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Review #8: Fingerstyle Blues Guitar by Joseph Alexander

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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 6th 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 6th 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.

  1. Authentic fingerstyle blues lines and grooves
  2. 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.
  3. No actual fingerstyle blues tunes to learn other than two short studies.
  4. Online audio access is really helpful – difficult rhythms and feel are much easier to learn with the audio tracks.
  5. No fingerings for right or left hand for much of the book.  Chapter 1 and Chapter 7 do have some picking hand fingering.
  6. 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.

Published by Fundamental Changes.  © 2015

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 #7: Fingerpicking Beatles by Hal Leonard

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

Hal Leonard’s Fingerpicking Beatles is full of accessible arrangements of popular Beatles songs.  The tunes are suitable for late beginner/early intermediate through advanced players.  The arrangements often have simplified rhythms, they sometimes leave out either bass notes or inner harmony notes where they would be difficult to grab, they stay mostly below the 5th fret, and they are in guitar friendly keys.  I think this is a fun book that is well worth the money.

The simplicity of many of the arrangements is something that I prefer for a repertoire book like this.  Hal Leonard has done the work of putting the tunes into guitar-friendly keys and providing basic arrangements that are entirely recognizable and effective.  Aside from the melody, the arrangements often include important bass lines, horn lines, and harmonies.  For experienced players, the tunes present many opportunities for embellishment.

Some tunes are arranged in more of a melody and bass style, some feature more arpeggiation, and some feature alternating bass lines.  The style typically fits the essence of the tune.

1) Excellent repertoire from across the Beatles discography.  Variety of upbeat and slower tunes (and everything in-between).

2) Provides treble clef lead sheets (melody with harmonizing chords written above) as well as treble clef and TAB guitar arrangements.

3) Generally simplified arrangements as I detailed above.

4) Some fretting hand fingering is included, but there isn’t any picking hand fingering.

5) Longer tunes have lots of page turns at sometimes inconvenient places.

6) No audio access.

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 classical nylon string guitar since most arrangements don’t require using your fretting hand thumb over the top.

Published by Hal Leonard.  © 1996

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 #6: Fingerstyle Guitar from Scratch by Bruce Emery

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

Bruce Emery’s Fingerstyle Guitar from Scratch is an introductory fingerstyle method book aimed at beginner to early intermediate fingerstyle players who want to learn to play fingerstyle accompaniment.  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.  The book is focused on fingerstyle accompaniment with arpeggiation and Travis Style / alternating bass patterns.  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.

I mentioned that Emery’s writing is entertaining, but on the other side of the coin you should be aware that there is a lot to read in this book.  Lots of text.  I think this is a good thing overall as it provides the details and insights that will make you a better player.  However, if you just want to play more guitar then it is possible to skip over the text and move from example to example.

  1. Excellent first book for fingerstyle guitar accompaniment.
  2. A+ for entertainment value of the writing.
  3. Lots of short generic examples, but several famous old tunes (Dust in the Wind, Landslide, Girl from Ipanema, Leader of the Band, Blackbird, Camptown Races, and more).
  4. Half the book focuses on arpeggiation, and the other half focuses on Travis Style.  Interesting sub-sections on James Taylor’s style and Bossa Nova.
  5. Audio recordings are available online, although sometimes they don’t line up exactly with the page numbers/examples from the book.  This can be a little confusing/annoying.

If you make it through this book, you’ll have a great foundation for playing fingerstyle guitar.  Emery has written a follow-up book called Travis-Style Guitar from Scratch that dives into solo fingerstyle, but I haven’t had the chance to work through it.  I have no doubt that it carries a similar tone and level of detail.

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.

Written by Bruce Emery and published by Skeptical Guitarist Publications.  © 2003

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 #5: The Gigging Guitarist by Michael Wood

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

Michael Wood’s “The Gigging Guitarist: Traditional Celtic and Appalachian Tunes for Fingerstyle Guitar” provides sonorous and playable solo fingerstyle repertoire for late beginner to advanced guitar players.  As implied by the title of the book, you could actually take the book to a coffee shop/restaurant/wedding ceremony gig and play it from cover to cover.  The tunes are not hard for an experienced player, but the arrangements sound really good!  If you are interested in Celtic tunes like Turlough O’Carolan’s “Si Beag Si Mhor,” Irish or Appalachian jigs or fiddle tunes, or traditional Appalachian ballads, then this book provides a nice selection of enjoyable material. 

