I play this in Dropped D tuning with a capo on the Third Fret.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Guitar Roots: Delta Blues. The roots of great guitar playing
Guitar Roots: Delta Blues. The roots of great guitar playing
By Fruitland Jackson
National Guitar Workshop Method
Alfred Publishing
ISBN 0-7390-3006-x
This is a very good basic Delta Guitar book for the starting guitar player. The book contains a DVD that explains open and alternate tuning that is very popular in Delta Blues playing. The books and DVD also discusses the 12 bar blues and 8 bar blues.
The book contains chapters on how to play Delta Blues in various keys. One of the chapters is the key of A, another chapter in D, another in G, another in C and so on. I found this method to be monotonous. Once the learner has the basic I,IV,V blues progression down, it can be applied to various keys. Once the guitar player has alternate tunings down, he should know how to apply it to the different keys.
Fruitland Jackson provides some arrangements to his original material in this book to provide examples of Delta Blues techniques. While his playing and singing is very good, I am not familiar with his material and therefore I was not very interested in his material.
The book and DVD came sealed in plastic, therefore I was not able to view the book before purchase. This has become a very popular trend with music publishers and seems to be the only way they can keep up with internet material. If the publisher includes a CD or DVD with the book, it becomes more appealing to the buyer. However, the book becomes sealed so the purchaser can not view the material before purchase.
This is a good book for the beginning blues guitarist. The starting guitarist that is trying to learn 12 bar blues, finger picking techniques, and shuffles will benefit from this book, the experienced player may already have this knowledge.
By Fruitland Jackson
National Guitar Workshop Method
Alfred Publishing
ISBN 0-7390-3006-x
This is a very good basic Delta Guitar book for the starting guitar player. The book contains a DVD that explains open and alternate tuning that is very popular in Delta Blues playing. The books and DVD also discusses the 12 bar blues and 8 bar blues.
The book contains chapters on how to play Delta Blues in various keys. One of the chapters is the key of A, another chapter in D, another in G, another in C and so on. I found this method to be monotonous. Once the learner has the basic I,IV,V blues progression down, it can be applied to various keys. Once the guitar player has alternate tunings down, he should know how to apply it to the different keys.
Fruitland Jackson provides some arrangements to his original material in this book to provide examples of Delta Blues techniques. While his playing and singing is very good, I am not familiar with his material and therefore I was not very interested in his material.
The book and DVD came sealed in plastic, therefore I was not able to view the book before purchase. This has become a very popular trend with music publishers and seems to be the only way they can keep up with internet material. If the publisher includes a CD or DVD with the book, it becomes more appealing to the buyer. However, the book becomes sealed so the purchaser can not view the material before purchase.
This is a good book for the beginning blues guitarist. The starting guitarist that is trying to learn 12 bar blues, finger picking techniques, and shuffles will benefit from this book, the experienced player may already have this knowledge.
Book Review: Delta Blues Guitar
Book Review: Delta Blues Guitar
By Stefan Grossman
Alfred Publishing
ISBN- 0-7390-4280-7
The Delta Blues guitar is very close to my heart. I love to listen to the old Delta Blues players and no one has maintained such a historical musical library as Stefan Grossman. I have bought many of Mr. Grossman’s books throughout my guitar playing education and no of them have let me down.
This book and CD set contains Delta Blues classics from Willie Brown, Son House, Skip James, Hambone Willie Newbern, Charlie Patton, Arthur Pettis, and Robert Wilkens. Guitarists should be comfortable playing in open and alternate tunings when learning Delta Blues. Many of the players like to play in Open G tuning or Cross Note tuning as in the case of Skip James.
This book contains a CD of the original recordings of the songs that are transcribed. One of the most difficult aspects of listening to Delta Blues is the quality of the recordings. Some of the recordings on this CD are so difficult to listen to due to the poor recording techniques at the time that I could not listen to it.
Stefan Grossman always provides a background about the musician before presenting transcriptions. He provides a history and discography so the learner can research the artist and music further.
Grossman’s tabs are clearly written. He provides both Tabs and music notation. I sometimes have trouble following Grossman’s style of tab writing though. Grossman has a style of writing the guitar tab first, then on a following page writing the lyrics. This makes the learner learn the guitar lines, and then he has to figure out on his own where the vocal lines fit in. I find it much easier to have the vocal line inserted in with the guitar line.
This is a very good book for anyone wanting to learn Delta Blues. I am going to get some more books in Grossman’s series. When it comes to writing about Delta Blues playing, there is no one else has developed the reputation that Stephan Grossman has.
By Stefan Grossman
Alfred Publishing
ISBN- 0-7390-4280-7
The Delta Blues guitar is very close to my heart. I love to listen to the old Delta Blues players and no one has maintained such a historical musical library as Stefan Grossman. I have bought many of Mr. Grossman’s books throughout my guitar playing education and no of them have let me down.
This book and CD set contains Delta Blues classics from Willie Brown, Son House, Skip James, Hambone Willie Newbern, Charlie Patton, Arthur Pettis, and Robert Wilkens. Guitarists should be comfortable playing in open and alternate tunings when learning Delta Blues. Many of the players like to play in Open G tuning or Cross Note tuning as in the case of Skip James.
This book contains a CD of the original recordings of the songs that are transcribed. One of the most difficult aspects of listening to Delta Blues is the quality of the recordings. Some of the recordings on this CD are so difficult to listen to due to the poor recording techniques at the time that I could not listen to it.
Stefan Grossman always provides a background about the musician before presenting transcriptions. He provides a history and discography so the learner can research the artist and music further.
Grossman’s tabs are clearly written. He provides both Tabs and music notation. I sometimes have trouble following Grossman’s style of tab writing though. Grossman has a style of writing the guitar tab first, then on a following page writing the lyrics. This makes the learner learn the guitar lines, and then he has to figure out on his own where the vocal lines fit in. I find it much easier to have the vocal line inserted in with the guitar line.
This is a very good book for anyone wanting to learn Delta Blues. I am going to get some more books in Grossman’s series. When it comes to writing about Delta Blues playing, there is no one else has developed the reputation that Stephan Grossman has.
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