just last night, before seeing this, I started writing down my music goals. I called it my musical TRIP as a way of remembering the goals of Theory, Repertoire, Improvisation and Practice. Still have to flesh it out, but thought having a little memory anchor like that is a helpful way to orientate and clarify my intent.
Thanks Brian, great advice. My ‘block’ seems to be in actually defining my goal. Pinning myself down. I just seem to drift. I may, as a result of this video, force myself to commit to SOMETHING specific. Thank you for your guidance. 👍🏻
Hi Brian, thank you for this. I read the book ‘Pumping Nylon’ many years ago. It was about learning Classical Guitar. That author made the same points almost exactly. Sadly I was very young and had forgotten that teaching until this video. As the New Year starts I will be trying to be more organized or perhaps ‘intentional’ in practice. (Too, I am about to retire for the second time 😊). Something that helped me recently when I was discouraged, was remembering what it was like to learn how to read. I remember the ‘see…spot…r…u..n…see spo…t…jump… It was all individual words, and sometimes letters, with no real phrasing. As I became more familiar with reading, I started to be able to read ahead, and then read punctuation, find phrases, anticipate movement and emphasis. That seems to be where I am at in my musical journey. Playing individual chords/notes one at a time, getting good at it, but it is not necessarily music…yet…but slowly I am learning to read ahead, pause, create phrases, and create meaning with music. Thank you for this reminder and the encouragement. I love that you share some of your musical struggles and journey too. Very meaningful for the likes of me and I am sure others. I have not had a teacher before who was as transparent and honest about the challenges of learning music. Thank you, John.
Thank you Brian it's amazing information I mean I've been playing for too long the wrong way Tuesday night jams with my friends I just learned songs never cared about anything else till I found your station thank you
My main goal is to constantly expand my repertoire. Typically, I do a warmup/strengthening exercises (I shattered my left arm leaving it weak) followed by scales, etc. I might play tunes that I have recently learnt to make certain that I haven't forgotten anything, then I learn new material I usually learn more than one tune at time. Generally, one tune that is easy, one tune that moderately difficult, and one tune that is excruciatingly difficult. (I just finished learning one difficult tune that has taken me over a year to get under my belt.) Excellent video Brian!
This is great incentive for me right now. I've been playing rhythm guitar for 56 years (you read that correctly) and I've been wanting to make improvements to the way I play and just didn't know where to start. This idea of creating the ultimate practice routine is just what I needed for the next step. My goal is to improve my guitar playing style by adding fill licks between chords and to also apply fill licks (between the chords) to create solos for my current repertoire. I will start with Peaceful Easy Feeling by the Eagles and continue from there. Thank you, Brian!
Hi Brian, I wish to thank you for your patience, your creativeness, your incentives in trying to help people like me. I wish I could be part of your premium members but living on an island like this makes it impossible to use bank payment or other bank services that would enable us to go for such things. May be sometime next year we should be to do this. I wish to wish all the best for 2023 and may you continue to help guitar players become better players again in 2023.
This is really brilliant, Brian, thanks. All the challenges you talk of - it's good to hear that it's kind of normal, and what to do practically to get past them. And, I love that you''ve started the fiddle. Yes, it's really hard - and very brave of you to record yourself!!
I organized my learning into the following categories: Technique, Knowledge, Ear Training, Composition, Performance, Repertoire, Recording and Production, and Improvising. I'm retired now, so I have lots of time to work on becoming a better musician. To aid in retaining what you learn in "maintenance" mode, check out the "Spacing Effect".
I’ve learned so much from your lessons!!! Thanks a lot! Amazing content. I agree 100% on the writing down what one’s goals are. It really works! I’ve done it with your lessons: “I’ve got to learn this piece by the end of the week and improve it by the end of next week!” It really works and it’s measurable. Great piece of advice… Keep’em lessons coming! 🤘🏼
Minor pentatonic all my life so I need to get as good in major. My goals are major diatonic scales, major pentatonics, and major arpeggios structured into riffs in any key without hesitation.🎸
Great lesson, and timely as we reflect on the past year and look forward to the next. I attend a weekly jam session (mostly classic country) and my goal is to be able to play a modest improvised solo over typical major chord progressions. I’ve watched a lot of Active Melody videos over this past year, and signed up for the annual premium membership, which I believe will be a great tool to help me achieve this goal. I’ve been working on triads, and will focus on arpeggios and major scale patterns in the months ahead. Love all the great content and really appreciate your teaching style.
This video is exactly what I needed, I’ve been playing guitar for a couple of years now and I’ve got to the point where I’d like to learn how to improvise over tracks and solos etc. but I just didn’t know where to start, so this has been really helpful for me and I’ll have a look at all the videos you suggested, thankyou 😊
Always have a plan is the best way to improve everything in your live, but you are right. Most of us pick up the guitar and play without a roadmap. Thanks for remember me that. I´m going to set my plan right now. Happy New Year
Hey Brian, bang on the button yet again, I can relate to all you've said here. I have "practiced" for so many years and feel like I've wasted most of those years because I've fitted around a very busy life, mostly not fitting practice in at all and now many years later, appear to have forgotten most of what I'd learned. It's only in the last few months that I have been able to be regimental with my practicing (every day) and can see improvement, adding new stuff as I go and guess what, some stuff is still locked in the memory bank from 30 years ago, might not sound great, but its in there, but you have to have a goal and a structure. Some additional points noted and brilliantly explained as ever. THANK YOU.
Hi there. I loved your video. I'm actually an instructional designer and teach instructors how to create measurable learning outcomes/objectives for their courses. It was great to see you apply this concept to practice guitar. Makes so much sense. Thank you again.
