SRV fans...found a site that might interest you.

[R. Chapman]

Hello,

 

I've been working on learning Texas Flood by SRV and struggling with one particular part...actually with alot of it...but one was giving me more trouble than the rest...LOL Anyway, I went to youtube and came across this guy that has a site called Steviesnacks. www.StevieSnacks.com

 

He seems to have really nailed alot of SRV's sound and style. I don't want to play exactly lilke Stevie..but it would be nice to be close!! Anyway, just curious what others think.

 

thanks,

Randy

[Jasco]

I toured around the states non-stop for over a decade in a blues band. In every little town in the whole country there is at least one Stevie Ray Vaughan clone. Lots of them even dress like him.

 

The SRV copy thing went from humorous to nauseating after a while. When I (or just about anyone I know) see 'Stevie-ray-man' walk into a club to play a blues jam I just roll my eyes and sigh anymore.

 

Don't get me wrong, I really like Stevie's playing, and you can learn a lot from him. But I hope you dive a bit deeper into the blues and enjoy it's many other equally talented players, and eventually find your own voice on the guitar.

[R. Chapman]

Hi Jasco,

 

Yea, I definitely don't want to be an SRV clone. But I thought this guy does a really good job of capturing Stevie's sound and style...that's all. Actually, a buddy of mine from my college days was a fantastic player. He was a huge SRV fan and could play any and all of his songs. Sometimes I thought he was better than SRV. I'll never forget the day it was announced that SRV died in that accident. My buddy played SRV nonstop in his dormroom for a whole flipping week!! His roommate was non-too pleased!! LOL

 

Anyway, no I don't want to be a clone. But I really like SRV's style and I thought this guy does a good job with it.

 

thanks,

 

Randy

[Mark Wein]

The SRV copy thing went from humorous to nauseating after a while. When I (or just about anyone I know) see 'Stevie-ray-man' walk into a club to play a blues jam I just roll my eyes and sigh anymore.

 

I love when they wear the hat...or have the "SRV" guitar strap...

 

I was always a big SRV fan but I always thought one reason that he was great because he took many influences from many styles and melded them into the "SRV" sound. He could play an Albert King, Hendrix or even Kenny Burrell lick and you could still hear that it was Stevie that was playing it....I think the lesson most of the imitators miss is that its OK to wear your influences on your sleeve but you need to make them your own...

[gennation]

I love SRV too. The Steviesnacks are awesome. That guys does a great job.

 

When Couldn't Stand the Weather came out I was just about ready to go on a tour that include may stops in Texas so I thought I'd better get a good handle on Stevie's stuff. So, I learned a bunch of that album. Little did I know, being from Michigan, that when I got to Austin everyone was NOW talking about Eric Johnson as the new big thing!

 

This was in 1985 and I had read about Eric in GP mag but it was years before he'd release anything that made it to Michigan.

 

Funny how you can do all the planning, and then...you get blind sided.

[R. Chapman]

I picked up Tones when I was a junior or senior in high school.. I was blownaway...I still am. He is amazing.

 

Randy

[kmarsh]

I love SRV too. The Steviesnacks are awesome. That guys does a great job....

 

Hi Mike,

I'm curious what you think of the Steviesnacks guy's "5 blues boxes"(???)

I was sure they'd be the standard pentatonic patterns, but they're not. He does try to explain the differences in one lesson (Lesson 26, I believe) - saying many parts of the pentatatonic patterns are not generally used, and many(most?) standard blues licks have notes outside the pentatonic scale ... and his boxes match up to what are actually used.

 

I've been taking lessons for about 6 months now and have pretty much gotten a handle on diddling my way through a solo by going up and down the fretboard in the standard, 2 notes per string, pentatonic patterns. I'm concerned that the way he teaches the fretboard boxes/positions might be more confusing than it's worth.

[jeremy_green]

It is amazing how influences come through. Last year I saw Buddy Guy play at Massey Hall in Toronto and there were several moments in the night when if you closed your eyes you would swear it was Stevie playing. Those old blues guys are wrapped up in all these guys of today - Stevie included ... well not maybe of today in his case but you get my drift.

 

As an aside some of these guys are getting very old now. This may be the last few years we get to see some of the early blues guys play. My advice (not that anyone asked for it) get a ticket when one of these guys come to town cause there may not be a next time.

[sumpm1]

I too just ran across StevieSnacks and this guy does a good job of explaining many of Stevies techniques. No matter what your opinion is of "clones" of certain musicians, you could still learn alot from players like this. I mean, none of these techniques are Specific to SRV, tons of players use similar techniques.

