Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Creating the ultimate practice routine for guitar. How to practice guitar – EP498

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In this week’s video, you’ll learn how to set up the ultimate practice routine that is customized to help you meet your specific goals.

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Comments

  2. Steve M says

    OK, I’ll bite. I also wish to learn to play faster. I find frequently I learn the lessons at the speed of the slow walk through ( and from my previous musical training as a classical musician I believe you should learn to play close to perfect slow before you try to speed it up ) but I never get to regular speed on most lessons.

    Then I want to get better at taking songs ( playing by myself ) and creating breaks with fill licks that sound good with the song. ( ie really like what Samantha Fish does when she plays by herself on acoustic for instance Dead Flowers, Need you More )

    Then I want to get someone to give my 1970 Les Paul a tune up and get more familiar with using the new Spark Amp

    I will try to develop some benchmarks over the weekend.

    Happy New Year Brian

    • Matt2d2 says

      this helps me. on the interactive player on brian’s lessons (where the tab scrolls with you) i figure out at what tempo i can play the piece or section of the piece i want to play without mistakes, for ex 75%. next i move it to 77-78% and identify what part trips me up. next i’ll loop that section back with the player speed down to where i can play with the loop non stop correctly . next i move the speed up 2-3% a play the passage with the loop once then skip the next loop through then play again with the 3rd etc. or even play play just 1 of 3 or 4 loops . now when i can play that part 1 time through correctly coming in on every other loop i then try and play it through 2 times back to back with the loop and then pause for the next 1 or 2 loops. then when i can do that, i try 3times back to back then pause. i do this until i can play with the loop non stop. then i bump the speed up 2-3% a repeat. Note i try to identify the smallest part that trips me up so it might be 1 4/4 bar i’m focusing on. another thing that sometimes helps is if i’m at a sticking point i’ll move the speed up 5-8% where i know i can’t play it and i’ll try for a few mins ( not to long) mistakes and all. then i back it down to my speed i’m stuck at and it feels easier and slower to my ear and fingers . hopes this helps

    • chris m says

      Hey Brian, like you, I took up the fiddle last year, and it isn’t easy. After private lessons and web lessons, I didn’t feel I was getting where I wanted so I started making guitar loops of simple songs, knocking on heavens door, can’t always get what you want, etc then learning the pentatonic scales on the fiddle to play along, it totally changed everything for me and it became fun. So anyhow, I actually wrote down a guitar and fiddle list today and am looking forward to working on it. (day one is in the books. Really enjoy your lessons and have improved quite a bit since If been following you, thanks!

  3. Hal D says

    Thanks Brian. I am a total newbie here but I have been playing guitar for a long time. The practice issue is one I have struggled with. Most times I end up just noodling around. So this is a good start for me in this program. I am going to try to be able to read music fluently enough to play a jazz lead sheet reasonably well. That is not a technique goal but getting a piece of music and actually being able to play it on guitar is something I have wanted to do. (Not classical mind you).

    Have a Happy New Year.

    Hal

  4. Greg W says

    Brian – I’ve been a member for about 15 months and want you to know how appreciative that I am of your site, your lessons, your approach and the care that you put into the work that you do. I would say that about 80% of my practice and playing for the past 15 months has been dedicate to your lessons. The variety of genres, the melodies, techniques and teaching approach with backing tracks, scrolling tabs, etc. really helps during those painful ‘discovery’ moments. CAGED, pentatonic scales, associate licks and scales with CAGED etc – has really changed the way that I play and improvise. Still much work to do – but enjoying the journey and playing at least an hour/day.
    My goal for the next 60 days is to take 4 of your blues songs in Open E (EP423, 066, 065 and 213). I’ll learn and memorize these songs and then break apart the licks from the songs – so that when jamming with friends I will have a much greater variety of licks that I can improvise with… rather than just playing the entire song from memory.

  6. Chuck S says

    Great presentation there, Brian. All excellent suggestions. I have only been a card carrying paying member for about 3 months and it has been very good. Just started watching your outstanding lay down on Triads earlier this week and my goal for the month of Jan is to understand it all and be able to play the exercises at maybe a 70% accuracy level, @ .75 speed.

    I am also working on about 5 or 6 of your earlier lessons, mainly the blues oriented ones that go well as solo on Acoustic. There is no way I can keep up with all the stuff you put out every week, so rather than worry about it and get frustrated, I just zero in on the ones I like and plug away at them for weeks, and let the rest sit for sometime down the road.

  8. Robert R says

    One of my goals has been learning more about diminished chords & diminished scales. I know you have a few lessons on these. Could you share an outline by EP numbers of where to find your diminished lessons? Thanks for all you do Brian.

  10. Richard C says

    Hi Brian
    I have been a member of your site for several years. Often I will print out the music chart and play along for a few measures and then something else will come along and I go to the next thing never really getting complete with what I started on, I will set some goals: Learning to FInger Pick, Learning to memorize tunes that I can play for others, placing my fingers better on the fret that I am trying to reach (Often for me with a 3rd finger “trigger finger” issue. on my fretting hand. But at 81 I enjoy learning about the guitar and music in general. Your lesson today was very good and left me wanting to work on the guitar in a more disciplined way. I’ll let you know how this works.

    • Herschel R says

      Richard, thanks for listing my goals for me in your chat. I made notes while watching Brian’s video and looking over the notes afterwards it seems my goals are very similar to yours. Especially memorizing tunes I can play for others; and sing too. Our ages are similar so that may have an influence on goal setting. Learning the guitar and music in general is enjoyable. I may add learning to play a mandolin to my goals for the coming year.

  11. Janelle R says

    I’m a later in life player. Slowly getting there thanks to you Brian. I really want to practice improvising over a 12 bar blues from memory. But up and down the neck with some riffs and fills. I know you have heaps of lessons on this but just pulling something out of the air when another person starts the rhythm I find myself searching through my books to find something to play. By the time I find it the moment has passed and the rest of the group are half way through. I can play the basic riff in E but that gets a bit ho hum after awhile. I’m not sure if I’ve explained this with the correct terminology but I hope you all understand what I mean. If someone has a lesson number I could go to may be helpful. Cheers Janelle.

    • jadm says

      have you looked up Brian’s lessons on mixing major & minor pentatonic scales – then just start working through the keys A,B,C
      this has helped me a lot in being able to pick up a tune in a key

  12. Peter W says

    Thanks Brian. I thank you for all the great lessons, you are both good at playing the guitar and speaking educationally. I wish you and all members of Active Melody a Happy New Year!
    / Peter

  13. Paul B says

    Thanks, Brian.
    Timely message. I “practice” a lot, but when I have a plan, my practice is so much more effective. Thanks to your lessons, I am progressing, slowly, but surely. It’s quite amazing and very reassuring. I have been using the Pentatonic Scale, but really only effectively in Position 1 and 2, as an example. So, I decided to focus on understanding the other positions in relation to each other. My conscious effort and planning helped me to tie them all together and to be able to use them now. Not perfect, but the positions are not a mystery anymore. Deliberate practice of the positions has helped me to be able to see and play them.
    Making a plan and referring to it, often, are my Practice Goals for 2023. I liked your idea of making a plan for the week. This will keep me on track and will allow me to stay focused, one of the biggest problems I seem to face.
    I have enjoyed your lessons, immensely. They are better than private lessons I have taken. I really appreciate your dedication to your approach. It is a pleasure to learn from you. Keep up the great work. Your production value continues to improve and your music is superb!
    Thank you again and Happy New Year!
    Paul

    Thank you and Happy New Year!

  14. jimberna says

    Thanks Brian. A great idea to start 2023. The links to relevant lessons are very helpful.

