Thanks Robert. This exercise is incredibly good for my fingers. This is actually the first time I’ve done such exercises. You made the exercise so musical that it's fun to practice it over and over.

Especially when it goes from the high E string back up to the low E string, I really feel like I'm playing a little song.

And stretching the fingers while going through the scale helps me to develop a better finger feeling for other songs as well.

By the way, your brand new exercise  « YL46 Triplet blues lines » goes in the same direction: finger coordination. Thanks a lot 👍.

It's quite challenging, but it's good to get out of my comfort zone and just take it slow!

I think this exercise might help me get a better handle on the beautiful triplet line at the end of your Jingle Bells Blues that I'm working on right now.

And regarding

Posted by: @robert

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I will create more complete exercises like this with Soundslice. For example, this one scale all over the fretboard, but broken up into sections like this video. Then play a section with different sequence patterns too. Guess what, eventually it's going to sound like music!

That sounds great Robert and I would be very happy about that.

Birgit

A year ago I promised to practise Robert's version of Jingle Bells Blues, and soon it will be that time again: Christmas is just around the corner.

For over two months now I have been busy caring for a family member and have had little time to practise. Now that he is feeling better, I decided at short notice to make a recording of Robert’s version of the Jingle Bells Blues.

I've only recorded the chorus, the verse and the solo at 120 bpm. That's enough to keep me focused on all the double stops.

I hope to be able to play more smoothly next Christmas !

I also dared to try chroma keying for the first time and recorded the solo in front of a green screen. It still needs a lot of practice, so I apologize for the beginner quality.

The lake video for the background is very recent, I recorded it this morning at the Lake Lucerne, with the Stanserhorn in the background. It's my favorite place for swimming and stand-up paddling and a place where I can recharge my batteries.

Birgit

@bluesiline You are an inspration and making such progress!  I see you bouncing along to the beat just like those ducks are bouncing to the waves in the water.  It is the same concept and I'm sure you can feel how much that makes you a part of the music.  I was really impressed when you moved onto the solo!  That's Rockabilly riffing and with those double stops you are killing it.  Wow, and then up the neck, too?!!!  Oh, My... Oh, My.  You dare to try and you definitely fly with dedication and no fear of falling.   

My hat is off to you!  Cheers!

What a stella performance Birgit.  Reaaly enjoyed every moment.

You even tackled the solo at the end.  Bravo!!!!

@bluesiline Birgit first of all, It is good toe read that he your family member feeling better now. And wow what a respect in your guitar progression. It's great to see how you play Jingle Bells, can't wait to see your new version next year. I allays like to see you play.

And you chroma key looks good to me! I love to see you favorite place on the background. And if you looking good you can see the black ducks dancing over the water 😀

Wow, you really did it! I love it! You know, it's so great to see your improvement from a few years ago. This a great accomplishment. 

I keep thinking I made an unnecessary challenging solo and I should do another solo that is a bit easier, but you still did fantastic.

Thank you so much for your kind words, Clayton, Craig, André and Robert. I am very happy about it 😊.

Robert, I want to thank you again for the wonderful Jingle Bells Blues. It was just so much fun to work on. Simply great for learning and feeling good 😊. 

At the beginning I wasn't sure if I could get the double stops and triplets under my fingers. But the journey was the reward for me, and your wonderful, driving backing track has always pushed me forward when practicing 👍 .

I think the position of my strumming hand has already improved. Now it's just a matter of loosening up the hand a bit more. And to play more cleanly and smoothly. I'll keep at it.

I've been so focused while playing, but maybe I can practice a little smile too 😉. 

And, Robert, I don't think the solo is unnecessarily challenging, as you say. It's wonderful as it is. I think everyone can change difficult passages so that it suits individually.

Thanks a lot

Birgit

Our last jam is still having an effect on me 😊, so I'm sending warm greetings to all members at the end of the year with a solo in G minor with only three notes.

Birgit

@bluesiline Always great to see you playing Birgit.
Thanks for sharing!
Like to see you play in next year too.

And for every one a great 2024.

Nice approach! I love seeing you do this. It sounds like the G string is out of tune perhaps? Keep doing more of these. Your phrasing is really sweet.

I also noticed you've worked on your vibrato! Really nice. With the reverb on there, it sounds very sweet. Reverb can have a huge effect, depending on the tone used and the style of playing/song. 

@robert, I followed a German workshop on G harmonic minor arpeggios last week, where a bridge was built to the meaning of the harmonic minor scale from classical music to Heavy Metal (Yngwie Malmsteen). New worlds opened up to me and I now listen to Yngwie with completely different ears!

The harmonic minor scale has fascinated me ever since and I am currently trying out arpeggio training in G harmonic minor.

The video is taken from my current training. That's quite a challenge for me. I am at the very beginning, only with foot tapping.

My fingers first have to get used to the big jumps, e.g. from fret 15 to 10 on the high E string, so I can't work with pull-offs and hammer-ons yet.

Birgit

@bluesiline Well done Birgit, Not easy to do!

That is great! Exercises like that help with finger dexterity and technique. It's important to also learn the chord created by these arpeggios, so that you understand better what you are doing. You could try to play the chords in the same order as the arpeggios - I bet it will be a challenge too! Remember, an arpeggio is a chord being played one note at a time, sequentially.

Posted by: @robert

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You could try to play the chords in the same order as the arpeggios - I bet it will be a challenge too! 

That would definitely be a challenge for me, Robert, looking at the chord progression!

| Gm                  F#dim/A         | A#            Cm(no5)     |

| Gm/D                                    | Gm/Bb      Adim          |

| Dm(no5)/F       C/E                 | D             Am7/C        |

|  Gm                                                                          ||       

Yes, I could try to play the chord progression with the guitar. If I could manage that, I could use the chord progression as a backing track to play the 16th note arpeggios over it.

Thanks for your suggestions,

Birgit