This was/is valuable. Aside from practice time and/or setting out to learn particular tunes, I've never thought about setting goals for guitar. I'll do it. Thanks Brian!
Another great and very timely lesson! I am going on a journey in the opposite direction as yours, i.e., I used to "play" the violin, and for physical reasons, had to switch to the guitar. My two biggest problems with the guitar are: 1. you guys mainly teach verbally or by showing, whereas with the violin, it is all written. At the age of 72, it is hard to remember what was just shown on-screen. 2. Connected with that is the fact that it is very easy to measure progress on the violin. For a long time, you sound like fingernails on a chalkboard, and then you move up to chalk on the board! Seriously, though, it is easy to gauge progress, because there are recognized series of books of violin exercise and songs that you can use in both Development and Maintenance mode. I have been using your "prerequisite courses" to help guide my journey, but the notes to this video give me much more direction. Thanks to you, and other youtube teachers, who have given so much of yourselves, and wishing all a Happy 2023!
My goal is simple and can be tracked. I love to play and sing, so my goal is to play and sing every day of my life. I have always been satisfied with where I'm at, while at the same time I want to understand what I am doing when I play. Music theory is my path at the moment. Singer/songwriter is the ultimate goal. I really liked when you said that "only bits will stay with you to form the player you are." If I never get heard by the public but play and sing every day, I will meet my goal. Thanks for posting this, new member because of this content.
Hello Brian… Thank you for all you’ve helped me with when it comes to my Guitar playing. I know I speak for thousands when it comes to appreciation for your great teaching approach and playing! Have a great 2023!
This is great, thanks for the motivation to make a plan. I've been an Active Melody member going on 3 years now and really love your lessons. I'm about to turn 55, not retired but I do have a good amount of time now that the kids are off on their own. I've been playing on and off most of my life but like many I am easily distracted and have trouble focussing on one skill or concept with the guitar long enough to really make it stick. I would love to solve this and maybe your suggestion of writing down goals etc. will make a big difference. Thank you Brian!
If you watch many of the great guitar players teaching on UA-cam, flat picking/cross picking/alternate picking seems flawless and flowing. Same goes for fingerstyle with steady thumb. Self improvement in these areas is a huge goal.
Brian, thanks so much for this goals video. I’ve been a member with Action Melody appx. One year. My previous was a very bad guitar as I could never keep it in tune. Now I have a Mexican Martin which plays beautifully and stays in tune very well. I’m very encouraged now especially with your goals video. That’s exactly 90% of my problem. My goals, as requested, are to learn the scales and play one hour every day. I’ve been plateaued. Thank you!
Thanks for this Brian. I recently started playing again, got a new guitar, and am really enjoying it in retirement, especially your videos, very inspirational. The situation I have like many others is "drinking from the firehose", there is so much available on UA-cam. This video and the list of areas and videos are a welcome method to get organized and make some progress. Thanks for your dedication and help!
Happy new year Brian, and thank you; as always for your continued wisdom and knowledge. I have an evolving relationship with practicing; here’s a snapshot of what I ‘d like to achieve in the next couple of years. Most of it will be building on existing knowledge and experience… Guitar Goals 23/24 1. Learn all 7 natural notes on the neck (FGABCDE) -5 minutes 2. Learn all the intervals in two octave (major/minor 2nd & 3rds, 4ths & 5ths, 6ths and major/minor 7ths, (9th, 11th 13th) - 5 minutes 3. Learn all triads in Maj/Min/diminished/augmented (standard and spread) - 10 minutes 4. Learn CAGED Major and Minor Scales; Harmonic Minor - 5 minutes (alternate days) 5. Learn CAGED Major and Minor pentatonic - 5 minutes (alternate days) 6. Learn CAGED Arpeggios of Maj7, min7, Dom7, Diminished 7, Min7b5 and MinMaj7 - 10 minutes 7. Perfect pitch bending - 5 minutes 8. Legato - 5 minutes 9. Learn Chord extensions - 7ths, 9ths, Sus 2, Sus 4. 10. Chord Substitutions and secondary Dominants.
In my opinion I think most folks would appreciate a straight practice routine. I think everyone has a goal in mind, learning the steps , chords, scales, arpeggios , triads in a routine would be beneficial to all goals.
Excellent topic. I find that if I focus on your many “play alone with no backing track” lessons in a variety of styles is the most helpful and productive learning approach for me.
Thanks for the inspirational video. My goal is to finish learning and playing Classical Gas by Mason Williams by the end of January or the next few weeks.
Hey Brian, After more than a few years of being an Active Melody member and never finding time to play, I finally retired. Your comment about forgetting something I learned a week ago hits home with my experiences. Thanks for sharing your personal frustrations and thanks for inspiring me to move forward with a clearer picture of where I'm headed. Ray Z.
Hey Brian, you'll never know how much I needed this RIGHT NOW in my life. Im 65 years old and have been playing for many years. Im in a bit of a slump and needed your "spot on" advice for more productive practice. I did play today. However, I will begin tomorrow morning with a strong cup of coffee and a better plan with specific objectives for practice. Thank you so much!
Hi Brian, practicing is the most loneliest thing going, my Goal would be to utilise all the pentatonic scales and to be able the make solos from them, but with real meaning. A mental block in creating tunes or solo’s.
This is great information. I'm primarily a bass player but I've started noodling with the guitar with the idea to add guitar tracks to my music. Thank you!
Thnx for the video Brian! I wish that 2023 will be a fruitful one for you and your family! A goal that I have and I am still working on it, is to eventually get to master my trills. I mean MEGA trills. Tony Iommi style!!!!! Yeah.....the big idea is to be able to play most of Black Sabbath songs....I really really Tony's playing!
