101 Razor-Sharp Blues Guitar Rhythm Patterns in the Electric Urban / Chicago Style (Book and CD) (Red Dog Music Books Razor-Sharp Blues Guitar Series) [Spiral-bound]

Larry McCabe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 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 rhythm patterns. Each pattern is recorded note-for-note on the companion CD, and written in standard notation and tablature.

Valuable supplemental articles cover blues progressions and rhythm pattern types.

The book will help any early-intermediate guitarist acquire well-rounded blues rhythm guitar skills. Ideal also for pro reference and teaching studios. It is a book for guitarists who are familiar with, and enthusiasts of, urban blues and other forms of non-commercial music.

The patterns are in the urban blues style heard on recordings by artists such as Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Elmore James, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, James Cotton, Little Walter, BB King, Albert King, John Hammond, Anson Funderburgh, Hubert Sumlin, Little Ed and the Blues Imperials, Pinetop Perkins, Willie Dixon, R.L. Burnside, Butterfield Blues Band, Otis Spann Charlie Musselwhite, Lonnie Mack, Boozoo Chavis, Ry Cooder, Gatemouth Brown, Freddie King, Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Lockwood, Lonnie Johnson, and similar musicians who recorded for Chess Records, Delmark Records, Sun Records, Alligator Records, Arhoolie Records and other labels that focus on roots music performers and Afro-American music.

The book is an excellent resource for creative blues guitar teachers.

Contents

• Introduction
• How to Use This Book
• Application of Pattern One
• Pattern Modifications
• Four-Beat Dominant Chord Patterns (C7)
• Four-Beat Minor Chord Patterns (Cm7)
• Four-Beat Vamp Patterns for C7 and Cm7
• Eight-Beat Dominant Chord Patterns (C7)
• Eight-Beat Minor Chord Patterns (Cm7)
• Eight-Beat Vamp Patterns for C7 and Cm7
• Appendix 1: Basic Blues Rhythm Patterns
• Appendix 2: 12-Bar Blues Progressions in Major Keys
• Appendix 3: 12-Bar Blues Progressions in Minor Keys
• Appendix 4: 8-Bar Blues Progressions in Major Keys
• Appendix 5: Open Charts for Application
• A Guide to Blues Styles and Artists

Prerequisite Ability

• Early intermediate guitarist

User Profiles

• Serious hobbyist and semiprofessional musicians.
• Any gigging blues l guitarist who wants to learn new rhythm patterns.
• Blues guitar teacher looking for innovative and productive lessons material.

Goals and Purposes

• Learn how to play blues guitar rhythm in a blues band rhythm section.
• Learn how to be a more well-rounded blues guitar player.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Larry has great guitar tone.

-Vintage Guitar Magazine --Vintage Guitar Magazine

About the Author

Author Bio (3900 characters maximum):

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: 42 pages
• Publisher: Red Dog Music Books (July 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934777048
• ISBN-13: 978-1934777220
• ASIN: 1934777226
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #422,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The book has very basic rhythm patterns, in my opinion, April 22, 2010

By 

JG (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 101 Razor-Sharp Blues Guitar Rhythm Patterns in the Electric Urban / Chicago Style (Book and CD) (Red Dog Music Books Razor-Sharp Blues Guitar Series) (Spiral-bound)

I ordered this book/CD, "101 Razor-Sharp Blues Guitar Rhythm Patterns..." wanting to get a slew of great Blues rhythms patterns. Upon receving it, I excitedly removed the enclosed CD and played it in my car - all the way through -and was thoroughly disappointed because the patterns were not very complex, unique, or imaginative. Looking at the reviews others gave, I could not help but wonder if there was something I was missing. I did not share a lot of their opinions.

The Blues patterns were, in my opinion, a little too basic and unimaginative. I really felt I could have come up with my own patterns and topped what was in this book. I have other Blues instructional books and they have very lively patterns that inspire me, but I just could not get into this book.

