Guitar Lessons

"One of America's finest acoustic guitarists and blues educators." - Cascade Blues Assoc.

"...an uncanny grasp of so many different Blues styles." - Holler, Colorado Blues Society

"...a mean, clean guitar picker." - San Francisco Examiner

Michael "Hawkeye" Herman grew up along the shores of the Mississippi River in the Midwest. As a teenager, he discovered a broad variety of blues music in late night radio broadcasts from Memphis, Shreveport, Dallas, Del Rio, New Orleans, Little Rock, Chicago, Detroit, and other points beyond the Iowa/Illinois Quad Cities where he was growing up. He got his first guitar in 1959, at the age of fourteen, and was performing professionally two years later. Seeking to broaden his musical horizons, he relocated in the San Francisco Bay area in 1968. He sought out, and learned at the feet of many icons of the blues, including: Son House, Brownie McGhee, Bukka White, Mance Lipscomb, Furry Lewis, Yank Rachell, Jesse Fuller, Howard Armstrong, Lightnin'' Hopkins, John Jackson, K.C. Douglas, T-Bone Walker, and Sam Chatmon. Hawkeye became a staple in the Bay Area blues scene as both a solo artist and a back-up guitarist and worked with Charles Brown, Haskell "Cool Papa" Sadler, Sonny Rhodes, Jimmy McCracklin, Buddy Ace, Charles Houf, Little Joe Blue, Boogie Jake, and many others.

As a music educator, Hawkeye has taken his love of blues music to students of all ages, from preschool to university campuses through his enthusiastically received "Blues in the Schools" programs, which he initiated in 1978. He has taught guitar for over 40 years, in both private and group lesson formats. Hawkeye has presented blues and slide guitar instructional workshops at major folk and blues festivals as a part of his frequent concert touring schedule. In May of 1998, He received the "Keeping the Blues Alive" Award for achievement in education from the Blues Foundation in Memphis. The award was the result of many years of blues educational programs he has done for students of all ages. He began this effort long before most blues support organizations and blues festivals even existed. Hawkeye has helped to initiate in-school educational programs for many blues societies and has single-handedly introduced blues music workshops to major festivals. He is the cofounder of the Rogue Valley Blues Festival in his home area of Southern Oregon.



'Explaining 12-Bar Blues'

Guitar Lesson

with Hawkeye from Free Video'Explaining 12-Bar Blues'Guitar Lessonwith Hawkeye from www.jamplay.com



Blues Guitar Lesson - Easy Beginner

'Blues Turnaround'

with Hawkeye from Free VideoBlues Guitar Lesson - Easy Beginner'Blues Turnaround'with Hawkeye from www.jamplay.com



'Stop-Time Blues' Guitar Lesson

with Hawkeye from Free Video'Stop-Time Blues' Guitar Lessonwith Hawkeye from www.jamplay.com



'Lead Blues Guitar'

Guitar Lesson

with Hawkeye from Free Video'Lead Blues Guitar'Guitar Lessonwith Hawkeye from www.jamplay.com



'Exploring Movable Guitar Positions' Guitar Lesson

with Hawkeye from Free Video'Exploring Movable Guitar Positions' Guitar Lessonwith Hawkeye from www.jamplay.com



'Blues Guitar Licks/Riffs Spanning The Neck'

Guitar Lesson

with Hawkeye from Free Video'Blues Guitar Licks/Riffs Spanning The Neck'Guitar Lessonwith Hawkeye from www.jamplay.com



'Blues Songwriting'

Guitar Lesson

with Hawkeye from Free Video'Blues Songwriting'Guitar Lessonwith Hawkeye from www.jamplay.com



'Inspiration For Writing Blues Songs: Part 1'

Guitar Lesson

with Hawkeye from Free Video'Inspiration For Writing Blues Songs: Part 1'Guitar Lessonwith Hawkeye from www.jamplay.com



'Inspiration For Writing Blues Songs: Part 2'

Guitar Lesson

with Hawkeye from Free Video'Inspiration For Writing Blues Songs: Part 2'Guitar Lessonwith Hawkeye from www.jamplay.com

In Hawkeye's ever-growing interest and desire in spreading the 'gospel' of the blues, he has created these guitar lessons. The instructional sound track, "Understanding Blues Music," is from the "Up The Mississippi/A Journey Of The Blues" book/CD anthology published by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society. All of the guitar lessons should be played very slowly at first. 'Crawl before you walk, and walk before you run.' Enjoy the learning process and the music. If you're having problems, play slower. Success in learning the material is not based on speed. Success is based on going slow enough for your fingers to perform the tasks required. Speed can be increased as the fingers become more adept at playing the notes properly and at a steady tempo. "Take your time and play it right."

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