The Complete Acoustic Blues Method: Mastering Acoustic Blues Guitar: Guitar Book & CD

Raw and sophisticated at once. You'll find yourself pulling from deep wells of blues tradition—walking bass lines, popping techniques, open-tuning voicings—while your hands learn to speak in modes and harmonic colors that extend far beyond the pentatonic shapes you already know.

Guitarists with solid fingerstyle foundation who are ready to deepen their blues vocabulary and technical range. This method suits players serious about transposition, modal theory, and the specific demands of acoustic slide guitar.

• Slow down the recorded accompaniments to lock in fingerstyle patterns before playing along at tempo; the tactile coordination between bass lines and melody takes time to feel natural
• Experiment with open tunings on a dedicated practice guitar or use capos strategically; switching tunings mid-session builds muscle memory faster than rotating between instruments
• Record yourself playing the slide examples and listen back for consistent tone and vibrato; slide guitar lives or dies on the ear, and honest playback reveals what your hand is actually doing

Assign this as a semester-long private lesson text for intermediate-to-advanced students building toward acoustic blues recital repertoire. The CD provides reference performances and backing tracks that double as solo performance accompaniments for student recitals.

• Fingerstyle blues in standard, open, and alternate tunings
• Slide guitar technique in standard and open tunings
• Pentatonic and blues scale application across the fretboard
• Modal theory with emphasis on Mixolydian and Dorian modes
• Walking bass lines and bass popping techniques
• Advanced muting strategies for rhythmic definition
• Jazz blues chord progressions and harmonic substitutions
• Transposition across key centers