Much appreciated. I just finished up the GF2 early this morning after pulling an all-niter. I've been working through it all week. I've changed my strategy from trying to solo over various chord progressions in order to focus on more basic and fundamental concepts/skills that you discuss in detail in GF2. Playing arpeggio style, focusing on just the chord tones using triads to try and come up with licks and melodies is keeping me very busy and content. It seems that this simplified approach is much easier for me to get a grasp of at this time rather than try and play lead over chords using entire scales. After finishing GF2, the areas that I need to focus on are:
1) Map out all major and minor scales in all keys on blank fretboard diagrams writing notes of the scale rather than dots. Practice these scales up and down the fretboard using the chromatic approach, three note approach, four note approach and pedal note approach. I also saw Andy Gurley's exercise where he plays thirds, coming back to play the note skipped.
2) Always use metronome when practicing and playing
3) Memorize the whole step/half step intervals of the major and minor scales in order to start from any note on the fretboard and be able to build a major or minor scale from that root note using my understanding of the intervals, not just the notes of a particular key. When doing this, also try to name the note played in order to aid in memorizing the area of the fretboard that I have note memorized yet. Understand fully what interval is occurring when I move across strings. For example, when I start on the C note (5th string/3rd fret) then play the D a whole step up...know that the E on the 4th string/2nd fret is a whole step, not simply because I know that the D# or Eb is a half step but because I understand the interval change between the two notes on the two strings.
4) Incorporate the strategy of linking chords with notes from scale when I am playing various chord progressions. Work on various walk up and walk down movements between these chords.
5) Practice inversions using my new understanding of the triad
Thanks again for all your help,
Bill C