    I play every day for around 30 minutes but mostly maintenance. Goal 1 will be to fully understand and apply CAGED in my playing. I have messed around with it for years and you mention it all the time as fundamental knowledge but I’ve never mastered it.

    The time has come for a plan and some self -discipline!

    Have a great new year. Jim in Australia.

  15. Michael N says

    Excellent lesson. Goals for 2023: Become proficient at hybrid picking. Improve knowledge of triads to improvise. Work on making my thumb independent from my fingers (Tommy Emanuel has a thumb picking master class video on YouTube but I still struggle). If I get these goals down by 12/31/2023, I’ll be super happy!!! Thanks so much for your excellent instruction, Brian. I’ve learned a lot from you!

  16. Robert Burlin says

    Inspiration move me brightly
    1 hr a day move backwards
    2 hrs a day stand still
    3 hrs a day move forward
    practicing that is

    yep and 3 hours a day is not enough to get where my goals are leading me
    never have goals but thanks to you Brian I will soon
    as soon as I figure them out
    only thing I know is I am going to play in a band
    and I have to do what it takes to be ready
    also
    write songs
    if I could write one every week like
    Brian Does
    with words and nice arrangements too
    now that’s a goal

    happy new year to all and to all
    many more active melody lessons
    to cozy up our Friday nights

    • Robert Burlin says

      After reading what I wrote a few times I have realized
      smaller goals are what will help me the most.
      Maybe getting a better grip on arpeggios
      which after 40 years of playing still evades me
      knowing what to do can be overwhelming at times
      for the past few years I mostly spend
      everyday grinding away on the lesson of the week
      and then I don’t have to think about what else to do
      because I can never spend enough time on the lesson

      time for a change up
      some goals will help
      I trust you
      Brian
      proof is in the puddin they say

  18. Aaron P. says

    Perfect timing for this lesson as we approach 2023. One of my goals is to improve on the CAGED system and triads. I really want to get to where my fingers go straight to those positions on specific chord shapes without having to stop and think about it. Can’t wait to see what Active Melody has to offer for 2023! Keep up your awesome lessons Brian!!!

  19. Paul T says

    Thanks for the video on creating an effective practice routine. This is something that I have struggled with for years. And it is reassuring to hear that even a seasoned guitarist like yourself has experienced some of the same struggles. I also really like your distinction between discovery and maintenance. In fact, I think those terms can be applied to many things in life, like learning a language, or improving your skills as a teacher, writer, musician, etc. Finally, thanks for the suggestions on which videos on the website to review to help reach my goals as a guitarist. I plan to check them out as I figure out my own goals for the new year.

    However, there a few things I know that I want to concentrate on over the next year or two, including creating my own arrangements of songs I enjoy playing, learning how to improvise on my own and with others, and expanding my knowledge of and ability to use scales and chords. Cheers.

    And Happy New Year to all of the folks at ActiveMelody.com. It’s a great website and learning resource. I am constantly recommending to my guitarist friends.

    Paul

  20. Harry B says

    I have been working on Lesson 489 for the past several weeks about the square pattern for staying in the key of a song using the pentatonic scale and I can see how your suggestions, Brian, about how to construct a practice routine could be very helpful.

    I have never had a private guitar teacher, even though I have been playing for about 70 years, so everything I know has been self-taught in kind of random hit-or-miss fashion (mostly miss, I am afraid).

    Lesson 489 was a real eye-opener for me so my New Years resolution is to construct a more organized practice routine around the pentatonic scale and that particular lesson. I have already been working at it and can tell that it is already starting to pay off in helping me improve my playing.

    Thanks so much for the lessons, Brian. I needed them years ago, but thanks to you I am learning that an old dog can still learn some new tricks.

  21. Paul T says

    Hi again Brian

    If you are looking for new ideas for lessons in the style of a particular player, I would love to hear your thoughts on Molly Tuttle. I have been watching some of her videos and lessons, but I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of her style. Cheers.

    Paul

  22. Ray B says

    Neighborhoods. I wish I had more scales, licks, and arpeggios associated with each neighborhood.
    There are already a great many lessons in ActiveMelody that address this, and I wish I could find them more easily when I try to remember where it was I once saw it. (And yes, I have already started my own list of these when I find something that I really want to find again later.
    Happy New Year.

  24. Glenn H says

    I was wondering if you could include a couple measures of rhythm or bass to accompany some of your lessons so I could better use a looper and then play either part with a friend. As always enjoy your lessons. Best wishes in 2023

  25. Paul M says

    Hi Brian Happy New Year to you and all the forum members.

    My ultimate goal is to be able to perform for people even if it’s only friends and family.
    My immediate goal is to play more accurately.

    • Pillarcat says

      That’s just where I’m at, Paul. Two years ago I spent a stimulus check on a gorgeous new guitar. I’m still embarrassed to let anyone see it, because such a beautiful instrument should make beautiful music, but it doesn’t (yet)!

      My goal now is to learn five songs I can play well enough that when I break out the guitar, people will stop chattering, and listen with a smile on their face. No frown producing goofs, please!

      Brian says “Learn to play, not memorize.” However, I find that memorizing, at first, gives me a standard to perform to, while improving my skill, so memorizing five songs (fingerstyle) is my goal, When I reach that level, I mean to bend more toward improvization. But being able to play five fingerstyle compositions well ain’t easy. It’s also been a journey just to define this goal. There have been many dead-end detours getting to this point.

      Remembering how to play the little kinks in a new song is a daily challenge. Improvement is slow but steady. I think it was Brian who said, “You should always be learning something new.” So in daily practice, after a 5 minute or so warmup with scales and a few fingerstyle exercizes, that’s where I start.

      First I work on my newest song. I focus on the parts where I struggle. Often in a few days or a week, I wonder,”what was so hard about that?” It’s a great feeling when that happens.

      When my brain gets tired of the intense learning and I want to quit, then it’s time for maintenance mode, and the easy playing of what I’ve already learned. There’s always improvement needed there, too.

      In all of it, there are things I watch for, such as sitting straight and not scrunching over to look at my fingers (if that’s possible), breathing and not being tense, and correct hand and thumb position.

      At 78 years old, it’s a very slow process. There’s an additional challenge of keeping, and maybe improving my memory, by learning about what foods are good and not good for the brain, as well as exploring what memory pills are effective.

      Reading what Brian has to say about the things I’m interested in is also a help. He’s a great teacher. Thanks, Brian.

  27. Ken C says

    Hi Brian,
    I have been a member for 2 years. I find that i find myself jumping all over the board with your lessons, and not sticking to one and getting to know it before moving on. I try and play every day, sometimes only for a few minutes. Will try and get a practice routine established.
    Happy New Year to and everybody else.

  28. Matt2d2 says

    thanks for this lesson brian. been playing 35yrs. my goal right now is to sit down and write down some specific goals. a big take away from this for me is your part on forgetting things you’ve learned in the past. i thought it was mainly just me that i could spend 2 weeks learning one of your pieces note for note then a week later i would not remember it all, or worse listening to something i wrote and played in the past and having to relearn it like it was a new song to me! That has been frustrasting to me lately giving me a attitude of” whats the point i won’t remember it anyway “, but your right. when i do spend a couple weeks on a song or one of your lessons it always leaves me with something new that does stick with me even if it’s just one cool lick or a different way of looking at things and that’s the joy of music that the jorney never ends!