Great communication skills. It's been 30+ years since I last played and just began lessons a month ago to really learn what I never knew. I really appreciate how good these presentations are.
Hi, Active Melody. I just started watching your videos, and the content is amazing, I have been learning so much more about guitar since watching. Thank you, and have a Happy New Year👍👍
Awesome. Thanks! I needed this. I literally said to someone today that I’m spinning my wheels playing randomly and not really accomplishing anything, I need to pick a direction.
Great points about practicing. I’m looking forward to retiring one day so I can have a regular practice schedule with hopefully less responsibilities. I find that for people with busy lives like me it’s good to take simple ideas once a week and work on them daily. Thanks for all the great lessons Brian. Keep them coming. You’re a great teacher!
Brian. First of all I love your channel. My first goal is to completely learn 5 acoustic and 5 electric lessons. I learned the acoustic Layla solo and that does stick. I’d like to have a repertoire of 20 songs and gig someday. Also, a comment- I followed Stitch and his improvising involves finding flat 3rd, major 3rd, perfect fifth, flat 7, blue notes. You don’t go there with us. Maybe you think it’s too advanced but it can be applicable to improving.
End of 2022 and Active Melody now has 483 thousand members on UA-cam. Good advice Brian. The advice that set in stone is when you said " MEASURABLE ". Happy New Year Brian and family and all.
I’ve been playing guitar for 10 years and play 10-20 minutes daily, depending on how inspired I am. I also play harmonica which is way easier and intuitive. I watched the Rick Beato interview with Sting last week and am now learning to play Fragile. Beautiful song and super fun to play. This is typically how it goes for me. I learn songs that inspire me and neglect the hard theory stuff. I have many songs that I’m comfortable bringing to jams with friends. I have a looper and in the past year have started using electric guitar with delay and wah pedals. My weakness is definitely soloing. I’ve always had the first position of the minor pentatonic with a couple extensions. In the past month I’ve dedicated myself to learning notes on the fretboard and I am now comfortable moving between three positions of the pentatonic scale. My goals for 2023: intentional daily practice, learning and incorporating the all pentatonic positions, incorporating those over my loops/jam tracks. I use fill licks in many of the songs I’ve learned but another goal is to start building a bank of licks and incorporate those into my solos. Currently I just noodle when soloing. Next, I want to do the above with major pentatonic scale which will be totally new to me. I’ve been dabbling with triads lately and will move onto those once all other goals are met. I’m feeling quite motivated and am confident I can largely meet these goals with intentional focused practice time. Thanks for the timely video. I’m going to write these goals down and get started. Best wishes to all of you on this awesome musical journey.
Sounds good but I would advise triads and major pentatonic plus the major scale intervals right now... it'll rocketboost your fretboard knowledge and comping and soloing... go slow and integrate... it's fun
First of all thank you Brian for all your valuable lessons. I have been thinking about the way to practice in a more effective way in the last few weeks, and this video taught me exactly what I needed to do!
Thanks very much. Appreciate your teaching style and clarity. I never thought of journaling practice time. Sharpening my pencil now! Visiting your website once my pencil is sharp.
Brian thank you for your hundreds of wonderful lessons😊 and the great time you've been giving me with learning and exploring my guitar and playing the Blues🎸!!! I won't ever stop! Happy new year to you!
I am signing up for your course right now, that will help me work through the scales, triads, arpeggios and incorporation all these things to be a better melodic player who has a solid understanding of the neck. Tony Robins would say "Chunk Method, taking a bite off the huge under taking. Bite by bite my knowledge will build. Thanks for all you do to help all of us be better guitar players and musicians. Happy New Year!!
Happy New Year Brian, Goals are to - gain speed - caged system and learning my fretboard better - 6 challenges Thank you for your lessons, content and videos!
Great video, as usual. My discovery practice is to continue to work on accurately playing the melody of a song (note for note) using the various scale patterns. In other words, training my ear to hear the interval changes. I've improved a lot but still need more work...probably a life-long pursuit. Also, playing over the changes particularly when an oddball chord comes along. Finally, hearing the chord changes and being able to chord along with a song without having a chart just based on what I'm hearing. This can be hard if there are borrowed chords, inversions, etc. The journey is never-ending but you've helped me advance a lot and I really appreciate what you do.
Excellent advice and direction. You're a good teacher Brian. "It takes one to know one". And yes, for me too about writing things down. I think of journaling which to me has that common ground with music, a doorway to one's true self, connected to "the field".
Really enjoying your teaching style and strategic approach. One goal that comes to mind is applying the caged knowledge in the right way so i can play seamlessly up and down the neck. Combining arpeggios, triads and 2 note chords and not just jumping to the A shape or D shape. Its rare I watch a video and take notes... thanks for the useful insights.
The use of S.M.A.R.T. goals: (specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time bound) is really important for making, analysing and measuring progress. e.g. by the end of this month I will be better able to i) improvise using the minor pentatonic in the key of Eb including ii) vibrato and bends in the style of SRV.
My next goal is to improve my rhythm playing, specifically the right hand. Measured by being able to accurately target individual strings, double stops and triads while maintaining a steady, consistent strum pattern.
Thanks Brian, this is what I've need to concentrate on. Like others, I'm old. I've been doing things the wrong way, without a plan, just playing the same old stuff hoping to get better. Lose interest for a little while, then come back & start again. Thanks again, for this lesson!
I'm a Covid player who hasn't progressed much beyond chords, scales, and some theory. I definitely like playing the melody of songs vs. just the chords. I think my biggest blocker is barre chords and trying to use backing tracks to expand beyond the comfortable maintenance items I've learned.
Great advice Brian!! My goal this year is just that, set goals and start practicing and stop noodling. Love the videos, keep up the great work. A happy new year to you and yours.
