Blues Guitar For Dummies

Do you wish you could play your favorite blues music on guitar? Even if you don’t read music, it’s not difficult with Blues Guitar for Dummies. With this hands-on guide, you’ll pick up the fundamentals instantly and start jamming like your favorite blues artists! Blues Guitar for Dummies covers all aspects of blues guitar, showing you how to play scales, chords, progressions, riffs, solos, and more! It’s packed with musical examples, chords charts, and photos that let you explore the genre and play the songs of the great blues musicians. This accessible guide will give you the skills you need to:

Choose the right guitar, equipment, and strings
Hold, tune, and get situated with your guitar
Play barre chords and strum to the rhythm
Recognize the structure of a blues song
Tackle musical riffs
Master melodies and solos
Make your guitar sing, cry, and wail
Jam to any type of blues

In addition to this must-have book, a bonus CD is included so that you can listen to famous songs, practice your riffs and chords, and develop your style as a blues musician. It also features a quick guide to musical notation and suggestions on albums, artists, and guitars for further enjoyment. With Blues Guitar for Dummies, you can re-create the masterpieces of the blues legend without the expensive lessons!

From the Back Cover

Packed with musical examples, chord charts, and photos Re-create the sounds of the blues masters—without reading music!
Want to play the blues? Can't read music? No problem! This fun, accessible guide shows you how to play blues scales, chords, progressions, riffs, and solos. From Delta blues and modern blues to blues rock, you'll see how to use today's guitars, amplifiers, and effects to play a wide variety of styles, with hands-on guidance on changing strings for when you really boogie down.
Discover how to

Select the right guitar and accessories
Develop correct hand position and posture
Explore acoustic and electric styles
Tune your axe
Play like a pro and improvise leads

All this on the Bonus CD-ROM

All songs and exercises from the book
Audio and MP3 files as well as a PC interface with track numbers, name, and time included

See the "How to Use the CD" appendix for details and system requirements.

About the Author

Jon Chappell is a multistyle guitarist, arranger, and author. He grew up in Chicago, attended Carnegie-Mellon University, and earned his master’s degree in composition from DePaul University. He was Editor-in-Chief of Guitar magazine and played and recorded with artists such as Big Walter Horton, Billy Branch, Pat Benatar, Judy Collins, Graham Nash, and Gunther Schuller. Jon has also contributed numerous musical pieces to TV and film.
Jon served as Associate Music Director of Cherry Lane Music, where he transcribed, edited, and arranged the music of Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Steve Morse, Bonnie Raitt, and Eddie Van Halen, among others. He has more than a dozen method books to his name and is the author of Guitar For Dummies, 2nd Edition, and Rock Guitar For Dummies (both published by Wiley), Blues Rock Riffs for Guitar (Cherry Lane), as well as the textbook The Recording Guitarist — A Guide for Home and Studio (Hal Leonard). Please visit Jon’s Web site at www.jonchappell.com for more info.