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Post by fibrebundle on Jun 15, 2009 18:29:29 GMT
Hi, Michael and everyone!
Apart from my modest efforts with playing slide on resonators, I try and play acoustic blues in standard tuning, on a flattop acoustic guitar (thumbpick and metal fingerpicks). I have picked up a few songs (by ear), play them reasonably O.K., but now I feel it is time for me to get some instruction material to supplement my efforts. Something which is fairly comprehensive and also perhaps a little technical in that it talks about chord voicings, inversions, ideas to play in this style all over the fretboard, talks about sevenths, ninths, thirteenths,.. I hope you you get the gist! Not just something which has TAB for songs, but something which gives ideas about playing and improvising around chord shapes in different positions. Along with this, of course, my 'picking by ear' efforts will go on! Can you suggest some good Book/CD sets, kind of which I can order from Amazon?
Thanks!
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Post by Michael Messer on Jun 15, 2009 18:57:18 GMT
Hi Fibrebundle,
I would recommend looking at products by John Miller, Woody Mann, Ari Eisinger. These guys teach in the area you are asking about. I am sure there are many others, but these are people I know and respect for both their playing and their teaching abilities.
Let us know how you get on
Good luck!
Shine On
Michael.
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Post by blueshome on Jun 15, 2009 21:22:50 GMT
John Miller! A great teacher with encyclopaedic knowledge of the music. Single artist lessons but they give a really strong grounding which will allow you to devlop your own playing. John has several dvd's out on pre-war blues artists and will be releasing a couple very soon on chord vocabulary and theory- should be well worth waiting for. You could of course do better and get it from the horse's mouth by taking classes from John at Bluesweek - www.euroblues.co.uk. You could also brush up your sliding with Michael and Steve James at the same time. |
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Post by bod on Jun 15, 2009 22:00:28 GMT
Hi Fibrebundle,
I'm just a learner, so no claims to expertise about this and of the three names mentioned so far I only know Woody Mann's tutorials but, for what it's worth, I've been happy with the Woody Mann materials I've used and would recommend them. That said, I should add that from what I've seen I think you'd get some, but not all, of what you're looking for in his books/dvds. I'll say a bit more...
I've got three in the Art of Acoustic Blues Guitar Series, namely, The Basics, Ragtime and Gospel (of Gary Davis), and The Logic of the Fretboard - each has a book and a dvd. Now the books are pretty much TAB for a handful of songs each, plus a little further information and a further basic exercise (the same on in each book) that provides a series of examples of variations and developments on the same basic blues. However, these are just supporting materials. Mann's aim is to avoid simply teaching a few numbers and to focus on providing a foundation (this is the sense of the title of 'The Basics, it is not "easy tunes for tiny fingers" territory) that will support learning and playing in a variety of blues and related idioms. There are two strands that he comes back to time an again:
1) Developing bass and melody / thumb and finger independence on the picking hand - don't (just) learn whole picking patterns, that'll lock you in... practice the bass and melody lines separately, learn to hear and play the two things together, so that you can eventually learn how treat the relationship between the two as a kind of dance, which Mann seems to see and going to the heart and soul of the style.
2) Breaking down the chords - learning to see how different parts of chords can be, so to speak, broken off to form moveable shapes and used for melodies and harmonies all up and down the fretboard.
The underlying idea is that despite the wide diversity in the range of forms and styles involved in fingerstyle blues guitar, the above two themes are at work in and relevant to all areas, so getting on top of them is a useful thing...
The tunes and the versions taught in the series have apparently been chosen to help the learner develop along these two lines as they move though the different numbers. (I certainly found it instructive) Each tune is performed in a more advanced version, as well as played and tabbed in a more basic version and subjected to a walk through. One nice thing about this is you get the detailed description and demonstration of an accessible version and quickly shown a version that you'll have to move to by eye and ear, if you want it. This struck me as a nice balance.
But I really don't remember any real focus on 9ths and 13ths and so on and I think you'd probably have to look for that elsewhere (although I suppose it might be elsewhere in his materials)
Dave
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Post by Gerry C on Jun 15, 2009 22:16:41 GMT
The two leaders in this field of instruction are Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop at www.guitarvideos.com and Homespun Tapes, founded and run by Happy and Jane Traum, at www.homespuntapes.com Both have a wide variety of instructional materials on various genres of guitar music and, in the case of Homespun, various instruments. All of the instructors mentioned in this thread have materials (DVDs, CD/book sets) with one or other of these companies (and sometimes both!). For the 9ths, 13ths etc, the SGGW has several DVDs on jazz guitar. If you browse the websites you'll find something of interest. I've never met John Miller but I have several of his DVDs and find him a terrific teacher. I've also corresponded with him online and found him hugely helpful and courteous. I did a weekend workshop with Woody Mann a couple of years ago and he too is a really nice guy and a great teacher - and I used to train teachers professionally so I can spot a good 'un!! Anything by these guys will bring on your playing - but you have to be prepared to put your time in for the detailed instruction they give. Good luck and have fun! Cheerily, Gerry C |
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Post by fibrebundle on Jun 16, 2009 3:34:59 GMT
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Post by wolvoboy on Jun 16, 2009 3:59:32 GMT
here's a exerpt from Steve James homespuntapes series on acoustic blues on you tube gives you an idea of how good it is,looks pretty good might get it myself,
wolvoboy
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Post by Gerry C on Jun 16, 2009 7:37:50 GMT
Thanks for reminding me, wolvoboy, that Grossman's Guitar Workshop also has a YouTube channel with lots of free instructional goodies...
Cheerily,
Gerry C
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Post by bod on Jun 16, 2009 8:58:33 GMT
that Grossman's Guitar Workshop also has a YouTube channel with lots of free instructional goodies... ...among which it turns out there are a couple of Woody Mann extracts: These are similar to, but but not from, the materials I referred to but should give you a good idea of what his dvds are like. (The ones I have are a little more introductory - the version of 'Saturday Night Rub' on The Basics for example is, well, a little more basic and features a walk through in addition to using the split screen visuals) Have to say, though, that Steve James lesson looks really good too. |
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Post by fibrebundle on Jun 16, 2009 9:13:50 GMT
The Steve James Lessons do look promising. Especially since I am currently in my Robert Johnson phase (was just working out Hellhound on my trail cover (s) by John Hammond). It might be one of the stuff I eventually order.
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