blues

Comparison #1: Best Beginner Fingerstyle Methods

December 2, 2024 by joemcmurray Leave a Comment

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If you want to get started playing acoustic fingerstyle guitar, you will benefit from private lessons with a teacher, online video courses, listening to fingerstyle recordings, and of course… books. It is beneficial to mix and match all of these resources. Remember that everyone’s brain works differently, so you may gravitate more towards certain styles of learning / methods of presentation. I love learning from books because I can read the text at my own pace and as many times over as I want. Seeing the music written out is extremely helpful for me – I always had more difficulty keeping track of song forms or chord progressions without some sort of written reference.

So, for those of you who want to utilize a fingerstyle guitar method book to beef up your chops, I’ve done my homework and I’ve distilled my favorites into this “greatest hits” list. I’ll try to be objective and describe who each book is best suited to.

Best Beginner Fingerstyle Methods:

Alfred’s Beginning Fingerstyle Guitar (Lou Manzi): Great all-around book to learn solo fingerstyle guitar. Beginner to intermediate. Not specific to any one subgenre of fingerstyle. Nice organization/flow of information with a decent difficulty progression. Good finger exercises to build some dexterity or to use as warmups, decent explanations in the text (but not too wordy), and nice sounding original tunes. There aren’t any arrangements of famous tunes, but there are tunes “in the style of ___.” I personally like working through this book with my students. Additionally, many of this book’s lessons have sparked creative ideas of my own. First book in a three part series, so you can continue your studies! Audio recordings are available.
Travis-Style Guitar from Scratch (Bruce Emery): This book is a gem! This is a method book for learning to play solo fingerstyle guitar using an alternating bass (in the Travis style). This is one of the best books I’ve found for complete beginner to intermediate players who want to learn this specific style. Even if you want to play other sub-styles of fingerstyle as well, this isn’t a bad place to start your journey. The material progresses logically with lots of exercises that build on each other and lead perfectly into performance pieces (old classics like Oh! Susanna, House of the Rising Sun, Jingle Bells, etc.). Each time Emery presents a new concept, he incorporates it into updated arrangements of each tune. Emery’s sense of humor is infused into the text of the book, keeping detailed explanations lighthearted and entertaining without losing sight of the important information. Audio recordings are available.
Fingerstyle Guitar from Scratch (Bruce Emery): I don’t love it as much as Travis-Style Guitar from Scratch, but it is still great general method book. You will not learn to play solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements (other than a very brief introduction to the topic), but you will receive a great foundation if you are just starting out with fingerstyle. Complete beginner to intermediate. Emery’s sense of humor is once again infused into the text of the book, keeping detailed explanations lighthearted and entertaining without losing sight of the important information. The book is focused on fingerstyle accompaniment using arpeggiation and Travis Style / alternating bass patterns. This book would make an excellent primer for either Alfred’s Beginning Fingerstyle Guitar or any other fingerstyle guitar method. Audio recordings are available.
Hal Leonard’s Fingerpicking Guitar (Doug Boduch): Short and sweet method to learn to play accompaniment and solo fingerstyle guitar through famous popular tunes. Beginner to intermediate. Guitar teachers may find this book to be a great teaching supplement. The progression of topics is well laid out, the examples and arrangements are playable and sound good, and the text is concise. This book is great if you just want to play arrangements of popular tunes, but I’d recommend that you work with a teacher if you want to learn more about how to apply the information outside the book. Audio recordings are available. Don’t confuse this with the next book.
Hal Leonard’s Fingerstyle Guitar (Chad Johnson): Not to be confused with the previous book, this book is a more in-depth method for learning to play both accompaniment and solo fingerstyle guitar. Beginner to late-intermediate. I love the chapter on arranging music for fingerstyle guitar. There are lots of popular songs – either short samples of the accompaniment parts or full solo instrumental arrangements. Lots of examples, although they don’t always build on each other very well, creating some tough swings in difficulty. Audio recordings are available. I’d recommend Alfred’s Beginning Fingerstyle Guitar over this book unless you specifically want the popular song arrangements.
Mel Bay’s Complete Chet Atkins Guitar Method (Chet Atkins): Excellent method book aimed at beginner and intermediate guitar players who want to learn to play solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements in the style of Chet Atkins (the majority of which utilize an alternating bass/ Travis Style). If you are interested in this country-blues style of playing that Chet Atkins made popular starting in the 1950s and lasting until his death in 2001, this is a great place to start. This book ranges in difficulty from easy to intermediate, although a few of the final arrangements are fairly difficult. This one is moves faster and gets significantly more difficult than Bruce Emery’s Travis-Style Guitar from Scratch. I’d really recommend going through Emery’s book first and then tackling this one if you are primarily interested in solo Travis Style playing. This book is arranged much differently from Emery’s book. Each section focuses on playing in a new key signature, and each new key presents new challenges and new opportunities. This book also gets you playing up the neck (but don’t be in a rush to play up the neck!).

