Others say...

"Finally, a good rhythm guitar book"
I have been teaching and arranging for guitar players for a very long time, and one of the problems I repeatedly encounter is the red hot lead guitarist who can't play rhythm worth a bean. I have to explain that even if it's your group, you will spend two thirds of your time playing rhythm. Then I have to convince them that what they are doing is awful, and believe me, it is. The most popular method is what I call "the thrash". The way I make the problem clear to them is to play backup myself while they take a solo. Then I point out that if that kind of rhythm is what they want, THEY have to be able to do it too. Then we start in on Mccabe's book. The Cd's numbers are screwed up, but you can figure it out. (I doubt if the author is responsible) I love this book. Before it came out, I had to do demo tapes to show what to do. Now I just write down the page number. Six weeks of serious work will make you better. Six months of work will make you a lot better, and very popular with your fellow musicians. Make no mistake; this book is aimed at blues and rock. If you are working in that field and play guitar, get this book. If you are working in this field and play some other instrument, you might want to suggest to someone in the group that he buy it. Self defense.

"Great!"
This music book was more than I hoped for! I use it at my lessons and my teacher loves it too. Theory, finger work, strumming, it's all in here for the blues wanna be! Good delivery time too.

"Really New Ways for the Blues Guitarist"
When you are like me and have played Blues self-taught guitar (well, with the use of other books) for some time, you have a couple of shuffles you can do and some rhythm guitar patterns. This book will enlarge your arsenal of rhythm playing substantially in the fields of rhythm patterns, chords and voicings. It is nicely demanding and this book will make you a better and more self-confident player when you play with others or for yourself. It generally goes in a jazzy direction and so you will learn nice-sounding tunes that will make you use the entire neck of your guitar. Nicely made, good explanations, the best book I found so far.

"Complete Rhythm Guitar Guide for Blues Bands"
I was almost put off by the (I think) dreadful cover (sometimes for an internet purchase, you DO have to judge a book by its cover!). The contents, however, are very impressive. This book is very comprehensive, and is not at all lightweight - it goes deep and provides very helpful theoretical support for those who are ready to absorb it. The fingering guides are spot-on. Overall it leaves little to chance. I'm very pleased with this book, and am very happy to recommend it. It offers plenty to the beginner, but also has lots for the advanced (even professional) player (it would be an extraordinarily good musician who couldn't something from this).

"Cerebral Blues"
This is blues on paper. This is blues that a mathemetician would appreciate. The authors have taken the expression of emotion from impoverished descendents of slaves in the rural South and put it on paper. The groanings of Blind Willie Johnson have been converted to what seems like a mathematical formula.

Needless to say, this book is filled with music theory. It doesn't just tell you where to put your fingers on the fretboard. It doesn't just give you a chord and a track to practice it on. This provides the formulas for constructing the chords as well as the methodology for the construction. After studying this book the student will be able to construct his or her own chords almost anywhere on the fretboard and with almost any root.

This isn't just guitar playing to impress girls. This is a beginners book for the serious guitar student interested in acquiring the tools to ignite his own creativity and explore the world of music and music theory. It provides the basic foundation for music theory. All of the example tracks on the CD are very basic. The intent is to instruct the reader the basic formulas for constructing the chords thereby enabling the reader to construct his own chords.

For example: one section is devoted to turnarounds and endings. The half dozen or more example tracks show variations of the same riff. The intent is for the student to understand the construction of the riff thereby being able to creatively modify or embellish other turnarounds and endings.

This is almost like a texbook. It's not for beginners but serious music students.