Stefan Grossman's Early Masters of American Blues Guitar: Lonnie Johnson: Guitar Book & CD

This book grants direct access to the fingerstyle vocabulary and single-note soloing techniques that shaped modern blues guitar, taught through the music of one of the 20th century's most prolific recording artists. Having the original recordings alongside Grossman's expert transcriptions means you can hear exactly what Lonnie Johnson played, then study how he constructed his solos, lines, and accompaniment patterns. It's an apprenticeship with a master, mediated by an author who understands both the music and how to teach it.

The sound is intimate and conversational. Johnson's guitar speaks with clarity and warmth, whether he's carrying a melody or laying down a walking bass line beneath it. These performances capture a golden age of acoustic blues recorded in the 1920s and 1930s, when the guitar was still finding its voice as a solo instrument. There's a directness to the playing that feels both sophisticated and deeply human.

Intermediate to advanced guitarists seeking authentic blues roots knowledge and fingerstyle technique. This is essential material for anyone serious about blues guitar history or looking to understand the vocabulary that influenced T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, and generations of players who followed.

• Listen through each recording multiple times before attempting the transcription. Your ear needs to internalize Johnson's phrasing, timing, and subtle note bends long before your fingers find them on the neck.
• Pay attention to his left-hand approach. Johnson's vibrato, slides, and muted strings are not decorative; they shape the melodic contour. The transcription captures what he played, but the recordings show you how he voiced those decisions.
• Work slowly through the chord-melody and accompaniment patterns. Johnson's efficiency with fingerpicking is deceptive; what sounds effortless requires precise thumb-and-finger coordination. Breaking these down into separate technical segments builds the muscle memory needed for fluency.
• Study the relationship between Johnson's bass lines and melody. His ability to walk a bass line while playing a solo above it is foundational to blues guitar language. Understanding how he constructed this independence will expand your own comping vocabulary.

Use this as a semester-long or year-long independent study text for advanced classical or fingerstyle guitarists who want to explore jazz and blues roots. The 16 transcriptions provide material for a recital program focused on American blues history, or as the foundation for a master class on fingerstyle technique across genres. Guitarists preparing for auditions or portfolios that emphasize stylistic range will find authentic, historically grounded repertoire here.

• Fingerstyle coordination and independence between bass and melody voices
• Single-note blues phrasing, including bends, vibrato, and string damping
• Walking bass lines and chord-melody arranging
• Listening transcription and ear training in blues contexts
• Understanding blues form and harmonic movement in early acoustic blues
• Rhythmic flexibility and swing feel within a written transcription