Product Description

Unlock the mystery of blues improvisation as you develop an understanding of different blues styles and express yourself through your music. Contains scores of exercises designed to get you playing the blues.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #872551 in Books
• Published on: 1998-06-01
• Released on: 1997-12-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Customer Reviews

Ok, but you can do better.
Martan Mann can most definately play piano. The accompanying CD may almost be worth the price to hear him play. However, you're looking for instruction if you're reading this. I don't want to slam his product too hard. I'll just say he doesn't teach well and there's not allot of real meat here for beginners. I've also purchased Andrew D. Gordon's 100 Ultimate Blues Riffs. Riffs in all keys with many many different basslines and virtually zero instruction. Then, finally, I got my hands on something I absolutely love and can recommend wholeheartedly to anyone without a vast musical background who wants to play the blues. Check out the book/cd combos level 1 and 2 by David Bennet Cohen. You won't be dissappointed. I just ordered "Improvising Blues Piano" by Tim Richards and am very excited about it as well. One more you might look into.

Unique guide through pro tricks
I think the reviewers are being a little harsh on this book. It never professes to be a 'Blues Piano for the complete beginner' text - it's called 'Improvising Blues Piano' which implies that a certain amount of knowledge has already been reached. It's actually a pretty rare resource, because it is a very accomplished blues player offering his advice and personal tricks and methods for improving playing. More importantly the playing and taste on this cd sounds great and miles away from the plodding cliched beginners stuff on most collections.

Doubtless, the pressure was on him by the publishers to make some concession to the 'absolute beginners' audience but on the whole it's a great book/cd combo because it tries to teach stuff that music instruction books usually can't tell you - things like which scales real blues players prefer to improvise with, or good techniques for learning new intervals. If you've already done a beginners book and want to start playing stuff that actually sounds good then take this book on as a resource - you'll delve in and out of it but it'll be a good friend as you bring style and art to your playing.

too many gaps to be useful
Mann's book begins by laying a basic groundwork in chords, scales, bass lines, and theory, and then moves on to cover the differences between various styles. There is enormous ground in between that is left uncovered, and I was unable to get much out of this book despite doing the exercises and listening to the accompanying CD. The book doesn't have enough examples fully written out, and the examples on the CD are too difficult for a beginner to imitate (though I will admit the possibility that I simply don't have the talent...). Mann should have taken us step by step, adding one element then the next, and showed us the steps in music notation as well as by example.

The book lacks a discography, despite Mann's repeated exhortations to listen to blues performed live and in recordings.

On the other hand, the musicianship on the CD is excellent, and includes half a dozen example performances in various styles that are worthy of an audio CD by themselves. Mann clearly knows his material, and has a background imparting it to others in person.