Finally Know What to Practice Next

“BGI is exceptional. John presents a rich variety of excellent Blues material in a clear, accessible and fun way. He gives a strong foundation in skills by stretching our minds and abilities to take on new and exciting types of playing. The videos are clear and resourced with GP and PDF files that just make everything so much more accessible. Combined with a supportive community of like minded music lovers it's a great place to learn and explore the beauty of the blues.”

Andy Barnett

“I've learned to play the blues with BGI! John's wonderful teaching style has me fingerpicking, playing standards and improvising musically. I couldn't have achieved this without the Blues Guitar Institute!”

Christine Jump

“John is a skilled teacher and a wonderful guitar player. His videos are clear and easy to understand. If you have a specific question he responds quickly. Highly recommended!”

David Hennings

“John breaks it down to small easily learnable steps. I have learned a lot. And if I need more help, the community support is great.”

Orlan Jennings

“John and BGI have helped me to stay motivated as a lone learner aspiring to delta blues. Making the difficult doable by the video lesson and the interactive tab I've been able to play slide with ongoing progress. Never thought I would be able to play stuff like Can't be satisfied etc.”

Jeff Gill

“I don't mind saying that BGI has been the best thing I've found for learning blues. John provides lessons at varying levels of difficulty and he presents them with clarity. In addition to that, there is always interesting and useful discussion in the community forums. I highly recommend BGI for anyone who loves playing blues guitar.”

Peter G

“John's lessons are well thought out and there's something for every playing level within a great variety of styles. There is a wide variety of learning tools including audio, video, and a variety of online tools to break down what you're playing. You really can't go wrong.”

Brian

“John is a natural teacher and passionate about what he does. His lessons are clear, interesting and well documented (tabs, etc). BGI affords learning across all playing levels. He's unique in that he's created a BGI ecosystem/community.”

Drew Planting

“I have been with BGI for several years now and for guitar it was the best choice I ever made!”

George Crisp

“John's a wonderful teacher, lovely personality and excellent at teaching the Blues. You'll be inspired!”

Mark Perry

“Things I appreciate about BGI: clean uncluttered website layout; structured, graduated exercises well demonstrated in the lessons builds confidence quickly; the offer of Performance pieces demonstrating the musicality of blending exercises is just brilliant.”

Cath

“I really like BGI. I can't believe that John returned an email to me. I have learned so much techniques in finger picking style from this learning platform. I'm an old retired guy that always wanted to learn finger picking style blues.”

John M

“As a latecomer to learning to play the guitar BGI was the only useful place where I could get what I needed to make a start at playing the kind of music I wanted to play. The lessons are direct and straight forward, presented clearly in an unpretentious way that respects the music and student both.”

Donald Beal

“For years I wanted to learn to play old time delta blues and BGI has been the thing that finally got me going. There are a lot of lessons out there but none that I found are as detailed and easy to use as BGI. Highly recommend!”

Jeff T

“I have learned a lot from John and continue to do so. I like how he breaks down the lesson but not so much it becomes tedious.”

Bruce Downs

“John with BGI is my constant source of new and exciting guitar concepts that gets my own creative juices flowing. My playing has absolutely vastly improved thanks to his well-conceived BGI lessons and courses!”

Jim Cinnater

“When I do get the chance to play, John has the lessons laid out as if I've never missed a beat! Arguably, the BEST teacher I've had in years. Always a new take, new material, and new hope!”

Thomas Garcia

“John is a wonderful teacher! He's patient, careful and he can explain complicated patterns so that they are accessible even for someone with my experience.”

Guy P

“BGI's lessons in fingerstyle blues have opened up entirely new worlds for me. I used to watch in awe at people who could do this, but BGI's approach to teaching has given me a new confidence I don't think I could have ever achieved otherwise.”

Robert Komjathy

“Not only does BGI improve your skills, knowledge and understanding of the blues, but John is always patient and supportive. John has created more than lesson guides to the blues; he has created a community of like-minded people from around the world.”

BWT

“There are a LOT of guitar lesson sites out there... Most of them have never been that much help to me—except for John's BGI. I have learned to play music that I love. What else is there?”

John Marens

“Your great videos have opened up some great new blues progressions with excellent explanations on how to make them part of my skill set. Your willingness to share your struggles and successes adds up to a sincerity that inspires me.”

William G

“Instructions were clear and broken down into manageable chunks. A month later I decided to subscribe and am happy that I did; I learn something new every week and get a bit better every day.”

Curt Longardner