101 Razor-Sharp Blues Guitar Fill-In Licks (Book and CD) (Red Dog Music Books Razor-Sharp Blues Guitar Series) [Spiral-bound]

Larry McCabe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2007

Open-flat spiral blues instruction book and CD by Larry McCabe

Red Dog Music Books is proud to offer this superb collection of 101 authentic urban blues guitar fill-in licks.

Legendary guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Hubert Sumlin, T-Bone Walker, Johnnie Winter, Albert King, Freddie King, and Chuck Berry are known to all blues fans for their remarkable soloing abilities. But the complete blues guitarist must do more than shine in the solo spotlight. And that is why every great soloist is also a great fill-in player.

Tasteful fill-in licks support and inspire the singer while adding fire and drive to the performance. For example, Blind Lemon Jefferson played string-snapping fill-ins that provided the perfect complement for his rough-hewn blues songs. Both Louis Armstrong and Lester Young seemed to talk to the singer with their finely-crafted, jazzy fill-ins. And Henry Sunflower Vestine's stinging, buzzsaw fill-ins never failed to drive his Canned Heat bandmates into a psychedelic frenzy.

This book is accompanied by a user-friendly split-track CD allows you to sit in with a professional blues band while you learn to play blues fills behind a great singer, Charles Atkins. The Heat-Seeking Missile Blues Band is heard on the left channel; the fill-in licks are isolated on the right channel.

This is not just another book of abstract how do I use these licks in real life? licks, but a collection of solid musical ideas that can be applied to thousands of real songs.

Another fine contribution from Red Dog Music Books, designed for the early intermediate-or better guitarist. Some of the licks are accessible to highly motivated near-beginners, and the book is an excellent resource for teachers.

Contents

• Introduction
• How to Use This Book
• Guide to Symbols
• Sportin' Life Blues
• Midnight Special
• House of the Rising Sun
• I Can't Get Along With You
• Peaches and Cream
• Eight-Hour Shift
• St. Louis Blues
• Joe Turner Blues
• Good Gal Gone
• A Guide to Blues Styles and Artists

Prerequisite Ability

• Early intermediate

User Profiles

• Serious hobbyist and semiprofessional musicians.
• Any gigging blues lead guitarist who wants to learn new fill-in licks.
• Blues guitar teacher looking for innovative and productive lessons material.

Goals and Purposes

• Learn how to play fill-ins behind a singer in a blues band.
• Learn how to play better lead blues guitar.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Larry has great guitar tone.

-Vintage Guitar Magazine --Vintage Guitar Magazine, Dec. 2008

About the Author

Larry McCabe's credentials include an education degree from the University of Arizona, more than thirty years of music teaching experience, over eighty published music books, columns for Living Blues Magazine and Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine, and authorship of the Roy Clark Fiddle Magic Method and the Roy Clark Bluegrass Banjo Bible.

He plays electric and acoustic blues guitar, clawhammer and three-finger banjo, fiddle, and other string instruments. During his career, he has taught blues guitar lessons, banjo lessons, fiddle lessons, song writing, music theory, music history, and other subjects.

Larry has played in numerous bands including blues, classic country, rockabilly, traditional Irish, and Cajun, and he served on the prestigious W.C. Handy Blues Awards nominating committee for many years. With his wife, Becky, Larry is the owner and publisher of the popular roots music instruction book company Red Dog Music Books.

In the 1990s, he taught History of Jazz Music and History of Popular Music in America courses to adult education students at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. As an amateur WWII historian, Larry collected and edited 160 interviews for his book Pearl Harbor and the American Spirit (2004).

