Blues guitarist Fruteland Jackson (in conjunction with the National Guitar Workshop and Alfred Publishing) has put together a very enjoyable and informative beginners guide to Delta Blues Guitar. The Instruction Book and companion Video provide information to help the beginning guitarist learn how to play Delta blues guitar. The Book is well laid out with sections on the basics (tuning, hand position, tablature and chord diagrams, etc.), 12-bar blues, standard and open tuning, blues shuffle, openings, turnarounds and endings, barre chords and slide techniques. The accompanying CD gives the student examples of what the book is talking about and the companion Video has Fruteland walking the student through a variety of basic blues techniques. The Book and Video also offer a short history of Delta Blues and brief "blues notes" highlighting some of the characters of Delta blues. Fruteland, one of the younger generation of bluesmen, is the recipient of the 1997 W. C. Handy Award for "Keeping the Blues Alive" in Education. In addition to his solo acoustic performances he also conducts workshops and "Blues in the Schools" programs nationwide.
This introductory Delta blues guitar program consists of a 60 minute Video, a 47 page Instruction Book, an 8 page video booklet with instruction on reading TAB and standard notation, and a 40 minute CD with examples of the lessons contained in the Instruction Book. The cover price on the Video is $14. 95 and on the Book and CD is $14.95. Recommend for the beginning guitarist or someone wanting to learn the rudiments of Delta blues guitar.
Fruteland Jackson on the web: http://members.aol.com/fruteland
E-mail: Fruteland@aol.com
Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., P.O. Box 10003, 16320 Roscoe Blvd., Van Nuys, CA 91401
www.alfredpub.com
National Guitar Summer Workshop, Box 222, Lakside, CT 06758
1-800-234-6479 (Call or write for your free brochure)
This review is copyright © 1999 by Ray Stiles, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved.
E-mail Ray Stiles at: 
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