Exploring 8 Bar Blues – Seven Songs, Progressions & Variations in E – Mary Flower

Here’s everything a learning guitarist will need to get into the infectious 8-bar blues form. Mary Flower brings her expert musicianship to seven exciting and arrangements, helping both novice and more advanced fingerstyle blues players develop important guitar skills. You will come away with a wealth of techniques, great songs and new insights into your instrument.

Mary starts with simple strums and basic turnarounds for her version of How Long Blues. She gradually adds chords, progressions, licks, bass lines, picking patterns and other challenging ways to bring this and other great songs to life.

Blood Red River illustrates the “stumble-thumb” right hand; Willie McTell’s Some Old Lonesome Day incorporates a cool walking bass; Big Bill Broonzy’s classic Key to the Highway uses a monotonic bass and a classic bent-note lick; a variety of bass runs, turnarounds and licks enhances Skip James’ Crow Jane; the folk/blues standard Trouble in Mind brings in a jazzier chord progression; and in a big finish to the lesson, Willie McTell’s Searching the Desert For The Blues combines all the techniques in a challenging finale.

Bio

After four decades of performing, Mary Flower continues to earn raves from critics and audiences alike for her clear vocals and guitar mastery. She draws on traditional, contemporary and original material to create a sound that, while uniquely her own, remains true to the timeless power of the blues. As a two time finalist at the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship, twice a Blues Music Award Nominee and with six critically-acclaimed CDs, Mary Flower is highly respected and in demand for festivals and concerts on both sides of the Atlantic. She has been a popular instructor at Fur Peace Ranch, Augusta Heritage Center, and Swannanoa Gathering and has performed at Merlefest and on Prairie Home Companion.