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Improvising Blues Guitar, by John Wheatcroft

Improvising Blues Guitar, by John Wheatcroft

John Wheatcroft

by

John Wheatcroft

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Modules275
Replay songs53
InstrumentAcoustic Guitar, Guitar
LanguageEnglish

Contents (275 modules, 53 replay)

About this songbook

A complete journey through the sound and feel of blues guitar, Improvising Blues Guitar shows you how to solo and comp with confidence in authentic styles from the Delta to Chicago, Texas, rock and jazz blues. Across eleven chapters you learn four full solo studies per chapter, each in the style of a landmark artist, plus focused technique and concept work that turns those licks into your own voice. Start now and let your blues guitar playing sound richer, freer and more expressive.

Each chapter explores a key blues scene or sub-genre, then walks you through complete blues guitar solos, detailed “Checkpoint” breakdowns, and progressive “Assignments and Improvisation Tips” so you can absorb phrasing, tone, timing and harmony step by step. You’ll cover acoustic Delta blues, Chicago band blues, Memphis and Detroit soul-flavoured grooves, early and new-wave Texas blues, British blues boom, rock-hot blues, jazz blues and slide masters, finishing with an acoustic blues revival chapter and a practical conclusion on feel, tone and delivery.

The book is built around real music: every solo study has a matching audio performance, and (for Chapters 2–10) a dedicated rhythm study that becomes your extended backing track for practising solos, trying ideas and developing your own improvisations. The Audio Track Listing at the back shows you exactly where to find each Mississippi Fred McDowell, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Muddy Waters, B. B. King, Hendrix, SRV, jazz and slide style track. Press play and learn, using the book both as a blues guitar course and as a long-term reference for phrasing, tone and stylistic authenticity.

If you already play basic blues guitar and want to sound more like the greats while still developing your own voice, this book gives you the structure, repertoire and backing material to make it happen. Work through the chapters in order, or dip into the styles and artists you love most, and come back to the solos and studies whenever you need new blues guitar inspiration.

Interactive Replay
Slow the tempo down
Practise any passage at your own speed — pitch stays correct.
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Fretboard & keyboard pop-ups
Notes light up on a guitar fretboard or piano keys as they play, with fingering shown.

Meet the Guru

John Wheatcroft

John Wheatcroft

John Wheatcroft is a British guitarist, educator and author who serves as Principal Lecturer in Guitar at BIMM London, with visiting roles at the University of West London and Chester University. A regular contributor to Guitar Techniques, Guitarist, Guitar Part (France) and Guitar World, he has performed with artists including Billy Cobham, Alex Acuña and Frank Gambale. His book Improvising Blues Guitar, published by Schott, traces blues playing from Chicago and Memphis through the British blues boom and jazz blues, focusing on the styles of the genre's most influential guitarists.
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Published with

Schott Music

Founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz in 1770, Schott Music is one of Europe's oldest and largest music publishers, with a catalogue of more than 30,000 titles. Over its 250-year history Schott has issued first editions of Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner, championed 20th-century voices from Hindemith and Schoenberg to Ligeti and Henze, and today publishes sheet music, books and educational materials from offices in Mainz, London, New York, Tokyo and beyond.
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Schott Music

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