Arts Entertainments

Guitar Lesson Review: Blues Guitar Secrets by Dan Denley

Question:

What do Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, and John Mayer have in common?

Answer:

In addition to having the distinction of being just a few of the many notable guitarists of the last 60 years or more, they also came from a Blues background or at least had a great appreciation for the beauty of this mode of music.

Question:

What do the musical styles of modern country, rock, metal, and pop music have in common?

Answer:

They represent some of the many musical genres that are often influenced by Blues.

In addition to the sheer fun of learning to play the blues guitar, it is also a highly recommended way to augment the musical tools that a student can use to write, accompany, or solo with many types of music. This can be a smart educational progression for any guitar student with at least some proficiency with some basic scales and bar chords.

The purpose of the “Blues Guitar Secrets” DVD guitar lesson program is to quickly teach the student:

-12 bar blues in multiple variations

– blues chords and progressions

– blues scales in all positions and keys

– improvising Blues Solos

Every guitar lesson program should include at least the following:

-An instructional program will go beyond the limitations of simply reading a book by offering clear audio and video demonstrations of each lesson.

-The author of the program should ideally possess the following credentials: play well themselves, have played in a band, have recorded music, be a talented and preferably experienced guitar teacher with formal education.

About the author Dan Denley:

Dan Denley fits well with the above definition of the ideal guitar instructor. He has been a member of 10 bands and has played a few gigs in large venues. Dan is a competitive music scholar, has a college degree in music, and is a guitar instructor. He is also the author of the highly rated and successful beginner to intermediate guitar lesson program called “Amazing Guitar Secrets” and a new solo program called “Lead Guitar Secrets”.

Who will benefit the most from this program ?:

Although learning to play the basics of the blues guitar does not require advanced playing skill, it helps if you are comfortable with at least one of the moving major or minor scale patterns and a few barre chords. However, the Blues Guitar Secrets course will guide you through the fundamental building blocks that include the pentatonic blues scales.

Is this blues course for acoustic or electric guitarists?

Both. Although the author begins the course by explaining the interesting details of setting up his electric guitar, he demonstrates the lessons using a mix of electric and acoustic guitars. One of the sections of the lesson is titled “Acoustic Guitar Blues Riffs”.

The content of the secrets of the blues guitar:

A. The physical parts

– (2) Blues Guitar Lesson DVD

– (1) CD Jam Tracks * (included only in the Gold Edition)

– (1) Book – DVD Companion: Essential Symbols of Blues Notation, Tab and Chords

– (1) Book – “Mastering the pentatonic and blues scales: discover the secrets to creating your own killer blues riffs and solos”

– (1) Book – Complete step-by-step guide to CD Jam Tracks *! – Includes tabs, chord symbols, fretboard diagrams and a complete theoretical analysis of each Jam Track * (included only in the Gold Edition).

– (1) Progress Tracker

– (1) Introductory letter

– (1) Step-by-step guide: “How to use the Blues Guitar Secrets Course”

* Jam Tracks are made up of short blues songs that provide the opportunity to practice rhythmic parts or improvise alone while playing with a recorded backing band.

A partial list of the lessons:

– Introduction to blues guitar

– Minor pentatonic sliding scale patterns in 5 positions

– Blues pentatonic sliding scale patterns

– Blues Chord Progressions

– Use of chords and scales of minor seventh, dominant seventh, major seventh VI, dominant ninth and minor ninth, as well as forms of combination

– 12 bar blues: open position chords

– Acoustic guitar blues riffs

– Classic Blues Solo Licks

– Blues racing

– Solo practice techniques

– Adding curves

– Strumming techniques

– Using syncopation

– Bonus videos

The negatives:

– Dan sometimes refers to a musical term before defining it. Some of the author’s explanations of these terms are not very clear. This could occasionally frustrate the more inexperienced gamer, but overall I didn’t find this to be a huge problem.

– If you listen to the Jam track CD using only the small speakers on a laptop, the base guitar may not be easy to hear. Using headphones or listening to Jam Tracks on a standard CD player seemed to easily eliminate this problem.

– It would be nice if this course came with a protective sleeve or organizer to keep all the materials together.

– None of these problems are significant, but rather minor annoyances.

The positives:

– The Author: Dan Denley is a seasoned and skilled guitarist and college-educated educator.

– This course is easy to follow and understand.

– Excellent use of close-ups to clarify fingering scales and chords.

– Includes a Jam Track CD to develop essential skills for playing with a band.

– This course is primarily a video course with written support materials and not the other way around. I have found that it is less effective and more difficult if you must first read an instruction manual and then find a video clip on your computer that supports the lesson in the book. I enjoy the much richer experience of watching, listening, and then emulating a live instructor demonstrating each lesson from start to finish. It is much more effective to use the instruction book only as a means of clarifying the video lesson. Blues Guitar Secrets understood this part exactly perfectly.

The price:

The standard edition It costs $ 127 USD (at the time of writing) and includes all of the items listed above in the “Contents” section without the Jam Track CD or book.

The gold edition It costs $ 159 USD (at the time of this writing) and includes all of the items listed above in the “Contents” section, including the Jam Track CD and book.

Ships: world

Warranty:

Blues Guitar Secrets comes with an unconditional 90-day money-back guarantee.

The bottom line:

I can, without hesitation, recommend this Blues Guitar course for anyone who has basic guitar skills and a desire to learn the basics of Blues Guitar, including how to improvise alone. The course is organized, logical, and priced appropriately.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *