Customer Reviews

100 Killer Licks And Chops For Blues Guitar (Music Bibles)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

More than any other blues theory or technique book, this blues bible really took my playing up two or three notches. Not only do you get the licks and riffs, but the theory behind them, technique tips, a brief note on the specific blues musician that embodies the style of the bit, and a CD so you can hear exactly how it's supposed to sound - the timing, sycopation, etc. It's been a TON of fun to go through this book and work on each lick - studying the theory, getting the picking just right. Plus, it's just a beautiful book - great pictures and the paper has a good feel. If you play guitar, and play the blues, this should be a required purchase.

I own several "blues" guitar books. But I have to say that this book is the book that I've had the most fun going through. Each page has a different lick, it tells the background of the lick, who originated the lick, what type of blues it is commonly used in, and also little tips to watch out for like which strings to dampen or to let ring. I'll pick one each day, work through it slowly to get the finger memory down, and within an hour, I'm making that lick sing. Then as I'm soloing during a blues progression, those licks come to mind and I will throw them in. It has a great CD that comes with it so you can see how the lick is supposed to sound. The most FUN blues lick book I have ever owned. Get a copy now !!!!!

I think I appreciate the book itself more than the guitar licks. I haven't played through all the licks yet because there are so many of them, but those that I have worked through are good. They aren't amazing, but they are decent to good. I prefer the licks from "Blues by the Bar" and "Blues Licks You can Use" over these so far. But again, I haven't tried them all. There are definitely some good ones and there are licks that are from every possible style so the variety is awesome. The book itself is beautiful and laid out well. The pictures, colors, organization, etc. is the best I have seen. The spiral binding is also nice. The included CD is great as well.

I was really surprised by this book, I have bought a few tab books before and they all follow a similar format, this one is different, it is A5 size with one lick per page, easy to read, interesting artists, many i know like Clapton and this book has varying types of licks from the master, many of the others I was not aware of or only had vague ideas about them, I will definitely explore more of the music from these guys. The licks are very nice and my playing will only improve if I can nail them. I may even get to master Jimmy Page's incredibly complicated piece. All in all I am very happy with this book

This is a great book and CD. the licks are easy enough, and still interesting. I picked up the first few and started incorporating them into my own made up rhythms right away. Fun and easy to understand. I recommend this book if you can already do some chord changes. It dosen't teach songs but is full of "Short Licks" that will have you making up your own blues songs in no time.

To start this review, a description of the book itself. It is a 6 1/2" X 8" SIZE. Smaller than I imagined but a handy size for the music stand. It has a hard rounded spiral binding cover and it is a hard book cover that lays flat open. This actually reminded me of a recipe book in its design, and it is in a sense since you'll use it to cook up some new licks and chops. The book has four sections. The first section is the intro, with a brief history and quick "CAGED" DESCRIPTION WITH SOME ADDITIONAL INFO. The second section has the KILLER LICKS LAYOUT. It is layed out in this way: Each Lick has its own two page spread. On the upper left page is the Lick number and in the upper right page is the CD track number. This section goes to page 211 with the last four Licks as "Ending Licks." The Section repeats a 1,2,3,4, layout. That is; it has Lick No.1 then goes through to Lick No.4 and then starts over again with a Lick No.1. What I liked about this section is that each Lick has a specific artist attached to it. A lot of solid great Bues musicians can be found in this section. The 3 King's, plus others such as Buddy Guy, Clapton, Vaughan. etc. Now the specific riffs may be only as little 15 notes (A Jimmy Page riff has 55 notes), but it is not the idea of just copying the riff but to show you how it is used in the CAGED system, the function and "Harmonic Content" of the riff etc. The included CD plays each riff and contrary to the review by S. Koehler there was no "Chinese" titles. In fact my Laptop REAL PLAYER opened up the CD and showed each title in the Artist title name. The titles in the CD has both artist names and styles and listings are not exactly matching the title in the book on a few of the licks, but it is easy to figure it all out. There are no audio tracks for the scales or chops since there is no nuances that you need to hear when you play a scale. It is true that a little music theory and understanding on your part will be a benefit to the riffs potential but don't let that stop you from buying this product. Consider this book as a further step in your progress to reach your goal. Section number 3 has SCALES AND CHOPS and starts on page numbert 212 through 246, it has 9 submissions mixed as both Scales and Chops together. This section is pretty straight forward and is a "woodshedding section." The last section is the closing Credits, Index. The author Phil Capone created a great book for all Blues aspiring musicians in my opinion.

The book and included CD are a decent way to increase your "lick vocabulary", but it seems to me that this book is written for someone with some formal musical training, versus the mostly ear and tab player like myself.

Having said that, this book can get you in the ballpark with some nice licks, but for me it still takes quite a bit of woodshedding time to get the feel right.

I don't think there really is a shortcut for that.

As I said, if you've got a good grasp of music theory, and want to learn some blues chops, this book might be for you.

I bought this for my son and he tells me that this is the BEST gift I ever bought him!!! And to think of all the money I could have saved!! LOL He has thanked me many times over so I have to say it is a great purchase!!! Delivery was fast and item was just as described.

i never give reviews to anything online, but this book has got me. We all have tons of books of tabs etc from our fave guitarists; this book distills down the essence of their styles, and includes a lot of other helpful information rather than just 'play these 10 notes' to sound like guitarist XYZ. I congratulate the author, well done! That said, there are a few things that need to be made clear, e.g. what is his definition of 'alternate picking', and what are the symbols for uppicks/downpicks...not entirely clear. You can figure these things out, but for a book as complete as this, they should just include an extra page on that stuff(maybe I missed it). Highly recommended. (plus, when BG is on the cover of a book, you know it's kick ass--he's my hero; I used to live next door to his club in Chicago).

This book is misleading. It looks like a simple little riff book, but it's packed with information. Get it and read every page as well as play every lick.