30 Blues Jam Tracks Testimonials

G'day Jonathan!!! It's like I inherited a marathon!!!

My desire has always been to play 12 Bar Blues. I am 65 years old and have been struggling for 40 years to get something happening. Arthritis kicked in at 30 (just when I picked up my first guitar!). Played 3 chords and my arms would spasm and seize up to the shoulders and neck. I used to go everywhere with my trusty axe, and would proclaim loudly that I would play my 4 songs and go home.

No one would show me anything other than a shredding at supersonic speed. They'd just say - do that, and you'll be alright! As if.

With your Jam tracks I have the best band ever - don't have to pay 'em just PLAY 'em. Retro Bad Boy is my favourite. That epitomises my dream of Basic Blues - no ifs and or butts. I use Song Surgeon and have it in heaps of keys and tempos. Magic. Thanx!!! You have unleashed the Beast!!!

Wanted to let you know how much I'm enjoying your lessons... it has been 50 years since I've played, and then it was simple chords in the folk era. You have unlocked the 'beast' in me that has longed to play solo. Keep it coming!!

Bruce

The tracks are great and they sure beat trying to pull together your music buddies to play so YOU can practice...NOT.

I have a Custom Shop '54 reissue Strat and have had it for 12 years. Having several guitars, I haven't played this one as much, until now. Great blues tone (all 6 strings) and being able to play against pro tracks like these is really fun, not to mention how much better I am playing in all aspects. I'm pushing 60 and have played since I was 13... 10+ years of it for money, so when I say these are very well done and worth it, I think I know what I am saying.

Just throw it in and play. The hard part will be shutting it down... really!

I found the tracks on the 30 Blues Jam Tracks to be well varied, with varying tempos and differing styles of Blues.

It is very easy just to put the cd on and play right through 'til the end. If you are planning to bring out another, put me on the mailing list I'll buy it.

Big thumbs up to the boys in the band, excellent work.

If you haven't purchased a copy yet people, do so with the assurance you would be hard put to be disappointed.

I found that jamming with the soundtracks help me improve my improvising with my riffs.

I've got a lot of work to do yet but it seems to be helping.

Thanks Jonathan

Absolutely superb and worth every penny they cost.

They sound professional and have inspired me to keep practicing. I have many other pathetically and poorly recorded backing tracks and they are not a match on these. They are so good I'm happy to listen to them on their own - not good when I should be practicing.

Highly recommend purchasing them. Brilliant!

The courses are well organized and easy for me to follow along. I get true progress and results which helps me keep motivated and looking forward to the next session.

I have purchased most all of them and get great results from each of them.

Thank you

Slowly, because I'm still working full-time and it really cuts into my practice time. But I am making progress thanks to the 1-4-5 course and lessons on scales.

I am impressed with the quality of all of the jam tracks; sounds like they were assembled in a studio. Your lessons along with Colin's are giving me a lot to work on, maybe too much given my time constraints, but I'm going up and down the fretboard multiple times with the pentatonic scale (almost) every day.

Hi Jonathan, I am very happy with the 30 Blues Jam Tracks, they have a very good quality sound.

I am a 61 year old learner and don't have a lot of time to practice. I started out playing the scale over the tracks now I find I can do my own little thing here and there. Having so much fun. I would recommend the 30 Jam Tracks they are good value.
Cheers from Aussie

I received the jam tracks but have only listened and jammed to the first CD. My favorite is track 4, this is one where I incorporate both the pentatonic and the relative minor and I got it to sound pretty infectious.

I've had the Blues Jam Tracks for a few weeks now and I think they are all great, my favorite being Bad Blues. It's good to have a selection of tracks with different styles, keys & tempos to experiment on.

My soloing has improved as a result.

The DVD could have been improved with a supplementary book, similar to the Rock Jam Tracks, but overall I am pleased with my purchase.

I haven't had this much fun since I used to jam in my basement in the early 70's. The tunes cover so many different feels, from major key happy tunes, to minor key mysterious feels. I have fun playing to them all.

I got your jam tracks CDs recently, and I love them. Great for practicing scale forms and lead forms all over the fret board. Having fun practicing things like double stops, bends, and hammer ons and pull offs.

Thanks ----- Great tracks-----Highly recommended.

I can take those background disks and I too can jam with them for hours. They are a good practice tool.

Really enjoying playing along to the Blues Tracks... loving the ones in my fave Am: Sunset Blues, Up With The Blues, Bad Blues. I seem to be able to really get the groove and the feel with those. Also loving playing higher up the neck than I am used to - tracks like Lazy Blues, Down With The Blues, Cool Blues King and Acoustic Blues ( I play acoustic guitar).

Thanks again for such a cool set of tracks!

Hey Jonathan. I am enjoying the jam tracks immensely. I really don't have a particular one that I prefer. However, each track has been invaluable in that it helps me stay in the groove and develop an inner sense of timing that otherwise would not have developed near as fast if at all without this aid. Cannot say enough about them. I would and do recommend them to anyone. I experienced first hand how your playing improves more than you can imagine. Thanks for a great tool.

