The ability to improvise and create variations within a song is the essence of the guitar work of the great traditional acoustic blues guitarists such as Blind Blake, Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, Rev. Gary Davis, and Blind Lemon Jefferson. By exploring the ways that chords, melodies, and rhythms work, Woody Mann presents practical and simple ways to create variations in your playing. Woody teaches a new approach to seeing the fretboard and techniques for “breaking down” chord blocks into smaller “pieces” and connecting them throughout the fretboard. As he teaches the repertoire of the masters of acoustic blues, he demonstrates how melodies and harmonies can be derived from simple, movable chord shapes. This book is a method for relating the entire fretboard to the basic first position chord shapes that we all learn as beginners and using them to create new chords, melodies, and variations in your music. Studying the songs and concepts that Woody presents in this program will help students to break out of ruts and begin playing “up-the-neck” without relying on barre chords or scale patterns. Woody's approach to varying melody and bass lines against each other will also help students to develop a more syncopated and stronger picking technique. This simple and effective method allows students to increase their chord vocabulary by relying on logic instead of memorization.
Video is accessed online using the unique code inside the book and can be streamed or downloaded.
Woody Mann had his first schooling as a teenager in the living room of Rev. Gary Davis, the now legendary gospel and ragtime guitarist. Mann soon went on to perform and record with blues masters Son House and Bukka White as well as contemporary innovators including John Fahey. He has recorded extensively, performed throughout the world, and is widely recognized as one of the world's leading teachers and transcribers of acoustic blues music, having taught countless guitarists through his popular books and videos.
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| List | $27.99 |
Full band back-up to 12 extended jams in authentic blues, R&B and rock styles. Includes tips on scales and riffs to use with each track. Songs include, in standard notation and tab: Been Caught Sleeping • Blues Boy • Funky Blue Street • Knockin' on the Midnight Mustang • Manic Inspiration • Pleasantly Lucid • The Hindenburg Medley • Twelve-Bar Blues in A • Twelve-Bar Jazz Swing Fell in B Flat • Twelve-Bar Rock & Roll Blues in C • Twelve-Bar Very Slow Swing in G • Why a Woman Loves a Man.
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| List | $12.95 |
A first of its kind, the At a Glance series pairs an instructional DVD lesson taught by a professional guitarist with a supplemental book for a comprehensive learning experience. Each book/DVD features several lessons pertaining to one topic, and the hi-def DVD lessons feature on-screen music. The lessons are loaded with valuable tips and information, and popular song examples help to demonstrate the concepts in action. Electric Blues – At a Glance features these lessons: Blues Progressions, B.B. King Style, Stevie Ray Vaughan Style, and Progressive Licks. Songs include: Ask Me No Questions • Cold Shot • Couldn't Stand the Weather • I'm Tore Down • Just like a Woman • Mama, Talk to Your Daughter • Sweet Home Chicago • Thrill Is Gone • Tightrope • and more!
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| List | $9.99 |
This exciting series of instrumental instruction books includes complete music plus easy-to-follow instructions, tips and advice. The accompanying CDs allow you to listen and play along to the matching audio tracks. These user-friendly book/CD packs provide riffs, licks, chords & tricks you can learn now, and easily incorporate into your own playing style!
Playing good blues solos depends on musical understanding. Unlike other books, this volume will show you what and how to play. Hear what can be done with only five notes. Learn the all-important secret of mixing scales – the way the pros do. Play as you learn with the pro-quality CD backing tracks.
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| List | $15.95 |
The legendary Hot Licks guitar instruction video series is being made available in book format with online access to all the classic video footage. This book/video provides a unique chance to learn from the greatest Chicago blues guitarist of them all. In these video lessons, Buddy Guy reveals what he learned from such legends as Jimmy Reed, T-Bone Walker, and Lightnin' Hopkins, among others. Includes 40 transcribed examples. You'll learn: 9th chord riffs and licks; playing lead style with fingers; how to emulate slide guitar; boogie riffs; piano-style rhythms; and much more.
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| List | $19.99 |
Practice jamming with full-band backup to ten extended jams in authentic blues styles on CD. This package also includes an instructional book with tips on scales and techniques to use with each track. Also includes: standard notation and tablature, chord names, and guitar chord diagrams.
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| List | $12.99 |
Grammy winning guitarist and acclaimed author Mark Hanson teaches you how to play great fingerpicking blues guitar instrumentals on this DVD. Included are Mark's fun arrangements of Every Night When the Sun Goes Down, Stick With Me Baby, and his extended bluesy guitar solo of the classic Amazing Grace. Also included are Mark's sprightly ragtime composition 'Riff Raff' and a thorough explanation of developing fingerstyle solo techniques through multi-voiced back-up shuffle patterns. As an added bonus, Mark is shown performing his highly regarded arrangement of Water Is Wide. Contains complete music notation and tablature for all the five tunes. Includes individual lesson segments and multiple camera angles and close-ups all to help your learning!