After literally years of being stuck in almost 100% maintenance mode, I actually anticipated this video by a few weeks. I wrote down a long list of guitar goals for 2023. I divided the list into three categories:
Technique
Learn to bend accurately and reliably
Learn left and right hand muting techniques
Learn vibrato
Improve my picking speed and accuracy
Learn to fingerpick and hybrid pick for rock
Repertoire
Learn the fundamentals of Alt Country
Learn the fundamentals of Blues
Learn the fundamentals of Chuck Berry style Rock and Roll
Learn the rhythm parts to a ton of REM songs
Learn the rhythm parts to a ton of Rolling Stones songs
Holistic
Gain more left and right hand dexterity and speed
Know what's what on the fretboard, which includes scales mastery
Begin to establish my own style of improvisation
This obviously is much more than a year's worth of effort. In this first week of the year I'm trying to map out quarterly goals, while writing down practice structure for the next few weeks.
Great, inspiring video, Brian. It reaffirmed my own sense of what I need to do...
Thanks Brian.. very clear, interesting story my wife baught me an f hole hofener.. for my 21 birthday.. all thorough my life ,Itried and would get some resault but was always starting back a a beginner.. now 82... I am trilled working and listning to your style of teaching and playing joined you a few months ago.. love to hear the sounds I am getting...and your value is a no brainer.. wow looking forward to share a video.. later Eddy Rob Fild Austraia .thanks
You are the Best guitar teacher!! Thank you!!!
Thanks for posting this. I'm in a rut plating my guitar and bass. This is what I needed. I'm one of the retired people. I'm 71.
I’m one of the retired ones. Played since I was 11. You have helped me more than anyone.thank you!
Brian, your sage advice applies to life in general. I hope your viewers are thinking about your message far beyond playing our favorite musical instrument.
I stopped playing somewhere in my early 20's when I was diagnosed with arthritis in my hands, thumbs, and wrists. At that time I knew a few power chords and could keep decent time, but wasn't serious or disciplined about setting goals and learning. Now that I'm being treated in my 40s, I've built a Tele partscaster (to learn more about that, too) and progressing faster than I've ever did as a teen/20 something. I'm taking a more theory based approach, which has been invaluable. This channel has been one of the best finds, not just for theory and technique, but for great advice like in this video. Eternally grateful. Keep pumping out the great content.
Thank you Brian in helping to setting my goals for this year.
1. Surely, get back to participating in the monthly challenges. That includes playing 20 minutes a day.
2. Attack the list you made one by one. In the process, be better in understanding the Blues.
3. Have 12 easy, popular songs as a repertoire, for those awkward times when in a friend and family group people ask you to play something (and actually expect you to play something that they know).
Cheers, and wishing you and your family, and the entire AM community a very Happy New Year 🙏
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. Around 10 years ago, partially due to family commitments, partly from a shoulder injury, I stopped playing. I was looking for a way back in. Although never a good player, where I'm at now seems such a long way to where I was, let alone where I'd like to go. This is a very useful guide to finding my way back.
I guess I've already said : this guy is the best teacher here.
I’ve been watching your vids for years, and have grown in my abilities by following them. However this is by far the best yet, for me anyway. While my playing has advanced, I never set any meaningful goal. One that if achieved I could say, I’ve made it, I hit my mark. This vid helped me to re-access my thinking and in the process realize that this is not an easy undertaking. I had to really step back, and in doing so realized my improvements, while good were aimless. Taking your advise I wrote a goal, and while reviewing it began to see that to achieve it there were sub goals I needed to hit first. In the end, having spent close to three hours, I devised a plan that would ultimately lead to my top tier goal. It’s not an easy undertaking, but one that helped me understand that planning in detail is worth the effort you put into it if you are serious about improvements, and I thank you for helping me, and hopefully others on their road to being our best.
This was very clear and logical and helpful. My goals for this year:
1. Mastering the barre chords and incorporating them;
2. Committing to a daily 20-30 minutes of genuine, directed practice;
3. Adding in knowledge of scales and modes;
4. Learning a new song weekly. (I recently retired, so this set of goals is manageable for me.)
Happy New Year!
I can't thanks Brian enough for the improvements his course has done to my guitar playing skills. I've been "playing" guitar for years or at least thought that I had until I joined in ACTIVE MELODY.
CAGED tick
SCALES OVER CHORDS tick
But if I could pick the most important lesson for me it has to be KEEP IT SIMPLE!!! 💯
Great start to the new year! 1. Keep a daily journal 2. Define Maintenance and Discover for the week. 3. At the end of the week, record myself ( with my phone) in a simulated environment performing a set of 10 songs. 4. Review the performance and set goals for the next week. 5. Then repeat.
Thank you, Brian!
Yes the the divide between practise and discovery is crucial for progression (took my years to realise) . As a singer , harmonica , ,keyboards and guitarist is has moved me on. concepts such as the cage system, modes, scales without thrashing them, tirade’s , arpeggios along with song progression and writing some of my own material. Great guitar tutors like yourself cut through the miasma of information and keep you moving ahead.I’m 63 and have played consistently since 30 (first learnt at 10 via several teachers.) Using the net today ,with set goals is the way to go. I just love music , an eclectic of most styles . I see myself as a work in progression and luckily I have the time and facility to do this. thankyou so much for your work Brian , You are amongst the top in your field!🇦🇺 scott
Spent two years trying to find a teacher like you. Thank you for taking my understanding guitar journey to a 10! Really feel like I'm learning how to play, not what to play.
Thanks Brian!