[kmarsh]

Hi Mike, I'm curious what you think of the Steviesnacks guy's "5 blues boxes"(???) I was sure they'd be the standard pentatonic patterns, but they're not. He does try to explain the differences in one lesson (Lesson 26, I believe) - saying many parts of the pentatatonic patterns are not generally used, and many(most?) standard blues licks have notes outside the pentatonic scale ... and his boxes match up to what are actually used. I've been taking lessons for about 6 months now and have pretty much gotten a handle on diddling my way through a solo by going up and down the fretboard in the standard, 2 notes per string, pentatonic patterns. I'm concerned that the way he teaches the fretboard boxes/positions might be more confusing than it's worth.

 

Nobody has comments/opinions on this instructor's teaching method using his "5 Blues Boxes"? ... There is a free lesson (lesson 25) that goes through the 5 boxes, and then the next free lessonm (lesson 26) gives some explaination of why it's different from the pentatonic scales/patterns.

 

I'd like to try some stuff from him, but if his methods are a bit "quirky" or irrational, I'm concerned it may run counter to what I'm learning in my regular weekly lessons.

[Mark Wein]

Nobody has comments/opinions on this instructor's teaching method using his "5 Blues Boxes"? ... There is a free lesson (lesson 25) that goes through the 5 boxes, and then the next free lessonm (lesson 26) gives some explaination of why it's different from the pentatonic scales/patterns. I'd like to try some stuff from him, but if his methods are a bit "quirky" or irrational, I'm concerned it may run counter to what I'm learning in my regular weekly lessons.

 

I took a quick look at the lesson, and what it looks like he is doing is showing you the most commonly used chunks of each box pattern. Not a bad thing to learn as it will get you to certain sounds quicker, although I would make a point of learning the scales in their entirety as well...

[kmarsh]

 

I took a quick look at the lesson, and what it looks like he is doing is showing you the most commonly used chunks of each box pattern. Not a bad thing to learn as it will get you to certain sounds quicker, although I would make a point of learning the scales in their entirety as well...

 

 

Thanks, Mark. At first glance that's what I thought it was, too. But looking closer, his patterns 3, 4 and 5 don't match the pentatonic patterns much at all (his boxes 3, 4 and 5 get progressively further away from the standard pentatonic patterns, as I'm seeing them). He explains that his boxes are different because blues riffs often don't stick to the pentatonic scales, and his boxes fit what you'd more often use. I'm too new to pass judgement, but I'm not really sold on it yet.

[sumpm1]

Well I guess the idea would be to learn a couple of songs that use those exact positions and get a feel for them. He uses quite a few other techniques such as "raking" and sliding different chord shapes. These techniques help add to the sound of ANY electric guitar player. Even though he doesn't look like some crazy virtuoso, he seems to understand the construction and proper use of chords in the solos; Those shapes would probably suit most of the lessons that he sells at his site.

 

Personally, if I wanted to learn Little Wing or other SRV tunes, I would learn them from tab. But when I was a kid, before I had any knowledge of chord use and things, I would have loved to have this video.

[kmarsh]

Well I guess the idea would be to learn a couple of songs that use those exact positions and get a feel for them. He uses quite a few other techniques such as "raking" and sliding different chord shapes. These techniques help add to the sound of ANY electric guitar player. Even though he doesn't look like some crazy virtuoso, he seems to understand the construction and proper use of chords in the solos; Those shapes would probably suit most of the lessons that he sells at his site. Personally, if I wanted to learn Little Wing or other SRV tunes, I would learn them from tab. But when I was a kid, before I had any knowledge of chord use and things, I would have loved to have this video.

 

I do like his teaching style, and his playing is great. Last night I went ahead and ordered the Intermediate SRV-style Solo lesson (Lesson 33). It entirely skirts my hesitation with learning new boxes - because the whole solo is in Boxes 1 and 2, which match the pentatonic patterns I've already been learning.

 

I only had a half hour or so to practice. The licks don't seem too hard, but the phrasing is tricky (for a noob like me, at least). Tricky in a GOOD way... Everything I've been making up on my own sounds like a bad BB King lick. His SRV-style licks are quite different. Soon I'll be playing bad SRV licks!

 

For 5 bucks you get the video (this one is 27 minutes or so - in two different resolutions ... not sure why you'd want both, but certainly not a problem), a GuitarPro 5 file (I didn't open it but I'm pretty sure it's the backing track), and a nicely done tab/standard notation file in Adobe .pdf format. The video is very good - very in-depth explanations. I'll be watching it a lot.

 

Anthony Stauffer, the player/instructor that runs the site, saw this thread and PM'd me to explain a bit more about his methods. He seems to be a good guy - very eager to help out. Maybe he'll chime in here, but the fact that he hasn't yet actually impresses me more. He didn't pop up just to plug his site (although I personally think it would be appropriate if he wants to explain his methods/products a bit - I think that's touchy here, though). I'm sure I'll be spending more than a few more dollars over there.