  30. Werner L says

    WOW, did you make this lesson just for me? I’m still trying NOT to add fire hoses (i.e. investigate everything I come across). I started 3 yrs ago at 71 to find a hobby once retired and mobility compromised (leg amputation) so I picked up my 50 yr old guitar (Harmony Sovereign) my wife bought me when we dated in high school. I knew my open chords and how to strum a bit and learned a few songs from a buddy in Viet Nam. So NOW, with the wonderful internet I was really going to learn how to play guitar. Right! You probably know what happens next. I saved hundreds of song lessons from literally dozens of “teachers,” neatly organized all this info into dozens of categories, and keep saving more and more each day. Lots of maintenance practicing (it too me a month to learn one song). I “practice” (gather more video lessons) 5-6 days per week at least 2 hrs.. I am progressing but SLOWLY! Sometimes I blame my lack of memory since I can’t remember all these notes in sequence and lyrics (e.g. Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald). I blame it on age.

    So I found YOU about 18 months ago and become addicted. (I’ve collected every lesson you’ve sent me..) By far, my favorite program/ teacher. I love your approach and finally feel I’m learning (not just memorizing). Today’s lesson is so timely because I need to make measurable progress.. Goal #1 is focus. Got to limit input from fire hoses, to garden hoses to straws. Got to organize my practice. with specific goals. If I can do that I know I’ll get better faster and be able to improvise (not memorize).

    Side comment: you make it hard to focus when your studio has multiple keyboards, thousands of records, and your house is full of guitars and other instruments, all of which are shiny objects that distract someone like me. LOL Every time I see you with a different guitar, I invariably have to research it. I love those wooden guitars with pick-ups (p90’s??) like “wide sky.”

  32. John F says

    Ideal timing for this lesson. I have just done the same thing for my paddle boarding goals for the year, some are adventures, some are specific timed or technique improvements, and all have a given timescale. I will try and also do for guitar. I tend to finger pick and strum without pick and improving that is a destination path, but having been with Melody Active about 4 -5 months I know I love the teaching style and am learning a lot along the journey. Nice to heard you also forget at lot of what you learn. It is right we all have different ways of learning and see some stay on one lesson until they get as good as they can. I on the other hand love seeing the new lesson every Saturday morning and focus on that for the week and get where ever I can in the week. I mark the page in favourites so I can go back. I am finding when doing new lessons, bits of memory from the old lessons come back which is good. I have found the resent triad series very good and this is helping me move up the neck rather than just playing cowboy chords. I also really liked last weeks lesson, adding to a melody EP497, I like how you built up the levels. In one of the comments above they said about soloing over the 12 bar blues, I think outside of the weekly lessons, I will also try to do one or more of these old Blues in E lessons but continue until I can do it, in time, with with someone doing the strumming. Happy New year to you all

  34. Paul S says

    I’m 72 but every time I come to ActiveMelody, its 1964 all over again. Can’t wait to get started and forget about the clock. But trying some of the sections gives me ‘Glacier Brain’ – frozen solid and barely movin’! Pull offs and hammer-ons are something that I have always struggled with. So there’s my goal. So Happy New Year to all and thanks again Brian for all these incredible lessons. Instead of banging out 6 string chords I’m now actually playing music!

  35. Jonathon B says

    I have identified that must play songs from start to finish, seamlessly. Basically, play songs I know with a metronome.. I can jam along well with our jam band. I can also perform the songs alone at home and sound decent. But when I lead a song with the band it can get pretty bad.. leading for me is cowboy chords and attempting to sing. Lol. Ihave also decided to get the major scale shapes under my fingers.. doing that with a metronome as well.. joining a jam band has been extremely revealing. Exposing all my self playing inconsistencies. Learning to sing and play. Everyone around me says I’ve gotten bearable since I’ve started that. It is a fantastic journey. And Active Melody provides me with phenomenal tools. Thank you.

  37. David B says

    Brian thank you for all you do. My goal is to learn as much as I can to become a better R&B, Blues, Gospel and Jazz guitar player. I will do so by completing all the essential lessons in the 8 categories you have listed here.
    Happy New Year

  38. Mark C says

    Brian, you are a gift to us all. Happ New Year to you and your family. I can’t believe you’ll be at 500 soon! I think I started at about 240 and I’ve learned a ton. Many thanks! Mark

  39. Dale Y says

    My goal is to learn how to improvise and also to be able to not only play some of my favorite songs but to understand the why and not just the how. Case in point, I’m sitting here learning the chords from Tuesday’s Gone by Skynyrd and in the past I would just play the chords without understanding why they sound so good together. But now, I just glace up at my Circle of Fifths printout from Active Melody and find the key of A major. I see the A, E, F#m and D chords on the Circle and now it makes perfect sense why the chords sound so good together.

    Before Active Melody I would have had no idea what was going on in the song. Thanks, Brian.

  41. Tom M says

    Brian – Happy New Year! Appreciate you putting this collection together in one place – great collection and a great way to organize a guitar New Year’s resolution. After playing for about 5-+ years, your site moved me from maintenance mode to discovery mode.

    Keep it up & I wish you the best with the violin man!

    Tom

  42. doctim says

    Brian. Happy New Year. I think year 9 with you is coming up. Been playing most of my life but only since you, have I really learned what this incredible instrument can do. I know good from bad teaching. You’re good. Thank you for doing this. Hope to be with you another 9 years.
    DocTim

  43. Mark H says

    This was very timely for me since I’ve been pondering this very subject of late. I’m not one to make New Year Resolutions but I just might do that today.

    My goals are mainly around achieving a good level of integration of each of the ‘new’ (to me) topic areas into my playing. You might say that’s what we all strive for and that’s true. But it’s helpful for me personally to stand back from it all and be able to set that as a major overarching goal.

    So to achieve that I realized I need to structure my practice to continue to drill down into said topic areas, and put equal emphasis on integrating them into everything else that I do.

    My approach will be to continue to look at each topic area and work with them to the point that I can drop them into songs without screwing up the transitions into the next few measures. I have noticed that is where I tend to ‘lose it’, becoming unravelled slightly moving from one area of concentration to another. Half the time I have no plan for where I’m going next and that’s where the mistakes and cliches are lurking. Sometimes I nail it, all too often I screw up.

    Great subject Brian, thank you for bringing it up.

  44. frankferendo says

    I look forward to the new lessons every week, they motivate me to practice. I really find the I learn new things best when they are part of a new song that I like. I work on it longer and it gives me something I can play for others…and myself. Thanks.

  45. deece says

    Thanks, Brian,

    Just what I needed to help me get unstuck. Have been randomly investigating too much minutia and getting overwhelmed. Have for a long time suspected some simple lesson plans would help. Glad you provided guided categories. Thanks.

    Happy New Year!

    deece

  46. William H says

    Thanks Brian,
    As a “strummer” for 30 yrs I retired from teaching and started to become a more serious player.
    Only recently have I started doing just what you suggest. Learning more scales, triads, and the caged system.
    This video shows I still need to narrow my focus even more to those attainable goals. I think alot of us have the
    problem of branching off to too many things. thanks for the insite.
    Happy New Year to all in the AM community

  47. Jay D says

    THANKS FOR THE DIRECTIONAL ADVICE …… BEEN BOUNCEING ALL OVER THE PLACE FOR AWHILE AND GETTING NOWHERE …… MY GOAL NOW IS UNDERSTANDING AND LEARNING TRIADS ….. THANKS AGAIN FOR PRACTICE OUTLINE………. HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR TO COME BRIAN !!!! JAY DEE

  48. Peter R says

    Happy New Year Brian (and family). I like to thank you for a great year of guitar lessons! My personal objective is to be able to play along friends or a song on the radio or tv in 2023. I am aware I will need to break this down in measurable steps. I especially appreciate your comment to select one specific topic and stick with it for some time before moving to the next. Your website to me often feels like a candy store, with each new lesson distracting me from the previous one. I will need to learn to get some self restrain and stick with something untill I get it. I just need to accept that I need more time (2-3 weeks) to digest one lesson. What I really like about your teaching is that I never get the feeling that I am stupid for not getting it straight away. I appreciate your encouragements to hang in there and not give up. Looking forward to the next year of lessons.

