@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

@pehlmanr

Hi there!

I’m using two microphones, and usually it’s a couple of Neumann TLM 102.
From there I go into a simple preamp/daw which is called steinberg UR44. I use an iMac with protools.
When I record I have one mic around the 12th fret and one mic on the bridge.
In any recording software program like protools or similar, you can pan the channels right and left - and I usually pan one mic around 35 to the left and 35 to the right.
I do a simple eq mix where I usually cut a bit of bass and get rid of a couple of harsh frequencies in the upper midrange etc. maybe boost the highs a bit on the bridge mic.
And I add reverb to both channels.
Very simple recording process and I don’t do much at all really, just two mics and a bit of work with eq and then add reverb.
Kind regards /Emil

@fabs
Hi!!
Thanks so much for the feedback. I'll look into if this is possible to do!

I'm glad you look forward to the lesson! Happy practicing! :)
Kind regards/E

@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!

@tommy
Thank YOU! :)

@tommy
Hi Thomas!

The lessons have different skill levels, although most of our material is in the upper intermediate to advanced field, with the majority of lessons focusing on fingerstyle guitar playing.

At the moment, there are no specific suggested order when it comes to the lessons, but the free course "Fingerstyle Guitar Basics" is a good start if you want to learn more about fingerstyle guitar and how to get the thumb more independent from your fingers. There are short promos for almost all lessons, so be sure to watch some of those first to see if there are any specific lessons that interests you. As a premium member, you get access to all the material on the site! A good thing might be to start with some free lessons, and if you like them - continue and subscribe for a month to see if you like the content. You can always cancel the subscription before the next billing period.

Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any other questions! I'm here always, happy to help! :)
Kind regards/Emil

@tommy
Hi Thomas!

It still sounds good without the amp, although my main guitars are not very loud unplugged. They're kind of "made for" playing through the PA, but they still sound good unplugged - just not very loud. It all depends on your playing technique and how hard you play, and how low your action is and most importantly what specific guitar you're using. I'm playing with fingers/nails and thumbpick - and I don't play really hard or loud at all. This can be a disadvantage when jamming with a bluegrass player or a Django style player - in those cases - I definitely need an amp to be heard at all - haha! When I'm home I almost never play through an amp. The amp that I'm currently using live is the Da Capo 75 (Udo Roesner) amp, which is wonderful. I also play jazz guitars and nylon string guitars at home, and telecasters too. Sometimes plugged into a fender Princeton reverb amp, but I don't have it loud at all.
Hope this helps!
Kind regards/E

@kavusha

The palm muting is all about putting the hand on the right spot of the bridge to get that sound. On a nylon string guitar - the bridge is further back and it's not as comfortable to have the hand in that position. A bit easier using a steel string guitar in that sense. I don't have a good answer to help you with your palm muting - it should be a matter of right hand position on the bridge so I hope you can find it and experiment with that.

My guitar is a Mason EBG808 artist model, and I think the nut specs are on Matons website. I'm not sure of the measurements myself - but it's a fairly standard neck, and works for me. There are no such thing as a general rule about nut width for fingerstyle guitar - it all depends on your playing style, your hand positions, size of hands, and general taste.. I always recommend people to try a LOT of instruments to find what suits you.
Kind regards/E

@25jonathan

Hi Jonathan!
So sorry for the late reply!
Really glad that you're part of the site!! :)

This is a great question, and many players are wondering about this.

The reason for anchoring the pinky on the pickguard is for stability and so that you get a steady right hand that is not floating around too much when playing. Many people do this - such as the players you mentioned, but also Chet Atkins and many other great fingerstyle players.
The big advantage for this is that you can bring up your hand from the bridge - so that you don't mute any strings, but still get a steady hand. For instance, watch Tommy at 4:28 in this video, where he plays a open string run (in the song "blue moon") with all strings ringing out beautifully - but he still has that steady hand floating over the bridge - because he is able to use his pinky to have a real steady hand even though nothing is muted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZA7g0A7asI

Some players rarely do this, like myself. I get the steady hand from having my palm on the bridge and/or from the right arm against the top of the guitar, so to speak. So when I don't want to mute the strings and play an open run for instance on the lower strings - it's a little bit more difficult for me to have a real steady hand without muting anything.

So I'd say that using your pinky on top of the guitar can be a great thing! But if you're like me, that might not feel natural to do - and that's ok too! :) Some players rarely use the pinky on top of the guitar and sound great anyways, so it's all about finding your own way of playing that feels good. Try practicing an open string run using most strings - and see if you can get your hand real steady without muting the strings. That's a great way to work on this!

Hope this helps!
Kind regards/Emil

@larrydeitch
Hi Larry! Sorry for my late reply!
I'm not able to offer TABs for this arrangement because of copyright reasons. So glad you like it though! Let me know here if there's anything you're wondering about regarding that arrangement - maybe I can help in writing.
Kind regards/Emil

@chris-0
Hi!
Have you experimented with different brands of strings? Certain strings bring out the best of the instrument, and it's great to try different types of strings and brands to hear what strings work the best for that particular instrument. If it sounds boxy, I'd definitely think it would brighten up with the right kind of new strings.
Kind regards/E

@kavusha
Hi!

I use all of those scales/modes that you mentioned there, although I have to say that I rarely think "one" scale or one mode when I am playing. If I'm in a minor tonality, the minor scales/sounds are all available to me - I can bring out the particular sound that I like in the moment, and blending different scales and arpeggios. Same goes if I play over a major tonality, or dominant/altered chords. There are many choices to choose from in each of those "sound worlds".. It is important to mention that I wouldn't be able to bring out any sound that I want in the moment if I hadn't worked on each scale/mode individually first when I learned them. So it's a great idea to learn all of them, and try to hear the sound of each one. After awhile you'll not think too much about the scales. You'll know where to find the sound that you want to hear instantly without thinking about it.
Kind regards/Emil

@kavusha
Hi Kavi!
When you're not able to get a clean muted sound on the 4th string - what technique or finger are you striking the string with? Or are you using a thumbpick, or pick?
Kind regards/E

@elzevir-block
Hi there!

The tritone substitution concept does not always include only dominant 7th chords. The most obvious choice of chords (using tritone substitution) for A7 and D7 would be Eb7 (instead of A7) and Ab7 (instead of D7). However, you can always try other chord qualities as well, such as maj7 chords in this case. The original progression is just G7 going back home to C. I added a D7 (dominant V chord of G7) before the G7, and an A7 (dominant V chord of D) before the D7.
Instead of keeping it that way, I then used the tritone sub on the A7 and D7, finding the chords Ebmaj7 and Abmaj7.
Original progression: G7 ---> C...
New progression: Ebmaj7 ---> Abmaj7 ---> G7 ---> C...

Now, you could look at this progression from another angle too;
The Ebmaj7, Abmaj7 and G7 chords can be found in the key of C minor. So you might analyze this as borrowed chords from the C minor tonality, rather than C major.

Hope this helps!
Kind regards/Emil