BGI has been such a great experience for me these past 4 years. I was a self taught at home country rhythm player for years. I always wanted to get into finger style blues and after checking out a few sites I settled on BGI. I found that as an intermediate player John gave a supportive vibe that I appreciated. Since then I’ve been able to learn lots of great blues tunes and extend my own finger style chops along the way. Lately I’ve got into a little of the theory behind things and John’s tutorials have helped with that too. Hey there’s no doubt it all takes practice but I find that I’ve always been able to find my next step with John.

I’m currently in John Hatcher’s BGI for my second year. There was something about his YouTube videos that made me want to go deeper into the finger style and blues based lessons he was posting. So in my second year of BGI I can say it’s the best and most useful online lessons I’ve ever had ! As someone who came up as a keyboard player it hasn’t been easy making the changes needed, different muscles, different concept completely, but John makes it fun and there’s never a day I don’t look forward to my next lesson, whether it’s a song tutorial, quick licks, Tuesday Blues or even just posting or watching another member’s video, or reading other comments on the BGI forum. Highly recommended from this veteran of the music business. I look forward to keeping this going for a long time !

I have been playing guitar for a long time but always struggled with finger style. I needed a roadmap taking me step by step from the fundamentals and then a way to apply those fundamental skills to an actual song that would inspire me. I’m a big fan of ragtime, delta and piedmont blues. John is a big enthusiast of this style so I decided to try out BGI and ended up signing up for a lifetime membership. John is one of the best teachers out there. He explains everything in a way that’s easy to digest and takes you through songs and lessons step by step with his Roadmaps, Courses, Song Tutorials, Tuesday Blues lessons, etc. If you follow the “Roadmap” he provides and go through all the steps diligently, you WILL see dramatic improvements. I still have a ways to go in being able to play ragtime and delta blues fingerstyle to actual speed but by slowing it down and following John’s instruction, I am making amazing progress toward my goal of becoming a competent fingerstyle guitarist and this keeps me excited about practicing from day to day.

Since joining BGI, I've gone from being a beginner blues player to being able play songs from blues legends like Blind Blake. The instruction is clear and well-paced with options to go back over parts and download tablature. John also takes time to explain WHY things are being done, which helps to progress your own playing and develop your own musical ideas rather than just learning songs 'parrot fashion'. The site has a really friendly feel about it with lots of members coming together to give advice and support and covers material for beginners to advanced players. I'm so glad I found this site. It's home now!

The live workshops encouraged direct communication with John. His step by step guide to new songs; exercises; and the opportunity to ask questions was extremely helpful. Thoroughly enjoyed interacting with other learning blues players.

The best part of the Blueprint Class was the tunes that John uniquely adapted for the lessons, namely Baby Please Don't Go, the Shines Shuffle and Don't Accuse Me. Considerable thought must have gone into drafting the TAB of each tune to make it relatively easy to learn and also provide a cool tune. I very much enjoyed meeting my fellow online classmates. Much can be learned from fellow students, the questions they posed, sharing their experiences, how they answered my questions. Now some words regarding John. He put everyone at ease, with his gentle, laid back demeanour and highly effective teaching style. He builds your self-confidence and is tremendously encouraging. The course material is well thought out. I have no formal musical training which did not prove to be a detriment. The course load is intensive and with weekly lessons, one has to devote time and be diligent about applying oneself to the material. Another highlight of the course is the ability to forward videos of one's own playing to John for constructive feedback. John would find a way to mention one or two positive elements before gently diving into what could be done better and how. It can be a challenging yet exciting endeavour, learning to play acoustic guitar blues but John's inspiration and well planned course material helped me up my game. Thanks to BGI for making the journey fun and achievable. Ian Colquhoun Ottawa, Ontario

Beginner Blues Blueprint Overall impression: Well worth the effort, with fun songs. Great instructor, and well organized material. I particularly enjoyed the exercises and the song development from simpler positions and melody to the stretch and movement to other frets and rhythmic variety. The workbook provided a necessary break from the muscle work to the mental aspects. The art of listening with intent, knowledge of the fretboard and chords and scales, chord progression, and structure of the foundational 12-bar form. I do appreciate listening to the masters and recognizing a lick or two – thinking ‘I know that’!

