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Is this one of the best or worst method or repertoire books for learning to play acoustic fingerstyle blues guitar?
You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Solo Blues Guitar by Dave Rubin is different from any other book that I’ve reviewed thus far in that it is not a fingerstyle guitar book. The examples can be played fingerstyle, but most seem to work best with a plectrum/pick/flatpick. However, I want to review this book for a couple reasons:
- It is focused on solo blues guitar arrangements
- I LOVE this book. These examples are fun and they inspire me to improvise in new ways with new grooves.
Solo Blues Guitar by Dave Rubin is a repertoire book for learning to play, well… solo blues guitar! With a plectrum. This book is suitable for intermediate players who already have some knowledge of the blues and how to improvise. Each example provides a groove that intersperses melody and lead lines. To really get the most out of the book, you will want to:
- Learn an example as written,
- Understand the rhythm guitar groove – the shuffle, chord stabs, etc.
- Insert your own melodies and improvisation while continuing to hold down the original rhythm guitar groove.
- You can try creating variations to the original groove as well.
Other than a half-page introduction, there is no text in this book. Only full 12 or 16-bar blues examples:
- (35) 12-bar, single-chorus examples in the keys of E, A, G, and D,
- (15) 12-bar, two-chorus, slow blues examples in the keys of E, G, and A, and
- (5) 16-bar examples with non-standard chord progressions in the key of A.
Solo Blues Guitar provides both treble clef and tablature for each arrangement. Unfortunately, no fingering is provided in the music. For each example, I notated my own fingering in the music, after which I was able to play much more smoothly, accurately, and confidently. The skill of choosing sensible fingering is important, and you will need to look elsewhere to further develop this skill.
Recordings are available online through Hal Leonard’s website. These will be very helpful to many readers. Interestingly, the recordings were done by Doug Boduch, the author of Hal Leonard’s Fingerpicking Guitar, which I reviewed in Review #17.
© 2006 by Hal Leonard
My own books:
Fingerstyle Blues Guitar: An In-Depth Study of the 12-Bar Blues in E Major – Books 1 and 2 are available in paperback or as an eBook through Amazon [https://a.co/d/g7Udsso (Book 1) and https://a.co/d/aDbh4H0 (Book 2)]. The first priority of these books is to quickly get you playing a solo instrumental 12-bar blues, and then to build on it until you can freely improvise or “jam.” You should be up and running by the end of the third chapter, and each following chapter will add icing on the cake.
Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook. Learning to arrange melodies will also help your fingerstyle songwriting and your understanding of the inner workings of fingerstyle guitar.
My upcoming book, Arranging for Fingerstyle Ukulele, will be published by Mel Bay in 2026.
My music is available on all streaming platforms at https://open.spotify.com/artist/5dcokTG6C598OhTslHH5uo?si=hrQb7FViSZewDRSgECw9Ew:
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.