Right now I took your video with the 1357 targets in blues with a minor pentatonic. I wrote out on paper the scales and the triads to see the links and then play starting easy: one chord as backing plus to hear the sounds of the target notes. Then learning to fill up with minor pentatonic notes. That is where I am. I really want to master this soloing in minor pentatonic with chord tones. Your recent video on that was awesome. It is a great basis to have. Thanks
My goals are to realise it takes time to learn this stuff. Just because another video comes out next week it doesn’t mean it is time to learn something else. Give myself time and be patient. Be realistic.
I really cannot see well enough to write things down and read again later. I have mined a few nuggets of pure gold from you this year. Thank you for that. You do explain things so well that I can figure it out.
I've been a member of Active Melody for a few years and my only problem is there's just too much good stuff to absorb.
This however, is one of the best informative videos i've seen.
Thanks Brian and Happy New Year!
hey does this program have beginner material laid out? Or do you have to pick and choose?
It has beginner lessons as well.
Yeah, I feel the same. Tough to get a weekly lesson down before there's a new one.
Great lesson, Brian, as always, thank you!
Goals:
(1) memorize the fretboard fully and completely - I have a decent percentage of it down well, but I really want to have that as programmed knowledge
(2) build fundamental techniques - I am still early in my guitar and music journey, and I know I need these to be more solid and subconsciously part of my muscle memory
(3) add songs to repertoire
(4) build competence and confidence to play with others and contribute positively
Looking forward to working hard on these and other worthwhile objectives with Brian, the good folks in the Active Melody community, and beyond!
Brian, your videos provide the best instruction on the internet. Not only are you a gifted player, but you have the added gift of being an exceptional instructor... 🏆🙏
Great tips. Every word makes totally sense and follows logically. Thank you 👏👍
Brian, nice lesson. Shows a lot of insight and empathy. You are asking all to be masters of our own guitar fate. So my goals. Practice finding building scales using WW 1/2WWW1/2 and marking them on guitar neck paper graph. 2. Use the scales in the E, D A SHAPES OF THE CAGED- SYSTEM. 3. RELEARN AND integrate the pentatonic part of the scales with “CAGED NEIGHBORHOODS’’. That should do me for the next 6 months. And of course I’ll keep watching practicing your weekly lessons .
As a former teacher I know you are right on in defining a practice routine.
Really good video. Thank you!
1. Learn about five Blaze Foley songs the way he plays them - say one per week.
2. Get stronger in playing rhythm for Jump Blues songs. I'll try one song per week here as well.
Happy New Year!
My goal in the current year is to develop my technique (accuracy and speed) in my thumb and index, middle and ring fingers in my quest to play in the style of Merle Travis and Chet Atkins. And it feels good to define this goal publicly!
Other goals are to 1)keep learning musical theory and to 2)learn to play 5 songs (or more, but definitely 5)…
Thank you for the encouragement that you shared. Each of us needs a nudge once in a while. As a retired person I need to know where all this "extra time" went (;-- )
Amazing summary of what to focus on… looking forward to 2023
🎸🎸Great video for kicking off the new year - or anytime that's right to make a plan. Thanks!🎸🎸
Thank you for this. The suggestion list you talked about is what I searched the lessons page yesterday to get out of the rut I feel I’m in. I’m trying to find a way to learn the notes on the fret board so I can make the triads where ever I need to make a cord. That’s my goal for now. Thanks for the content you put out there. Jim
now that’s a good goal. 👍🏻
Great lesson Brian. I am a long time premium member and have learned so many valuable lessons from you. The goal I’m now working on is to be able to play the chords of the CAGED positions with their corresponding pentatonic and major scales for each. I’ll get there, it’s just a matter of time. I’m a patient man and look forward to enjoying the journey. Thanks again.
My goals for 2023 are to learn all the minor shapes and scales for the CAGED system. To incorporate more triads and modes into my improvisation. To record more of my pratice than I do now. Keep up the good work Brian. I have played for many many years but I realize there is so much I want to learn. Its a fsacinating thing, the more I learn only shows how much I don't know.
SMART Goals from Brian. I love it.
Thanks for being such a great inspiration to all of us on our Guitar Journey. 🎸
God bless you in 2023.
Can’t tell you how timely and helpful this video is. Thank you. Just last night, before seeing this, I started writing down my music goals. I called it my musical TRIP as a way of remembering the goals of Theory, Repertoire, Improvisation and Practice. Still have to flesh it out, but thought having a little memory anchor like that is a helpful way to orientate and clarify my intent.
Love it! I'm now using TRIP as part of my practice map. Thanks!
Thanks Brian, great advice. My ‘block’ seems to be in actually defining my goal. Pinning myself down. I just seem to drift. I may, as a result of this video, force myself to commit to SOMETHING specific. Thank you for your guidance. 👍🏻
That's like my situation.
Thanks for the motivation and the vision. Very helpful.
Hi Brian, thank you for this. I read the book ‘Pumping Nylon’ many years ago. It was about learning Classical Guitar. That author made the same points almost exactly. Sadly I was very young and had forgotten that teaching until this video. As the New Year starts I will be trying to be more organized or perhaps ‘intentional’ in practice. (Too, I am about to retire for the second time 😊).
Something that helped me recently when I was discouraged, was remembering what it was like to learn how to read. I remember the ‘see…spot…r…u..n…see spo…t…jump… It was all individual words, and sometimes letters, with no real phrasing. As I became more familiar with reading, I started to be able to read ahead, and then read punctuation, find phrases, anticipate movement and emphasis. That seems to be where I am at in my musical journey. Playing individual chords/notes one at a time, getting good at it, but it is not necessarily music…yet…but slowly I am learning to read ahead, pause, create phrases, and create meaning with music. Thank you for this reminder and the encouragement. I love that you share some of your musical struggles and journey too. Very meaningful for the likes of me and I am sure others. I have not had a teacher before who was as transparent and honest about the challenges of learning music. Thank you, John.
