SKU: MB.31008M

ISBN 9781513467016. 8.75x11.75 inches.

Blind Lemon Jefferson was a trail blazer, both as a singer and guitarist, but also as a commercial phenomenon, for he was the first blues musician to establish the tremendous appeal that blues, as played and sung by rural African American folk, had for the record-buying public. It is no exaggeration to say that the sales of Lemon’s records paved the way for a host of other solo rural blues musicians to record in his wake and made the record companies more willing to give other musicians a chance, in the hopes of achieving similar success. 

Lemon’s record sales weren’t what made him a great musician, though - that could only be attributed to his startlingly virtuosic guitar - playing and soulful singing, developed over years of busking, building on his natural gifts with a great deal of practice and work. In the Guitar of Blind Lemon Jefferson author John Miller presents transcriptions, in standard notation and tablature, of 22 of Lemon’s greatest performances, with an additional essay examining Lemon’s senses of time and phrasing and his picking techniques. Also included is a download link to all the original recordings. 

To present a picture of Lemon the man, noted blues researchers Alan Governar and Kip Lornell have contributed an essay focusing on Lemon’s early life, the origins of his music, and his time spent in a musical partnership with Lead Belly. Links are provided to downloadable performances of the songs in the book from which the transcriptions were made, so that you can have Lemon’s sound in your head as you learn to play his songs.

Blind Lemon Jefferson was remarkable, even in a style that abounded in great musicians, and some measure of his influence can be seen in the fact that musicians recorded in the 1960s, more than thirty years after his death, were still covering his songs and stealing guitar licks from him. The Guitar of Blind Lemon Jefferson gives you the resources needed to learn what was so special about Lemon’s music, and to experience his musical excellence from inside the music itself.

Titles include: One Dime Blues, Got The Blues, Dry Southern Blues, Big Night Blues, Rabbit Foot Blues, Shuckin' Sugar Blues, Where Shall I Be, Wartime Blues, Black Horse Blues, Prison Cell Blues, Piney Woods Money Mama, See That My Grave Is Kept Clean, He Arose From The Dead, Beggin' Back, Broke And Hungry, Bad Luck Blues, Matchbox Blues, Lemon's Worried Blues, That Crawlin' Baby Blues, Easy Rider Blues, Stocking Feet Blues and Right of Way Blues

Level 2/3 • 160 pages • Direct download link to audio files. 

SKU: MB.30648M

ISBN 9780786699490. 8.75 x 11.75 inches.

Is the beginning stage of learning the guitar proving to be a frustrating experience? Do you lack songs which you can play from start to finish? Do the ones that you can play all the way through not sound much like their original versions? I have been teaching these pieces to my beginner students for quite some time now, and the success rate has been remarkable. Most methods start by having the student slowly move back and forth between basic chords using only down strokes, playing chords one note at a time to make sure all the notes ring clear. This book offers something much differentâ??playing music! The pieces are designed to target trouble areas often experienced by beginners of the instrument: arching the fingers enough in order to let all the notes of a chord ring clearly. Rather than just droning on through a series of chords, musical patterns are created so that as you learn proper technique youâ??re also playing something musical. The results have been better than expected. Focusing on figures that demand proper technique and some of the most common strumming patterns found in popular music, many of my students are able to execute beginner and intermediate level songs within a few weeks of picking up the instrument rather than a few months. Additionally, the dreaded F chord, or root 6 major barre chord, often rings clearly with all 6 notes being heard upon the first attempt. This book will help you achieve your guitar related goals quickly, more efficiently, and most importantly, more enjoyably. Includes access to online video.

SKU: IG.GMF201

9 x 12 inches.

SKU: CZ.9798772697634

ISBN 9798772697634.

A great collection of original arrangements of easy guitar songs created especially for kids with melody, chords and lyrics -- featuring online audio and video recordings of every song in the book. This book is a great learning tool as well as just a lot of fun. Play alone or with the recordings to more than 50 famous tunes that everyone should know and learn.