Blues Clinic #5 13 April 2024

RockSo Music and Muziekschool Plug & Play hosted In-Store Blues Clinic #5 13 April 2024

This was the first Blues Clinic of 2024 and our 5th In-Store Blues Clinic to date. This time, we had 10 people that joined, including some new members.

We started out with some basic blues music theory for the new members. In the first hour, Christian taught us 3 blues licks in E major. All three of the licks were in the E major pentaonic scale. One of the licks was a double stop lick. The members had a chance to come up and try the new licks out before the break. This was good practice and helped everyone understand how to use the new licks.

During the break, we had a chance to talk to the new participants and look around the shop.

After the break, Lucas led the group and introduced 3 more licks in E, including a minor pentatonic lick and a lick that used chromatic notes. After the last licks were gone over, all participants had a chance to come up and play the blues!

This time, we tried a “4 note challenge”. The challenge was to try to solo over a 24 bar E blues shuffle backing track using only the 4 notes in different combinations and patterns. It was tough, but everyone tried their best.

Everyone had a great time and learned alot about soloing in E blues. The next In-Store Blues Clinic will be in September. Until then, keep on playing and learning the blues and see you next time!

RockSo

Blues Clinic #4 07 Oct 2023

RockSo Music and Muziekschool Plug & Play hosted In-Store Blues Clinic #4 on 7 October 2023. 

This was our 4th In-Store Blues Clinic. This time, we had 10 people that joined in the informative and fun filled 3 hour Blues Clinic. We started out with some music theory. Lucas explained the Mixolydian mode for the first time to the group. In the first hour, Lucas taught us 3 blues licks. One of the licks uses the Mixolydian mode.

Before the break, we asked participants to come up and try out the new licks with Lucas one by one. This was a good practice and helped us understand the new licks.

During the break, participants had a chance to talk about guitars and get to know eachother.

After the break, Christian led the group and introduced 3 more licks that use the Major blues scale. After the last licks were gone over, all participants had a chance to come up and play the blues! Participants, in pairs jammed for the group with the backing track. Slow and up tempo tracks were used at the clinic. Everyone had multiple chances to jam in front of the others. This is the best way to improve your guitar skills and gain experience playing with other people.

Everyone is waiting for the next In-Store Blues Clinic. Will you join us next time???

Stay tuned for information on the next In-Store Blues Clinic at RockSo Music.

RockSo

Blues Clinic #3 20 May 2023

On 20 May 2023 RockSo Music in collaboration with Muziekschool Plug&Play hosted another Blues Clinic.

This time we challenged the group with 10 licks from several style of blues including BB King and Eric Clapton influenced riffs.

Lucas started the clinic with a short introduction of the blues and the different styles. Then Christian explained the first set of 5 licks. The explanation included tips on the feel and characteristic of each lick.

After a well needed break, Christian and Lucas played an example of the first 5 licks being played, then we continued with teaching the remaining 5 licks. This time, Lucas explained how to play and use them in a solo.

During the last hour of the clinic there was a chance for the participants to try out the new riffs and improvise. We all enjoyed listing to the everyone.

The Clinic ended with a final jam from Lucas and Christian. There was a lot of material this time, but everyone enjoyed the challenge. We will have our next clinic after a summer break. See you all for the next one, and keep on jamming!!

In-Store Blues Clinic February 2023

RockSo Music and Muziekschool Plug&Play hosted the second In-Store Blues Clinic on Saturday 11 February 2023. Again, the nearly sold out event was a great success. Lucas and Christian got the mood going by demonstrating the concepts of the clinic with the use of a backing track. The 17 participants were then ( 2 could not attend) introduced to blues rhythm guitar parts used in the demo. Participants were called up front at random to perform what they learned in front of the group.

Participants enjoyed a drink and conversation during the break time. This gave the participants a chance to talk amongst themselves, to network, and make new friends. Some participants enjoyed playing many of the interesting vintage and new guitars available at RockSo Music.

During the second half, participants were introduced to the concept of “mixed blues” improvisation. The term mixed blues is in reference to building a guitar solo that uses notes from both the minor and major pentatonic scales. Again, participants were called upfront at random to try their hand at some of these new ideas in front of the group.

The clinic finished with a Q&A session and a final performance by Lucas and Christian.

We would like to thank Lucas @ Muziekschool Plug & Play and all the participants who joined us for In-Store Blues Clinic #2.

Stay tuned for information about our next In-Store Blues Clinic.

In-Store Blues Clinic

On Saturday 19 November RockSo Music and Muziekschool Plug & Play had their first in-store blues clinic.

Blues Clinic

The Clinic was developed for beginner-intermediate guitarist and was designed to help guitar players learn about blues music including the theory, scales, and chords that are used to play the blues.

Blues Clinic Participants

After learning about the blues structure, the participants had the chance to learn blues licks for each minor and major blues scales. Then, the participants had the opportunity to try soloing for the group.

Lucas and Christian explaining how to play the blues

Everyone had a good time learning and playing the blues at the clinic. The In-Store Blues Clinics will continue in 2023 with the next one in January or February. Stay tuned to RockSo Music or Muziekschool Plug & Play for information about the next clinic.

