Alfred Publishing

Authors: David Hamburger, Matt Smith, Wayne Riker
Format: Book with Online Audio & Video
Instrumentation: Guitar

Anyone interested in playing blues guitar can pick up this well-paced, comprehensive method and get started right away. Beginning concepts include blues theory, left-hand technique, call-and-response phrasing, intros, turnarounds, improvisation, and the rhythmic styles of Texas swing, slow blues, and minor blues. Intermediate topics include phrasing, fills, non-scale tones, chord extensions, substitutions, and "Licks of the Masters." The book concludes with advanced techniques such as composite scales, the Mixolydian mode, arpeggio superimpositions, the eight-bar blues, gospel blues, minor blues, and techniques of great players like Muddy Waters, Big Bill Broonzy, Freddie King, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, and many others. Whether you are just starting to learn guitar or are an advanced player looking to improve your playing, this is the one book on blues guitar you will ever need.

This complete edition includes a full instructional video, available online via streaming or download, hosted by guitar virtuoso Jared Meeker for each book it includes, Beginning, Intermediate, and Mastering Blues Guitar. MP3 audio files for all three books are also available online.

Includes:

• Examples in easy-to-read TAB and standard music notation
• Large chord and scale diagrams
• Licks in the styles of blues masters
• Eight- and twelve-bar solo examples
• Techniques and theory for lead and rhythm guitar playing

Contents:

Beginning Blues Guitar

• INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER 1---GETTING STARTED
  • Half Steps, Whole Steps, and the Importance of Gravity
  • The Fretboard
  • Tuning Up
  • Music Notation
  • Reading Tablature
  • Reading Chord Diagrams
  • Reading a Chord Chart---Rhythmic Notation
  • Reading Scale Diagrams
  • Reading Roman Numerals
• CHAPTER 2---BLUES THEORY
  • The Major Scale
  • Key Signatures
  • Minor Scales
  • Relative Minor
  • Intervals
  • Chords
  • Diatonic Harmony
  • Blues Harmony
• CHAPTER 3---BASIC RHYTHM GUITAR
  • Basic Rhythm Vocabulary
  • Basic Twelve-Bar Blues
  • Palm Muting
  • The Shuffle Pattern
  • Moveable Shuffle Patterns
  • Left-Hand Muting
  • Variations on the Shuffle Pattern
  • Stop Time
  • Boogie-Woogie in Open E
• CHAPTER 4---BLUES SCALES
  • Major Pentatonic
  • Phrasing
  • Call-and-Response Phrasing
  • Riff-Style Soloing
  • Minor Pentatonic
  • Targeting Root Notes
  • Combining Call-and-Response with Root Targeting
  • Transposing
• CHAPTER 5---LEFT HAND TECHNIQUES
  • Hammer-ons
  • Pull-offs
  • Hammer-ons and Pull-offs Together
  • Slides
  • Bending
  • Reverse Bends
  • Signature Licks
  • Vibrato
• CHAPTER 6---RHYTHM GUITAR STYLES
  • Muddy Waters---Vamps
  • Buddy Guy---Rhythm Riffs
  • Texas Swing
  • Slow Blues
  • Minor Blues
• CHAPTER 7---INTROS, TURNAROUNDS, AND ENDINGS
  • Turnarounds
  • Intros
  • Endings
• CHAPTER 8---IMPROVISING
  • Alternating Major and Minor Pentatonic
  • Adding Major Pentatonic Notes to the Minor Pentatonic
  • Adding Minor Pentatonic Notes to the Major Pentatonic
  • Chord Hits
  • Expanding the Basic Scale Patterns
  • More Licks!
• CHAPTER 9---PRACTICING
  • Set Goals
  • Organize Your Time
  • Metronomes, Drum Machines, and Practice Recordings
  • Vary Your Sources
  • Outside the Practice Room
  • Individuality

Intermediate Blues Guitar

• ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• CHAPTER 1---BASIC THEORY
  • Interval Inversion
  • Chord Extensions
  • Dominant Chords
  • Chord Quiz
• CHAPTER 2---BLUES RHYTHM GUITAR
  • Swing Eighths
  • Boogie!
  • Chord Extensions and Substitutions
  • Dominant Blues Substitutions
  • Minor Blues Substitutions
  • Right-Hand Development
  • Shuffle Comping
  • Sliding Chord Forms
  • Funky Blues Rhythm Fills
  • Rhythm & Blues Fills
• SECRETS OF THE BLUES!---BLUES PHILOSOPHY
• CHAPTER 3---A QUICK TECHNIQUE REVIEW
  • Bent-Note Vibrato
• CHAPTER 4---SOLOING
  • The Minor Pentatonic Scale
  • Non-Scale Tones
  • Breaking Out of Pentatonic Patterns
  • The Major Pentatonic Scale
  • Mixing Major and Minor Pentatonics
• CHAPTER 5---MORE ABOUT SOLOING
  • Resolving to 3 and Flat-7
  • Double-Stop 3rds
  • Dominant Double Stops
  • Double-Stop 6ths
  • Double-Stop 4ths
  • Minor Blues Double Stops
• CHAPTER 6---LICKS OF THE MASTERS
  • B. B. King
  • Albert King
  • Freddie King
  • Jimi Hendrix
  • Eric Clapton
  • Stevie Ray Vaughan
  • Gary Clark, Jr
  • Joe Bonamassa

Mastering Blues Guitar

• HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
• DIATONIC HARMONY REVIEW
• MUSICAL DEFINITIONS
• CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 1
• CHAPTER 1---THE 12-BAR BLUES
  • Shuffle Blues
  • Blues-Rock Rhythms
  • The Closed-Position Rhythm Pattern
  • Funk Blues
• CHAPTER 2---INTROS, TURNAROUNDS, VAMPS, AND ENDINGS
  • Vamps
• CHAPTER 3---THE BLUES SCALE
  • Closed-Position Blues Scales
  • Open-Position Blues Scales
  • Analyzing Scale Tones
• CHAPTER 4---BLUES TECHNIQUES
  • Left-Hand Techniques
  • Picking Techniques
• CHAPTER 5---IMPROVISATIONAL CONCEPTS
  • Composite Blues Scales
  • The Mixolydian Mode
  • The Dominant 7th Arpeggio
  • Arpeggio Superimposition
  • The Major Triad
  • The Minor Triad
  • Targeting Chord Tones
• CHAPTER 6---LICKS OVER THE I7--IV7--V7 BLUES
  • Licks Over the I7 Chord
  • Licks Over the IV7 Chord
  • Licks Over the V7 Chord
  • Double-Stop Licks
  • Octaves
• CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 7
• CHAPTER 7---THE 8-BAR BLUES
  • The Diminished 7th Chord
  • The Diminished 7th Arpeggio
  • 8-Bar Blues Solos
• CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 8
• CHAPTER 8---SLOW BLUES
  • Basic Slow Blues
  • "Stormy Monday" Blues
  • The Augmented Chord
• CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 9
• CHAPTER 9---MINOR BLUES
  • The Natural Minor Blues
  • Altered Minor Blues
• CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 10
• CHAPTER 10---BLUES RHYTHMS WITH FILLS
  • The Delta Blues
  • Bass Fills
  • Horn Fills
• CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 11
• CHAPTER 11---POP BLUES
  • Secondary Dominants
  • The Dorian Mode
• CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 12
• CHAPTER 12---JAZZ BLUES
  • Alternate Changes
  • Bebop Blues
  • Walking Bass Blues
  • Every Beat Blues
  • Jazz Waltz Blues
• PRACTICE TIPS