Being a bit haphazard with my lesson choices...
Hey,
I've been taking some of Jim's lessons over the last year since they went to downloads, but I've been a bit haphazard in my approach and have come unstuck in a few places because of this...
Took the 'Bb Jazz blues solo' lesson first and managed to get through that fine, then I went 'Panhandle Rag concepts' and still have some stuff on there which I haven't managed to finish yet as it's completely different to anything I've done before, then 'Monkey In A Movie' was made available so I had to have that as it's my favourite tune and I got that down pretty quickly...
Then my girlfriend heard 'Mr Sandman' and loved it so I thought I'd have a crack at that, and it's just way beyond what I'm capable of, so that's been put to one side for a bit. I went back to basics and downloaded the 'Playing The Blues' lesson, which was really good and, finally, after ten years nearly of playing, showed me how all the scales in different parts of the neck can join up! After that I went with 'Country Lead in G' which I'm about halfway through, but there's one lick with open strings which is taking me a little while to get...
Then (I know, I know) I saw there was a working man blues lesson and, having only recently discovered Live @ Muskokee, I had to have that, so I'm now working my way through that one too!
As you can see I've jumped around a lot - the simpler stuff I've normally worked through and got down in less than a week, but 'Panhandle Rag Concepts' I've had for nearly 6 months, and I keep revisiting it every now and then and making a little bit more progress, and Mr Sandman has just been put on the backburner (no pun intended!) till I can get my head round it (although the working man blues lesson I think will help as it's got some travis picking in it that's a bit more simple)...
I freely admit to being a little fleeting with my attention span - normally I'll really, really, focus on something to the extreme for a week or so, then I'l have to give it a rest, or find something else to do, which I know probably isn't very good for learning...
Anyway, enough beating myself up - I was wondering if there were any recommendations of some simpler lessons that could allow me to get the skills needed to really crack on with panhandle and sandman?
Ideally I'd like to be in a situation so that, in 6 months say, I could play Mr Sandman...
I'd also like to say that these are pretty much the only lessons I've ever taken - I've had one to one lessons in the past but it seemed that all those guys wanted to do was show off their hot licks to you and not actually teach you anything - and I have to say, despite my own lack of concentration at times, I've learnt a load from them! The teaching style is great, Jim always slows down parts so you can really hear the phrasing, and he's nice and charming too! The fact that I can take lessons from one of my new guitar heroes in amazing, and just goes to show how great the internet can be!
I've been taking some of Jim's lessons over the last year since they went to downloads, but I've been a bit haphazard in my approach and have come unstuck in a few places because of this...
Took the 'Bb Jazz blues solo' lesson first and managed to get through that fine, then I went 'Panhandle Rag concepts' and still have some stuff on there which I haven't managed to finish yet as it's completely different to anything I've done before, then 'Monkey In A Movie' was made available so I had to have that as it's my favourite tune and I got that down pretty quickly...
Then my girlfriend heard 'Mr Sandman' and loved it so I thought I'd have a crack at that, and it's just way beyond what I'm capable of, so that's been put to one side for a bit. I went back to basics and downloaded the 'Playing The Blues' lesson, which was really good and, finally, after ten years nearly of playing, showed me how all the scales in different parts of the neck can join up! After that I went with 'Country Lead in G' which I'm about halfway through, but there's one lick with open strings which is taking me a little while to get...
Then (I know, I know) I saw there was a working man blues lesson and, having only recently discovered Live @ Muskokee, I had to have that, so I'm now working my way through that one too!
As you can see I've jumped around a lot - the simpler stuff I've normally worked through and got down in less than a week, but 'Panhandle Rag Concepts' I've had for nearly 6 months, and I keep revisiting it every now and then and making a little bit more progress, and Mr Sandman has just been put on the backburner (no pun intended!) till I can get my head round it (although the working man blues lesson I think will help as it's got some travis picking in it that's a bit more simple)...
I freely admit to being a little fleeting with my attention span - normally I'll really, really, focus on something to the extreme for a week or so, then I'l have to give it a rest, or find something else to do, which I know probably isn't very good for learning...
Anyway, enough beating myself up - I was wondering if there were any recommendations of some simpler lessons that could allow me to get the skills needed to really crack on with panhandle and sandman?
Ideally I'd like to be in a situation so that, in 6 months say, I could play Mr Sandman...
I'd also like to say that these are pretty much the only lessons I've ever taken - I've had one to one lessons in the past but it seemed that all those guys wanted to do was show off their hot licks to you and not actually teach you anything - and I have to say, despite my own lack of concentration at times, I've learnt a load from them! The teaching style is great, Jim always slows down parts so you can really hear the phrasing, and he's nice and charming too! The fact that I can take lessons from one of my new guitar heroes in amazing, and just goes to show how great the internet can be!
Comments
I started the Campilongo lessons in May. Started with "Cat under a Car" which is my favourite Campilongo song. I got through it pretty quickly. Next I thought I would try "F Jazz Blues Concepts". Well I have made some progress on it but frankly I found it a little beyond me. I can pretty much nail the second solo but not the first solo (chords) which is so different than anything I've tried before. After struggling with certain passages for a while I decided to set it aside and try something else. Next up was "Prettiest Girl in New York" which I am still working through but finding easier. I still go back to "F Jazz Blues Concepts" to at least work over the bits I know.
Background: I've been playing guitar for almost 30 years but never took lessons and most of my playing has been pretty basic pentatonic rock/blues type. About 5 years ago I made an effort to self teach myself more about scales and chords which definitely improved my understanding of what I was doing. Jim's playing has become a complete inspiration to me and after reading various positive reviews of his lessons I decided to take the plunge. To be honest, even though I am struggling a bit more than I'd like to admit even after these three lessons I have found that my own playing and material has improved dramatically.
I am going to keep at it because I am finding it so very rewarding.
I've tried to label lessons with "beginner-intermediate-advanced" but I know some wiggle into the advanced zone and can be difficult...especially "Mr Sandman"! I hope if you can't nail every lick in every lesson - you still feel GOOD about learning, improving and having fun.
Please give any suggestions to make our lessons easier... and thanks again -Jim
Thanks for the comment! Don't get me wrong, I think the lessons are great, and, even though I say I've struggled with it, I've learnt LOADS from Panhandle Rag and have even started to incorporate some of the techniques and ideas into my own music - clearly Mr Sandman is an advanced piece (personally I blame you for making it sound so easy! Ha!) but I do find I make a little bit of progress when I do return to it...
One suggestion I might have is suggested 'bundles' of lessons - ie: If your ultimate goal is playing 'x' style or piece, then we suggest you take a,b,c lesson - so that us players who aren't so advanced can pick up the skills needed for the more advance lessons.
I know that could look like you were trying to sell extra lessons, but I think everyone would trust your judgement enough to see that wouldn't be the case.
Like I said before - 10 years playing and these are the only lessons where I feel I've learnt something!!
The "G country" lesson might be my next thing, as I enjoy noodling some G country at home on my tele.