The Art of the Folk-Blues Guitar: An Instruction Record

Folksinger, author, and guitar instructor Jerry Silverman (b. 1931) recorded this instructional album in 1964. Adapting his book on folk blues for audio record, Silverman, playing acoustical guitar, provides a musical answer to the question “What is blues?” in the opening track. Several tracks, such as “Another Blues Strum” and “Walking Bass and Boogie Woogie,” use samples from blues guitar pioneers such as Josh White and Lead Belly to illustrate different approaches to playing the blues guitar. The liner notes include written instructions and musical notation for the various playing styles discussed throughout the recording.

Track Listing

101	Introduction to Blues	Jerry Silverman	01:49
102	Tablature: MELTAB and GITAB	Jerry Silverman	02:29
103	Basic Blues Arpeggio	Jerry Silverman	11:57
104	Another Blues Strum	Jerry Silverman	07:00
201	Choking the Strings	Jerry Silverman	02:07
202	Walking Bass and Boogie Woogie	Jerry Silverman, Lead Belly	02:57
203	Flat Pick and the Church Lick	Jerry Silverman	04:55
204	Peripatetic Pinky	Jerry Silverman	02:45
205	Seven-Seventh Chord	Jerry Silverman	02:03
206	Finger-Picking and the Independent Thumb	Jerry Silverman	03:35
207	The Break	Jerry Silverman	02:10