How to Play Blues Guitar: The Basics and Beyonds

The blues, on the surface, is deceptively simple. This is particularly noticeable if you look at the tab for, say, your average BB King lick. But... the nuance, the bends, pre-bends and all the rest can make those four or five notes unique and sometimes even hard to duplicate. So, for beginners, despite the simplicity of the basic licks, understanding the tab's notational symbols will truly make-or-break your success with this book. Also, this book only really covers small parts of your soloing - if you don't know what a turnaround is, this book is one notch higher than you are. That said; the folks at guitar player have put together a good group of bluesmen to emulate and discuss however, being a 'lesson and tips' kind of book, everything is short and not covered in much detail. Still, if you can tighten-up a flabby solo, this book can be worth alot more than its cover price!

This book is good. It is important to note that it is a compilation of articles from Guitar Player magazine, so the flow isn't quite as good as some lesson books. But each lesson is unique, and has lots of valuable information inside. This also makes it pretty easy to hop around in the book to sections you like more. I really wish they had included a CD, rather than MP3 downloads, the whole process was a bit messy getting those for me. But the content is very good, and with time and practice, this book will improve your skills notably.

First let me point out that this book is not for complete beginners. If you are new to playing guitar and want to learn how to play the blues don't buy this book. Only you can know your level of playing so I won't give any time frame that you should have been playing guitar to learn from this book, but if you think you are not a complete beginner but atleast know how to play a guitar fairly well then buy this book. This is a really really well written and edited book. I enjoyed how the book progresses from the basics of how the blues are played to how to add your own style to your songs. Each chapter teaches you something new to add to your repertoire. As you progress through the book you will learn more and more about how to play your own songs. Of course the book does include the famous licks from great blues players like B.B King and John Lee Hooker but it goes far beyond that and teaches you about other greats that you may have never heard of. So to recant, if you are a novice guitarist who wants to learn to play the blues like the masters then I highly suggest this book. If you are a complete beginner though I would suggest a different book or DVD lessons. Blues Guitar for Dummies might be a good idea.

I disagree with the reviewer below that states that this is a master's level book. It is not. However, it is not a book geared towards someone who is brand new to the guitar. You should have some basics under your belt. It is a good, well rounded look at the styles of many of the great blues guitarists. I found the book to be well written, with easy to decipher tablature. The author gets at the heart of each guitarists' main style, in every instance. Is it an alpha and omega of blues guitar? No, but it is the one book I seem to come back to when I need some help, or just for inspiration.

Deftly edited by Richard Johnston, How To Play Blues Guitar: The Basics & Beyond is a straightforward introductory guide and reference for beginning and intermediate blues guitar players, from basic scales to classic sample songs. Blues guitar greats Art Thompson and Dan Erlewine provide expert advice on selecting gear and setting up the guitar in this simple yet eminently useful self-teaching guide. Of special interest are the comments drawn from such legendary musicians as B.B. King, Eric Clapton, John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, and others. A special bonus to the practical advice and musical excerpts is the free access to audio lessons on an exclusive web page. If you are planning to learn to play the blues guitar (or improve your present ability and performance level), then give How To Play Blues Guitar a careful and considered reading.