Mel Bay Publications, Inc. - New Products

Improving Your Ear for Country Blues Guitarists 2-DVD Set

In this lesson John Miller will provide you with the tools you need to develop your ability to tell what position or tuning a Country Blues performance was played out of simply by listening to the recording. Believe it or not, this is a learnable skill and John, who has taught it for many years, will show you what to listen for and help you get started hearing the various auditory clues that identify the distinctive sound of the different playing positions and tunings most commonly used in Country Blues guitar playing. Developing your ability to do this kind of informed listening, or listening with knowledge will reap significant rewards for your playing, most especially improving your ability to learn by ear and increasing the speed with which you�re able to pick up new material.

One of the real advantages of having this material presented in this 2DVD format is that it allows John to go over the material in real detail, presenting the sound characteristics of the different playing positions and tunings at length, and providing you with memory devices to help you remember the sound of alternating bass for the different positions and tunings. The material is not presented in the abstract, either - as John goes along, he plays a host of examples drawn from Country Blues performances that help illustrate and exemplify the characteristic sound of each playing position. The PDF study guide that accompanies the lesson includes a summary of the sound characteristics that identify each of the playing positions/tunings presented in the lesson, as well as the memory devices that will help you remember the sound of the bass in the different positions. Also included on the DVD is a test to take when you have completed the lesson, with a selection of recordings of Country Blues played out of different positions and tunings for you to identify using your new skills.

Disc 1: E position, standard tuning � C position, standard tuning � D position, standard tuning � A position, standard tuning.
Disc 2: G position, standard tuning � F position, standard tuning � Dropped-D tuning � Vestapol tuning � Spanish tuning

2-DVD Set - $39.95

Modern Guitar Method Grade 2, Expanded Edition - Watkiss Edition

Grade 2/Expanded version of the famed Mel Bay Modern Guitar Method adds new, carefully graded playing material for every concept taught. Solos are presented in various styles. A special feature is the addition of in-depth picking studies in the keys of C, Am, G, Em, F, Dm, D, and Bm. Additional studies are contained in second position and in 6/8 time. In short, if you really want to learn to play great guitar, this is the method! It is unmatched in its thoroughness in teaching every important concept.

� Additional New Music for Every Concept Taught
� Picking Studies in 8 keys
� New Solos in Diverse Styles
� Begins Study of Position Playing
� Carefully Graded to Move at a User Friendly Pace
� Unmatched in Comprehensiveness
� Companion Dual CD Set Available
� Watkiss Binding

Book - $14.99

Mel Bay's Best Manuscript Book, 12-Stave

Mel Bay's top offering for manuscript with tear out pages. 96 pages, binding that keeps the book open on a music stand (Saddlestitch binding), 12 staves per page.

Book - $9.99

Mel Bay's Best Manuscript Notebook

Mel Bay's top manuscript book. 140 pages with 12 staves per page. This product features Watkiss binding, which allows the book to lay flat on a music stand.

Book - $12.99

Fiddle Tunes for Banjo Made Easy Book/CD Set

Fiddle Tunes for Banjo Made Easy is a collection of must-know, easy-to-learn bluegrass instrumental standards. Ross records each song at three speeds and also includes a rhythm backup track. The slow speed is ideal for hearing the notes clearly and being able to play along in rhythm; the medium speed is a perfect goal for the beginning and intermediate student while the faster speed demonstrates what the song can sound like with a hard, driving push. The tablature is large for ease of reading and includes accent marks for melody notes where needed. Ross also provides tips and suggestions for each song to save you valuable practice time. These are tips on the more challenging spots that Ross has learned firsthand from teaching these privately for many years. In addition, there is a whole page of instruction on learning the chords to the song, how to play the song using only the chords, chord charts written out for each song and tips for memorizing and playing without tab. Fiddle Tunes for Banjo Made Easy is not just another tab book; it covers all the bases and gives you a realistic balanced approach for learning the songs the EASY way.

Book/CD Set - $16.99