Customer Reviews

Essential Blues Guitar

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I would actually rate this a 4/5 (see why below) -- but I know this book is better than several others that have 5* ratings on Amazon -- and I would hate a player to miss out on this simple, excellent book. I have looked at many blues books and own several - but this is my favorite.

PROS: - Easy to read, attractive lay-out - *****Excellent Scale Diagrams (best I have seen)***** Cover all the main relevant scales in all fingerboard positions in a simple, effective way -- superb. - Excellent coverage of how to choose appropriate scales, by example -- again superb. - Hip/modern vibe - My guitar teacher really likes this book too (I found it tho'). - I have improved my playing and knowledge using this book, and it has given me ideas that I can build on to create my own original licks.

CONS. - The tracks start getting very fast and complicated too soon (my guitar teacher thought so too). Although by practising hard I have nailed a couple -- but a more gradual introduction would have made this a near perfect tutorial.

I lost the CD for a while and was quite upset about it -- I was considering buying the book again, but then found the CD. Buy this book!!

Dave Celentano is great. I love his Flying Fingers and "Speed Metal--Classical" books. I believe this is one of his more disjointed books. If you're looking for a book full of blues licks, this ain't it. Dave spends about 20 pages on modes and scales (information you could get anywhere) and then goes into blues rhythms and turnarounds. The turnaround portion is quite valuable and useful. What would make sense at that point is Dave discussing some common blues licks. However, he jumps right into accompaniment tracks. If you are the guitar player who learns by playing along with CD tracks and transcription, this is the book for you. The play-along tracks really comprise the bulk of the book.

This book is a good practice book to play along with the cd for, but there is little insight into the mechanics that go into the solos or soloing in general. The 10 rhythm tracks have a solo that you can learn and then the track plays again and you can improvise/write your own solo. This is the best part of the book, it tells you the key and which scales sound best and you get to create your own solos. Two of the solos in the book are completely 80's hair metal garbage though, with like 12 note legato passages that have nothing to do with the blues.

As stated in other reviews, this is a pretty good book--good begining, good stuff on turnarounds, but then, pedal to the metal. No intermediate stuff at all. Also, it would have been nice if Dave had done slow versions of the various songs--he plays faster than I can listen!! He could be an excellent teacher if he'd just realize people need to walk before they can run. Start simple, go intermediate, then go for it.