Michael Wood’s arrangements utilize neither alternating bass / Travis Picking patterns nor any percussive techniques. Instead, the arrangements utilize arpeggiation to fill the spaces between the melody notes.  The tunes have a flowing style that is easy on the hands and the ears.  Also, the tunes are all in standard tuning.  There are a few where I personally like modifying to Drop D, but it isn’t necessary to do so.

  1. Excellent repertoire in the above-mentioned styles.  You won’t find any of these tunes on mainstream radio in the USA.
  2. The tunes can all be played without any page turns – great for gigs.
  3. The arrangements cause low hand fatigue – great for gigs.  No full barre chords.
  4. No alternate tunings – great for gigs.  You can always experiment with altering the tuning of a song if you feel so inclined.
  5. Optional intros make the tunes sound more polished.
  6. Performance notes at the beginning of the book provide a little bit of background for each tune.
  7. Standard Notation and Tablature.  Almost no picking or fretting hand fingering is notated.
  8. No audio access.

As mentioned, this is a repertoire book full of songs.  This is NOT a method book that teaches you step-by-step how to play solo fingerstyle guitar.  If you are taking lessons or independently learning how to play, this book would be a nice supplement to a method book.   If you like these tunes then you’re in luck because the author has released several more books with additional repertoire!

Acoustic steel string or classical guitar – no thumb over the top.

Written by Michael Wood.  © 2017

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 #4: The Art of Solo Fingerpicking by Mark Hanson

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

Mark Hanson’s The Art of Solo Fingerpicking is a serious method book aimed at intermediate and advanced guitar players who want to expand upon their knowledge of playing solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements utilizing alternating bass (or Travis Picking).  This might be the book for you if you have some experience playing fingerstyle and you want to learn some more advanced concepts and take things to another level.  Do not buy this book if you are just beginning with fingerstyle guitar.

1) The book expands on basic alternate-bass driven solo arrangements with lessons on how to create variations in your picking patterns, how to use chord inversions to modify your bass lines, how to play in alternate time signatures, how to add picking hand rolls to your picking patterns, how to use fretting and picking hand damping, and how to gain speed.

2) Excellent info on picking hand positions and technique.  More detail than almost any book I’ve seen.

3) After presenting a concept there is always a song that utilizes that concept.  This immediate application is satisfying and makes the book feel cohesive.

4) Great repertoire.  Mostly the author’s original songs or arrangements.  No famous songs that you’ve heard on the radio, but the included songs are legitimately catchy, dynamic, and stylistically varied (within the umbrella of the alternating-bass style).

5) High quality audio access is included.

The book does not discuss arranging for fingerstyle guitar (taking a tune or melody and creating a solo fingerstyle arrangement/version).  It also 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.

Published by Accent on Music and Mark Hanson.  Original © 1988.  Distributed by Hal Leonard.

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 #3: Complete Chet Atkins Guitar Method

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

Mel Bay’s Complete Chet Atkins Guitar Method is an 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.

  1. Starts with the very basics of music and playing the guitar, but focused on fingerstyle and fairly quickly gets you playing music with both melody and bass parts.
  2. Excellent and thorough look at playing solo fingerstyle arrangements utilizing alternate bass patterns.  Goes through one key signature at a time and covers all the normal guitar-friendly keys (C, Am, G, Em, F, Dm, D, Bm, A, F#m, E).
  3. Very accessible tunes that you can learn and perform.  Many of these tunes are old folks songs – you won’t find any arrangements of popular modern music.
  4. Useful picking exercises to develop technique.
  5. Several classical-esque tunes that are refreshing after lots of alternate bass.
  6. All standard tuning until the final arrangements (a couple are in alternate tunings).
  7. This book does not get into the modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. No thumb or string slaps, guitar body percussion, or tapping.
  8. Audio Access included.

This is not a bad first fingerstyle guitar book to purchase and work through.  Obviously working with a teacher will streamline your development and prevent you from developing bad habits.  If you make it through this book, you’ll have a great foundation for playing fingerstyle guitar.  You’ll also learn some useable and fun arrangements of old tunes.

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.

Published by Mel Bay, written by Chet Atkins.  © 1993

My eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to https://joemcmurray.com/index.php/merch/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.

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