But after sitting in a few bars and listening to some great guitarists, I now understand that the aim of this book is to give you simple patterns. Blues rhythm patterns are basically simple, and it is up to the guitarist to add fills, arpeggiation, slides, syncopation, and other devices to make it interesting. So if you are looking for some consistent and straightforward, basic Blues rhythm patterns, this is your book/CD.

Note: I gave this book a poor review at first, which I don't like to do, but I have adjusted my view to understand the book was not poor, it was just not what I was looking for.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An impressive collection of urban blues guitar patterns, October 30, 2007

By 

MusicTeacherCA - See all my reviews

I have used Larry McCabe's instruction books for years with my music students, with good results, so I picked up a copy of this new book last month to use in my teaching studio. My students are enjoying the book very much and so am I. It is quite a nice book and CD, unique in format and impressive in its instructional design and educational goals.

As the product description mentions, these are the patterns that are played on authentic blues recordings. I have not seen as complete a collection of blues guitar rhythm patterns in another book. This is a comprehensive manual of urban blues rhythm patterns.

The book is designed in a workbook/reference format that encourages the participation of the user in transposing, and applying, the patterns to standard eight-and twelve-bar blues chord progressions.

Each pattern is demonstrated on the I, or tonic chord, in C major. Clear instructions are included that encourage the user to apply the pattern to other root tones, and also to "entire" blues progressions (I7-IV7-V7), such as the blues progressions found in real songs.

One great thing about this book is that it motivates the user to form decisions regarding appropriateness of application, or use, in real blues songs. It is not a book for the lazy person who expects spoonfeeding, or a beginner who is satisfied with note-by-note copying of someone elses playing. To put it more bluntly, this book might not be useful for guitar students who fall into the "dumb" category. The format is designed for the guitarist who wants to learn to think for himself or herself, and who wants to learn by doing.

I am showing my better students how to apply the patterns to real songs, and more importantly, I am teaching them to teach themselves how to apply the patterns to real songs, which is the overall instructional objective of the material.

The patterns cover many positions on the fingerboard, up to the twelfth fret. Each pattern is written in the same key, C, for ease of analysis and comparison. It is a smart idea to present the material this way, again, because the user is encouraged to learn to transpose the examples to entire progressions, various keys, and songs having different types of rhythms.

Even though most urban blues rhythm patterns are fairly easy to play from a technical viewpoint, this book would not be appropriate for a beginner. A beginner's focus is necessarily on mastering basic technique, not original application. This book encourages creative thinking and decision making. It is a book for ambitious students having early intermediate, or better, skills.

A player with light experience, or lack of motivation, or inability to read instructions, might be confused by this book's goals. The exercise of musical application requires original thought, motivation, and experimentation. Thus, this is not a book for uninspired folks whose ability, ambition, and conceptual grasp is limited to copying note-for-note guitar licks and patterns.

The professionally mixed CD is clearly recorded, and remarkably, contains every pattern, each recorded at a moderate tempo. Commendable effort.

The book also contains a valuable appendix covering Basic Types of Blues Rhythm Patterns; 12-Bar Progressions in the Major Keys (with variations provided); 12-Bar Progressions in the Minor Keys (with variations provided); Open Charts for Application of Patterns.

I highly recommend this impressive and useful book for any emerging guitarist who wants to "learn by imitating-and then doing." Fellow teachers with motivated guitar students, take a look at this one. Five stars.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book, April 4, 2009

By 

Mike Dunn "JG Fan" (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

I'm an intermediate guitar player and prior to ordering this book I was stuck in a rut playing the basic I/IV/V 12 bar blues over and over using chords like G,C and D and I didn't really know how mix it up or make my chord progressions more interesting. This book solved all those problems immediately. By applying these patterns into my progressions they make me sound like I am a far more advanced guitar player than I really am. The patterns in this book are amazingly simple but pack the power of a sledge hammer. Out of the 101 patterns in this book there were only 4 or 5 that didn't do much for me but the rest are pure Gold! The CD is also a great tool in making sure my timeing is correct. The Appendix in the back of the book is a great addition and is loaded with information and arranging tips. An excellent choice for anyone wanting to expand his or her rhythm playing. Many thanks to the Author!