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Guitar Books the Podcast

Guitar Books the Podcast

De : Joe McMurray
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 Join Joe McMurray as he thoroughly reviews guitar books – method, technique, song and repertoire. There are hundreds of books on the market, and Joe will help you to find the best book that explores your area/style of interest at the proper level of difficulty. Joe is a professional player and teacher with a formal background in jazz guitar, but extensive experience with folk, rock, blues, funk, and classical styles on instruments including the guitar, ukulele, piano, bass, banjo, and drums. He has released two solo fingerstyle guitar and ukulele albums, played on numerous rock recordings, and written his own book on arranging for fingerstyle guitar.© 2023 Joe McMurray Music Art Musique
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    • Review #21: Kalamazoo Gals by John Thomas

      Review #21: Kalamazoo Gals by John Thomas
      Feb 16 2025
      Is this one of the best or worst books for learning about vintage Gibson acoustic guitars? Kalamazoo Gals by John Thomas is a great book for vintage guitar enthusiasts, anyone curious about why folks are so crazy about vintage guitars, anyone generally interested in the Gibson guitar company and its founding, and anyone interested in the culture and society of the U.S. home front during World War II. The author weaves the stories of the 1942 – 1945 Gibson “banner guitars,” the personal stories of the largely female workforce of the time, and the context of the wartime manufacturing regulations. This book does NOT teach you how to play the guitar - it is non-fiction novel. John Thomas put a tremendous amount of research into this book, making multiple trips to Kalamazoo, MI (where the Gibson factory was located). He presents his findings with a sense of humor, making for an enjoyable read. When many of the male employees at Gibson were sent off to fight in World War II, local women (the “Kalamazoo Gals”) stepped in to fill their shoes at the factory. Despite heavy wartime regulations and an inexperienced, largely female workforce, Gibson built some of its most revered guitars – the “Banner Gibsons.” Mysteriously, the Gibson company denies ever building these guitars! John Thomas sought out the Kalamazoo Gals for their first-hand accounts of working at the Gibson factory during WWII, and along the way he discovered their personal stories. He poured through old shipping ledgers to decode Gibson’s strange serial numbers system (or lack there-of) so that we can more accurately date these vintage guitars. He X-rays a bunch of Banner Gibsons to discover exactly what made these guitars special. Finally, he produced a musical album to capture the sounds of the Banner Gibsons. The early chapters of the book present the history of Orville Gibson and his founding of Gibson guitars in the late 1800s and early 1900s. As a guitar player, I was intrigued by the history of the company and how it is intertwined with American history. I had no idea that Orville Gibson was fond of gaudy pinstriped suits and built interesting instruments like harp guitars and lutes. I have a new respect for the company’s history having learned about how it scraped by during the depression, building both guitars and children’s toys, and how it aided the WWII effort by taking a bunch of contracts to build military weapons. You will gain a much deeper understanding of Gibson’s flattop guitar models and their histories. You will read the stories of several specific guitars that were owned by famous musicians including Buddy Holly and Woodie Guthrie. You may develop an itch to acquire a vintage guitar - the massive, resonant sounds of these guitars and the stories they carry are truly special. However, most importantly, you will hear the personal stories of some 15 or so Kalamazoo Gals. It is touching to follow along as John Thomas clearly develops meaningful relationships with these women throughout the course of his research and interviews. Be sure to check out the album, The Light Still Burns, by Lauren Sheehan and produced by John Thomas, to hear some of the Banner Gibsons in action! Published in 2012 by American History Press. My eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook. Learning to arrange melodies will also help your fingerstyle songwriting and your understanding of the inner workings of fingerstyle guitar. My upcoming eBook on fingerstyle blues will be out soon! I’ll provide order details here. My upcoming book, Arranging for Fingerstyle Ukulele, will be published by Mel Bay in 2025. My music is available on all streaming platforms at https://open.spotify.com/artist/5dcokTG6C598OhTslHH5uo?si=hrQb7FViSZewDRSgECw9Ew: Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album was released on January 19, 2024. Watch the first single,
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      10 min
    • Comparison #1: Best Beginner Fingerstyle Methods

