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From: diamant@wanginst.UUCP (Ira Diamant)
Newsgroups: net.music.folk
Subject: Re: Re: Kicking Mule Records
Message-ID: <407@wanginst.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 21-Mar-85 22:29:36 EST
Article-I.D.: wanginst.407
Posted: Thu Mar 21 22:29:36 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 23-Mar-85 03:27:42 EST
References: <2120@wateng.UUCP> <1340@ut-sally.UUCP>
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Organization: Wang Institute, Tyngsboro, Ma.  01879
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> > 
> > Is anyone out there familiar with Kicking Mule's instructional books ?
> > Or their tablature books of their albums ? For example, are they complete
> > [containing each part for duets, "improv" sections, ...] ? Pressing/recording
> > quality ? I must confess the pressing I obtained is poor. But I LOVE it anyway
> > 
> > David John Hawley	University of Waterloo
> > {allegra,clyde,decvax,ihnp4,linus}!watmath!wateng!djhawley
> > 
Alright, I admit it. I a KM junkie.  I have 13 of their albums and 
11 of their Guitar transcriptions. The music is almost uniformly excellent
but the care and thought that goes into their transcriptions is
not consistent. Generally, the transcriptions are 12 or 24 bars out of the
entire piece. Sometimes its the intro, and sometimes its just a part of
the improvisation.  They are for the most part fairly advanced material,
even in the "how to play albums". 

They are wonderful because, once you learn one or two of the songs in a given
style , say Rev Gary Davis, or Blind Blake,  (after a LOT of agony), then other
songs in the genre become easy to play.

My favorite tab books are:
	David Bennett Cohns "Acoustic Rock Guitar.
		He spent a good deal of time with his transcriptions, trying
		to get them right.  There are songs "in the style of" Santana
		garcia and others.  I learned my first "Johnny B. Goode" intro
		from this several years ago, and after that, Chuck Berry was
		easy.

	How to play the Blues Guitar
		This is a wonderful blues album, much more advanced than the
		title would lead you to believe.  Many of these tunes are in
		different tunings and for duets.  Again, they are not generally
		"complete". They are 12-36 bar transcriptions. The transcription
		of Davis's Candyman in a duet (SIGH) is very good, and 
		"You Got the Pocketbook I got the key" is excellent.

	Advanced-- How to play Ragtime Guitar

		Excellent pieces by Blind Blake and others. Unfortunately
		the transcriptions are mostly of the improvisations. It
		There is an excellent version of Blakes "you Gonna Quit me
		Baby" that is easy to learn. The transcription is 12 bars 
		of the improv.

	I was very dissapointed with the Baker Jazz transcriptions, as well
as the Bergerak(spelling) Acoustic Jazz. The famous pieces that are on the
latter album are all copywrited, so the transcription just has the obscure
ones. A ripoff.