Want to learn how to play acoustic blues?

There are two really good books for learning fingerstyle blues written by recording artist Steve James: Roots and Blues Fingerstyle Guitar Book and Fingerstyle Blues Songbook.  Steve James is a well known roots and blues guitarist based out of Austin, Texas, who has recorded 6 cds and produced 3 instructional DVD’s in addition to putting out these fantastic songbooks.  You can find out more information about him and purchase his books, cds, and dvds at www.stevejames.com.

I have to say that I was extremely happy to find these books, as I had been teaching people fingerstyle blues using a method book written by Mark Galbo (aptly titled Beginning Fingerstyle Blues Guitar), but had only 5 songs to show students after they completed the book.  These two songbooks by Steve James provide more than enough material to keep aspiring guitarists busy for a while.

Also, if you watched the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and were inspired to learn to play delta blues guitar, these two books have what you’re looking for.  In particular, I felt that the songs in Open D tuning (DADF#AD) had a similar vibe to some of the music the blues guitarist was playing near the beginning of the film.

Roots and Blues Fingerstyle Guitar, by Steve James

Roots and Blues Fingerstyle Guitar has 25 songs arranged in 6 sections.  Of these 25 songs, 10 involve the use of a bottleneck slide, 6 are in Open D tuning, 6 are in Open G, and 11 in standard tuning or Drop D tuning.

I found the following songs to be the easiest ones to play:

Guitar Rag – Part one; Part two gets a little more difficult, so if you want to play the whole thing, save it for a little later.

Spanish Fandango – very pretty song in Open G and in 6/8 time.  There are actually two versions of it in the book: one played with slide and one without.  The slide version is a good song for beginner slide players, as the “slide note” is always played on beat one, and for the most part no more than once per measure.

Take Me Back – blues in C, and has a variation that is more challenging once you’ve mastered the 1st arrangement.

Sugar Babe – blues in E, with two variations.

Buckdancer’s Choice – Blues in C with 3 parts.  Just don’t play it at 240 bpm like the original 🙂

Judge Harsh Blues – this one is in Open D, and involves a little bit of slide work.

I Will Turn You Money Green – this song is in Open G, and is short, but very fun to play.

Fingerstyle Blues Songbook, by Steve James

Fingerstyle Blues Songbook has 15 songs in it.  The easiest ones in the book are listed below.

Betty and Dupree is in  standard tuning, and is in the key of E.  The thumb doesn’t alternate bass strings on this one, so that makes it a little easier.

Shortnin’ Bread is in the key of G and has a bit of a ragtime feel to it.

Oh Mary Don’t You Weep is probably the easiest one in the book, but is very melodic and enjoyable to play.

Raggin’ The Blues has a similar sound and feel to Shortnin’ Bread, but is a little more difficult.

Lonesome Weary Blues is in Open D and is a slide guitar song, and consists of two parts.  It’s not too difficult, but I’d recommend practicing each part separately before trying to put them all together.

Skin Game Blues is in A minor, making it sound much different than all of the other songs.

Once you’ve mastered these songs, you should have a pretty good sense of what to try next.  I would recommend going through the book and trying to play a little bit of each song, and listen to the cd that’s included. Then pick a group of songs to focus on based on the tuning or the chords used in the song.  That way, you’re not having to learn as many different things to do with your fret hand and can focus more on the right hand.  Also, for the songs involving the use of a slide, don’t be afraid to try playing them without the slide to get the hang of the chord changes and the right hand technique.

So that’s it!  These two books are great for beginning and intermediate fingerstyle players.  If you’re learning to play acoustic blues, or want to learn this style, do yourself a favor and pick up both of these books.