Thank you Brian it's amazing information I mean I've been playing for too long the wrong way Tuesday night jams with my friends I just learned songs never cared about anything else till I found your station thank you
My main goal is to constantly expand my repertoire. Typically, I do a warmup/strengthening exercises (I shattered my left arm leaving it weak) followed by scales, etc. I might play tunes that I have recently learnt to make certain that I haven't forgotten anything, then I learn new material I usually learn more than one tune at time. Generally, one tune that is easy, one tune that moderately difficult, and one tune that is excruciatingly difficult. (I just finished learning one difficult tune that has taken me over a year to get under my belt.) Excellent video Brian!
This is great incentive for me right now. I've been playing rhythm guitar for 56 years (you read that correctly) and I've been wanting to make improvements to the way I play and just didn't know where to start. This idea of creating the ultimate practice routine is just what I needed for the next step. My goal is to improve my guitar playing style by adding fill licks between chords and to also apply fill licks (between the chords) to create solos for my current repertoire. I will start with Peaceful Easy Feeling by the Eagles and continue from there. Thank you, Brian!
Hi Brian, I wish to thank you for your patience, your creativeness, your incentives in trying to help people like me. I wish I could be part of your premium members but living on an island like this makes it impossible to use bank payment or other bank services that would enable us to go for such things. May be sometime next year we should be to do this. I wish to wish all the best for 2023 and may you continue to help guitar players become better players again in 2023.
Fill licks between chords???? Oh I like that one Charlie.
This is really brilliant, Brian, thanks. All the challenges you talk of - it's good to hear that it's kind of normal, and what to do practically to get past them. And, I love that you''ve started the fiddle. Yes, it's really hard - and very brave of you to record yourself!!
Awseome video. My new Years resolution is to rejoin Active Melody and use it everyday.
Superb summary how to learn efficiently. 👌
I organized my learning into the following categories: Technique, Knowledge, Ear Training, Composition, Performance, Repertoire, Recording and Production, and Improvising. I'm retired now, so I have lots of time to work on becoming a better musician. To aid in retaining what you learn in "maintenance" mode, check out the "Spacing Effect".
I’ve learned so much from your lessons!!! Thanks a lot! Amazing content. I agree 100% on the writing down what one’s goals are. It really works! I’ve done it with your lessons: “I’ve got to learn this piece by the end of the week and improve it by the end of next week!” It really works and it’s measurable. Great piece of advice… Keep’em lessons coming! 🤘🏼
Minor pentatonic all my life so I need to get as good in major. My goals are major diatonic scales, major pentatonics, and major arpeggios structured into riffs in any key without hesitation.🎸
Wow. Thanks for this great list of lessons. So helpful. Also, loved the how to practice info.
Great lesson, and timely as we reflect on the past year and look forward to the next. I attend a weekly jam session (mostly classic country) and my goal is to be able to play a modest improvised solo over typical major chord progressions. I’ve watched a lot of Active Melody videos over this past year, and signed up for the annual premium membership, which I believe will be a great tool to help me achieve this goal. I’ve been working on triads, and will focus on arpeggios and major scale patterns in the months ahead. Love all the great content and really appreciate your teaching style.
This video is exactly what I needed, I’ve been playing guitar for a couple of years now and I’ve got to the point where I’d like to learn how to improvise over tracks and solos etc. but I just didn’t know where to start, so this has been really helpful for me and I’ll have a look at all the videos you suggested, thankyou 😊
Always have a plan is the best way to improve everything in your live, but you are right. Most of us pick up the guitar and play without a roadmap. Thanks for remember me that. I´m going to set my plan right now. Happy New Year
Hey Brian, bang on the button yet again, I can relate to all you've said here. I have "practiced" for so many years and feel like I've wasted most of those years because I've fitted around a very busy life, mostly not fitting practice in at all and now many years later, appear to have forgotten most of what I'd learned. It's only in the last few months that I have been able to be regimental with my practicing (every day) and can see improvement, adding new stuff as I go and guess what, some stuff is still locked in the memory bank from 30 years ago, might not sound great, but its in there, but you have to have a goal and a structure. Some additional points noted and brilliantly explained as ever. THANK YOU.
Hi there. I loved your video. I'm actually an instructional designer and teach instructors how to create measurable learning outcomes/objectives for their courses. It was great to see you apply this concept to practice guitar. Makes so much sense. Thank you again.
This was/is valuable. Aside from practice time and/or setting out to learn particular tunes, I've never thought about setting goals for guitar. I'll do it. Thanks Brian!
Thanks Kim :)
Another great and very timely lesson!
I am going on a journey in the opposite direction as yours, i.e., I used to "play" the violin, and for physical reasons, had to switch to the guitar. My two biggest problems with the guitar are:
1. you guys mainly teach verbally or by showing, whereas with the violin, it is all written. At the age of 72, it is hard to remember what was just shown on-screen.
2. Connected with that is the fact that it is very easy to measure progress on the violin. For a long time, you sound like fingernails on a chalkboard, and then you move up to chalk on the board! Seriously, though, it is easy to gauge progress, because there are recognized series of books of violin exercise and songs that you can use in both Development and Maintenance mode.
I have been using your "prerequisite courses" to help guide my journey, but the notes to this video give me much more direction.
Thanks to you, and other youtube teachers, who have given so much of yourselves, and wishing all a Happy 2023!
