Anyone interested in playing blues guitar can pick up this well-paced, comprehensive method and get started right away. Beginning concepts include blues theory, left-hand technique, call-and-response phrasing, intros, turnarounds, improvisation, and the rhythmic styles of Texas swing, slow blues, and minor blues. Intermediate topics include phrasing, fills, non-scale tones, chord extensions, substitutions, and "Licks of the Masters." The book concludes with advanced techniques such as composite scales, the Mixolydian mode, arpeggio superimpositions, the eight-bar blues, gospel blues, minor blues, and techniques of great players like Muddy Waters, Big Bill Broonzy, Freddie King, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, and many others. Whether you are just starting to learn guitar or are an advanced player looking to improve your playing, this is the one book on blues guitar you will ever need.

This complete edition includes a full instructional video, available online via streaming or download, hosted by guitar virtuoso Jared Meeker for each book it includes, Beginning, Intermediate, and Mastering Blues Guitar. MP3 audio files for all three books are also available online.

Includes:

* Examples in easy-to-read TAB and standard music notation
* Large chord and scale diagrams
* Licks in the styles of blues masters
* Eight- and twelve-bar solo examples
* Techniques and theory for lead and rhythm guitar playing

Contents

Beginning Blues Guitar
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1---GETTING STARTED
Half Steps, Whole Steps, and the Importance of Gravity
The Fretboard
Tuning Up
Music Notation
Reading Tablature
Reading Chord Diagrams
Reading a Chord Chart---Rhythmic Notation
Reading Scale Diagrams
Reading Roman Numerals
CHAPTER 2---BLUES THEORY
The Major Scale
Key Signatures
Minor Scales
Relative Minor
Intervals
Chords
Diatonic Harmony
Blues Harmony
CHAPTER 3---BASIC RHYTHM GUITAR
Basic Rhythm Vocabulary
Basic Twelve-Bar Blues
Palm Muting
The Shuffle Pattern
Moveable Shuffle Patterns
Left-Hand Muting
Variations on the Shuffle Pattern
Stop Time
Boogie-Woogie in Open E
CHAPTER 4---BLUES SCALES
Major Pentatonic
Phrasing
Call-and-Response Phrasing
Riff-Style Soloing
Minor Pentatonic
Targeting Root Notes
Combining Call-and-Response with Root Targeting
Transposing
CHAPTER 5---LEFT HAND TECHNIQUES
Hammer-ons
Pull-offs
Hammer-ons and Pull-offs Together
Slides
Bending
Reverse Bends
Signature Licks
Vibrato
CHAPTER 6---RHYTHM GUITAR STYLES
Muddy Waters---Vamps
Buddy Guy---Rhythm Riffs
Texas Swing
Slow Blues
Minor Blues
CHAPTER 7---INTROS, TURNAROUNDS, AND ENDINGS
Turnarounds
Intros
Endings
CHAPTER 8---IMPROVISING
Alternating Major and Minor Pentatonic
Adding Major Pentatonic Notes to the Minor Pentatonic
Adding Minor Pentatonic Notes to the Major Pentatonic
Chord Hits
Expanding the Basic Scale Patterns
More Licks!
CHAPTER 9---PRACTICING
Set Goals
Organize Your Time
Metronomes, Drum Machines, and Practice Recordings
Vary Your Sources
Outside the Practice Room
Individuality
Intermediate Blues Guitar
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1---BASIC THEORY
Intervals
Interval Inversion
Chords
Chord Extensions
Dominant Chords
Chord Quiz
CHAPTER 2---BLUES RHYTHM GUITAR
Swing Eighths
Boogie!
Chord Extensions and Substitutions
Dominant Blues Substitutions
Minor Blues Substitutions
Right-Hand Development
Shuffle Comping
Sliding Chord Forms
Funky Blues Rhythm Fills
Rhythm & Blues Fills
SECRETS OF THE BLUES!---BLUES PHILOSOPHY
CHAPTER 3---A QUICK TECHNIQUE REVIEW
Bending
Vibrato
Bent-Note Vibrato
CHAPTER 4---SOLOING
The Minor Pentatonic Scale
Phrasing
Non-Scale Tones
Breaking Out of Pentatonic Patterns
The Major Pentatonic Scale
Mixing Major and Minor Pentatonics
CHAPTER 5---MORE ABOUT SOLOING
Resolving to 3 and Flat-7
Double-Stop 3rds
Dominant Double Stops
Double-Stop 6ths
Double-Stop 4ths
Minor Blues Double Stops
CHAPTER 6---LICKS OF THE MASTERS
B. B. King
Albert King
Freddie King
Jimi Hendrix
Eric Clapton
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Gary Clark, Jr
Joe Bonamassa
Mastering Blues Guitar
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
DIATONIC HARMONY REVIEW
MUSICAL DEFINITIONS
CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 1---THE 12-BAR BLUES
Shuffle Blues
Blues-Rock Rhythms
The Closed-Position Rhythm Pattern
Funk Blues
CHAPTER 2---INTROS, TURNAROUNDS, VAMPS, AND ENDINGS
Intros
Turnarounds
Vamps
Endings
CHAPTER 3---THE BLUES SCALE
Closed-Position Blues Scales
Open-Position Blues Scales
Analyzing Scale Tones
CHAPTER 4---BLUES TECHNIQUES
Left-Hand Techniques
Picking Techniques
CHAPTER 5---IMPROVISATIONAL CONCEPTS
Composite Blues Scales
The Mixolydian Mode
The Dominant 7th Arpeggio
Arpeggio Superimposition
The Major Triad
The Minor Triad
Targeting Chord Tones
CHAPTER 6---LICKS OVER THE I7--IV7--V7 BLUES
Licks Over the I7 Chord
Licks Over the IV7 Chord
Licks Over the V7 Chord
Double-Stop Licks
Octaves
CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 7---THE 8-BAR BLUES
The Diminished 7th Chord
The Diminished 7th Arpeggio
8-Bar Blues Solos
CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 8---SLOW BLUES
Basic Slow Blues
"Stormy Monday" Blues
The Augmented Chord
CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 9---MINOR BLUES
The Natural Minor Blues
Altered Minor Blues
CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 10---BLUES RHYTHMS WITH FILLS
The Delta Blues
Bass Fills
Horn Fills
CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 11---POP BLUES
Secondary Dominants
The Dorian Mode
CHORDS FOR CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 12---JAZZ BLUES
Alternate Changes
Bebop Blues
Walking Bass Blues
Every Beat Blues
Jazz Waltz Blues
PRACTICE TIPS