Christian

Popronde Sittard 2022

Popronde 2022

As part of Popronde Sittard in 2022, RockSo Music hosted All Dogs Go To Heaven and Penvriend.

On Saturday 29 October we gave a warm welcome to Popronde and two incredible acts.

The night started with All Dogs Go To Heaven. The audience was in heaven when Bjorn hit the stage with his amazing emo influenced acoustic set. His punk roots still intact, but with the perfect balance of vocals and guitar dynamics.

Bjorn photo before the performance

The 45 minute set went by too quick and left everyone hungry for more. Thank you Bjorn for an incredible performance.

Next up, Penvriend. These two were totally in sync and each member did their own part that blended into a whirlwind of rhythm and harmony complete with intricate guitar work and lead guitar solos. Very well done.

As you can see, RockSo Music transformed from a music store to a concert venue. Popronde 2022 was a great success and we thank the performers and everyone that made it a special night.

People enjoying Popronde at RockSo Music

We are looking forward to next time. It was a night to remember.

Sunday Night Blues – 12 June 2022

This was the last Sunday Night Blues of the spring session. We had the core group again; Maurice, Colin, Marcel, Espen, Francesco, Lucas, Kyoko, and Christian. Unfortunately, Tim was feeling under the weather and couldn’t make it.

We played Mannish Boy and Sweet Home Chicago. It sounded pretty good and everyone was in high spirits.

We then took time to work on Mustang Sally. We did a first play through and then worked on a quiet down part. We played it again adding in the new ideas. It sounded great and Lucas had the spotlight with his blazing solos.

Scenes from Sunday Night Blues
Sunday Night Blues @ Volt

We took a break to do a feedback session as Espen had to leave early. We talked about the future jam sessions and plans for next time.

After the break, we played through the remaining song in this order:

Thanks A Lot
Thrill is Gone
Keep Your Hands To Your Self

During Thrill is Gone, Lucas showed the members new chords and phrases.
Colin and Lucas changed places and we did a final Thrill is Gone by request to practice the Ideas Lucas gave us earlier.

We would like to thank all participants in Sunday Night Blues and a big thanks to Lucas from Muziekschool Plug & Play for helping organize this.

For Autumn 2022, we will update our venues based on participant feedback, which may include public open jams at Cafés as well as workshops. More updates to come!

RockSo Out!

Sunday Night Blues – 5 June 2022

The 7th Sunday Night Blues with 7 members! The line-up was, Maurice on vocals, Colin on drums and guitar, Lucas on guitar and drums, Marcel on guitar, Tim on guitar, Kyoko on organ, and Christian on the bass.

This was the second to last Sunday Night Jam. We went through the list of songs that we have learned over the last 7 weeks. Here are the songs we played in order.

  • Mannish Boy
  • Sweet Home Chicago
  • Mustang Sally
  • Thanks A Lot
    (break)
  • Johnny Be Good style Jam
  • Thrill Is Gone
  • Keep Your Hands To Yourself
  • Ain’t gone and Give Up on Love (partial play through)
  • Mary Had a Little Lamb

Everyone was in good spirits and Tim sounded great with his new Kaminari Liquid 2! We are finally getting comfortable with the songs and are also practicing the endings of the songs. I know with just a little more practice, we can be ready for a live performance one day soon!

Don’t miss the last Jam Night next Sunday!

Sunday Night Blues – 29 May 2022

This was our 6th Sunday Night Blues! Maurice with us again and Kyoko on organ. We started off with Mustang Sally to get warmed up. Again Colin on drums and Christian were on bass. This time everyone was in the pocket and lively. We quickly went into Mannish Boy and the energy grew even more!

We went through a full set of songs this time.

  • Mustang Sally
  • Mannish Boy
  • Thanks A Lot
  • Thrill Is Gone
  • Keep Your Hands To Yourself
  • Sweet Home Chicago
  • Pride And Joy
  • Mary Hand A Little Lamb

We then played Thanks A lot! Followed by The Thrill Is Gone. Lucas played drums for these and Colin jumped on guitar. Thanks Colin for taking time to teach the guys a few chords and ideas!

We also had a proper break time and a few members went into the main area of Volt to have a beer and chat.

We also played Sweet Home Chicago and then tried to play through a few SRV songs include Pride and Joy and Mary had a Little Lamb with Colin still on guitar. We will work on them again next time! All in all it was one of the most exciting Sunday Night Blues so far!

Sunday Night Blues – 22 May 2022

This week we had a small group for Sunday Night Blues, but Maurice the singer was with us again. We had a new female participant. It was also the first time with Kyoko on organ! We started off with Mannish Boy to get warmed up. Again Colin on drums and Christian were on bass. Next, we jammed through Sweet Home Chicago. Everyone did their best!

Sunday Night Blues Set List
The set list

We then played The Thrill Is Gone. Colin and Christian kept the beat slow and steady! And Marcel and Tim had multiple solos. Lucas also had a chance to shine with blazing solos through out! After that we did Thanks A Lot! Everyone enjoyed jamming!

After a short break we tried Keep Your Hands To Yourself by the Georgia Satellites. Maurice led the group on drums and also sang along while playing! At the end with Christian on drums we played Mustang Sally. Thank you all for coming! See you next week!