Review #16: Acoustic Guitar Fingerstyle Method by David Hamburger

February 9, 2024 by joemcmurray Leave a Comment

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Is this one of the best or worst method books for acoustic fingerstyle guitar?

You can learn to play music by simultaneously using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.

David Hamburger’s The Acoustic Guitar Fingerstyle Method is a method book for learning to play solo fingerstyle (or “fingerpicking”) guitar in the American roots styles (folk, blues, ragtime, early jazz, marches). The book becomes progressively more difficult – the early sections of the book are appropriate for beginner fingerstyle players who have some experience with open chords and the later sections of the book are more suitable for intermediate players. Advanced players may still find some useful information, inspiration, or fun repertoire tunes. This is a well-thought-out book with a great progression of information and fun arrangements of tunes.

The book focuses on alternating bass (Travis picking) arrangements and steady bass arrangements (monotonic bass, walking bass, etc.). There are also brief chapters on Drop D and open D tuning. The material flows in a sensible progression from chapter to chapter as you build skills and knowledge. Each chapter includes text and playing examples that directly prepare you for a 1-2 page tune that showcases the techniques or concepts being taught. The arrangements of the tunes are really nice (they sound good and are playable), although don’t usually include any fingering (there is picking hand fingering notated in the examples, but not the full tunes). The tunes are stylistically similar to those found in Stefan Grossman’s “Complete Country Blues Guitar Book” and Mel Bay’s “Complete Chet Atkins Guitar Method” although with a very different teaching approach.

The book covers a lot of ground in only 74 pages – from beginning Travis Picking to steady bass blues to harmonized walking bass lines to alternate tunings, etc. While the examples and tunes are of high quality, there aren’t that many examples for each topic, so you won’t get that deep of an understanding of how to apply some concepts to different situations. One example of this is playing walking bass lines under your melody- you’ll play a few tunes that include this, but you won’t really learn how to build your own walking bass lines so that you can apply them to your own arrangements or compositions. However, by the end of the book, you will have a firm grasp of the general approaches of playing using an alternating bass (Travis Picking) or a steady bass.

There is not a lot of music theory in the book. This may appeal to some readers. However, it adds to the issue that you may not be able to apply a concept like walking bass lines to other situations.

The text is descriptive and helpful. However, I don’t like how the publisher places the text as a continuous block at the top of the page with the examples clumped together at the bottom of the page. Harder for my eyes to jump back and forth.

The author includes great listening recommendations that are relevant to the tunes and topics at hand.

The included audio (2 CDs) provides all examples and tunes played at full speed and slowed down. The guitar playing is clean and the recording quality is high.

All playing examples are provided in standard notation (treble clef) and tablature.

You could use either a steel string acoustic or nylon string classical guitar to work through this book. You shouldn’t need to fret any bass notes using your thumb over the top.

My eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.

My music is available on all streaming platforms:

Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album was released on January 19, 2024. Watch the first single, “Open Road,” on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/uPBh8sZQsT4?si=EM_wAwnHFqU1VC9C.

Riding the Wave and Acoustic Oasis: my first two fingerstyle guitar albums.

Review #12: The New Art of Ragtime Guitar by Richard Saslow

October 28, 2023 by joemcmurray Leave a Comment

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Is this one of the best or worst method books for fingerstyle guitar?

You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.

Richard S. Saslow’s The New Art of Ragtime Guitar is a fun, well-graduated repertoire + analysis book for learning to play the fingerpicking guitar style known as ragtime guitar. It is aimed at intermediate and advanced fingerstyle players, although late beginners can certainly take a stab at the first couple tunes. The book teaches ragtime guitar through studies of 8 tunes of increasing difficulty. Each tune is broken down into sections with around 6 measures of the music (treble clef and tablature) on one page and a detailed analysis on the facing page. Full condensed tunes are in the back of the book.

Out of the author’s eight original tunes, seven are standard sounding ragtime tunes and one is a blues. Among the ragtime tunes, there is a bit of variation in feel from upbeat and happy to bluesy and minor to jazzy. There are also several key signatures and some unique harmonizations. All of the ragtime tunes utilize an alternating bass line as well as some short segments of walking bass line. The blues tune mainly uses a monotonic bass typical of the Texas blues fingerpicking style.

