@steviepee
Hi Steve!
So great to hear that you're working on the Banjo Rolls lesson! It's a big lesson with lots of information and the level of the examples are advanced. When it comes to the bpm, and when you can move to the next example;

For me, I've always thought of it like this: If I want to learn how to play something really fast, then I need to practice it slow for a long time first until it's in my fingers and I don't have to think about it anymore. Then increase the tempo. BUT, in a lesson like this the most important thing is to keep things interesting to yourself - in other words - staying for too long on one example can be quite boring, and to be able to learn something new, we have to stay inspired. I'd definitely move on to new examples even if you don't feel like you can play an example up to speed yet. You can always come back later! And when you practice the more difficult examples, it will "level up" your technique and the more simple examples will be even easier.

In the video, I say something like this: "play slow until you're comfortable, and then move on to the next example.."
But, you don't have to master each example up to speed before you move on. Stay inspired - cause that will make you want to practice!

I don't have a certain bpm goal that you should reach before moving on. I just suggest you to keep playing and have fun! :)
Thanks for watching the lesson Stevie, and have a wonderful day! Kind regards/E

@dpmcleod
Hi Dan!
Thank you for your question!

This is a very common thing that most of us can identify with.

It definitely takes time and lots of practice to be able to hear what you want to play, like Joe said. But it's definitely not impossible to achieve.

Overthinking is something that most of us do from time to time, and I think the more I've practiced soloing over common progression the less I have to think when I play. I try to simplify things as well, for instance, the ii V I progression that happens in (almost) all jazz standards as well as in the Jazz Blues. I often times don't think too much about the ii chord. (Dm7 in your example). Joe Pass said once that he completely disregard the ii chord in a ii V I progression in the blues. He's thinking V I.. that ii chord is just "something that comes with it"... a suspended V chord, in a way. So you could use all the "tools" shown in the "Jazz Blues" lesson, and start playing the diminished (for instance) already when the ii chord comes up.. cause it goes by so quick and we actually just hear that V chord being altered in some way, we don't think about the clashes that may happen when playing altered scale over the ii V or even the diminished scale.
But that was just a side note.

The difficult part can be to learn to resolve the line on the next chord. It's important to land on a good note and I think this is very good to practice. That's when we hear the changes, when resolved in a good way. If you add some practice time where you only focus on playing simple ideas that resolve in the right place. Maybe play a line and resolve on the 3rd of the chord, 5th of the chord or something.. that helps a lot for me. So maybe play a simple line over G7 (like an ascending G7(b9) arpeggio starting on the note B, (major third) over the G7 chord and then resolving on the major third of the C chord.. for instance note choice could be: B, D, F, Ab then down a half step to G, then F, and then D, D# to E, in a chromatic way to resolve on that E.. Difficult to explain in text, but Maybe you can try a simple lick like that and really really nail the resolution and use it in different places in the jazz blues when playing on a chord that leads a 5th up like G7 --> C or E7 --> Am.. (but then resolve on the minor third of the A chord obviously)

You'll be able to hear more of the lines the more you practice and get comfortable with the changes.

Hope this helps a little and let me know if you have more questions! The "JAZZ LINES" (vol 1) lesson about the ii V I can be a good video to watch for you I think!
Kind regards/Emil

@dengqinghua_42
Hi!

When I make a pull off like that, I mute the e string with my left hand index finger. I do it without thinking about it, and it will become something you do without thinking about it if you’ve done it enough times.
Kind regards /Emil

@al_tennant Hi man! I asked a really good friend of mine who knows a LOT about this.. Here's his response.

Lots of changes.. before I tell you all the changes ,, I will say .this..is 90 percent in your hands.. but some things hold true about the construction
54 were usually one piece ash.. good tone wood.. and then sprayed or painted with a natural lacquer.. by late 60s they would chop down young "green" still moisture in it.. trees glue then to get her and spray polyurethane on them.. (plastic"
The pickups changed dramatically using inferior white and parts...any little difference to save money... shape of the neck.. even some of teh routes were different...

Through the 60s they basically left the design alone.. into the 70s ..just like cars here in the usa.. they started trying for a higher profit margin.. one way by making with cheaper components.. the general result was a heavy, non resonant shiney guitar....but having said that. Jimi Hendrix made so early 70 s guitars sound pretty good........

I'm happy to be part of ProGuitar! This will be fun!

@Fabian-Leandro Welcome Fabian!
Just saw your jazz blues take in Bb! Happy to see you here on the site!
Kind regards /Emil

@rghammond
Hi Richard! Great to see you here on the site! I'm glad you liked the rendition of Jingle Bells! It's a fun arrangement for sure! Welcome to ProGuitar! /Emil

@FlorianFaber That's awesome!! Thank you for playing it.. more fun stuff will be available as we begin to build this website more and more!

Nice playing Florian! Welcome to this forum, looking forward to hang out! /Emil

WELCOME! :) /Emil

@kavusha
No problem! :)

@kavusha
Hi Kavi!

Thank you so much for the question and sorry for the delayed reply! I’ve been away on tour and have not been able to catch up with the inbox and forum.

For me, the most important thing is to really learn the major scale in all positions. When you really have the major scale under your fingers in all positions of the guitar neck, you’ll have a much better foundation to be able to learn the most useable modes of the major scale.

Eventually you want to be able to understand the modes so that you know how they’re built.
For instance, the mixolydian mode is nothing but a major scale with a flat 7th. And it’s important to understand that, and to be able to recognize the sound of the mode.
So initially you need to practice the major scale enough so that you don’t event have to think about the fingerings. Next step is to understand each mode and how they’re built - and it’s much easier to do that once you know the major scale really well. Because the patterns are all the same, since the modes come from the major scale - just like we talk about in the video lesson.

