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Blues I Can Use?

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(@coloradofenderbender)
Noble Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 1106
 

Got both BYCU and More BYCU a few days ago from Amazon. What get resources to really get into the blues! Thanks Margaret, for the recommendation!

The first few lessons, while not too difficult for my level, certainly have helped me with my blues phrasing - the cd helps out alot in that area, at least for me. Plenty of good stuff in both books, to last me quite some time!

Are there any other books out there, for different styles, that are of the same high quality as these? Most style books I find are pretty basic or just an overview.


   
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(@drpool)
Eminent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 28
 

Great thread all. I've been following along and lo and behold I've just learned that my teacher is moving out of town just before Christmas. Bye bye lessons, at least with this guy. So following the lead of those here I just ordered the book myself and am looking forward to starting up with it once my lessons are done. We are just getting into some blues scales and 12 bar stuff so I think the timing and topic are coming together perfectly.

BTW, scored BYCU last night on ebay for just under 10 clams, shipped.


   
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(@crank-n-jam)
Noble Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 1206
 

Add me to the list. After reading about it I picked it up from Amazon. I've been needing some direction in my "blues" playing, and this sounds like what I need.

I also ordered the Guitar White Pages book with a ton of songs in it! :)

Jason

"Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution"


   
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(@coloradofenderbender)
Noble Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 1106
 

I am working on the 2nd lesson in BYCU. Nothing so far that I haven't seen already, but the book is well done and I have decided to follow each lesson as though I am learning it for the first time. I am practicing things I "know" but the reinforcement helps. I also peaked ahead and in a few lessons I will be working on more advanced stuff.

I recommend this book highly to anyone wanting to explore the blues!


   
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(@margaret)
Noble Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 1675
 

Reminder--a CD of just backing tracks for the songs in BYCU has become available very recently. Think it might have been mentioned earlier in this thread. It has each song at full tempo and at a slow tempo. Plus, in Windows Media Player you can vary the tempo further.

The BT CD is helping me hear my mistakes better (a necessary evil, in order to fix them) and also improve my timing, as on the songs I'm working on, I have to come in on the count-off, before the back-up band starts.

It's available through the BYCU website http://www.bluesyoucanuse.com/index.html

Margaret

When my mind is free, you know a melody can move me
And when I'm feelin' blue, the guitar's comin' through to soothe me ~


   
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(@slejhamer)
Famed Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 3221
 

Margaret - what's the quality of the BT CD? John said he used midi for the bass and drums ... I have been hesitant to buy.

"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."


   
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(@margaret)
Noble Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 1675
 

When I heard the word MIDI (after I'd already ordered the CD) I thought eeeuuw.

Maybe it's because I'm so focused on my own playing that I haven't listened to the CD very critically, but honestly, I haven't noticed anything undesirable about it. Of course, I'm only working on the first four songs in the book, so haven't listened deeper into the BT CD yet.

Took the BT CD to my guitar lesson yesterday, and my teacher liked it well enough that he wants a copy to just jam to.

I'll have to listen more closely when I get home. Maybe newer MIDI is better than older MIDI?

Margaret

When my mind is free, you know a melody can move me
And when I'm feelin' blue, the guitar's comin' through to soothe me ~


   
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(@redpoint)
Reputable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 210
 

MIDI just means that the instruments are "played" not on the native instrument. The quality of the MIDI sound depends on what is synthesizing it. A cheap synthesizer sounds bad (think poor PC synthesizers). However, synthesizers get better all the time. In this case, the backing tracks sound fine to me. I'm not a bass or drum player, though.


   
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(@clazon)
Honorable Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 502
 

Just popping this to say I got both books today.

They'll come in handy giving me more structuired practice for the coming year.

"Today is what it means to be young..."

(Radiohead, RHCP, Jimi Hendrix - the big 3)


   
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 GY01
(@gy01)
Eminent Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 19
Topic starter  

My BYCU came with a CD with the songs on it. But they are not backing tracks. I am now working on lesson 8. I have had pretty good luck so far mastering 1 song per week. I am not sure how long my luck will hold out on that though.

I initially start out intimidated by the songs, but after listening to the CD and playing along at reduced speeds for awhile I can pick them up. I still think BYCU is an awesome book. I may pick up MBYCU as well.

My advice to anyone studying this book is to dive right in even if you find it intimidating. Slow the songs down using Windows Media (or some other device that allows you to slow the songs down) and dive right in. By the end of the week you will find yourself playing things you didn't think you could play. It also helps to practice alot. I have averaged practicing about an hour and 20 minutes a day. It is not work for me. I love it and find practicing and improving very satisfying.


   
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(@drpool)
Eminent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 28
 

Hey all,

I'm chugging through lesson 3 and trying to play along at my pc for the first time. I'm finding that I can't use the adjustable play back feature with this cd. Has anyone else had this issue? I can play other files, cds, mp3 and the like at various speeds but no go from this cd at anything but normal speed. I've even updated to the latest version of mp and no help.

Any suggestions?


   
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(@margaret)
Noble Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 1675
 

Hey all,

I'm chugging through lesson 3 and trying to play along at my pc for the first time. I'm finding that I can't use the adjustable play back feature with this cd. Has anyone else had this issue? I can play other files, cds, mp3 and the like at various speeds but no go from this cd at anything but normal speed. I've even updated to the latest version of mp and no help.

Any suggestions?

You have to rip the cut from the CD and save it to your hard drive before you can use the adjustable speed feature on Windows Media Player. At least that's the way it works on my machine--can't do it when playing direct from the CD.

Margaret

When my mind is free, you know a melody can move me
And when I'm feelin' blue, the guitar's comin' through to soothe me ~


   
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(@redpoint)
Reputable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 210
 

Something which I found difficult, but useful to do is to not slow down the tracks, and just use a metronome. This forces you to read the rhythm and keep time yourself, since you're not playing along with any track at all. I had to do this for a lot of the tracks where one track was too slow and the other one was too fast.


   
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(@drpool)
Eminent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 28
 

Hey all,

I'm chugging through lesson 3 and trying to play along at my pc for the first time. I'm finding that I can't use the adjustable play back feature with this cd. Has anyone else had this issue? I can play other files, cds, mp3 and the like at various speeds but no go from this cd at anything but normal speed. I've even updated to the latest version of mp and no help.

Any suggestions?

You have to rip the cut from the CD and save it to your hard drive before you can use the adjustable speed feature on Windows Media Player. At least that's the way it works on my machine--can't do it when playing direct from the CD.

Margaret

Got it Margaret, that did the trick. Thanks.


   
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(@barryo)
Eminent Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 23
 

Guess I'll bump this thread by saying my curiousity got the best of me and I ordered a copy of BYCU today .
Thanks for the heads up.
Now I just need to load up the mp3 player with blues tunes and drive through the Delta for a little inspiration :wink:


   
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