      Comparison #1: Best Beginner Fingerstyle Methods
      Dec 2 2024
      If you want to get started playing acoustic fingerstyle guitar, you will benefit from private lessons with a teacher, online video courses, listening to fingerstyle recordings, and of course… books. It is beneficial to mix and match all of these resources. Remember that everyone’s brain works differently, so you may gravitate more towards certain styles of learning / methods of presentation. I love learning from books because I can read the text at my own pace and as many times over as I want. Seeing the music written out is extremely helpful for me – I always had more difficulty keeping track of song forms or chord progressions without some sort of written reference. So, for those of you who want to utilize a fingerstyle guitar method book to beef up your chops, I’ve done my homework and I’ve distilled my favorites into this “greatest hits” list. I’ll try to be objective and describe who each book is best suited to. Best Beginner Fingerstyle Methods: Alfred’s Beginning Fingerstyle Guitar (Lou Manzi): Great all-around book to learn solo fingerstyle guitar. Beginner to intermediate. Not specific to any one subgenre of fingerstyle. Nice organization/flow of information with a decent difficulty progression. Good finger exercises to build some dexterity or to use as warmups, decent explanations in the text (but not too wordy), and nice sounding original tunes. There aren’t any arrangements of famous tunes, but there are tunes “in the style of ___.” I personally like working through this book with my students. Additionally, many of this book’s lessons have sparked creative ideas of my own. First book in a three part series, so you can continue your studies! Audio recordings are available. Travis-Style Guitar from Scratch (Bruce Emery): This book is a gem! This is a method book for learning to play solo fingerstyle guitar using an alternating bass (in the Travis style). This is one of the best books I’ve found for complete beginner to intermediate players who want to learn this specific style. Even if you want to play other sub-styles of fingerstyle as well, this isn’t a bad place to start your journey. The material progresses logically with lots of exercises that build on each other and lead perfectly into performance pieces (old classics like Oh! Susanna, House of the Rising Sun, Jingle Bells, etc.). Each time Emery presents a new concept, he incorporates it into updated arrangements of each tune. Emery’s sense of humor is infused into the text of the book, keeping detailed explanations lighthearted and entertaining without losing sight of the important information. Audio recordings are available. Fingerstyle Guitar from Scratch (Bruce Emery): I don’t love it as much as Travis-Style Guitar from Scratch, but it is still great general method book. You will not learn to play solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements (other than a very brief introduction to the topic), but you will receive a great foundation if you are just starting out with fingerstyle. Complete beginner to intermediate. Emery’s sense of humor is once again infused into the text of the book, keeping detailed explanations lighthearted and entertaining without losing sight of the important information. The book is focused on fingerstyle accompaniment using arpeggiation and Travis Style / alternating bass patterns. This book would make an excellent primer for either Alfred’s Beginning Fingerstyle Guitar or any other fingerstyle guitar method. Audio recordings are available. Hal Leonard’s Fingerpicking Guitar (Doug Boduch): Short and sweet method to learn to play accompaniment and solo fingerstyle guitar through famous popular tunes. Beginner to intermediate. Guitar teachers may find this book to be a great teaching supplement. The progression of topics is well laid out, the examples and arrangements are playable and sound good, and the text is concise. This book is great if you just want to play arrangements of popular tun...
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      18 min
    • Review #20: The Inner Game of Fingerstyle Guitar by Adam Rafferty

      Review #20: The Inner Game of Fingerstyle Guitar by Adam Rafferty
      Oct 17 2024
      Is this one of the best or worst books for learning to play acoustic fingerstyle guitar? You can learn to play music by simultaneously using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books. The Inner Game of Fingerstyle Guitar by Adam Rafferty is an inspirational collection of practical advice on becoming not only a better fingerstyle guitarist, but a better musician and human being in general. This is NOT a method book with specific instructions and playing examples. It reads more like a non-fiction novel that you would read in your most comfy chair. The text is easy to read and flows well from topic to topic. Every section will provide you with ideas to improve your playing, organize your practice time, conquer your stage fright, connect with your audience, etc. I’d recommend this book for all skill levels, but especially for beginner and intermediate fingerstyle guitar players. If you are looking for ways to motivate yourself or to get yourself over a musical plateau, this book would be a great investment of time and money. It is a great supplement to other instructional books, video lessons, and in-person lessons. Spend 5 or 10 minutes reading prior to your practice session, waiting at the doctor’s office, or while traveling. The book is organized into three parts: “Your Soul,” “Your Craft,” and “Your Listeners.” Part One: “Your Soul” contains lots of ideas that you might find in a general self-improvement book. Most of the advice is not specific only to becoming a better guitar player. Adam recommends playing music that really speaks to you, focusing on your strengths, and setting goals with specific plans to achieve them. Some of this may be a little “heady” for some readers with ideas of “musical truth” and allowing your subconscious mind to guide you towards achieving your goals. Even if that’s not your cup of tea, stick it out (you will likely find something useful) and you will be rewarded later in the book. In Part Two: “Your Craft,” Adam discusses how to actually improve as a musician. He goes over the stages of artistic development, the ten areas of musical study (concepts like “what to play” and “how to play”), how to practice effectively, and how to get out of a rut. This section of the book gives a great overview of what is actually involved in mastering your musical craft. In Part Three: “Your Listeners,” Adam shares some of what makes him so great as a musician and performer. He provides practical advice on finding gigs, dealing with stage fright, and satisfying your audiences. I love what he has to say about performing music that is both inspiring to you and entertaining for your audience. If you like what Adam has to say in this book, you should absolutely check out his recordings, his successful YouTube channel, his podcast (Fingerstyle Guitar Hangout with Adam Rafferty), and his online courses. He is incredibly talented at not only playing the guitar, but at arranging popular tunes for fingerstyle guitar. I personally learned so much from him through his courses and through an interview that I did with him around 5 years ago on Fret Buzz the Podcast. No guitar required while reading this book! Published in 2020 by Crescent Ridge Publishing, LLC. My eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook. Learning to arrange melodies will also help your fingerstyle songwriting and your understanding of the inner workings of fingerstyle guitar. My music is available on all streaming platforms at https://open.spotify.com/artist/5dcokTG6C598OhTslHH5uo?si=hrQb7FViSZewDRSgECw9Ew: Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album was released on January 19, 2024. Watch the first single, "Open Road," on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/uPBh8sZQsT4?si=EM_wAwnHFqU1VC9C. Riding the Wave and Acoustic Oasis: my first two fingerstyle guitar albums.
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      13 min

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