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| List | $19.95 |
House of Blues and The Rock House Method® join together to bring you this unique and comprehensive beginner Metal method. Jam-packed with the fundemental techniques you need to develop the skills to play any style of metal. World renowned instructor/guitarist John McCarthy guides you step-by-step through easy to learn metal power chords, complete classic and modern metal rhythms, his very own speed demon exercises, pentatonic death scales and the demonic half step. You will learn bends, pull-offs, and hammer-ons all key components of effective lead playing. It is a must have for aspiring metal guitar players!
Each Rock House product includes free lifetime membership to Rock House's online lesson support system. Enhance your learning experience, links with instructors, download backing tracks, access message boards, and much more. You'll connect with a community of musicians around the world learning to play music using The Rock House Method.
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| List | $19.99 |
Learn killer licks in the style of your favorite players and jam along with our superb guitar jam tracks. Each Quick Licks DVD includes an arsenal of licks in the style of your chosen artist to add to your repertoire, plus backing tracks to practice your new-found techniques! Learn killer blues licks in the style of Joe Bonamassa, one of the leading lights in the modern blues guitar scene! Also includes a blues guitar jam track. Lessons by Danny Gill
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| List | $19.99 |
This unique book gives an in-depth insight into blues guitar, from early Chicago Blues, through Memphis and Detroit Blues, the British Blues boom, Jazz Blues and many other blues genres, right up to the blues styles of todays hottest guitarists.
Focusing on the playing styles of influential guitarists, author John Wheatcroft teaches the basics of blues improvisation and showshow it has developed over the years. Learn how to solo like classic blues guitarists B. B. King, John Lee Hooker and Albert Collins and then move on to find out more about the playing styles of Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robben Ford and many others.
Simple step-by-step guides introduce basic techniques, harmony and theory, with demo solos and backing tracks as audio download.
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| List | $38.00 |
You can become a better player by studying the authentic licks of Albert King, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, and Joe Bonamassa. This book/CD pack puts you on the path to learning licks, tricks and techniques, working your way towards the ultimate goal of building stronger solos regardless of your current skill level. With examples from a dozen classic recordings, including: Hide Away • Laundromat Blues • Lucille • Pride and Joy • Texas Flood • and more, this is blues soloing straight from the horse's mouth! The CD is playable on any CD player and also enhanced so Mac & PC users can adjust the tempo without changing the pitch.
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| List | $16.99 |
The new way to practice jamming! This book/CD pack includes full-band backup to 12 Chicago-style extended jams in authentic blues styles. Includes tips on scales and techniques to use with each track. Songs include, in standard notation and tablature: Back Against the Wall • Candy Apple Coupe • I Can't Feel Your Love • I'll See You Later • Just One Night • My Little Honey • No Credit • Plantation Blues • Soon My Time Is Coming • Two-Room City Flat • Waiting on My Lady • You Really Got to Love Me.
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| List | $12.99 |
Do you want to sharpen up your improvisational technique? This DVD features renowned blues guitarist Bill Boazman (aka Sonny Black) and his band demonstrating a variety of jazz-blues songs and showing you how to play them. Now you can enjoy jamming with a full live band whilst sharpening your blues chops. This DVD is intended for the blues players wishing to extend their vocabulary to take in the jazzier sounds in the blues. It covers tuning, passing chords, lead runs and scales, with full up-close demonstrations, as well as 7 full length backing tracks that allow you to practice with a full band. Furthermore, two accompanying audio CDs feature 12 original songs in the styles of T-Bone Walker, Wes Montgomery, Ronnie Earl and Magic Sam amongst others. Each song is indexed as two tracks: one full demonstration recording with the guitar solo, followed by the backing track that allows you to sit in and take over the solos yourself. This is a fantastic look-and-learn method, a useful practice tool and a great way to unwind, just playing along with your own world-class band! Authored for Zone 0. Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
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| List | $19.95 |
Steve Kaufman brings his masterful skills to an engaging and user-friendly collection of twelve “bluesy” bluegrass standards that will serve any intermediate-level picker well in a jam, practice session or performance. Songs include: Little Maggie • Shady Grove • Milk Cow Blues • East Tennessee Blues • Florida Blues • Wayfaring Stranger • Lonesome Road Blues • Blue Ridge Mountain Blues, Salty Dog Blues • St. Louis Blues • and more. Includes music and tab booklet. Early intermediate level.
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| List | $29.95 |
The Guitar Play-Along DVD series lets you hear and see how to play songs like never before. Just watch, listen and learn! Each song starts with a lesson from a professional guitar teacher. Then, the teacher performs the complete song along with professionally recorded backing tracks. You can choose to turn the guitar off if you want to play along, or leave the guitar in the mix to hear how it should sound. You can also choose from three viewing options: fret hand with tab, wide view with tab, pick & fret hands close-up. Each DVD includes great songs that all guitarists will want to know!
Teaches 8 blues classics: Boom Boom • Cold Shot • Dust My Broom • Frosty • Further on up the Road • Paying the Cost to Be the Boss • The Sky Is Crying • Steppin' Out.
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| List | $16.99 |