This is not a method book for learning the basics of fingerstyle guitar in a logical progression from your first notes through to mastery (check out Alfred’s Beginning Fingerstyle, Hal Leonard’s Fingerstyle Guitar, or Mel Bay’s Complete Chet Atkins Guitar Method). However, there are about 20 pages of introductory text discussing equipment, notation, the ragtime style, and technique. There is definitely some useful information in this section, especially for novice players. However, I wouldn’t get too caught up reading this entire section all at once – I would recommend jumping into the tunes which often refer you back to the technique sections of the introduction. Read the detailed stuff then!

Where the book really excels is in its presentation of the music and its corresponding analysis. As I mentioned before, for each ragtime tune you will see ~6 measures of music on one page and the detailed analysis on the facing page. This analysis features detailed directions, techniques, and other tips for the 6 measures at hand. I usually play through the music once, and then go through the analysis carefully, marking fingerings, anchor fingers, guide fingers, etc. into the music as well as into the condensed version of the tune in the back of the book. The analysis really does give you insights into how to properly play these tunes (and future tunes from any source) smoothly and musically.

Authentic sounding fingerstyle ragtime tunes.
Good difficulty graduation.
You will spend much more time playing music than analyzing music theory.
Online recordings of each tune are available.

The book doesn’t get into the modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. No thumb slaps, guitar body percussion, or tapping.

I recommend using an acoustic steel string guitar rather than a classical guitar since there are multiple tunes that utilize the fretting hand thumb over the top.

eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.

Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms.

Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album will be released in January 2024. The first single, “Open Road,” was released 10/20/23. Watch it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/uPBh8sZQsT4?si=EM_wAwnHFqU1VC9C

Review #11: Fingerstyle Blues by Miggs Rivera

September 26, 2023 by joemcmurray Leave a Comment

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Is this one of the best or worst method books for fingerstyle blues guitar?

You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.

Miggs Rivera’s Fingerstyle Blues is an inspiring, well-graduated method book for learning to play fingerstyle blues. It is aimed at intermediate and advanced fingerstyle players. Each chapter ultimately provides a full performance tune, but starts by describing a new concept or technique (or two) and providing examples that prepare you for the performance song. As advertised, this book is focused entirely on fingerstyle blues with deep dives into various substyles including delta blues (Robert Johnson), boogies (John Lee Hooker), slide blues (Son House), and Texas blues (Lightning Hopkins). There is even a tune that has a modern character with some jazzier chords.

I love how in each chapter the book provides technical exercises that directly prepare you for the upcoming performance tune. Often the author will simplify a section of the performance tune and then provide more complexity with each subsequent example. The first chapter of the book presents a somewhat basic 12-bar blues, then provides 5 separate 12-bar variations that each focus on adding a new technique (hammer-on grace notes, slide grace notes, rubato bends, chords fragments, rubato bends on the higher and lower strings), and finally culminates in an all-inclusive performance tune. Mr. Rivera really hit the nail on the head with his teaching approach.

The author provides some music theory, but only that which is immediately applicable to an upcoming performance tune. You will spend much more time playing music than analyzing music theory.

The book includes access to private/un-searchable YouTube video lessons through QR codes. You will need a cell phone that can pull these up. These videos are extremely helpful as they include explanations and demonstrations by the author. These are particularly useful as they show you the proper rhythms and feel.

One thing to note about this book is that it doesn’t emphasize improvisation which is a huge part of blues music. However, you could learn about improvisation elsewhere (with a private teacher or with a book like Joseph Alexander’s Fingerstyle Blues Guitar) and then implement it into the tunes of this book.

Authentic sounding fingerstyle blues tunes.
Excellent difficulty graduation – examples build off each other and get gradually more complex and difficult. Cohesive feel throughout the book, especially as the final performance tune pulls from the earlier tunes.
Not much emphasis on improvisation.
Online video lessons are extremely helpful – difficult rhythms and feel are much easier to learn with the videos.

The book does introduce some modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. You will learn to play thumb slaps and various percussive hits on the guitar body.

I would recommend that you use an acoustic steel string or electric guitar. You could use a nylon string classical guitar if absolutely necessary, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.

Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms.

Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album will soon be released.

Review #9: Complete Country Blues Guitar Book by Stefan Grossman

June 1, 2023 by joemcmurray Leave a Comment

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You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.

Stefan Grossman’s Complete Country Blues Guitar Book is a repertoire book of various substyles of fingerstyle blues (general old time country blues, Delta blues, ragtime blues, Texas blues, and bottleneck blues). Most of the tunes are suitable for late-beginner and intermediate fingerstyle players, although advanced players will certainly enjoy the tunes as well. The music in this book may sound “old-timey” (much of it comes from the 1920s and 30s), but it is really fun to play if you are interested in the style. Aside from the large selection of tunes, the book provides tons of cool history, interviews of blues players (Skip James and W.C. Handy), and historical photos – makes for a great coffee table book!

