Question:
What does Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen and John Mayer share in common?
Answer:
Besides having the distinction of being just a few of the many notable guitarists from the last 60 plus years, they also came from a Blues background or at least had a strong appreciation for the beauty of this mode of music.
Question:
What do the musical styles of modern country, rock, metal and pop music share in common?
Answer:
They represent some of the many musical genres that are often influenced by the Blues.
Besides the sheer fun of learning to play Blues Guitar it is also a highly recommended way to increase the musical tools that a student can use to write, accompany or solo with many types of music. This can be a smart, educational progression for any guitar student with at least some proficiency with a few basic scales and barre chords.
The Purpose of the “Blues Guitar Secrets” DVD guitar lesson program is to quickly teach the student:
-12-bar blues in multiple variations
– blues chords and progressions
– blues scales in all positions and keys
– improvising Blues Solos
Every Guitar Lesson Program Should At least Include The Following:
-An instruction program will go beyond the limitations of just reading a book by offering clear audio and video demonstrations of each lesson.
-The program’s author should ideally possess the following credentials: play well themselves, have played in a band, have recorded music, be a gifted and preferably experienced, formally educated guitar teacher.
About The Author Dan Denley:
Dan Denley fits the above definition of the ideal guitar instructor well. He has been a member of 10 bands and has played in some large venue performances. Dan is a competitive music scholar, has a college degree in music and is a guitar instructor. He is also the author of the highly rated and successful beginner through intermediate guitar lesson program called “Amazing Guitar Secrets” and a new soloing program called “Lead Guitar Secrets”.
Who Will Benefit Most From This Program?:
Although learning to play blues guitar basics does not require advanced playing ability it does help if you are comfortable with at least one of the movable major or minor scale patterns and some barre chords. However, the Blues Guitar Secrets course will walk you through the fundamental building blocks which includes the Blues Pentatonic Scales.
Is This Blues Course For Acoustic Or Electric Guitar Players?
Both. Even though the author begins the course explaining the interesting details of his electric guitar set up, he demonstrates the lessons using a mix of both electric and acoustic guitars. One of the lesson sections is entitled “Acoustic Guitar Blues Riffs”.
The Contents of Blues Guitar Secrets:
A. The Physical Parts
– (2) Blues Guitar lesson DVDs
– (1) Jam Tracks* CD ( included in the Gold Edition only )
– (1) Book – DVD Companion: Essential Blues Notation, Tab and Chord Symbols
– (1) Book – “Mastering The Pentatonic and Blues Scales: Discover the Secrets To Creating Your Own Solos and Killer Blues Riffs”
– (1) Book – Complete Step By Step Guide To The Jam Tracks* CD! – Includes tabs, chord symbols, fretboard diagrams and a complete theoretical analysis of each Jam Track* ( included in the Gold Edition only ).
– (1) Progress Tracker
– (1) Intro Letter
– (1) Step by Step Guide: “How To Use Your Blues Guitar Secrets Course”
* Jam Tracks are comprised of short blues songs that create an opportunity to practice rhythm parts or improvising solos while playing with a recorded back up band.
A Partial List of The Lessons:
– Intro To Blues Guitar
– The Pentatonic Minor Movable Scale Patterns in 5 Positions
– The Blues Pentatonic Movable Scale patterns
– Blues Chord Progressions
– Using Minor 7th, Dominant 7th, VI Major 7th, Dominant 9th and Minor 9th chords and scales as well as combination forms
– 12-Bar Blues: Open Position Chords
– Acoustical Guitar Blues Riffs
– Classic Blues Solo Licks
– Blues Runs
– Solo Practicing Techniques
– Adding Bends
– Strumming Techniques
– Using Syncopation
– Bonus Videos
The Negatives:
– Dan sometimes refers to a musical term before he defines it. A few of the author’s explanations of these terms are not crystal clear. This might occasionally frustrate the most inexperienced player but overall I didn’t find this to be a huge problem.
– If you listen to the Jam track CD using only the small speakers on a laptop computer you may find that the base guitar might not be easy to hear. Using head phones or listening to the Jam Tracks on a standard CD player seemed to easily eliminate this problem.
– It would be nice if this course came with a protective case or organizer to keep all of the materials together.
– None of these issues are significant but rather are just minor annoyances.
The Positives:
– The author: Dan Denley is an expert, experienced guitarist and a college trained educator.
– This course is easy to follow and understand
– excellent use of close ups to clarify fingering chords and scales.
– includes a Jam Track CD for developing essential skills for playing with a band.
– This course is primarily a video course with written support materials and not the other way around. I have found that it is less effective and more difficult if you must first read an instruction manual then find a video snippet on your computer that supports the book lesson. I like the much richer experience of watching, listening then emulating a live instructor demonstrating every lesson from start to finish. It is much more effective to use the instruction book only as a means to clarify the video lesson. Blues Guitar Secrets got this part exactly right.
The Price :
The Standard Edition is $127 USD, (as of this writing ), and includes all of the items mentioned above in the “Contents” section without the Jam Track CD or Book.
The Gold Edition is $159 USD (as of this writing ), and includes all of the items mentioned above in the “Contents” section including the Jam Track CD and Book.
Ships: World wide
Guarantee:
Blues Guitar Secrets comes with a 90 day, unconditional, money-back guarantee.
The Bottom Line:
I can, without hesitation, recommend this Blues Guitar course for anyone that has basic guitar skills and a desire to learn the essential Blues Guitar basics including how to improvise solos. The course is organized, logical and priced right.