    • Joe W says

      Hey Peter – to combat the problem you mentioned about being pulled from one lesson to another, I set up two groups. One is for lessons I want to learn and the other is for lessons I’ve completed. I won’t pick a new lesson from the “to learn” group until I’ve finished the one I’m working on. I’m always adding to the “to learn” group and that helps me easily find the next lesson to work on. Brian’s site makes it easy to create lists!

  50. houliAK says

    Long time member. I am reading the comments before watching the lesson because I know where it’s going. After reading all the comments, I realize there are so many of us out there with the same issues. It’s kind of like having a fancy car and not knowing where the gas tank is so you pull up to the gas pump and start pumping gas all over the car hoping some will end up in the tank. Im the fancy car and you are the gas pump. I love the lessons and look forward to pulling up to the pump each week but always knew I have poor practice technique. This weeks lesson will help me find the gas cap and get more gas in the tank!

  51. George A says

    Thanks Brian. I’d be interested is drills, shapes & patterns to help play faster and more accurately. Thanks for your lessons. I’ve become a much better player after joining Active Melody. Happy New Year! George

  52. Alan K says

    Happy New Year Brian. As per one of your goal suggestions, I’ve been trying to learn major arpeggios and blend with the pentatonic scale. I’ve been using EP164 as a guide to this. This is an invaluable lesson. I need to be able to see the chord shapes within these patterns so any lessons in the future focusing on this would be appreciated. I’m glad you’re showing progress on your fiddle playing. As far as your progress in increasing your playing speed, I’m kind of happy for you and nervous about future lessons and whether my fingers can keep up.

  53. Casey S says

    Hello Brian and Active Melody Community.

    Happy New Year to all! I have been playing for about 3 years now but just this year realized how to practice and Brian you nailed it with the “Discovery”. It is work and it was hard and made me feel like the previous time was a waste cause I should have been able to get it faster but a few weeks later it became part of my “Maintenance”. It slow and frustrating but I finally feel like I am seeing progress. I wish I have been recording myself all along but I can start now and see the progress in one month, six months, or next New Year’s Eve. I love the easyish solo lessons like some of the blues or country ones where we learn the scale, arpeggio and how they relate to the solo. Keep up the fantastic work and thank you for everything that you do!

    Casey

  55. Charles R says

    My goal is just to have an improvisational groove I can play (loop) over an extended period of time. Usually I just play songs, which last as long as the song does, and then I tack on a lead based on the melody.
    I think attention needs to be paid not just to our goals, but to what impedes progress. Brian I think you’ve addressed this by trying to create simplified pieces. But it’s not the theory that impedes me at all. It’s the ergonomics, if you will. In the simplest of pieces you will throw in, say, an upstroke on the 6 string off of a barre, say, F# minor. And I discover that my barre is muddy and it takes me a looong time to get that simple stroke clean, in the context of the strum. I play acoustic for the most part, which I guess makes it harder. But my typical experience is, I go to simple pieces, very early lessons and micro lessons, trying to find the basis of a groove, and feel defeated by ergonomics that you deal with effortlessly. For example, in EP444 I think, there’s a section of Bm voicings up the neck that switch from Dm shape to stair step (Am shape). That takes forever to play cleanly.
    Other examples:
    A shape up the neck (full barre).
    C7 shape (it’s hard for my pinky to find the string cleanly)
    But I can get the theory of a piece in a string, sometimes almost immediately, and then spend months or years trying to get certain chords / chord changes to where I can play them cleanly and in the time of the song.

  56. Alan L says

    Goals are to work on improvising, extend songs by playing changes. Both with and without backing tracks. I generally have 1 new lesson in queue (discovery) that’s not memorized and a few I’m keeping active (maintenance.) I try to hit 20-30 minutes a day.

    What I love about AM is the content is nested into these fun and musical etudes/jams/songs… super engaging. Kept me here for 2 years, and I keep coming back for more. Thanks a million Brian, happy new year!

  58. Valter B says

    You hit the point for me, Brian. I need to practice with a method or I’ll keep on stucking (and sucking 😅) in the same things.
    I wish I could play more like BB King and I listed this items to work on:
    – vibrato (BB style or EC style)
    – bending and prebending
    – mixing Maj and min pentatonic (outside of BB Box)
    – Rake
    – signature licks (specially endings on bass strings)
    – Dynamic
    – Tonic one octave higher
    – Maj 6 (outside of BB Box)
    What do you and the community think of this topics?
    Thanks and happy new year
    Valter

  59. Matthew N says

    Thanks Brian! These discussions are one of the reason I subscribe. You make this journey of the guitar seem humanly possible 🙂 I am striving to improve tone, accuracy and speed. I want to develop the ability to play a break in a jam session with rhythm and musicality. The modes still remain a mystery.

  60. obie123 says

    Tks for putting all those lessons in a order. Liked the part in your talk where you said everyone forgets stuff. Was thinking it was just because I was a old fart trying to learn to play

  61. Kiwi Rowan L says

    WOW !!!…This video sure got a big response.

    As you say Brian, it can be a very lonely journey learning guitar so no surprise so many of our guitar family have enjoyed an opportunity to share their journey with other likeminded people.

    As you know I have a highly structured approach to my learning just like your list but with an Excel spreadsheet to record practice, weekly cycle plan and 6 monthly checks to measure what I have accomplished across multiple styles of keyboards and guitar. Why? ….. Not just because I’m a bit OCD, but because time is precious, I want to get to my goal as quickly as possible, I’m busy and I need to totally optimise my progress.

    Key learnings for me have been –

    Stay on Course – Don’t allow yourself to be pulled away from your structured practice and tossed with the waves or blown with the wind. if you come across something really exciting you want to learn which is maybe a bit advanced, just record a link and programme it into your plan for later.

    How to Eat a Whale – Take a humble, patient approach. There is no such thing as ‘Learn Guitar in 10 Weeks”!!! If you’re serious and you want to do this properly then set yourself a proper 2- or 3-year time frame just like you are going to school with graduation in mind at the end – break it down into basic blocks and add ‘modules ‘ in a logical sequential order like Brian put on the screen. Plan future lessons like a school syllabus and gradually tick them off.

    Discovery can be mind numbingly exhausting – but is so super satisfying – The key is to just make a start at it and just chip away without feeling overwhelmed. It always blows me away that with just a little bit of tenacity the mind and hands find I can play something by the end of the week that I thought was a mountain too high at the start of the week. If others can do it, so can you.

    Avoid Being a Funnel – avoid lessons coming in the top and just falling out the bottom – Keep a record of everything you practice so that you can revisit lessons many times as they move along the conveyor belt in a planned ‘leap frogging’ type of way so that the production line keeps feeding just a small amount of new stuff in one end while gradually building bigger and bigger permanent knowledge and ability at the other end.

    Structured Revision is Essential – Go back and re-do lessons from 2 or 3 months ago and you discover that there is so much more ‘hidden’ value in them that you missed first time around that you now appreciate with increased understanding.

    My Goal – To one day jam with respected and competent musicians like yourself and be acknowledged by them as a competent musician – to be able to hold my own and then to have enormous fun building on that.

    It is such a feeling of joy and an honour to be part of this Active Melody Family.
    Wishing everyone great success an advancement in 2023.

  63. Mike R says

    Happy New Year Brian, One of my main goals is to play more like you as much as possible. I have learned so much from your site it’s almost all I play. When I go back and play a popular song i find myself improvising using the techniques learned on AM. I have a tendency to try to keep up with most of the lessons and have had to find a system that will allow me to be able to go back and find all the EP’s that I love to play. The more I like the harder it is to keep track of them. I do play everyday and now use your tunes to relax and relieve the pressure of the world. I like it when you relate past lessons to the point your trying to make in the current lesson. I also think you are really great at showing us how to connect one chord to another through a hot tune. I have learned sooooo many EP’s in A minor that I am now using phrases from many different pieces in what I improvise. I would like to see a lesson using rhythm and fill licks, instead of actual speed picking, to create the feeling of playing a faster tune. Thanks for all your wonderful musical ideas, looking forward to 2023.

  64. Murray says

    Thanks Brian, this is the perfect lesson to start the new year on. I know I’m going to be busy just writing my goals down, the first one will be have a structured practice session every day. I’ve been a beginner for about 45 years so there are some old habits to break free from. I think I’ll start with the theory stuff. I’ve been learning songs and licks and stuff but the chord progressions and scales are still a bit of a mystery to me and I want to know the fretboard well. Then I’ll work on the technique a bit more. Oh so much ahead of me.

  66. Dick S says

    Hey Brian,
    I have been with you since about 2012 and over the years have identified around 30 of your lessons that I needed to really focus on and go back to.from time to time to fill in weak spots in my playing. I play at least a half hour each day, almost every day and I can say with confidence that your lessons really help and I am so glad that I found active melody.
    Thank you Brian,
    Dick

  67. John G says

    Thanks for this lesson Brian. Since its the new year, I’ll commit to adding some structure by keeping a diary, defining specific goals and practicing every day. Over the past few months, the triad related lessons have helped my fretboard knowledge. I can now play 12x three note chords in multiple positions on the neck, in all 12 keys, using the circle of 4ths. I could not do this 12 months ago. The CAGED lessons also helped. A big thank you!

    As for goals, I’d like to be able to jam with someone, or accompany a singer; and improve improvising. I’ll revisit ML073 and EP474.

    Lastly, can I suggest two ideas for future lessons? The first is an electric fingerpicking lesson in the style of Mark Knopfler? Recently, I was listening to John Mayer playing a song called Wild Blue, and the solo reminded me of Mark Knopfler. And, the second request is more acoustic bottleneck slide either olde time (Son House, Robert Johnson style), or something more contemporary like Water of Love by Dire Straits.

    • RFY1760 says

      John, I second the request for more Mark Knopfler. I have been trying to perfect Sultans of Swing, on and off, for years! Done With Bonaparte, Lady Writer, Water of Love…. these are all styles and tones I love.

  68. Michael S says

    My goal is to play some of these arrangements up to tempo. So does that mean I need to practice along the lines of maintenance, like just playing each arrangement over and over again? Or is playing the same things over to reach a faster tempo actually within the realms of discovery?

  69. John D says

    Hi Brian,

    I rarely sit and just listen to your videos. However, I was riveted today listening to you speak on setting goals. I retired 2 years ago, got sober, started playing every day and haven’t set a single goal in these past two years.

    Funny how much goal setting drove my career. I am inspired to start again. Thank you.

  72. John M says

    This week I celebrate year 1 with Active Melody. I have been faithful with the weekly lessons and my playing has greatly improved …..to where others actually comment on it! So I have to say a much needed thank you to you Brian! It’s been one resolution that I have actually kept. The main thing I am working on now is turnarounds. I can play here at home fine but get frustrated when playing with others….so I am trying to get them more automatic so I don’t have to think too much about it. I still have a way to go!

  73. Jim H says

    I wrote down my current goal and how to achieve it… and yes, I do have to reread it to see that I’m on track. My chosen goal is keeping me focused on a one specific skill rather than jumping all over. I’m learning to be aware of where I am at within a chord progression when I am practicing a tune, I play the chord first and say it, sing it, out loud, then the play the lick it relates to. It is really helping. Thanks Brian

  74. Dan S says

    Simple. I love those little fill licks you teach. That’s the sound that’s heard in so many successful scores. And they are prevalent in your call and response lessons.
    Without them, many songs just sound like a sing along. Think bends, chromatic , slide guitar, etc.. That’s what I work on.

  75. Pedro D says

    Hi Brian and followers,
    I have started playing the guitar late but I think I have reached a level, a good level for myself. But there is something which kills me. I, not always, keep confusing the right string to play.
    It does not always happen obviously, but certain days it does. Have you got any advice or any lesson to suggest?
    Thanks in advance. I really like your lessons and congrats for them.
    Pedro

  77. Mickle says

    Hi Guys, I haven’t set any New Years Resolutions yet, maybe this is where I start!! Brian: most of your comments in this video hit home, especially the one about forgetting a tune or lick if I don’t play it for a week (it’s good to know I’m not the only one). So I often end up grinding away at a ‘set’ to become proficient at, and then I get bored and stop liking what I was practicing. Then you do some new stuff in a lesson that really interests me and so I spend time on that (and begin to forget the earlier stuff!). You’re right tho’, some of it does stick and I do make progress. The thing I’d most like to become proficient at is playing alongside a jam track. I find I have to concentrate so hard on the music track that it completely screws up my timing and I can’t seem to hear or feel the cues. It’s very frustrating. If you’ve any ideas to help here it’d be great.
    As always, keep up the great work you do, it’s certainly raised my game and keeps me motivated.
    Mike

  78. Lee R says

    Thanks Brian. We spend a lot of time working at playing but not really seeing the results. Measurable goals (like. increasing BPM) is a great way to look at. it. I have one area I. really want to improve if you could point me to a lesson. Vibrato… I can do it a little, but it is irregular and messy. is there an exercise which will help me do it the way BB King did. I’m not asking to play like him. – just add another tool to my tool belt.
    Lee

  79. Bob C says

    I needed to hear that. Thanks Brian. I tend to go all over the map with what I do, and there is SO much information on your site. Any one tidbit can make me think, “Oh, I want to do some of that!” Having you take the time to talk about this process was very assuring, as I can become adrift among these kind of islands of information, any one that can get me excited, but it’s like a kid in a toy store. I need to pick one thing, focus on it for a while, and see measured improvement.. and being REMINDED of that was a good way to start the year!
    Thanks

    Bob

  80. Geoffrey S says

    Thanks Brian! So many time I plan in my head what I’m going to try to “get better at” and when I sit down to actually work on I end up working on a new song the band is working on or some song I heard during the day I liked and want to play. I think where I up is okay, I’m learning something new so that’s good. The problem is I really want to work on the technique and technical part of playing guitar, that has been my goal for at least a year. I think your simple suggestion of writing it down so when I do sit down to practice, I can look at the goals and spend time on that first then learning or improving songs I need to for the band.

    My goal for 2023 is to play faster and find scales faster.

  82. Brad says

    Hi Brian,

    First and foremost Happy new year to you and all of my active melody colleagues!
    I have been a member now for a bunch of years and have always loved your lessons , your skills and your wonderful taste and your thoughtful manner.

    While I have been a guitar player for many years, self taught like so many of us from the late 60s folk movement , I must confess I have always been frustrated by my lack of fluency , and a sense that I may have the ability to accompany myself on a song , play chords and a few not particularly creative licks but have never had any mastery of the instrument both from a technical and certainly creative perspective.

    While all of us are aware of the old axiom that the only way to make it to Carnegie hall is practice, practice, practice, and are also aware that there are special individuals like Segovia, Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson , BBKing and others that have unique and special inborn talent ( who also spend or spent many hours practicing) .

    I have found that I have enjoyed your lessons and have learned to copy your tunes. I am successful playing them but if I leave the guitar aside for a several weeks to a month or more, I no longer have the “finger memory” to play them. It seems as though all I have done is to memorize a particular tune which I can then forget.