My goal is simple and can be tracked. I love to play and sing, so my goal is to play and sing every day of my life. I have always been satisfied with where I'm at, while at the same time I want to understand what I am doing when I play. Music theory is my path at the moment. Singer/songwriter is the ultimate goal. I really liked when you said that "only bits will stay with you to form the player you are." If I never get heard by the public but play and sing every day, I will meet my goal. Thanks for posting this, new member because of this content.
Hello Brian… Thank you for all you’ve helped me with when it comes to my Guitar playing. I know I speak for thousands when it comes to appreciation for your great teaching approach and playing!
Have a great 2023!
You have brought me from cowboy chords to playing and singing songs - I have always loved your approach....thank you
This is great, thanks for the motivation to make a plan. I've been an Active Melody member going on 3 years now and really love your lessons. I'm about to turn 55, not retired but I do have a good amount of time now that the kids are off on their own. I've been playing on and off most of my life but like many I am easily distracted and have trouble focussing on one skill or concept with the guitar long enough to really make it stick. I would love to solve this and maybe your suggestion of writing down goals etc. will make a big difference. Thank you Brian!
If you watch many of the great guitar players teaching on UA-cam, flat picking/cross picking/alternate picking seems flawless and flowing. Same goes for fingerstyle with steady thumb. Self improvement in these areas is a huge goal.
Your lesson is about teaching the best ways to learn. Love it
Brian, thanks so much for this goals video. I’ve been a member with Action Melody appx. One year. My previous was a very bad guitar as I could never keep it in tune. Now I have a Mexican Martin which plays beautifully and stays in tune very well. I’m very encouraged now especially with your goals video. That’s exactly 90% of my problem. My goals, as requested, are to learn the scales and play one hour every day. I’ve been plateaued. Thank you!
Thanks for this Brian. I recently started playing again, got a new guitar, and am really enjoying it in retirement, especially your videos, very inspirational. The situation I have like many others is "drinking from the firehose", there is so much available on UA-cam. This video and the list of areas and videos are a welcome method to get organized and make some progress. Thanks for your dedication and help!
Happy new year Brian, and thank you; as always for your continued wisdom and knowledge.
I have an evolving relationship with practicing; here’s a snapshot of what I ‘d like to achieve in the next couple of years. Most of it will be building on existing knowledge and experience…
Guitar Goals 23/24
1. Learn all 7 natural notes on the neck (FGABCDE) -5 minutes
2. Learn all the intervals in two octave (major/minor 2nd & 3rds, 4ths & 5ths, 6ths and major/minor 7ths, (9th, 11th 13th) - 5 minutes
3. Learn all triads in Maj/Min/diminished/augmented (standard and spread) - 10 minutes
4. Learn CAGED Major and Minor Scales; Harmonic Minor - 5 minutes (alternate days)
5. Learn CAGED Major and Minor pentatonic - 5 minutes (alternate days)
6. Learn CAGED Arpeggios of Maj7, min7, Dom7, Diminished 7, Min7b5 and MinMaj7 - 10 minutes
7. Perfect pitch bending - 5 minutes
8. Legato - 5 minutes
9. Learn Chord extensions - 7ths, 9ths, Sus 2, Sus 4.
10. Chord Substitutions and secondary Dominants.
In my opinion I think most folks would appreciate a straight practice routine. I think everyone has a goal in mind, learning the steps , chords, scales, arpeggios , triads in a routine would be beneficial to all goals.
Excellent topic. I find that if I focus on your many “play alone with no backing track” lessons in a variety of styles is the most helpful and productive learning approach for me.
Loopers are great then you can play the song and play over the top of it
Thanks for the inspirational video. My goal is to finish learning and playing Classical Gas by Mason Williams by the end of January or the next few weeks.
Hey Brian, After more than a few years of being an Active Melody member and never finding time to play, I finally retired. Your comment about forgetting something I learned a week ago hits home with my experiences. Thanks for sharing your personal frustrations and thanks for inspiring me to move forward with a clearer picture of where I'm headed. Ray Z.
Hey Brian, you'll never know how much I needed this RIGHT NOW in my life. Im 65 years old and have been playing for many years. Im in a bit of a slump and needed your "spot on" advice for more productive practice. I did play today. However, I will begin tomorrow morning with a strong cup of coffee and a better plan with specific objectives for practice. Thank you so much!
that's awesome!
Great advice, thanks for all the recommendations. Will really help me build up my plan for the next day, week, month, year!
Hi Brian, practicing is the most loneliest thing going, my Goal would be to utilise all the pentatonic scales and to be able the make solos from them, but with real meaning. A mental block in creating tunes or solo’s.
Best guitar lessons anywhere.
Wow so great to be apart of this lesson,from warm South Africa,Brain thanks I'm learning so much this really helps alot
This is great information. I'm primarily a bass player but I've started noodling with the guitar with the idea to add guitar tracks to my music. Thank you!
Thnx for the video Brian! I wish that 2023 will be a fruitful one for you and your family!
A goal that I have and I am still working on it, is to eventually get to master my trills. I mean MEGA trills. Tony Iommi style!!!!! Yeah.....the big idea is to be able to play most of Black Sabbath songs....I really really Tony's playing!
Great communication skills. It's been 30+ years since I last played and just began lessons a month ago to really learn what I never knew. I really appreciate how good these presentations are.
This is perfect, I’m trying to set goals for improvement in 2024 and this provides guidelines. Thanks, Brian.
Hi, Active Melody. I just started watching your videos, and the content is amazing, I have been learning so much more about guitar since watching. Thank you, and have a Happy New Year👍👍
Awesome. Thanks! I needed this. I literally said to someone today that I’m spinning my wheels playing randomly and not really accomplishing anything, I need to pick a direction.