Jonathan,

I bought your two Jam Tracks CD's some years ago and enjoy an hour or so playing and practicing to them, from time to time. I don't like all of the tracks but most of them. The ones I don't particularly gel with, I still try, as I feel I might get into them with time and practice (and that would be a development for me).

My point today though, is this. I'm not a guitar player. I play harmonica. I've been able to use the tracks to get me used to comping with a band. Now, when I do get a chance to play with a band, it works pretty well.

In fact, I've just had another invitation to play with a band at The Swanage Blues Festival this Saturday. The second time I've played with "Back to Nick's", so further evidence that playing with YOUR backing tracks work.

So, thanks very much and maybe you'd like to share my story and/or market to others like me.

Say hello to Cat cat from England please.

Ady "Boy" Johnson

Since purchasing your 30 blues backing tracks & videos I started working with them and things are starting to make sense now. I like them so much, when I came down here to Mexico on vacation, I brought the tracks with me and purchased a new guitar & amp to practice with. I look forward to purchasing more tracks when you get them finished.

I have spent a small fortune on guitar lesson on the internet. Downloads, DVD's, PDF course books - you name it and I've acquired it. All a waste of time - thin on content, poor delivery and inferior documentation.

Not now since I found JB's web site and lessons. Have downloaded three courses to date and they stand head and shoulders over the rest.

Jonathan has clearly put a lot of time in pre-planning the lessons, course books and video presentation - and it shows.

I dare say that probably every professional musician has some form of backing track that they hone their skills with. I like using my Boss Loopstation and laying down tracks to play over. I've been downloading these tracks to my looper and playing them through my amp gives a pretty good "real band" feeling.

There is a good selection of styles and the quality of the recordings is very good. Good tool for learning what to do with all those scales you've been learning. I've even written a few lyrics for a couple of them and that really helps work on timing. Besides it's way more fun than practicing to a metronome so you'll practice longer. All said it's another excellent tool for your toolbox, good quality at a reasonable price.

I have several ways of practicing (as I'm sure most of you do). My iPod is loaded with all of my music, jam tracks, favorite tunes and some of my own Garage Band recordings. Depending upon the practice time I have I will use either or all of the above.

The 30 jam tracks are great because they differ in scale and rhythm which forces me to change accordingly, and a big plus is that you can jump to the next track knowing there's no set up or fiddling around to continue practice. Which one is my favorite? There's a few, but I do like Blue Jeans Boogie.

Hey, Jonathan. I just wanna thank you for putting out such good backing tracks. It never gets old. Even if I play the same song over and over. I just try to play something different over it. It forces me to get better while having a blast. I don't think I have a favorite track since every single one has its own flavor and pushes me to play something different. Thanks again.

I use them regularly. They are the best tracks I have found. I like the slow blues tracks most, but I work them all. Think there is something there for everyone. Some are more difficult to keep up with, but they are all enjoyable.

I FINALLY know something about what, and why, I'm playing. I have been doing Pentatonic runs for years without knowing it. With the helpful hints from your site I can come up with something for everything in all the blues tracks. I was best as a bass player 25 yrs ago but always wanted to play blues.

Jimi Hendrix, BB, Hooker, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughn, etc. My brother who plays lead for the Colfax Cowboys says he can hear them all in my playing. Now I am going to get the DVD lesson and put together the nuances I know I'm missing. All on the first CD of songs are my favorite. I haven't listened to the second one yet because I am finally having fun playing. Except for nerve damage to the left hand I can see myself actually saying, "Yes, I can play guitar."

I learned to play the pentatonic scale in A a long time ago however I couldn't relate it to anything until I purchased the Guitar Scales Pattern and Unlocking the Guitar series (jam tracks were a bonus item).

Playing over the tracks has helped me to "jam" which I could never do before. Bouncy Blues is my favorite track as it is in the A key and has a nice easy swing to it. For a relative beginner at lead guitar (I am a 40 year strummer) playing these series + tracks has made my playing much more fun.

Go ahead and purchase - you won't regret it.

The tracks were fine and I hope to use them extensively.

P.S. I just bought the new release (Blues #3) by Colin. Between the two of you my playing is improving rapidly.
Thanks
Ken

I started out with the I IV V course, it was a great refresher. Got the jam tracks, Rock and Blues, and am digging them a lot. Very good for getting used to a band setting, or just to keep us old players 'sharp', and learned a few new tricks (never stop learning, you're dead if you can't learn anything new).

Thanks man, these really help explore stuff so I don't waste time screwing around in a real jam setting, which makes at least the drummers I know very happy. Peace out and Rock on brother!

I found myself in a bit of a slump with my playing - not feeling very motivated or inspired to practice much. However, after receiving Jonathan's 30 Blues Jam Tracks, I can't wait to get home and "get to work" jammin' and practicing my chops/licks over the backing tracks.

I find myself consumed for hours without realizing I've put in that much time - it's that good (my wife loves it because it keeps me out of the bars - Jonathan, you've saved my marriage!). I think my favorite tune is "It's Good To Be Me"; however, there's something to be gleaned from every single one of the tracks.

