Brett McQueen and the Blues

Jerryc41

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Brett McQueen is offering a course in the Blues. I'm tempted, but the price is $97, and I know in advance that I wouldn't become a blues player after paying. I would probably have to watch the videos and practice. Ugh! :D

I have the best intentions with these courses, but becoming an expert player has eluded me.
 
Practice, you talkin' about practice? I'm a 76ers fan.
 
Ah heck! If'n ya can strum four chords, ya can play the blues. :cool:

Kidding, but an element of truth to it. I love the simplicity of blues, its more about emotive quality than musical quality. Probably my favorite modern blues tune is Steve Earle's, "My Old Friend the Blues." When I play that, I'm right there in a cheap motel room with an almost empty bottle. And, if you're a depressive type like me, it feels like home. Thank God that when the song is over, I snap back to real life.
 
I ran through the free 4-part series. I thought it was helpful. I'm kind of useless when it comes to keys and scales and it seemed like it would be a good course to teach me that.
 
Brett McQueen is offering a course in the Blues. I'm tempted, but the price is $97, and I know in advance that I wouldn't become a blues player after paying. I would probably have to watch the videos and practice. Ugh! :D

I have the best intentions with these courses, but becoming an expert player has eluded me.

This says it all. Practice, ugh!

Some time ago I purchased a bundle of lessons (100+ individual lessons in 5 categories) for less than half of what you're pondering on spending for the blues course. I think I got about 25% through and lost interest. I won't say that I won't pick them up again somewhere down the road but I find practice to be such a drag. If the decision is to just have fun and play or to try and figure something new out and practice, just playing wins out almost every time!
 
This says it all. Practice, ugh!

Some time ago I purchased a bundle of lessons (100+ individual lessons in 5 categories) for less than half of what you're pondering on spending for the blues course. I think I got about 25% through and lost interest. I won't say that I won't pick them up again somewhere down the road but I find practice to be such a drag. If the decision is to just have fun and play or to try and figure something new out and practice, just playing wins out almost every time!

I paid for quite a few courses, and I have lots of instructional video on my computer. Maybe I'll play today.
 
I, on the other hand, love to practice. And nothing is better to practice than the blues. It is the cornerstone of western music and it is simple enough so that you can easily see the music theory. I never actually play the blues because for me it is a bit hackneyed and something that is froze in a particular historical era. However, everything I do is based in the blues. So a blues course or something like a ten-day blues challenge is a good investment of your time and money, as long as you can branch out on your own and harness the information.
 
Wanting to put some structure in my practicing, I decided to go ahead and take his course. I like is teaching style and I like his book. So, here I go. 15 minutes a day...

Thanks for posting the link to his preview Joyful Uke. Jerry's info and the videos were intriguing enough to persuade me to try it.
 
Wanting to put some structure in my practicing, I decided to go ahead and take his course. I like is teaching style and I like his book. So, here I go. 15 minutes a day...

Thanks for posting the link to his preview Joyful Uke. Jerry's info and the videos were intriguing enough to persuade me to try it.

Please let us know what you think. I was thinking about signing up, but life had other plans for the moment, so I don't think I would have been able to spend enough time on it, (even at 15 minutes/day.) But, I do like his teaching style, so maybe some day in the future, it will all work out.
 
Wanting to put some structure in my practicing, I decided to go ahead and take his course. I like is teaching style and I like his book. So, here I go. 15 minutes a day...

Thanks for posting the link to his preview Joyful Uke. Jerry's info and the videos were intriguing enough to persuade me to try it.

I'm glad you're giving it a shot. Let us know how it works out.
 
Looks like the course is not available any more. As a long time blues guitarist and novice uke player, I was interested in seeing his approach. (ed. The 4 part teaser is still available on Youtube).
 
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Looks like the course is not available any more. As a long time blues guitarist and novice uke player, I was interested in seeing his approach. (ed. The 4 part teaser is still available on Youtube).

I think he closed registration on Friday. It wasn't an open-ended registration period.

IIRC, he offers the class, (or something like it), from time to time, so there may be another opportunity. Or, perhaps if you emailed him, you could still get in, because the class just started, I think.
 
Looks like the course is not available any more. As a long time blues guitarist and novice uke player, I was interested in seeing his approach. (ed. The 4 part teaser is still available on Youtube).

Right. He had registration open for a limited time.
 
It is a pity that the course is no longer available. I thought about studying the blues, but apparently not destiny.
There's still a considerable number of resources for the aspiring uke blues player, videos and books. "Quickstart Blues Ukulele" took a friend from knowing four chords to being able to credibly jam. Daddy Stovepipe offers some very tasty blues ukulele fingerpicking books for his videos. Fred Sokolow has a book, and although I'm not familiar with his uke blues book, I have his bluegrass uke book and I enjoy it a good deal. There's a good deal of free tutorials floating about as well.
 
Brett McQueen is offering a course in the Blues. I'm tempted, but the price is $97, and I know in advance that I wouldn't become a blues player after paying. I would probably have to watch the videos and practice. Ugh! :D

I have the best intentions with these courses, but becoming an expert player has eluded me.
"Boy, you're a great player. I wish I could play that well!"
Practise.
"It must be an inborn talent."
I practise.
"Some people are just born with talent."
They practise!
"I'd love to be able to play like that."
PRACTISE!!



"Excise me, could you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?"
Practise.
 
When I was a student (and when I was a teacher) The Canadian verb was spelled practise and the noun was spelled practice. It seems that, except for some of us old farts, the practise spelling has been abandoned and practice is used for both.
Sorry 'bout that last post.
"I practise every day."
"I"m going to band practice."
 
When I was a student (and when I was a teacher) The Canadian verb was spelled practise and the noun was spelled practice. It seems that, except for some of us old farts, the practise spelling has been abandoned and practice is used for both.
Sorry 'bout that last post.
"I practise every day."
"I"m going to band practice."
You weren't fighting windmills, Jim!
Well, at least here in the UK primary school my children attend / attended, they still teach the difference between the verb practise and the noun practice. Similarly, to give advice (n) is to advise (v).
 
Life has gotten in the way and I haven't been using the lessons, or playing, as much as I wanted to. It starts out with basic information, but gets better quickly.
 
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