The book is organized into sections for each substyle of fingerstyle blues. At the beginning of each section there is a textual description and history of the blues substyle being presented. Before each tune, there is a description of where that tune originated from, who played it in this style, important recordings to listen to, and some technical performance details.

Most of the tunes provide you with a single progression of the tune – sometimes only 20 or 30 seconds long. In a real performance you would probably want to repeat the form multiple times with singing, variations, or improvisation. My only complaint about the book is that it would have been helpful if the author had explained this a bit more. However, if you take the listening recommendations seriously then you will get the idea.

The book provides both treble clef and tablature. There are no right or left-hand fingerings provided (except occasionally in the description before the tune). The tablature is unusual in that the fret numbers are written between the lines instead of on the lines, but I quickly adjusted to it without any problem.

The majority of the tunes use standard tuning. However, alternate tunings are used extensively within the sections on “Country Blues Guitar: The Alternating Bass and Open Tunings” and “Bottleneck Blues Guitar.”

This is a repertoire book full of song arrangements. This is not a method book that teaches you the fundamentals of how to play fingerstyle blues guitar. However, if you have some fingerstyle experience, then this book will provide you with a lifetime of fun (at almost 260 pages, it will literally last you a very long time).

Authentic fingerstyle blues tunes from various substyles.
Great organization.
Good difficulty graduation – easier tunes to start each section.
Short tunes.
Lots of alternating bass and monotonic bass
Strange tablature will take a few minutes to adjust to.
No fingerings for right or left hand.
No audio access, but there are lots of listening recommendations that are helpful.

The book doesn’t get into the modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. No thumb slaps, guitar body percussion, or tapping.

I recommend using an acoustic steel string guitar rather than a classical guitar since there are multiple tunes that utilize the fretting hand thumb over the top. You will need a slide for the final section, but you can use it with your normal guitar.

eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.

Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms.

Review #8: Fingerstyle Blues Guitar by Joseph Alexander

May 18, 2023 by joemcmurray Leave a Comment

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You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.

Joseph Alexander’s Fingerstyle Blues Guitar (published by Fundamental Changes) is an excellent book for learning the fundamentals of fingerstyle blues guitar with either a monotonic or alternating bass. While this book does have some beginner friendly material, it will especially resonate with intermediate or advanced players. It is also great for non-fingerstyle blues, rock, or jazz guitarists looking to cross over into fingerstyle blues. The first half of the book is focused on improvising lead melodies over a monotonic bass (mostly E minor pentatonic over an open 6^th string), and the second half of the book is focused on blues chord progressions and picking patterns, soloing over blues progressions, turnarounds, bass lines, and two short studies.

This book presents lots of licks to teach you how to play over a monotonic bass line. If you haven’t ever improvised using pentatonic scales, then you may find yourself just learning and memorizing cool blues licks. If you really want to get the most out of this book, then you need to spend time incorporating the phrases into blues progressions and improvising your own blues phrases over blues progressions. I suggest mastering each example with the monotonic bass (open 6^th string) and then playing it over a 12-bar blues progression. For each technique presented in the book, I suggest coming up with your own phrases using that technique – if the book presents examples using slides, then improvise using slides. Then improvise using slides over an entire 12-bar blues progression. A great practical goal would be to play actual blues tunes with some improv in the middle.

The second half of the book provides a bunch of accompaniment patterns over the I, IV, and V chords, and it provides some melodies on top of the chords. There is a section on turnarounds, a short section on bass lines, and a final section with two short “studies.” By the time you get through all of this you should have a decent idea of how to play a generic or improvised fingerstyle blues with a variety of feels in the keys of E and G. Aside from the studies, there aren’t any actual tunes in this book, but you’ll have the tools to learn them from other sources.

Authentic fingerstyle blues lines and grooves
Good difficulty graduation – examples build off each other and get gradually more complex and difficult. Cohesive feel especially to the first half of the book.
No actual fingerstyle blues tunes to learn other than two short studies.
Online audio access is really helpful – difficult rhythms and feel are much easier to learn with the audio tracks.
No fingerings for right or left hand for much of the book. Chapter 1 and Chapter 7 do have some picking hand fingering.
Some examples are difficult to play on an acoustic guitar because of whole step bends. You can always substitute slides for these big bends.

The book doesn’t get into the modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. No thumb slaps, guitar body percussion, or tapping.

For most of the tunes you could use an acoustic steel string or electric guitar. You could use a nylon string classical guitar if necessary, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.

Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms.

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