Author-Recommended Supplemental Listening for Blues Music and Postwar Blues Guitarists

Luther Allison, Chuck Berry, Mike Bloomfield, Lonnie Brooks, Eddie Boyd, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Ruth Brown, Roy Buchanan, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Canned heat, Charles Brown, Milton Campbell, Clifton Chenier, Eric Clapton, Albert Collins, James Cotton, Pee Wee Crayton, Bo Diddley (Ellas McDaniel), Floyd Dixon, Willie Dixon, Fats Domino, Jesse Fuller, Lowell Fulson, Anson Funderburgh, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix (psychedelic blues), Bull Moose Jackson, Little Walter Jacobs, Elmore James, Etta James, John Hammond, Joe Louis Hill, Earl Hooker, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf (Chester Burnett), J.B. Hutton, Lonnie Johnson, Louis Jordan, Albert King, B.B. King, Freddy King, Eddie Kirkland, Sam Lay, Lazy Lester, J.B. Lenoir, Little Charlie and the Nightcats, Li'l Ed and the Blues Imperials, Louisiana Red, Robert Jr. Lockwood, Lonnie Mack, magic Same Maghett, Magic Slim and the Teardrops, Taj Majal, John Mayall, Percy Mayfield, Charlie Musselwhite, Louis Myers, Robert Nighthawk, Little Junior Parker, Carl Perkins (rockabilly), Little Esther Phillips, Jimmy Reed, Duke Robillard, Otis Rush, Son Seals, Johnny Shines, Slim Harpo, Carrie Smith, George Harmonica Smith, Mabel Smith (Big Mabel), Hubert Sumlin, Theodore Hound Dog Taylor, Koko Taylor, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Irma Thomas (New Orleans R&B), Big Mama Thornton (Willie Mae), Luther Tucker, Big Joe Turner, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson, Aaron T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield), Johnny Guitar Watson, Valerie Wellington, Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson (I and II), Johnny Winter, Johnny Young, etc. etc.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 48 pages
• Publisher: Red Dog Music Books (May 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193477703X
• ISBN-13: 978-1934777039
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #860,134 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 101 Razor - Sharp Licks by Larry McCabe, August 18, 2009

By 

Jroy - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

When I bought this book, I was looking for some new licks. It is a spiral bound booklet with a CD and contains 9 old time simple bluesy type songs. At first when I looked at the book I thought I was being ripped off with another simple simplifed book, but when I worked through some of the licks, I was pleasantly surprised. On the CD, each song is gone through completely and then in sections. Someone sings the words(could be better vocals, but I didn't buy this for the vocals) with accompaniment at a nice pace. In between vocals, the fill in licks are situated. I thought the licks are really good - simple and short, mainly over a lot of dominant 7th chords,and some taken from the Harmonic minor scale which you don't find too often. You can turn down the licks part on the CD if you want to play along with the song. If you are looking for some new licks, this is one book I would recommend.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Formidable Arsenal for Blues Guitarists, May 29, 2009

By 

Benjamin M. McBrayer (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Larry McCabe's 101 Razor-Sharp Blues Guitar Fill-In Licks is an excellent resource for the blues guitarist. The fill-in licks, fully notated, cover a number of songs, from Midnight Special to the St. Louis Blues. The accompanying CD is especially beneficial; it allows the performer to practice the licks with a recording of a professional blues band. As a musician, I highly recommend this product.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Collection!, May 11, 2009

By 

Andi Saitenhieb "Andi Saitenhieb" (Friedberg (Hessen)) - See all my reviews

I have been playing and teaching guitar for many years and enjoy a lot of different blues styles, including postwar urban blues.

This book teaches authentic blues fill-in licks to entire songs. this is a great way to begin learning how to play fill-in licks. And in addition it's a great way to learn to play and "feel" blues phrases.

The examples are played at a reasonable learning speed and the guitar licks are isolated for the benefit of the learner. Each lick is played to a real song played by a real band, complete with singer.

The style is urban blues - what Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Muddy Waters, etc. play.

I recommend using this book after you understand and can play blues rhythm progressions.

Use this with Larry McCabe's other Razor-Sharp Blues books and you will have a solid grasp of the building blocks that blues guitar playing is made of.