Great points about practicing. I’m looking forward to retiring one day so I can have a regular practice schedule with hopefully less responsibilities. I find that for people with busy lives like me it’s good to take simple ideas once a week and work on them daily. Thanks for all the great lessons Brian. Keep them coming. You’re a great teacher!
Brian. First of all I love your channel. My first goal is to completely learn 5 acoustic and 5 electric lessons. I learned the acoustic Layla solo and that does stick. I’d like to have a repertoire of 20 songs and gig someday. Also, a comment- I followed Stitch and his improvising involves finding flat 3rd, major 3rd, perfect fifth, flat 7, blue notes. You don’t go there with us. Maybe you think it’s too advanced but it can be applicable to improving.
End of 2022 and Active Melody now has 483 thousand members on UA-cam. Good advice Brian. The advice that set in stone is when you said " MEASURABLE ". Happy New Year Brian and family and all.
I’ve been playing guitar for 10 years and play 10-20 minutes daily, depending on how inspired I am. I also play harmonica which is way easier and intuitive. I watched the Rick Beato interview with Sting last week and am now learning to play Fragile. Beautiful song and super fun to play. This is typically how it goes for me. I learn songs that inspire me and neglect the hard theory stuff. I have many songs that I’m comfortable bringing to jams with friends. I have a looper and in the past year have started using electric guitar with delay and wah pedals. My weakness is definitely soloing. I’ve always had the first position of the minor pentatonic with a couple extensions. In the past month I’ve dedicated myself to learning notes on the fretboard and I am now comfortable moving between three positions of the pentatonic scale. My goals for 2023: intentional daily practice, learning and incorporating the all pentatonic positions, incorporating those over my loops/jam tracks. I use fill licks in many of the songs I’ve learned but another goal is to start building a bank of licks and incorporate those into my solos. Currently I just noodle when soloing. Next, I want to do the above with major pentatonic scale which will be totally new to me. I’ve been dabbling with triads lately and will move onto those once all other goals are met. I’m feeling quite motivated and am confident I can largely meet these goals with intentional focused practice time. Thanks for the timely video. I’m going to write these goals down and get started. Best wishes to all of you on this awesome musical journey.
Sounds good but I would advise triads and major pentatonic plus the major scale intervals right now... it'll rocketboost your fretboard knowledge and comping and soloing... go slow and integrate... it's fun
@@nunca112 Thanks for the advice. That does sound like fun and I’m sure it will keep me motivated. Cheers!
First of all thank you Brian for all your valuable lessons. I have been thinking about the way to practice in a more effective way in the last few weeks, and this video taught me exactly what I needed to do!
Thanks very much. Appreciate your teaching style and clarity. I never thought of journaling practice time. Sharpening my pencil now! Visiting your website once my pencil is sharp.
Brian thank you for your hundreds of wonderful lessons😊 and the great time you've been giving me with learning and exploring my guitar and playing the Blues🎸!!! I won't ever stop! Happy new year to you!
I am signing up for your course right now, that will help me work through the scales, triads, arpeggios and incorporation all these things to be a better melodic player who has a solid understanding of the neck. Tony Robins would say "Chunk Method, taking a bite off the huge under taking. Bite by bite my knowledge will build. Thanks for all you do to help all of us be better guitar players and musicians. Happy New Year!!
Happy New Year Brian,
Goals are to
- gain speed
- caged system and learning my fretboard better
- 6 challenges
Thank you for your lessons, content and videos!
Great video, as usual. My discovery practice is to continue to work on accurately playing the melody of a song (note for note) using the various scale patterns. In other words, training my ear to hear the interval changes. I've improved a lot but still need more work...probably a life-long pursuit. Also, playing over the changes particularly when an oddball chord comes along. Finally, hearing the chord changes and being able to chord along with a song without having a chart just based on what I'm hearing. This can be hard if there are borrowed chords, inversions, etc. The journey is never-ending but you've helped me advance a lot and I really appreciate what you do.
Excellent advice and direction. You're a good teacher Brian. "It takes one to know one". And yes, for me too about writing things down. I think of journaling which to me has that common ground with music, a doorway to one's true self, connected to "the field".
Really enjoying your teaching style and strategic approach. One goal that comes to mind is applying the caged knowledge in the right way so i can play seamlessly up and down the neck. Combining arpeggios, triads and 2 note chords and not just jumping to the A shape or D shape. Its rare I watch a video and take notes... thanks for the useful insights.
Maintenance Mode hell, that's where I've been for a while. I start each day with good intentions and quickly resort to MM. Thanks for the direction!
The use of S.M.A.R.T. goals: (specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time bound) is really important for making, analysing and measuring progress. e.g. by the end of this month I will be better able to i) improvise using the minor pentatonic in the key of Eb including ii) vibrato and bends in the style of SRV.
My next goal is to improve my rhythm playing, specifically the right hand. Measured by being able to accurately target individual strings, double stops and triads while maintaining a steady, consistent strum pattern.
Thanks Brian, this is what I've need to concentrate on. Like others, I'm old. I've been doing things the wrong way, without a plan, just playing the same old stuff hoping to get better. Lose interest for a little while, then come back & start again. Thanks again, for this lesson!
I'm a Covid player who hasn't progressed much beyond chords, scales, and some theory. I definitely like playing the melody of songs vs. just the chords. I think my biggest blocker is barre chords and trying to use backing tracks to expand beyond the comfortable maintenance items I've learned.
Great advice Brian!! My goal this year is just that, set goals and start practicing and stop noodling. Love the videos, keep up the great work. A happy new year to you and yours.
See you in next year man! Love your basic blues lessons, I learn a from of them.
I'm working on my fret hand efficiency. Reaching that low E in particular without strain. Thank you for the advice!
Thanks for the list of key lessons Brian.very useful.