X - Mas Book List?

[Blaze vancouver]

I am thinking of getting some books for Christmas.

-The Art of Contemporary Travis Picking

-The Art of Solo Fingerpicking

-The Art of Contemporary Fingerstyle Guitar

-A DVD by John Cephas teaching in the style of Skip James and maybe a blues one by him.


Is this a good list for improving my guitar skills, Does anyone have any recommendations?

[Jeff M]

Ahhh..Christmas Guitar related presents! My favorite time of the year

I HIGHLY recommend the instructional DVD's taught by JOhn Miller put out by Stefan Grossman.
http://guitarvideos.com/video/817dvd.htm
He has two series out on DVD, one on the music of Mississippi John Hurt, and the other on Libbya Cotten. Both are absolutely excellent. John is the perfect teacher-describing how he is making his chord shifts, what fingerings he is using, what the music is doing. The tab matches his playing perfectly (not often the case on many DVD's/Videos). I'm just waiting for his material on Bo Carter and Furry Lewis to come out on DVD and then will be adding them to my collection.
Hurt's and Cotten's music fits in perfectly with the Hanson book series as they played in fairly straight forward "Travis Style". Their music will fit in perfectly with what you are learning.
I had a chance to attend a seminar that John Cephus taught a few summers ago. John is a wonderful country blues guitarist and great guy, but his style of teaching is more in the line of "watch me then you try it". No tab. I suspect that his DVD material will be better explained, but you won't get the attention to detail that you will with John Miller. (Also, I think for somebody just starting out on learning to play fingerstyle Cephus's renditions of Skip James's music may be a bit advanced and lead to some frustration)

John Miller's MJH and Cotten DVD's are both two set collections. Start out with the first MJH or Cotten DVD and see what you think. (MJH's material is a tiny bit more advanced than Cottens- you may want to start with her first, but either should be fine.)
(You can actually play a small sample from the DVD from the link I gave you to see how/what John is teaching. Surf the site a bit, you can get to the other offerings Grossmann has-TONS and TONS of great material.)

[Blaze vancouver]

Hello,

I have allready heard a few from john hurt, big leg blues and coffee blues.

Could you tell me some of you favorites from both artists.?

Great advice thanks.

[Jeff M]

See See Rider, Monday Mornig Blues, Slidin Delta, Spike Driver Blues, Richland Woman Blues, Candyman, Payday, My Creole Belle, Louis Collins and Frankie,(all contained on the DVD's I mentioned). Stack 'O' Lee Blues, I'm Satisfied, Got the Blues-Can't Be Satisfied, Corrinna Corrinna, Ain't Nobody But Your Babe, and many many more.

I like Skip James music also-but MJH's tends to be a bit more involved/sopjisticated and will be better for what you are trying to do-learn to play the guitar.
Doc Watson was talking about his late son Merle Watson during an interview one time. If you are not familiar with Merle, he was an amazing guitarist-Doc said "The music would just drip off his fingers". Merle actually had just been voted the "Fingerstyle Guitarist of the Year" (I think by AG magazine, not sure here) when he was killed. Anyway, the interviewer asked Doc if Merle looked to him to learn his style. Doc said no, that when Merle was 16 years old Doc and he were invited to a "folk music" festival at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley ( a wonderful outdoor Greek style ampitheatre, but that is another story). Anyway, MJH was also on the ticket, and Doc said that it was once Merle got to meet MJH and hear his music/watch him play it was MJH's style and music that inspired him. Now keep in mind Merle was one hel* of a guitarist by this time already-16 years old and invited to play with the legends of folk music guitar.
LOTS of great stuff going on within those alternating bass lines.

[Blueser100]

Blaze,
Who's the author of The Art of Contemporary Fingerstyle Guitar? Is that a Hanson or Grossman title?
Tg

[Jeff M]

Mistake here. Pay no mind.

[Blaze vancouver]

I have been listening to a cover of sliding delta by Ben Harper as of late, did not know it was an MJH original. Kind of sounds like this version of crow Jane by Skip I have heard. I would love to learn to play that song sliding delta.

I attempted that lesson clip and thought it was really good. Pretty hard for me but after about 5 I could just get a really simple one going similar to him. I don’t know if the tapes are too advanced though? I think I can muster thought it though, do you get the hang of it after some practice or is it a long process to get down?

Hear is a background of my playing.

I can play the old base on the 1 then riff during the 2, 3, 4, then base on the 1 riff during the 2,3,4 count fine.

….Getting a little more skilled (maybe not sounding better but harder to play) I can also play…..

Base notes and melody but the bass notes are more sporadic; meaning I just kind of hit them naturally when my right thumb seems to have time to get there. For instance if I am jamming out on just one chord with my left thumb over the top of the neck playing a bass note hear and there while creating runs with the other 4 fingers.

****There is a short clip on my web page of my playing about 8 months ago. I have improved since then but it will give you a feel what I am talking about .If you listen you can hear the toneless base notes (thanks to bad recording quality) in the rhythm to get a understanding of what I am talking about when I say sporadic base note. There is two parts rhythm and solo ignore the solo for this purpose.****

Or at the top of the neck I can play a G or C on the 1’s then maybe a few times hear and there throughout 8 beats while playing a simple melody by holding down the 3rd fret of string e,b,g but creating the melody with my right hand rater then a lot of fretting with the left . I kind also get the similar effect running though chords at the top of the next as well.

But I can not do none stop running base line with complex chord changes.

My post is all over the place any comments would be fine. Has anyone been at a similar level in there playing?

-What style guitar is this it’s Crow Jane by Skip James?

http://www.acousticguitar.com/lesson...rowjane2.shtml

-I also like the works of Nick Drake acoustic what style of play is that?

I have never been one to learn a lot of tabs just mostly tinker. I have been afraid of it tampering with my own style developing. I was afraid of this when I started learning theory but I did it anyway.

Does leaning someone’s style or using someone’s books turn you in to a breaded guitar player making you sound like them or like anyone who has learned from the some books?