    So, the tough question I have to you from my perplexed perspective is how does one truly achieve independent creativity if not more mastery of this wonderful instrument? Should one turn to the basics, learn all foundational music theory, chord structure, learn where all of the notes on the key board are, how to play all major and minor scales, pentatonic scales ,chromatic scales ? Make all of this second nature in order to truly become independent and creative? Indeed is this the approach you yourself have taken to be able to play guitar by yourself, to perform , to play with others and to create your wonderful tunes and lessons?

    I don’t know what my colleagues out there think and would also love to get their perspective. I must confess making substantive progress as a player is a serious challenge!

    Many thanks,
    Brad

  84. Bob B says

    Thanks again for sharing your knowledge about music as it’s expressed on a guitar.

    I also took way too long in establishing a proactive and coherent guitar practice life. I have added songs to my repertoire continuously over the last 40 years but I finally realized, about 2 years ago, that I was gigging with more songs but essentially playing at the same skill level I’d achieved many years before.

    Now that I have a goal beyond being able to play any request (however poorly!), I am much more actively engaged in practicing – and really loving it.

    Again – Thanks Brian!

  85. William S says

    Greetings Brian, thanks for your input for 2022, happy New year to you and your family and more power for 2023, this is a great video packed with lots of great advise , see you in the next lesson. Cheers Will

  86. Lawrence W says

    Hi, Brian, and Happy New Year — good lesson here to start the year!

    I’m 77, been playing since I was 10 — it was Elvis on Ed Sullivan — told my mom that night that I wanted guitar lessons. But I didn’t last long on lessons at that age, and mostly I’m self-taught. I’ve played a number of styles of music through the years, from Folk to Blues to Jazz, etc. So I’ve studied a lot, and I’m very thankful for great instructional videos like yours these days. This specific video prompts two things in particular for me:

    1) I’ve played in a number of bands in my lifetime, but I still struggle with musical invention. I get lots of musical ideas that I like (or, more importantly, other people say they like) but I’m almost hopeless at developing them into fully fledged compositions or even lead lines. At least compositions that I understand intellectually as I discover them, enough so that I can remember how to do it the next time.

    I read music only on a very primary level, and I don’t really write music at all, so unless I have a recorder on all the time (most of which would be a waste of space) to capture my rare moments of “genius” I find that I can seldom reproduce that brilliant piece I stumbled into at 3:00 am. the night before. I really like the way you seem to be able to invent coherent, meaningful compositions for your lessons and make it look easy. However, I believe you must also struggle and use trial-and-error methods to get a final product, yet you seem to have a good system for whittling out many finished pieces. Got any ideas how to help me and others like me who can play pretty well utilize our knowledge as well as you do?

    For instance, where do your ideas come from? A certain chord progression? Where does that progression come from? A snippet of moving melody or a hot lick? A specific artist or style? I imagine it’s all of these, at different times or all together, but an analysis of your thought process and exposition of how you work it out on the fret board (including some of your rejects and revisions) would be very interesting to me.

    2) Apropos of this: you say you’re struggling to learn to play fiddle (surely one of the most difficult — and should I say painful? — instruments to learn) — I wonder if it wouldn’t be inspirational, especially (but not just) to beginners on guitar (or any instrument) if people could watch you in that process. You could film yourself over time, from the very beginning and at various stages along the way to whatever you would consider reasonable success, then edit clips together into a single video (or more than one) that illustrates stages of your learning process and examples of your application toward a satisfactory level of mastery. I believe people could benefit a lot from seeing the perseverance and ingenuity of someone they consider accomplished having to go through the same kind of musical grind they’re “enjoying.”

    Thanks for all your great work. So glad to have discovered Active Melody — just wish you’d been around when I was 10!

  87. Jim J says

    My scales sound like scales. Brian, you make music when you play scales. Hugh coal for me. When I am working on a song and want to add a fill lick with say a minor pentatonic it sounds like a minor pentatonic scale. And that’s no good!
    Thanks for all you do for us pickers on ActiveMelody.
    Jim

  88. RFY1760 says

    This is a great video as I have been struggling with this topic for years! My biggest challenge is I want to learn so much that I feel like I can’t spend too much time on any one thing. However, this video has inspired me to get more specific. I really have two goals… one for acoustic fingerstyle playing and one for electric (and acoustic) slide.

    1) Acoustic – by the end of the year, have learned five popular acoustic fingerpicking songs. That means playing the bass notes and melody. Still working out which songs to do – open to suggestions.

    2) Electric Slide – by the end of July, be able to play slide lead on three songs at one of our local, open blues jams we have each week. This is not so much about learning a song, but learning to improvise in any key on slide. I probably won’t dazzle anyone, just good enough by then to not embarrass myself!

    OK, now it is time to get started!

    Rick

  91. Daniel S says

    I’ve found that one of my biggest problems is when I hear a song, such as, Brian playing “Up On The Rooftop”, I hear this smooth playing and transitions etc. and I want to play like that. I start learning, then I hear another song that piques my interest, and I think, I want to play like that. I never seem to keep my focus on one thing at a time. Maybe, my goal should be to play more songs, than just one. Also, I found it hard to play by myself. I am in my mid 70’s and there is no one around that I can jam with. I promise Brian, I will set that goal.

  92. George Scheckel says

    I am going to dive into this process as I have been bouncing around since I started and that is not effective. I am a regularly performing solo artist and I need to work more effectively adding some finesse now that I have a decent number and variety of music, Thanks Brian.

  93. Daniel S says

    Happy New Year all. I’ve found that one of my biggest problems is when I hear a song, such as, Brian playing “Up On The Rooftop”, I hear this smooth playing and transitions etc. and I want to play like that. I start learning, then I hear another song that piques my interest, and I think, I want to play like that. I never seem to keep my focus on one thing at a time. Maybe, my goal should be to play more songs, than just one. Also, I found it hard to play by myself. I am in my mid 70’s and there is no one around that I can jam with. I promise Brian, I will set that goal.

  95. David S says

    Brian you are a inspiration,thanks for talking about this important part of learning guitar. Iam also learning to play the fiddle,it feels so awkward at first, just holding the fiddle,this is a winter project.Thanks again Brian!

  97. Jakub P says

    Hi Brian,
    In this video you talk about your effort to become a faster player. In a future lesson, could you possibly break down the practice regime you created to achieve this goal? It’s a common one for me and probably lots of your students, but I haven’t found great resources for speed building with precision.

    Thank you!
    Jakub

  98. david S says

    I think the part that really hit home with me is the split between what you call discovery and maintenance. You are spot on that we want to spend time on what’s fun … the discovery part is work. My semi-long term goal is improv, but I need the building block goals to get there. Seems like hammering on ep436 and the penatonic scales is a good place to start. you have several other lessons covering the subject too.

    Thanks for this lesson, i needed it!

  99. Marty K says

    Goals for 2023:

    Become better at improvising over chord changes (outside of minor & major pentatonic’s in the song’s key.

    Learn more variations of minor triads.

    Learn more types of music ( ragtime, western swing, etc.)

    Learn how to correctly play slide guitar.