Jonathan knew what the hell he was doing here: he put together a variety of tracks in many different keys to practice your 5-pattern pentatonic scale all over the neck; too, the tracks are in various tempos, rhythms, and progressions that can prep you for practically any improv situation. The tracks are professionally played, also - worth every friggin' dime of the cost. Hell, if ya' don't even want to jam with them, you can plug them into your car cd player on the way to work.

But what I suppose what I love the most about the jam tracks is that after having played in various bands (that never seem to work out for me due to personality clashes), this band doesn't give you any crap for experimenting with different licks while soloing or get too drunk to play.

So, Jonathan, my question now is "when are the next collection of jam tracks coming out?"

Peace, love, toast and blues jam my friends!

I have had a ball sharpening my chops on these great tracks. But better than that, I have been using them with my guitar students as a way to try out their wings after learning new scales. These tracks are super! Keep em coming!

Hey Jon, as I am not that proficient with soloing at this stage (still on a learning curve), I do find some tracks challenging (but that's part of the fun), and some I have never heard of, however there are some to which I jam along with and really enjoy, mainly the shuffle blues and 1 or 2 of the slower ones. No doubt I will get better in time, so I will "battle" on.

I have noticed, and my friends have noticed, an improvement in my playing and in my confidence. Thanks. I love music and being able to play music really brings the experience full circle.

I have only worked on the A minor track which is very good.

The bonus lesson for me is invaluable. Knowing what to play as a solo was extremely difficult for me but this lesson has made things a little clearer. This is the best example I have ever come across.

It's great getting info from different angles, and these courses have helped me understand more about playing about my guitar.

I have bought all of Jon's programs and while still working through the scale patterns lessons, I take breaks from the lessons and go to 30 Blues Jam Tracks and jam away! It is awesome and the two programs complement each other very well. I am totally sold on Jon's guitar programs.

Hello Jonathan, I've never written to you before, but I thought maybe it was time to express my gratitude. I retired five years ago and always wanted to be able to play guitar. I stumbled around trying, but could never get anywhere. I bought Unlocking 1-4-5, Guitar Scale Patterns and 30 Blues Jam Tracks.

My reason for contacting you is to let you know what a difference its had. I only play guitar for myself and family. I immerse myself and the troubles of life disappear.

Anyway, as a beginner the most important, advancing information was your instruction to learn the pentatonic scale. Learning that scale changed everything and all advancement I've had stems from that kernel of insight.

We have just received the 30 blues jam tracks and we like them, and have already played some tracks.

Nice tracks and we have a lot of fun!!!!

Hi Jonathan, I really don't get a chance to practice as much as I would like to. I have briefly listened to some of the Blues tracks. A few of them stood out to me, like Bad Blues, Blues Road, Up With The Blues and The Bottle.

One of these days I might be able to apply a solo of my own to them. I did get a really good deal on them anyway, buy one get one free, you really can't beat that. The bonus lesson is a plus too. I like the way you go into great detail every time with your lessons even if a person may or may not already know the details. Also the booklet with the licks or riffs printed out. Really cool stuff I would have to say.

Thanks for all the hard work, I really appreciate it.

PS Still working on those scale patterns.

I am pleased with both courses.

Great for having a Rhythm backing to jam with and improve phrasing and soloing skills.

Overall a good investment. Thanks.

Austin Mortimer

Oh yeah, this was just what I was looking for. I am retired and didn't start playing until I was 50 yrs. old. Lucky for me I had a good teacher and he made sure I had all the tools to play. I became bored with playing other peoples music and was playing less. Felt so guilty for spending four years taking lessons and looking at my guitar with dust on it.

Then I saw your offer on the blues jam tracks. I had a couple of jam tracks, but they sounded cheesy and I placed them in circular file 13. Thought I would give yours a go. Boy am I glad I did. They sound great. They allowed me to use what I have and get creative and play what I hear. I don't know who the guys in the band are on the jam tracks, but they are really tight and in the pocket. Thanks for doing this, I really enjoy them.

I started with the improvising lesson and that finally clicked for me. Learning some scales and having the jam tracks was the answer.

Your method of teaching works for me!

I spend hours playing the blues tracks and finding my way around the fingerboard. I have been playing for fun most of my life and was never able to play lead. Even though I don't read music, I can now play some lead with some confidence. I have a new found desire to learn more! I am 54 and had given up until I found your site.

Thank you Jonathan.

If you have tried most jam tracks you know that they can be boring, poorly produced, and uninspiring.

Well, this is NOT that!

These tracks are interesting, very well produced and a real pleasure to jam with. The entire package including the lesson on minor pentatonics is top notch stuff.

Jonathan,

I am having a blast with the jam tracks! Each time I play them I have a different feel about them.

I really like the changing tempos and different sounds and rhythms of each track. I have no favorites because I need to learn how to adapt to whatever is being played, with no preferences. I also like to listen to the tracks while I'm not playing... to get a feel for what I can do with them when the guitar is in my hands....

Having a blast...!
Craig