This DVD lesson is for the intermediate and advanced fingerstyle guitar player. It is for the student who feels comfortable with an alternating bass techique and wants to expand and explore ideas in blues and ragtime using more advanced right and left hand techniques. The four instrumentals featured in this lesson are all extended compositions offering a variety of musical ideas. Piano sounding blues in the key of A are presented with Mississippi Blues and Blues For The Mann. A Blind Blake approach in the key of C is used for the Glory of Love. Struttin' Rag in the key of E brings together three distinct sections. It opens with a blues piano sounding motif and then steps into a more country atmosphere. It finishes with a series of bass licks reminiscent of Merle Travis's Walkin' The Strings. There are many challenges to master in these four instrumentals. Each is taught phrase by phrase and then played slowly on a split-screen. A detailed tab/music instructional booklet is included as a PDF file on the DVD. Tunes include: Mississippi Blues, Struttin' Rag, Glory of Love and Blues For The Mann. 76 minutes. DVD is region 0, playable worldwide.
About the Actor
Stefan Grossman has been recording, performing, and writing about acoustic fingerstyle techniques and styles for more than 30 years. At age 15 he started taking lessons from the legendary bluesman the late Rev. Gary Davis. He also learned music from records by Brownie McGhee and Lightnin' Hopkins. When Grossman was 18, he formed the Even Dozen Jug Band with guitarist Steve Katz, harmonicist/singer John Sebastian and pianist Josh Rifkin. The group recorded the LP Even Dozen Jug Band out of print for Elektra in 1964. At the same time, Stefan became more interested in his work as a blues researcher. During the period from 1965-1975 he studied and traveled with some of the legendary figures in the world of blues guitar-- Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and other great black American bluesmen and songsters. From this experience Stefan authored his landmark five-volume series for Oak Publications that presented these styles to pickers worldwide. In 1973 Stefan co-founded Kicking Mule Records to counter the shortage of good instructional guitar records and music. With a lineup of artists including guitarists Dave Evans, Ton Van Bergeyk, Happy Traum, Duck Baker, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and Davy Graham, Kicking Mule has been instrumental in promoting and preserving the best in blues, ragtime, and contemporary picking. Stefan has played with bands all over the world and has recorded numerous CDs. He has also written many books that have been published or distributed by Mel Bay Publications.