  101. darrell b says

    Brian,

    Thanks for all the great videos. been a member 5 or so years and it is
    always great stuff.

    the practice lesson, just got into and guess what happened. working on the penatonic lesson and all of sudden the caged thing worked in my mind!!! You are the man Brian, hope to meet you on day

    Darrell Brinkley

  103. Fred says

    Great video. Forced me to reflect on my practice habits. The truth is I tend to practice what I’m already good at which of course limits further growth.
    Have a good year
    Fred

  104. James J says

    Hi Brian-
    Thanks for starting off 2023 with this video! I messaged you on this topic some time ago and you explained how challenging it would be to tackle. I am so grateful you did this! Having defined goals is essential for success!
    My ultimate goal as a player is to play (mostly acoustic) country blues as an accompaniment to the rhythm & melody section; not so much a lead/solo role. When going through the lessons, it is a bit challenging to focus on a particular skillset, so to see you grouping essential skills together is a big help. I would love it if you continue to hammer down the process of comping creating solos to a melody from scratch.
    Thanks for your content- it is heads & tails above the rest!
    James

  105. Harold V says

    Hi Brian: Thanks for this lesson. I like the links that you put into this lesson that will help us focus on those critical areas to and focus on as we build our practice. One suggestion, it would be nice to set up a place on the Activity Melody Website so that we could drag the links above into a place called individual practice plan. This would help us by providing the links to the areas that we need to focus on. In the meantime, I am going to save this lesson and label it as my practice plan “links.”

    Thank you again for helping me find my passion.

  108. Alison F says

    Hi Everyone. My goals for this year include;
    1. Knowing all the notes on the fretboard cold
    2.Knowing all major and minor pentatonic scales starting on any string
    3. Learning at least 3 arpeggios in each CAGED chord form
    4. Learn to separate my thumb from my other fingers so I can play fingerpicked blues better with that wonderful bass drone

  109. Jim M says

    When a piece of music (licks, solos, ect) become difficult to play, I usually move on to something else. I basically play guitar for my own wellbeing, as it is very therapeutic for my body and mind. I enjoy finding little phrases and movements in musical pieces and then incorporate them into my own compositions. My hope and goals are to continue to arrange life responsibilities and maintain a healthy life to allow me to pursue my passion of playing and growing my skills on the guitar.

  110. Robert M says

    I have a goal of playing without errors. I have so many things I play in maintenance mode, but I usually have some errors. So I am going to grab a handful of maintenance routines and focus on playing with better articulation and no errors.

    I also am going to grab some new discovery items from the list. Been playing for 50 years, but still learning.

  111. Robert B says

    Interesting. Everybody wants to participate in this goal thing. There are two main lesson sites I frequent. This one with Brian and ACPG with Adrian (actually mostly on Patreon). On both sites the first lesson of the new year was how to practice in the new year. Two different takes on the subject.
    I wrote down my goals about a month ago and pinned them to my music stand. Can’t say I’m sticking to my goals with incredible dedication because I’m usually trying to learn some entire songs and I like faster stuff and getting up to speed is a lot of work for me, but I do take time to re-read my goals and at least work for a little bit on something on my goal sheet. As far as measuring progress, I like the line from Caddyshack when Chevy Chase was asked how he measures his game if he doesn’t keep score. He replied, “by height”.

  112. Steve G says

    Speeding up my picking is what I really need to do but always end up reverting back to slower blues. That’s my #1 but what may be more important but think it should be able to be done at the same time is getting to know all of the boxes for the scales. There aren’t that many but has me stumped on how to remember each one.

  114. jadm says

    Brian
    thank you, – good lesson I have been stuck in my playing for a while now. just trying songs and I hit a part that I just can’t do.
    one player i know told me that I need to work on the tricks of the trade (if you will ) and a lot of these i don’t know yet
    this year has been
    1 increase speed ( positive results but not sure how to measure)
    2. improve palm muting
    3. work on improving pinch harmonics
    4.” Nickleback Mode”- playing songs so i don’t forget them

    thank you for the ultimate practice routine ideas they will help a lot
    don

  116. Harry G says

    Brian, yet another excellent lesson. I confess to often filling my practice time with stuff I already know and Your lesson reinforced the need to be more structured. Thanks for the lesson list – a great idea and my overall aim is to become more structured, disciplined and focussed in regular practice sessions. My goals will be taken from the lessons list. Short chunks of stuff that I want to be better at. Your lessons are excellent and the value and satisfaction I get from my yearly subscription is in my opinion, tremendous value for money! Your explanations are always so clear and the way you break down and analyse each session is so easy to follow. The back- up material you provide is also excellent! Thank you for another great lesson. By the end of 2023 I know I will be a much improved player.

  117. William F says

    Hello BrIan. My children gave me a subscription to Active Melody for Christmas and I’m very excited for your mentorship on my guitar journey. Full disclosure, I’ve viewed many of your free videos to begin to get the basics while using those to ‘discover’ more about this instrument. My immediate goal is to be able to close my eyes, put a finger on any fret on any string, open my eyes and immediately know the note. Learning the major and minor scales have helped a lot in this regard. Rock/blues are my favorite genres so my broader goal is to jam along with my favorite songs–not necessarily to match Keith Richards note-for-note. But to embelish his palying with my own style. Thanks!

  118. Greg T says

    It is most definitely all about the triads right now. I found out right away that my improvised leads improved, had depth and made sense rather than just jumping into a major/minor Pentatonic scale or making it into Mixolydian for some coloring. CAGED is of the upmost importance and a requirement for me to become a better player, the fretboard knowledge.

    Not thinking, just knowing helps flow and builds the confidence needed for my improvement and growth. I tend to bounce all over, mainly for my ADD requirements, but there is so much to learn and absorb, good to change it up, I learn a bit everyday that I am here, still committed to play, still loving every moment that I pick up my guitar and I thank you for that. The wealth of lessons at my disposal is keeping me in this game. Cheers- Greg

  120. Brother Tarheel says

    Thanks for the Practice Lesson.
    You wanted my first practice goal: 1. Learn pentatonic boxes. 4 and 5. 2. Learn to move all 5 boxes boxes up and down to play in different keys. For me, the hard part is remembering where I started with, say box 2, then playing box 5, and then successfully finding the location for box 2 again…in the original/right location.
    Carry on…

  121. Tim Moran says

    Great advice. I’d really like to learn finger style blues, but I’m too scattered – I tend to wander in all kinds of directions – wow, I’d like to learn that Clapton song – or clean up and do more sophisticated arrangements of songs I know, instead of just strumming, or maybe I should buy a banjo… or learn slide. This lesson motivates me to focus.

  122. Robert G G says

    Thanks Brian,

    Excuse the length of my post. I always appreciate your enthusiasm and love for music. It’s motivating for me. Yes, I forget, but you are right about remembering certain licks or principles of playing you have taught. Thank you for that. I was never happy with my solo in “Stormy Monday” but now I use most of your first BB King lesson, 029. My version of it, anyway That lesson teaches on soooo many levels, as you always do. It is meat and potatoes BB King and blues in general. When I get better I will post my version.

    Yes, whatever your discipline is, you need to practice daily. I have been trying to get T’ai Chi ‘right’ for fifty years.

    For all you youngsters, practice while you can. I just celebrated my 80th New Year and things change, plus remembering becomes more of a challenge.. The following is why you should practice often…..now! Recently my left thumb hurts and weakens when I play. Being former military you adapt and overcome. I am refiguring hand positions and am trying only finger strength for chords/triads/etc. Talk about a challenge. But, thank you God for another day to learn, plus play, clean and rebuild guitars.

    Happy New Year and stay safe out there.

    Bob
    Sarge

  123. Nino Mateo says

    My goal is to be able to play any tune I can whistle. Seems to me this would be the first step in improvisation; i.e. take that tune or riff from your head to the guitar. (Having played for over 50years, its amazing to me that I never mastered this. ). I’m going to start by picking a new tune every practice session and working out the melody on the guitar. (My first effort was Happy Birthday, and even that took some time.

  125. Michael D says

    Next 60 days – Maintenance – Play Blues phrasing mini series EP 311-313 at 80 % -90%; EP 130 Mixing major and Minor @ 80-90%; EP 288 Blues Guitar at 80-90%

    Discovery – Learn and play EP496 Chicago Blues at 70% speed.

