Delta Blues Guitar Secrets Now Available on DVD

Brattleboro, VT (November 24, 2005) Eric Clapton called him, “The most important blues musician who ever lived.” The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richard, and Led Zepplin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page cited him as a formative influence. Delta Blues legend Robert Johnson died in 1938, but his recordings continue to inspire rock and blues musicians. Now, his guitar techniques are influencing the wired generation in a new DVD lesson, “Robert Johnson” (Hal Leonard Guitar Signature Licks, 2005) taught by blues musician and historian Scott Ainslie, available in stores and online at http://cattailmusic.com.

“This new DVD presents a concise and accessible lesson on Robert’s guitar style and techniques,” Ainslie says, “and successfully opens solo acoustic blues techniques for a new generation of guitarists.” In the DVD lesson, Ainslie teaches seven representative Johnson titles including works in standard guitar tuning as well as Johnson’s distinctive slide accompaniments in open tunings. Johnson’s original 1937 version of the Clapton hit, “Crossroads Blues,” is taught here as well.

In a conversational style, Ainslie guides guitarists deep into the secrets of Delta Blues. “The idea is for guitarists not only to be able play Johnson’s guitar parts,” Ainslie notes, “but to understand them, as well.” Ainslie places Johnson’s work within a tradition of Delta Blues, citing Johnson’s influences and offering alternate versions of his guitar parts from the playing of early blues/jazz guitar great Lonnie Johnson, as well as from one of Robert Johnson’s surviving students, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, a recipient of the National Folk Heritage Award and author of The World Don’t Owe Me Nothing, (Chicago Review Press, 1997).

“This new DVD format is perfectly suited to the needs of contemporary guitarists,” Ainslie notes, adding, “We’ve been waiting for the release of this material in this format for quite some time. Now it’s open to musicians all over the world.”