Roots & Blues Fingerstyle Guitar Acoustic Guitar Private Lessons - Book/Online Media (Acoustic Guitar Magazine's Private Lessons)

This is a book for those of you who already have some fingerpicking going on. Not really a 'teaching' book, but he does have the occasional tip. Mr James has some excellent stories and folksy asides about the old greats, and these are small gems. After I started learning, I loved to hear and read about who was who and how they fit into the whole story of blues. Some of these songs are really rootsy, taking you back to the beginnings of blues. The old bluesmen knew these songs but some of them may not be to an individual's personal guitar tastes. And some of the songs look real simple but you have to look closer, really work them. I think that is what Mr James is ingeniously, sneakily doing to you -- getting you to come back to the beginnings and show you how you can build a really good foundation if you have these songs down. I have to say though, times have changed and my dear daughter was appalled at some of the blatant lyrics like 'went and got me a rope, whup my woman til she buzzard lope' etc. But even she (a junior guitarist) can see the history behind it all.

I will first echo the previous reviews by saying, "You got that right!" Steve is an amazing player and a great teacher. He is the director of the Roots & Blues Workshop at the Kerrville Folk Festival. In one of his sessions this year he walked a group of us through the Sam McGee finger buster "Railroad Blues." Some in that workshop were experienced and some were new to finger picking but all left the 3-hour session able to play the toughest parts of Railroad Blues to some degree. Steve added to the class by sharing the details of his first meeting with Sam McGee. Imagine being introduced to one of your heroes with "Steve's a big fan of yours" only to hear the reply, "I don't know if I'm a big fan of his - I haven't heard him pick yet" and be handed a guitar. How's that for pressure? Steve's playing, his songwriting, and his stories are the real thing because Steve is the real thing.This book isn't for beginners, i.e., those that have never played fingerstyle before. If that's you it isn't impossible to start with this book but it might save you a lot of frustration to start with a more basic introduction to Blues fingerpicking. If you are beyond the basics (i.e., can hold a conversation while your thumb plays an alternating bass line through chord changes) this book will help you advance IF you practice. Steve builds with each tune and can show you how but you'll still have to do heavy lifting. But if you are willing to work through this book and practice frequently you will end up a much better Blues player.Steve's previous book (Fingerstyle Blues Songbook) is great but it is more of a repertoire builder than a tutorial. Roots and Blues Fingerstyle Guitar Book is a tutorial in which each song builds on the previous work. As you progress Steve adds embellishments that help polish your playing. All songs on the accompanying CD are played twice, once slowly and once up to tempo. (Steve does this at his workshops too - it really helps to see him play it slowly first.) This book includes tunes like Milwaukee Blues, Amos Johnson Rag, Stack Lee's Blues, and Guitar Rag.If getting the visual helps you might also consider Steve's Blues/Roots Guitar DVD. The book and DVD compliment each other with little overlap. And attend his Roots & Blues Workshop at the next Kerrville Folk Festival if at all possible. It is three days of small group instruction from Steve and friends in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. The workshop is held the week after Memorial Day but be sure to be there on Memorial Day for the afternoon Blues Project. It's worth the trip.

Best instructional book for blues !!!

I don't understand entry level books that start you off by having you fret an F chord with your thumb. I'm sure I'm not the only person who had a lot of trouble playing the F chord when they started. I have just recently got back to this book after setting it aside because I just couldn't play any of the music in his lessons. Having said that, it is a good source for someone who is past the basics.

Super good, variety, etc. Sorry the music world lost this amazing musician in early 2022!All of his books are excellent. I bought this and another as gifts for a friend.

A great book that teaches songs in standard tunings, various open tunings and slide guitar. There are not many examples of each type of style. The first two songs Take Me Back and Sugar Babe are in standard tuning. The third song Milwuakee Blues jumps to drop D tuning. There is not a lot of explanation on how to play the song. The author does play the song at a slower speed and at regular tempo. He will also sing a verse of the song at the regular tempo to hear how it should be performed. There is a good slection of songs throughout the book.

This is the best instructional book on open tunings that I've found. Great songs - fun book! I would rate it at the beginner/intermediate level as some songs are definitely easier than others. Highly recommend it for anyone interested in open tunings and slide guitar.

Do not buy this book if you need audio supplement. It says “free download”, but when you go to the specified website in the book, you get the error message saying “Page Not Found”. I called the customer service at Acoustic Guitar, and the person I talked to told me that there was no audio supplement available. So buy Steve James’ recent book with a CD instead.

Steve James is a fantastic teacher - not for the absolute beginner but a must for intermediate players looking to improve their 'blues fingerstyle'

I expected actually a little more similar to the videos you can see on youtube based on Steve James guitar style. Unfortunately it is not what I have expected so far. It would be great to see upfront at least 1 or 2 pages of the guitar lessons perhaps connected with the mp3 file.

For me amazing!

Husband loves it.

arrived safely thanks