Search - Kenny Sultan : Guitar Blues on DVD

Blues lesson

John Lyons | 11/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent teaching tool for blues guitar - acoustic fingerstyle. Mr. Sultan grades the lessons from slow blues to fast-paced boogie to ragtime. He sensibly keeps it to 2 keys with the greatest concentration on E. I would say the lesson is best for intermediate players in that it helps to have a better than basic grasp of blues playing and the fingerstyle method. Mr. Sultan shares his knowledge of many standard licks and riffs which are easily transposed into other keys. There is a companion book which you probably can do without although it is helpful. notably with one or two of the turnarounds. I would certainly recommend getting the cd's West Coast Blues and Guitar Blues - not only because they are good within themselves, but listening to them is a great learning tool. The DVD does not require reading of tab or music and it helps to develop an ear. I am not all that familiar with a wide range of video/dvd teaching aids, but if you wish to move beyond folk style strummings to full blown solo playing, this is excellent. Not only that, but the wealth of licks that are taught will enable you to fit in to a blues jam and aquit yourself fairly well. It offers a very intimate teaching style that allows you to go at your own pace. Once you have practiced enough to get up to speed, you get to playing along with Kenny and even throwing in a few of your own licks. I really liked this. You can jam along to your heart's content. This is an excellent product that delivers. Mr. Sultan obviously is an experienced teacher and takes his time to walk you through each tune. Highly recommended. By the end of it you have a good toolbox of tricks and would qualify as a competent player. What I found from a personal perspective, was that these lessons introduced the concept of playing inside the chords and as such led on to a clearer understanding of swing and jazz styles."

Kenny Sultan did it for me

Stephen J. Smith | Miami, FL | 01/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've dabbled with the guitar on and off for years but I never got beyond playing "House of the Rising Sun". I took live lessons for a while and tried lessons on CD but nothing really grabbed me until I bought Kenny Sultan's DVD. Being of beginner skill level I was intimidated by his songs at first but I liked his manner and presentation. Over the past year I'ver been able to translate 4 of his songs onto my own guitar ... which for me is quite an accomplishment. Kenny helped me discover that playing the guitar without years of traditional fingerpicking exercises is not impossible."

Highly recommended

David Schroeder | Lodi, Ca United States | 12/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great teaching style for the talented beginner or intermediate player. Although there are a number of great blues licks and simplified chords presented, the emphasis here seems to be on elements of the music that can't be conveyed by tablature or a strictly verbal description. The advantages of developing an ear for the music as opposed to learning note by note becomes clear with repeated listening. Fleshing out the basic format of the songs with the alternative chords, simplified chords, licks and riffs reviewed seemed natural and easy. One of the strengths of this DVD is the selection of material. It ranged from Lightnin Hopkins to Blind Blake and varied in difficulty, complexity and speed. I have no problem giving this one 5 stars."