Hope this answers your question!
Kind regards /Emil

@phil-griffiths
Hi Phil!
Thanks for checking out the video! I’m a big Robben Ford fan myself :)

If you use the diminished 7th arpeggio on a diminished chord, like A dim7 arpeggio over an Adim7 chord for instance - then we start on the root of the chord (and then play the arpeggio - minor thirds on top of each other) to get the right notes and right sound over that chords. (Notes: A, C, Eb, Gb)

What I talk about a lot in this video though, is the use of the diminished 7th arpeggio over dominant 7th chords. We use that to create tension, leading to the next chord.
So if we play the diminished 7th arpeggio over a dominant chord (A7 for instance), we start on the flat9 (which is the 2nd note or the scale if you of the chord and then play the diminished arpeggio.) Because otherwise we don’t get the right notes over that chord. You can also start the arpeggio on the 3rd (C#), or the 5th (E) or the b7 (G) or the b9 (Bb) like I mentioned above.
We are treating that A7 chord as a A7(b9). That’s why we don’t start the arpeggio on the root of the A chord. Cause then we’d get the notes A, C, Eb and Gb and that won’t work over A7(b9).

Hope this makes sense! Let me know if you have any more questions!
Kind regards /E

@emjime03 Welcome to the site! :D

@dengqinghua_42
Woahhh!!
Very very nice playing! I see that you've used ideas from my lessons and it makes me very happy to see you applying these concepts in your own work and arrangements. I truly enjoyed it very very much. I think you played it with a great feel and and tempo. Even though you might feel that you sometimes lose the tempo when practicing with a metronome etc, all that work practicing with the metronome is important even though you lose the time feel sometimes. I do that too!
And this particular song doesn't need to be played exactly to a click/metronome because it's a beautiful ballad that can be "stretched" in tempo here and there. In a song like this, the tempo should be a bit floating because you're able to be more dynamic with the melody, and it can slow down on some parts and speed up a little, but it doesn't bother the listener because the song sounds wonderful with that feel.

Great work with the harmonics as well.. you're getting a bit too good.... ;)

Very very nice work! Keep playing, you're doing great!
Kind regards/Emil

@brock-sirko No problem! :)

@brock-sirko
Hi Brock!
Thanks for your post!

I don't imagine or think the note names when I play music. In fact, I try to not think too much about anything when I'm playing. Of course, the piece needs to be practiced enough so that you don't have to think about what chord is coming up next or where the melody is. The important thing when you're learning a new song is not necessarily names of the notes but the relation between each not and the chord being played behind the melody. Study the melody together with the chord, and find a way to play the chord with the melody on top. You don't even have to look at my arrangement at all for this. I'd recommend you to play autumn leaves in another key, and find a way to play the song with the melody on top of each chord. When you start to remember and understand the function of the chords as well as where the melody is relative to each chord, you can change the key instantly and try it anywhere. This is how you really learn a song well. When I imagine a song before I play it, I think more in numbers. So you need to know how to harmonize a scale, and what chords are within a scale. Then you put numbers to each chord. In C major for instance, the 1 chord (Roman numerals are often used for this.. ) is the Cmaj7. The ii chord (2nd chord of the key) is Dm7, 3rd chord Em7 etc.. Check out my lesson here on YouTube if you haven't learned how to harmonize the major scale yet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NWF_eAqwOk&t=129s
Try autumn leaves again, and play a simple (without rhythm) in the same key, (Am) and study the chords with the melody on top. Then change key.

Regarding playing live. The best thing I can recommend you to do is to play for people as often as you can. And be OK with you messing up a bit here and there. Because it takes practice to play for people - and the more you do it, the better you'll become at it. So just get a family member or a friend to listen to you perform a song. You'll get nervous even with a couple of people but that's Okey! I've been nervous like that hundreds of times live, but it gets easier if you practice playing for people!
An remember it's not the end of the world if you mess up. People WANT you to do good, they're (the audience) on our side :) Don't be afraid to mess up.. I mess up all the time - but I managed to get past being too nervous to play well but it took time and practice.
Kind regards/E

@brock-sirko
Hi there!

Very good questions, and thanks for specifying what parts exactly. That makes it easy for me to answer your questions more clearly.

You are absolutely right!
Playing E7 - E7 to Am instead of Bm7b5 - E7 - Am is a very common simplification of the progression. In fact, you could actually look at that Bm7b5 as simply a "suspended E7b9 chord". Whenever you have a minor 2 - 5 -1, you can simplify it by playing only 5 -1 if you want. Sometimes it sounds better with the 2 chord before the 5 chord, but sometimes it sounds great simply playing 5 to 1.

This goes for the 2nd question as well - I've just made the progression a bit more simple that works good with that slightly countryish "boom chick" sound :) It's based on a version that Chet Atkins plays (its on YouTube) in the 70s.

Let me know if you have any more questions,
Have a great day!
Kind regards/Emil from ProGuitar.com

@kenneth
Thanks for your question Kenneth!
Would you mind posting a picture of the left hand grabbing a chord that makes your pinky want to go on its side? This would help me in understanding what the problem might be.
Kind regards/Emil

@kenneth
Hi Kenneth!
Really happy you're here at our forum! We're all here to learn! Let me know if you ever have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them right here on the forum. Kind regards/Emil Ernebro