Mel Bay Complete Country Blues Guitar Book/ CD set [Paperback]

Stefan Grossman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 16, 1999

Over 50 fingerpicking guitar solos in notation and tablature in country blues, Delta blues, ragtime blues, Texas blues and bottleneck styles. An extremely comprehensive blues solo collection. 2 CD's included.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stefan Grossman has been recording, performing, and writing about acoustic fingerstyle techniques and styles for more than 30 years. At age 15 he started taking lessons from the legendary bluesman the late Rev. Gary Davis. He also learned music from records by Brownie McGhee and Lightnin' Hopkins. When Grossman was 18, he formed the Even Dozen Jug Band with guitarist Steve Katz, harmonicist/singer John Sebastian and pianist Josh Rifkin. The group recorded the LP Even Dozen Jug Band [out of print] for Elektra in 1964. At the same time, Stefan became more interested in his work as a blues researcher. During the period from 1965-1975 he studied and traveled with some of the legendary figures in the world of blues guitar-- Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and other great black American bluesmen and songsters. From this experience Stefan authored his landmark five-volume series for Oak Publications that presented these styles to pickers worldwide. In 1973 Stefan co-founded Kicking Mule Records to counter the shortage of good instructional guitar records and music. With a lineup of artists including guitarists Dave Evans, Ton Van Bergeyk, Happy Traum, Duck Baker, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and Davy Graham, Kicking Mule has been instrumental in promoting and preserving the best in blues, ragtime, and contemporary picking. Stefan has played with bands all over the world and has recorded numerous CDs. He has also written many books that have been published or distributed by Mel Bay Publications.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Mel Bay Publications, Inc. (November 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786651261
• ISBN-13: 978-0786651269
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasury of Country Blues Guitar Styles, July 29, 2003

By 

Benjamin Florin (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mel Bay Complete Country Blues Guitar Book/ CD set (Paperback)

Stefan Grossman has been the world authority on fingerstyle blues guitar for decades now, and this book is the biggest compendium of his work as an educator. He tabs out fifty-seven (fifty-seven!) songs in a variety of styles and tunings, enough to keep any student busy for a year or more.

This isn't so much a method book--though I taught myself to play country blues from it--as a large tab compendium with helpful tips about each song. Each song has at least one fully-transcribed verse. Many have intros and outros, and some are complete arrangements. Most of the book covers the alternating bass and ragtime traditions of the Memphis and Piedmont blues, but there are seven Delta tunes, and excellent seven-song chapter on Texas blues, and even a good number of bottleneck tunes. Most of the songs are old standards ("Crow Jane","Vestapol","Hard Time Killin' Floor") taken from the original recordings by artists like Reverend Gary Davis, Mance Liscomb, and Blind Blake.

The "handwritten" tab is large and easy to read--you'll never be able to go back to that tiny Hal Leonard/Guitar Player tab after this. There are lots of photos of old bluesmen as well as atmospheric old-South pictures from the Library of Congress collection. It's so attractive I keep it on my coffee table. The CDs feature Grossman playing the tabbed arrangements (and then some) as well as original Blind Lemon Jefferson tracks. They're listenable in their own right, even if you aren't learning the guitar!

If you're interested in pre-war blues guitar, and you already known how to play five or six chords (remember, this book teaches country blues, not guitar), this is easily the best bang for your music buying buck.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book on the Topic Yet, March 1, 2010

By 

Bowiebuff "Paul" (SC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mel Bay Complete Country Blues Guitar Book/ CD set (Paperback)

At first I did not like this book. The tab is a bit different and takes some time to get used to and the tracks are often capoed (sometimes the book tells you this and sometimes not). However, after having this book for around a year and enjoying it as thoroughly as I have, my mind has changed. One gets used to the tab and having to figure out where the capo goes is not bad for one's ear at all. I have not encountered another book with as nice a variety of country blues songs. Grossman includes country blues styles from various regions and does a great job explaining the differences in techniques. He tells one everything he or she needs to know in order to be able to, not only play the notes on the page, but to get the proper sound. He also includes some of his own compositions. Normally, I do not like when an instructor does this, but his pieces are very cool! All of the arrangements included are good ones and, as stated before, the book doesn't just teach songs, but how to play country blues! The tracks included on the cds are excellent, if not always note for note versions of the tab; I believe this has been done intentionally so that students will try to figure out solos and create their own. As a hardcore blues fan, and competent electric blues guitarist, I always tried to play country blues songs before. The problem was that, though I hit the right notes etc, I was approaching the right hand like a classical player. Grossman really teaches the best way to play country blues. I cannot recommend this wonderful book highly enough. It will give the country blues lover months and months--perhaps longer--of material to study and enjoy.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, September 3, 2003

By 

MR JEREMY BIRRELL (Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mel Bay Complete Country Blues Guitar Book/ CD set (Paperback)

I haven't played guitar for about ten years, and got this book to get myself back into it. It's great, I can't put it down, and I'm actually learning the pieces!
Defintely recommended, but not for a complete beginner.