Birth of the Groove: R and B, Soul and Funk Guitar: 1945-1965 (Inside the Blues) Review

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(More customer reviews)Five stars and I stand by every one of them. For me, this is the perfect book focusing more on rhythm than on lead guitar. But of course it's not about rhythm guitar in the (boring) strumming sense. This is a book on double stops, licks and fills. Instead of teaching you how to play one hundred notes in three seconds, this book teaches you how to play one note at the exact right point in time.
Yes, it's about timing, about economical use of notes. In short, the secret of what makes music funky and groovy.

I am an intermediate player, but I do think even better players might find it interesting. The book is also a guide to a lot of great guitarists who haven't been put in the spotlight like Clapton and Hendrix. The session men behind a lot of great music who know how to play for the song not to ruin it with stupid solos.

33 songs/examples on the CD. I have only gotten til example 7 yet, but I'm really looking forward to doing more. Each new thing might take me a day or two to master, but I already feel I'm making great progress.

In short, for me this book makes practising fun. And well, that's a whole lot more than could be said about all other books around.

Great historical info, tips on recordings etc.UPDATE (years later): I'm still very happy with this book. I went through almost the whole book in my honeymoon phase. In fact, now it's probably time to go back through this book again and do a refresh. A comment to this review expressed disappointment to the fact that many of the licks are very short. He's right about that. For me it was the exact right book at the right time in my development. I really got a fresh start into electric guitar after having played acoustic (mostly strumming) for many many years. Short licks and phrases that I managed to master in a day or two turned out the perfect practise companion. In that sense it's also a book you'll work yourself through quickly and not have that lasting quality. In that way it could seem expensive and disposable - but I compare price/value to how much I've improved with paying for lessons. And in that way - this book has been my best investment in tutorship ever.The short examples for me was what makes this a good practice book. I'm a better player after it and it has opened up my fretboard to a lot more lead/rhythm-stuff that I never managed to get into before. After all, I've bought many books before where the examples and songs are so long that I never manage to get through them.

As a result of my enthusiasm over this book I ordered a few more books by the same author. They still look really tempting, but so far I haven't really gotten around to finish them like with this one. Maybe because the examples in the other ones are longer...

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Product Description:
The years 1945-1965 saw a radical and exciting shift in American popular music. Blues and swing jazz helped to produce a new musical form called rhythm and blues, which in turn set in motion the development of soul and funk, not to mention rock Ã-nÃ- roll. What united these genres was an emphasis on the beat, or the groove, over the melody that would culminate in the syncopated monochord workouts of funk. Along the way, some of the greatest electric guitarists of the postwar years explored the boundaries of the new instrument with a rich array of hot licks. This book/CD pack explores everything from the swinging boogie of Tiny Grimes, to the sweaty primal funk of Jimmy Nolen, to the styles of Mickey Baker, Billy Butler, Steve Cropper, Cornell Dupree, Jerry Jemmott, Curtis Mayfield, Ike Turner and everyone in between. Includes in-depth lessons, historical analysis, rare photos, and a CD with 33 full-band tracks.

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Funk: Guitar Play-Along Volume 52 Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this cause I hoped for a fast way to learn some funk rifs. It turned out to be a lot more then I expected as these are totally fun to play and do actually sound like the songs the way you are used to hearing them. The play along cd provides a version of the song with the guitar and without so you can play as the 'only' guitar once you are ready.And the cd also supplies a 'lite' verson of 'amazing slow downer' software that you can load on your PC and use to change the tempo of the CD or loop parts you want extra practice on till you get the tune going the way you want it. It's the easiest version of tempo changing software I've tried and required zero learning curve, very much plug and play. This book is totally worth it and I also recommend the "soul" and "rhytmn and blues" versions of the books as well - as this 'method' is part of a HL series which uses a collection of pop tunes and play along cds to help you build well rounded guitar comp'ing skills in a variety of pop styles.

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Product Description:
The Guitar Play-Along Series will help you play your favorite songs quickly and easily! Just follow the tab, listen to the CD to hear how the guitar should sound, and then play along using the separate backing tracks. The melody and lyrics are included in the book in case you want to sing, or to simply help you follow along. The CD is playable on any CD player, and also enhanced so PC and Mac users can adjust the recording to any tempo without changing pitch! 8 songs: Cissy Strut * Flashlight * Funk #49 * I Just Want to Celebrate * It's Your Thing * Le Freak * Papa's Got a Brand New Bag * Pick Up the Pieces.

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Soul Guitar Bible Review

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(More customer reviews)There are tons of folios for rock, metal, jazz, or classical guitar, but not many at all for the aspiring Soul or R&B player. This book and the R&B Guitar Bible address this perfectly. It's a great book, TAB are accurate and thorough. Buy it if you love classic Soul.

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Product Description:
Note-for-note tab transcriptions of 33 standards of soul: Born Under a Bad Sign * Cold Sweat, Pt. 1 * Groovin' * I Heard It Through the Grapevine * I've Been Loving You Too Long * In the Midnight Hour * Knock on Wood * Land of a Thousand Dances * Let's Get It On * My Girl * Papa's Got a Brand New Bag * Respect * Theme from Shaft * (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay * Soul Man * Walkin' the Dog * (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher * and more.

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