[Mark Wein]

 

Thanks, Mark. At first glance that's what I thought it was, too. But looking closer, his patterns 3, 4 and 5 don't match the pentatonic patterns much at all (his boxes 3, 4 and 5 get progressively further away from the standard pentatonic patterns, as I'm seeing them). He explains that his boxes are different because blues riffs often don't stick to the pentatonic scales, and his boxes fit what you'd more often use. I'm too new to pass judgement, but I'm not really sold on it yet.

 

 

oops...what I probably should have said was that it looks like his approach is like Robert Calva's in his "Texas Blues Guitar" book. Not really teaching you the actual scales but the most useful combinations of Major, Minor and blues scales in the most commonly used groupings. Not a bad thing to learn but I still would suggest learning each of those scales in their entirety first...

[R. Chapman]

 

oops...what I probably should have said was that it looks like his approach is like Robert Calva's in his "Texas Blues Guitar" book. Not really teaching you the actual scales but the most useful combinations of Major, Minor and blues scales in the most commonly used groupings. Not a bad thing to learn but I still would suggest learning each of those scales in their entirety first...

 

 

That's pretty much what he does Mark...I've watched quite a few of his free lessons and he's stated a few times that what he is teaching is NOT the pentatonic/blues boxes exclusively...but a combo of what players use in those positions.

 

Randy

[kmarsh]

 

oops...what I probably should have said was that it looks like his approach is like Robert Calva's in his "Texas Blues Guitar" book. Not really teaching you the actual scales but the most useful combinations of Major, Minor and blues scales in the most commonly used groupings. Not a bad thing to learn but I still would suggest learning each of those scales in their entirety first...

 

 

Sounds reasonable to me. I've "learned" the minor pentatonic scales, although I woudn't say they're ingrained yet. So, as long as I can keep from getting overly confused, learning these new boxes is just another tool to draw upon.

[Eddie]

Nobody has comments/opinions on this instructor's teaching method using his "5 Blues Boxes"? ... There is a free lesson (lesson 25) that goes through the 5 boxes, and then the next free lessonm (lesson 26) gives some explaination of why it's different from the pentatonic scales/patterns. I'd like to try some stuff from him, but if his methods are a bit "quirky" or irrational, I'm concerned it may run counter to what I'm learning in my regular weekly lessons.

 

I'm watching lesson 25. It does look similar to Robert Calva's approach as mentioned by Mark.

 

Some observations:

Box 1 is the typical 1st position for the pentatonic minor scale in A (although he mentioned Ab).

Box 2 is the typical 2nd position, using just the top 3 strings.

The BB King box is missing one note. On the second string (B), this box usually would include the note C on the 13th fret. For a superb example of using this box, check out Need Your Love So Bad, with Peter Green. Although associated with BB King, he was not the first one to use this position extensively.

 

[YOUTUBE]lxeQKQQ6k4s[/YOUTUBE]

 

Box 4 is the typical 4th position, using just the top 3 strings. Listen to All Your Love. Here the riff starts on the 12th fret, G string. It's in G instead of A.

 

[YOUTUBE]WRnyI7loZwY[/YOUTUBE]

 

Box 5 is the Pentatonic Major in A. Just move box 1 down 3 steps.

 

It's an interesting approach, and obviously it works for him.

It's not approach I would used to teach, but maybe he clarifies things more in other lessons.

 

What I have used in the past is the attached diagram. It incorporates the 5 positions of the Pentatonic Minor scale, Blues Scale, Pentatonic Major Scale, and Chord Notes for the key of A.

It's too much information to digest, and for a beginner I would recommend to first learn each position of the Pentatonic Minor. The fingerings are identical for the Pentatonic Major (as mentioned for Box 5 above). Learn the Blues scale by adding the b5. Learn other color tones.

What I like about my diagram is that you can see the function of the notes as they relate to A, and a little bit of how they relate to other chords.

For example, in a typical 12 Bar progression using the chords A, D and E.

If we target a b3 (C on the 5th fret, 3rd string) while playing the IV Chord (D), the C functions as a b7.

 

Take your time to go through this. I apologize for giving you too much information, and hopefully things are not too confusing. I'm not as good as Mark or Mike

 

A different approach that I really like is from Don Latarski. He first goes through the chords and the notes in the chords, and adds other notes from there.

Another great source is Barry Levenson. A master of tasteful playing.

 

I hope this helps.

[Mark Wein]

Take your time to go through this. I apologize for giving you too much information, and hopefully things are not too confusing. I'm not as good as Mark or Mike

 

I don't know...this was pretty well thought out and well presented, although the PDF was a little hard to read with so much stuff...nice clips, btw!

