Search - Ronnie Earl: Blues Guitar With Soul on DVD

Excellent lessons in electric blues guitar

Mark Twain | West Chester, PA United States | 06/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an interesting DVD featuring bluesman Ronnie Earl as the instructor. There are multiple simultaneous views of Earl while he demonstrates what he is doing (including a shot of his intense facial expressions). The first part of the tape focuses on substitute chord voicings that Earl uses to make the changes interesting (6 chords, 9 chords, 13 chords, etc). The second part of the tape covers his style of soloing. The main point that Earl makes (and it is the way he learned to solo) is not to worry about copying solos note for note, but to get the feel of the solo. He advises playing along with such greats as Magic Sam and Otis Rush. As another reviewer wrote, Earl uses a minimum of notes to achieve a maximum of expression and urges the student to do the same.

This is not a beginner's video. If you have developed the feel for blues changes (eg, 12 bar blues), know your pentatonic scales, and want to add finesse to your blues, Earl is definitely an excellent player deserving your attention."

Earthy blues---An authetic Bluesman shows you how

Doug Maliszewski | Jamesburg, NJ United States | 01/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I haven't heard much of this mans music although after seeing his instructional video I believe I will start checking him out.

Before I saw this video I believed that I understood the blues to point where my approach to playing blues became boring, this video changed my perception. The lessons are just what a person could use to play blues in the more traditional style.

Ronnie plays in the traditional "call and response" style showing when to chord and when to play single line stuff and you will get a great lesson in chording. Ronnie teaches mostly about those sweet sounding cords and comps that the masters --Muddy, the Three Kings, the Ice man, Freddy, Green, Earl, Robert Johnson, Buddy, and Gatemouth--used to bring this important American style into the forefront.

Don't expect to learn the Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaugh stuff although he does cover some of Jimmy. This is a lesson from a man who learned from the early masters and did not try to imitate as much as to synthesize his own style.

The way I look at it, you would pay me 25 bucks for a lesson and for a little more you can have this DVD. It is really good"

How to Play Blues with Feeling

Three Chord Monte | North Jersey, USA | 04/12/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ronnie Earl is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve and that approach bodes well for this masterful and appropriately titled "Blues Guitar with Soul" instructional DVD. The disc has proved an excellent primer for this intermediate beginner looking to find my own elusive voice amid limited Blues chops. Earl is simple and clear, achieving his goal of offering the student an expanded Blues chord vocabulary along with an emphasis on inner passion soloing. Complimenting Earl's expertise, this newly released DVD converted from a 1995 VHS is technically excellent, using three camera angles to completely depict the teacher's succinct ideas. The DVD is very student friendly. It's easy to push a couple of buttons on your remote and loop a segment until you internalize Earl's groove.

Earl seems very jazzed about teaching, but bounces around a bit, giving the impression of being pressured to get as much information out as possible within a finite amount of time, and being unsure of the chronology in which to spit it all out. This seems to be a common caveat with instructional guitar DVDs. I deducted one star, but I love the DVD.

My favorite idea was likely Earl's simplest: Play your lead with only three notes. ("Oops, I played four.") Earl is a man with a big heart and soul, and if something like that can be taught, Earl is clearly the Bluesman to do it. This DVD has greatly helped me to further elicit the Blues guitar voice that is in my own soul. It feels wonderful. Thanks, Ronnie.
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Ronnie Earl: Blues Guitar with Soul ("Hot Licks Series")

DRT | Kutztown, PA | 06/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've purchased several titles from the "Hot Licks" series and think they are all good, but this Ronnie Earl DVD is a wonder. I have spent so much time with this DVD and it has added greatly to my playing. I'm probably not a typical player: self-taught from age of 13 -20, then strumming every six months or so for about the next 40 years. Started seriously studying with a good teacher two years ago and while I've made great progress with my teacher, I sometimes get discouraged. This DVD gave me such a boost: It added nuance to my improvisation and contributed a great deal of color to my chord vocabulary. I've already spent hours with it and there's enough meat here to keep me going with it for weeks to come. Ronnie Earl is an amazing guitarist and his instruction style is genuine and earnest. I highly recommend this title."