Has anyone got the BYCU series from John Ganapes? I have the original BYCU and I have worked through the majority of the book. I would like to know if anyone has More Blues You Can Use and/or Blues Rythyms you can use, are they as useful as the original BYCU? Does anyone know of any other good Blues tutorial books? Cheers

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Fender Highway One HSS Stratocaster '09
Modified Fender Champ600
Honer Special20 Harmonica

Those books are alright, but the only way you're going to learn how to play is to either play in a band or watch a player play IMO. So in this context, I suggest that you start buying live concert DVD and play along with them.

One such DVD is John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers - Jammin' With the Blues Greats http://www.amazon.com/John-Mayall-Bluesbreakers-Jammin-Greats/dp/B0006UYOII/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1250108267&sr=1-3.

I'm not a John Mayall fan, but I have this live show, and can help you with all the songs the artists plays.

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Tony Houston

I had those 2 books a long time ago. I remember the gospel blues was a nice series of licks. Tony is right get some blues albums and download some blues tracks because you should know enough now to start forming your own style and working your licks over the chords and the only way you can do that is to jam for hours. Then listen to some of the greats take a lick you like but try to put a lil twist on it so it becomes your lick. Blues can be the easiest but also the hardest music to play as it is all about feel and playing from the heart and people know if your faking it or your playing with soul.

Blues guitar for dummies was interesting and helpful. I did not consider myself a beginner, but I hit a wall with my progress, and I felt I needed another perspective. I would recomend it.
J

I have Blues You Can Use, Blues Licks You Can Use and Blues You Can Use: Guitar Chords

To be honest I've never gotten through any of them from one end to another. I pretty much did like suggested, got through most of the stuff in Blues You Can Use and just took it on from there and started doing my own thing. Guess I'm just more into the whole play-by-ear, play-in -the-now thing.
My rhythm playing is suffering greatly from this route to guitar playing, which is why i bought the chord book, but the theory in there is just too heavy for me, like a lot others, i just do better when I'm not thinking about what i play.

I think, the best to do for you right now, is to find your own way. To figure out whether you'll be playing with your brain on or off.. And don't forget to play with anybody you get the chance to play with
Jams are the best learner and my short experience tells me that most people are really patient and just want the best for you at a jam. No one will put you down if you screw things up, hopefully somebody will even save your $@! if that happens, but the main thing is that you're there to learn and enjoy yourself, and people will indeed help you a lot with that. For example, if all your licks is in the first minor pent. position somebody will show you another part of the scale or a new scale instead of booing you off stage 'cause you can't play like them

Seems to me like every bluesrock lesson is based on SRV
Just joking, but not really

Well they certainly gave me the confidence to transcribe Texas Flood at some stage Great advice, I might just purchase BRYCU and check out the others, I believe each booklet should have backing tracks. I ordered the BT CD for the original BYCU but it has not arrived. I was disappointed because I got an email 6 weeks later saying it had only just been sent, very slack in their department

The ideal booklet would have a lesson slow tempo, than fast tempo followed by the backing track minus the guitar. Why did Ganapes not think of this??? I would have ordered ALL THE BOOKS if they were done in this manner. There is no point IMO to learn songs from a book if you have not got the exact BT! I realised that from the first book but luckily I found the BT CD on the website otherwise I would have been peeved!!!

But my YouTube channel is an inaccurate displyed of my abilities right now so the booklet gets the credit for that (plus me getting up at 5.40am to play giutar for 2 hours each day ). I have improved allot asnd can't wait to get some free time and decent recording equipment, which would likey be 5 months away. By that time my abilities would be a county mile better than that on my channel

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Fender Highway One HSS Stratocaster '09
Modified Fender Champ600
Honer Special20 Harmonica

Hello StratOBlues,

Back in the 70's I bought a book

Ragtime Blues Guitarists by Stephan Grossman

21 tunes I never heard of with both Music and tabs
and plenty of great oldtime photographs.
Some of these old songs are on Youtube.

It's out of print now but copy's and a cassette surface
now and then.Something to keep an open eye for.

Cheers.

I have two of the books. They are really good at showing specific aspects and types of Blues styles, (i.e., Delta Blues, Texas Blues, etc.). And, they give some good background on each style. The CD includes all of the short tunes in the book, some played at half and full speed.

These are a good place to start if you're looking to discover all the various Blues genre styles. Of course, as another poster mentioned, nothing compares to jamming with others for learning new things.

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Calling an illegal alien an undocumented immigrant is like calling a drug dealer an undocumented pharmicist.