    I’m finding that as I play the various lessons for maintenance, that I end up mixing and matching and stealing licks across the various lessons for no other reason but I hear it and my fingers go there. This has been pretty exciting. Learning the Chicago Blues will be a challenge, but it will tie in to the maintenance work.

    Been a member for about 6 months or so and my progress has been more than I’d hoped. Thanks for all the work you do…

  126. Sean S says

    Hi happy new year. My goals this year or for the next couple months is to be able to play the rythym and the lead as in a trio band such ass SRV , Billy Gibbons and Jimi. my goal is to jam a130 bpm on or before mar 1st. Minimum 10 mins per day. A man can get a university education nowadays right here on the internet. I believe you just have to search for it ass treasure and sift out the distractions and trash .. This has got to be solid gold! ive only viewed 2 teachers on the web i think its very important to stay focused on one instructor i do like Marty swartc is a very slow and patient teacher and i happenned upon Brians videos and i think as much of him as well.. no doubt ill be jamming like ive always dreamed of in a very short period of time..Hold me to it peeps !!!!! IGod bless!!!

  127. Mark O says

    I like the simple way to insert discipline into guitar learning that I heard. I guess that for me, I never thought of playing guitar as “practice” (after playing guitar practically all of my life), although I know better. The guitar is a means to connect to music, and that connection is definitely enhanced with improved play. I think maybe I will practice now, and try out the framework Brian suggests. Thanks!

  128. Jim A says

    Thanks for a great 2023 kick off lesson. I have been an average player my whole life. Focusing and getting a little better for a while, then getting distracted by whatever, and sliding backwards to average. I am having back surgery this coming week so I’ll have nowhere to go. I’ll make sure there is always a guitar withing reach.

    I am setting the following achievable, and measurable goals:

    Practice 15 minutes a day at least 5 days a week.

    Choose two or three of your suggested lessons a week.

    Work the lessons till I show measurable improvement – either in speed or quality of play.

    Choose the next group. Cover them all by mid year.

    Fiddle, huh? My wife said no when I suggested a viola. Bought a uke instead.

  131. Konstantin S says

    Hi Brian,

    this is very good video, because it helps me to keep the right way. The motivation by music learning ist most difficult issue and it is important to get a clear stucture to do not lost a fun and become the positive result.

    Thank you for this lesson.

  133. Michael H says

    This was exactly on my mind today. I was a pro bassist for 35 years, retired for 15 years not making music at all. I started playing guitar about 8 weeks ago. This is so humbling! My mind can play, but my hands don’t yet follow!

    So… my journal is out, and I’m identifying my 90-day goals and the immediate steps to take to begin on that path.

    I love your videos, now it’s time for me to address them with the same focus and intensity I would if I were paying $150 an hour to sit with you privately!

  134. RONNIE A says

    Great information, I am retired, so I do have time to practice, but I find myself playing what I know, and that gets a bit boring at times. writing my goals down is a great suggestion to help move me along.

    Thanks

  135. Ryan R says

    Excellent video Brian and thanks again!

    For myself i found your micro lessons really helped me out with my practicing. They seem to fit the theme of what you are talking about in the above video, as they are short and focused on a single element. The help prevent me from being overwhelmed and gauge my progress.

    Would love to see more of these in the future.

    Cheers…..

  136. Dew says

    Great video. So much great advice in it. I was so glad to hear you say that alot of licks and things you work on you forget. I thought it was just me. Keeping a journal is really important. Thanks Brian.

  137. Georg B says

    This is a perfect video to help me finally improve my playing. My first goal is to establish a roadmap to stick to which I’ve never done before. The list of lessons that you refer to in this video is very helpful in my case. By the way: Your membership fees are at a most favorable price which I highly appreciate. This is really cool. Thanks a lot Brian.

  138. Michael J H says

    Greetings present Premium Subscribers! My first comment here. New Subscriber. I feel like I now have a guitar psychologist in my corner. Re. this video: it answered a question I posed to Brian before I joined: “why wouldn’t I just spend all my practice and playing time learning how to do what I know, better”? Brian certainly answered that question in this video. Thanks, Brian!
    What will stick for me is Brian’s comment that new Discoveries will likely not be remembered in detail which I think prevents me from learning new playing. Catholic guilt?! 😉
    I’m psyched about taking my playing up notch by notch; even if the Discovery mode is painful. Good job, Brian! And, Peace to my new fellow guitarists community.

  139. John L says

    I have been a member for about 3 month. I just watched this video this morning. It makes sense, I was trying to play different lessons and becoming frustrated with my speed, comprehension and ability. I had trouble really thoroughly completing an entire lesson. I would just say, “well, I learned this or I did this.” It makes sense for me to have goals for discovery instead of just maintenance. I want to be able to perform licks, increase my speed (comprehension) and play with other guitar players/musicians…

  142. John C. says

    Just looked at this video which has been great for reminding me that although I have got better since starting learning guitar at the beginning of first covid lockdown in 2020 I’ve now stagnated in terms of progress and although my technique has certainly improved (plenty of “Maintenance” been going on) I now need to define new goals and objectives if I’m to continue to make further progress.

    The video is definitely what I needed to encourage me back into the “Discovery” mode and structure but it has also been reassuring about things I was concerned about and was using as an excuse not to try to learn new stuff. Like knowing that it is not just me who, having worked through a whole load of new stuff – eg. CAGED system; and Triads; – to name my two most recent “Discovery” workouts – after a week or so I find I have forgotten most of what I thought I had learned and then its back to the notebooks which is frustrating to put it mildly!!! So its good to be reassured that this is just normal and its not my elderly mind failing me!

    Thanks Brian. Next steps – Goal Setting and Practice Planning (maybe a bit of maintenance first just to keep my hand in!)

  143. Dale G says

    My biggest goal this year is to get more consistent with my vibrato. Having hard time with the wrist vibrato. Very frustrating at times. Forearm seems to be relatively easy for me but one or two frets down by the nut is a real challenge. Thanks for the reminder to practice more on a structured basis. That’s where i struggle as well. I just like to play and learn each lesson and repetition solves a lot of my learning process but I see the value in what you’re teaching about structured practice as well.
    Thanks for your much appreciated lessons.

  145. Steven C says

    Hi Brian,
    I recently became an Active Melody member.
    Here’s where I am in my guitar journey.
    I bought my first guitar in the mid 1970’s.
    I’ve known how I’d like to be able to play guitar but haven’t known enough about guitar to know what I needed to learn to get there. I think and hope this lesson and your list will help me.
    I need improvement in my strumming and I certainly have a lot to learn on your list.
    I figure that you took the time to make the list so I’ll be following it. My first goal is scales – knowing how many I need to know then practicing and mastering each including the Petatonic Scales and Major Scales and the 5 positions.
    If you have any advise to pass along to me please do so.
    Thanks,
    Steve C

  147. lrmcfadden7@msn.com says

    I have a question that may seem odd but its something that is bothering me when I practice. Generally I practice 1 to 2 hours and my back generally starts giving out in 15 min. I usually sit at my computer in a nice office chair. I have to scoot all the way up to the front of the chair and angle it a bit because of the arms on the chair. Is there any particular kind of chair that would be better to use for playing the guitar? And should I have my feet elevated but I’m not playing classical. Perhaps just a stool or a simple armless chair. My question is what do most players use when they are sitting and playing the guitar? I been with AM a few years now, its about time I try to get more comfortable when I am playing. Thanks for any advice from anyone. By the way since I joined AM I have learned and can play more in just 3 years than I did for the last 60 years, Brian is the best, tks again

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