[Eddie]

Thanks Mark. That means a lot

 

The PDF has so much information that I prefer to gradually get there, and once a person understands the different scales and chord notes it serves as a quick guide or road map.

But there's so much more to great blues playing, such as the notes between the notes...

 

There's always stuff to learn

[kmarsh]

I'm watching lesson 25. It does look similar to Robert Calva's approach as mentioned by Mark. Some observations: Box 1 is the typical 1st position for the pentatonic minor scale in A (although he mentioned Ab). Box 2 is the typical 2nd position, using just the top 3 strings. The BB King box is missing one note. On the second string (B), this box usually would include the note C on the 13th fret. For a superb example of using this box, check out Need Your Love So Bad, with Peter Green. Although associated with BB King, he was not the first one to use this position extensively. Box 4 is the typical 4th position, using just the top 3 strings. Listen to All Your Love. Here the riff starts on the 12th fret, G string. It's in G instead of A. Box 5 is the Pentatonic Major in A. Just move box 1 down 3 steps. It's an interesting approach, and obviously it works for him. It's not approach I would used to teach, but maybe he clarifies things more in other lessons. What I have used in the past is the attached diagram. It incorporates the 5 positions of the Pentatonic Minor scale, Blues Scale, Pentatonic Major Scale, and Chord Notes for the key of A. It's too much information to digest, and for a beginner I would recommend to first learn each position of the Pentatonic Minor. The fingerings are identical for the Pentatonic Major (as mentioned for Box 5 above). Learn the Blues scale by adding the b5. Learn other color tones. What I like about my diagram is that you can see the function of the notes as they relate to A, and a little bit of how they relate to other chords. For example, in a typical 12 Bar progression using the chords A, D and E. If we target a b3 (C on the 5th fret, 3rd string) while playing the IV Chord (D), the C functions as a b7. Take your time to go through this. I apologize for giving you too much information, and hopefully things are not too confusing. I'm not as good as Mark or Mike A different approach that I really like is from Don Latarski. He first goes through the chords and the notes in the chords, and adds other notes from there. Another great source is Barry Levenson. A master of tasteful playing. I hope this helps.

 

Great, stuff. Thanks Eddie! I had noticed that boxes 1 & 2 were the same as the pentatonic minor. I thought 4 was different, but I'm mistaken. So it's the same, too!

 

That leaves boxes 3 and 5 as the only two that vary from the standard pent. patterns. SO... Box 3 is a variation of the "BB Box" - I've seen quite a few "flavors" of the BB Box (including this guy who shows the BB Box in THREE different places, for the same key - http://fillmorefive.blogspot.com/2008/02/thinking-outside-box.html), so the fact that Anthony's is a bit different isn't earth-shattering. As for box 5, then... He's just sticking to the major pentatonic there.

 

I've printed your diagram and taped it to my wall!

[Eddie]

I'm glad you found it useful. Check out Peter Green's video. He creates many great phrases just in that BB position.

 

One way to look at that box is to compare it with the Minor Pentatonic Box just 2 frets below:

 

Minor Pentatonic Box = T, b3, 4, 5, b7

 

BB Box= T, 2 (or 9), b3, 4, 5, 6

 

Sometimes the b3 is bent up to a major 3rd. Using BBs box or the major pentatonic will give you what I perceive as "sweet" sounds, while using the Minor Pentatonic will give a "rawer" sound.

I think that scales and chords and modes (since many people also use the Mixolydian mode) can help you identify various choices. The notes you choose over a particular chord will yield a specific sound or color. It's up to you to decide what to choose, and often it can be notes that are neither in the scale nor the chords.

Play, listen, experiment, and have fun

[Mark Wein]

Thanks Mark. That means a lot The PDF has so much information that I prefer to gradually get there, and once a person understands the different scales and chord notes it serves as a quick guide or road map. But there's so much more to great blues playing, such as the notes between the notes... There's always stuff to learn

 

[Spartacus41]

 

It is amazing how influences come through. Last year I saw Buddy Guy play at Massey Hall in Toronto and there were several moments in the night when if you closed your eyes you would swear it was Stevie playing. Those old blues guys are wrapped up in all these guys of today - Stevie included ... well not maybe of today in his case but you get my drift. As an aside some of these guys are getting very old now. This may be the last few years we get to see some of the early blues guys play. My advice (not that anyone asked for it) get a ticket when one of these guys come to town cause there may not be a next time.

 

 

I agree. I somehow got tickets to a BB King show a few years ago. But at the time, I wasn't really into blues yet, but I knew I had to go because he's a legend.

 

I wish I could see him again now to get a real appreciation for it.