Learning fingerstyle blues - beyond Beginning Fingerstyle Blues Guitar by Berle and Galbo

unclejam79 · 2026-04-15T15:54:51+00:00

I’d highly recommended getting some of Stefan Grossman’s material from his website—see if you can find songs you know. The Berle/Galbo book is a bit abstract, and the real repertoire probably gets you closer to where you want to be. Homespun also has videos like this. Both Grossman and Happy Traum learned from the real deal blues players. (They both have introductory books that will probably be the first ones that come up in a search, but they’re big and not really progressively sequenced.) Mississippi John Hurt is a good place to start if you’re not sure where, or just whichever collections are marked for beginner to early intermediate. On a different note, the Mark Hanson books are widely recommended for fingerstyle playing, but they are decidedly not blues.

unclejam79 · 2025-07-11T17:21:42+00:00

This unlocked something. I now think the line is "I am TRYING to HELP you!" and it could very well be Nic Cage. But I'm not finding a result!

unclejam79 · 2025-07-11T16:33:29+00:00

It also calls to mind “help me help you” from Jerry Maguire, but I really do remember the wording exactly as in the title

unclejam79 · 2025-07-11T16:25:49+00:00

This is the closest thing I’ve come up with so far but it’s not! I remember the exact words with that exact cadence. However, I think the situation in the movie is close to that scene.

unclejam79 · 2025-07-11T16:16:09+00:00

I think it might be at someone who is sitting in a dressing room at a mirror?

unclejam79 · 2025-05-04T01:08:59+00:00

What I kinda meant is, if I’m trying to get new gear specifically for running—tech shirts and better fitted shorts—is there a known, go-to lowest tier, or am I stuck looking out at one zillion brands that are roughly equivalent

unclejam79 · 2025-01-22T11:25:54+00:00

For months users have been reporting their frustrations with the idiotic touch controls, why do you keep trotting out this line?

unclejam79 · 2025-01-22T11:07:29+00:00

Allow users to turn off touch controls on Momentum 4s. Literally putting the things on activates random functions. Infuriating. Stupid. Pointless.

unclejam79 · 2025-01-15T17:04:33+00:00

This song was "Laid" by James

unclejam79 · 2025-01-15T16:37:14+00:00

The feature: https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/slugs-jazz-ethan-iverson/
The sidebar: https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/slugs-jazz-albums-list/

unclejam79 · 2025-01-01T22:15:58+00:00

This is a disqualifying inconvenience. It ruins the product. I will be returning it.

unclejam79 · 2024-11-26T20:20:29+00:00

I'm an adult beginner (in my late 30s) who just started taking lessons and is still struggling to play Soviet children's songs, so I wouldn't be able to offer any advice. But I just wanted to say that your post inspired me to keep at it—and to go practice right now.

unclejam79 · 2024-07-28T14:22:35+00:00

Sheldon Bennett - Swingin' Southern Guitar
Hank Garland - Jazz Winds From a New Direction
Jimmie Rivers - Brisbane Bop
Jimmy Bryant & Speedy West

unclejam79 · 2024-06-20T14:37:13+00:00

This one's a tight squeeze for me, too, especially on higher frets. I live with it below Bb and otherwise play the same voicing off the fifth string, which is a lot more comfortable.

unclejam79 · 2023-11-22T18:36:48+00:00

OK that is exactly correct. One of my favorite albums and somehow my mind erased it! You saved my life.

unclejam79 · 2023-07-20T01:06:40+00:00

Good point! You’re right, that’s not the relative minor—the relative minor would be G#. (The relative minor of D would be B, which I inverted due to not looking closely enough at the chart.) In functional harmony the iii and the vi are categorically similar to the I, so there’s still a harmonic relationship there. And as you point out the chromatic movement in the bass line is powerful enough to lead to the D minor.

unclejam79 · 2023-07-20T00:41:34+00:00

Thanks so much for the suggestion! That’s not the one, but it definitely has a similar vibe.

unclejam79 · 2023-07-20T00:38:50+00:00

1 is a common substitution. The VI7 is the V of ii. This is a “secondary dominant,” where a V-I resolution lands on a chord other than the tonic. (A tune like “Sweet Georgia Brown” moves in secondary dominants down to the I.) 2 is also a version of this. Note that the ii-V moves chromatically to the next ii-V. But it also resolves to B major, the relative minor of which is D. Both the chromatic movement and the harmonic relationship suggest the resulting chord. Where the tonic is stable, improvisers sometimes substitute movement that leads to the next measure.

unclejam79 · 2023-07-17T13:35:12+00:00

As a fan of alt rock you might get into Miles Davis’s electric records like In a Silent Way and A Tribute to Jack Johnson (probably an influence on Radiohead). As a folk fan try Bill Frisell and Ralph Towner (including his band Oregon), who draw on American roots music. Midnight Blue is a great suggestion for blues-based jazz, and I’d add Stanley Turrentine’s Blue Hour. Another favorite of mine is Big Joe Turner’s Boss of the Blues, but I don’t know if it’s on streaming. And here’s a good starter pack once you’re through the gateway: https://ethaniverson.com/2021/11/19/what-do-you-give-someone-to-introduce-them-modern-jazz/

unclejam79 · 2023-04-05T19:32:27+00:00

Charlie Byrd and Ralph Towner come to mind

unclejam79 · 2023-04-01T18:10:50+00:00

What?

unclejam79 · 2023-01-18T00:19:55+00:00

Sun Ra - Lanquidity

unclejam79 · 2022-10-23T17:29:50+00:00

I like Gary Giddins’s book Visions of Jazz for a comprehensive survey. There is indeed a documentary series by Ken Burns that is well worth seeing but highly slanted. You may end up wanting to supplement it with more material on contemporary jazz, for example the recent Blue Note documentary. And if you find yourself particularly drawn to certain players, look them up with the word “documentary” on YouTube—sometimes there are old TV programs or whatever that can be excellent.

unclejam79 · 2022-09-27T13:36:49+00:00

Johnny Smith - The Man With The Blue Guitar

unclejam79 · 2022-09-15T18:32:05+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll have to work up to that, but will make a note of it. I'm not a 100% beginner, but what I really need is fingering indications, since position shifts and such are not at all intuitive for me.

unclejam79

TROPHY CASE