The choice of material was just perfect, engaging and fun whilst really focussing on those fundamentals. The group was really supportive and you felt a positive sense of shared purpose and support. Quality content, teaching and support. Always leaving you wanting to learn more.

John really has motivated me. Using a metronome is really a game changer. This class wasn't just about learning how to play a song. It was learning about all the components in the sheet music. The best part of this class is John, and his teaching style. He explains really well. He is very thorough with adding printouts to accompany the class. He explains everything and adds actual videos to follow. Bravo John! You are awesome! I am looking forward to taking more classes. Thank you for getting me out of my rut!

Loved Blueprint Class. John's a wonderful teacher, lovely personality and excellent at teaching the Blues (for example, illustrates musical pieces with top-notch, clear videos where he himself demos the playing technique ). You'll be inspired!

I finally got the thump.. it's not perfect and I'm still having issues stepping outside of specific patterns.. but I can feel it now.. it's there.. super excited to see what happens next.

I would like to give John a huge and heartfelt “Thank you!” for developing the Beginner Blues Blueprint Course. I learned so many good habits, basic skills and techniques to develop as I travel down my fingerpicking blues road. This course is so well thought out with easy wins each week that build on each other all along the way. This makes it fun and rewarding. You’ll be learning things without even realizing you are until the next lesson or two build on those basic little exercises you worked on practicing the previous week. And it all really comes together in the last couple of weeks. Kudos John! You’ve cracked the code of teaching effective learning in a fun and easy to follow way. Cheers to you!

I have tried lessons a few times with varying results. Usually got frustrated and quit because I didn't practice enough or practice with focus. Also, some instructors jumped from topic to topic each week making it hard to build a solid base. This course was well thought out so that I actually learned something that will last. I really wanted to learn finger picking blues and was excited when I found out about this course.What really helped me was having all the tools that John provided for the course. Every week built upon the previous foundation and each week's lesson came with exercise materials, worksheets and practice plans. What I liked about the lessons was that they were group lessons so everyone got to ask questions providing different perspectives that helped in understanding the material better. I can't retain things as well as I used to and can't lock myself in my room for hours to practice like a teenager so having the ability to take the exercises in small chunks and focusing for 10 to 15 minutes at a time was the key to finally retaining what we covered. Having the recorded lesson allowed me to go back and review problem areas. I think the best thing about this class for me is that I have a good enough understanding of the 12 bar blues that I can jam on it all day long!

The Blueprint class was very useful for me. The material was hard for me but ultimately accessible and productive. The practice structure was also excellent. John included several aspects, including listening/ear training, some theory, fretboard memorization, etc. I plan to use that structure to improve my practice in the future. The Zoom class worked just fine. Hearing comments and ideas from the other students in my group was enjoyable and helpful. I learned a lot, made progress, and enjoyed it. Highly recommended.

After spending some time working through John's BGI lessons, I enrolled in the Blueprint class to begin a new phase in my very early adventure playing guitar. The focus on fingerstyle was just what I was looking for to expand my knowledge of the guitar. Having never attempted anything in fingerstyle before, the Blueprint class was the perfect place to start. It was structured to get the students into it immediately and provided enough challenges to keep the interest and push us to new levels of playing. The best part of the Blueprint class is the combination of the video demonstrations of the exercises and PDF's to guide practice, which the students can keep and return to anytime. Also, the Zoom classes each week were greatly appreciated and well thought out. It was great to see John "in person" and interact with him. The Blueprint class was well worth the investment. John's preparation, dedication and professionalism is clearly evident in the material provided and his presentation during the classes. I'm all in for the next round!

This beginner class is perfect for anyone who is interested in learning the basics of fingerstyle blues guitar. John is an excellent teacher. He always allowed us to ask questions each week and always provided simple instructive answers. He kept us moving along in our weekly lessons covering the basics of the 12 bar blues, stretching my ear to "listen" to different styles, and training my fingers to work independently. Doing so in different formats; video, audio, tab and explaining during class. I would strongly encourage this course for anyone with a strong interest in this style of music. John B

A lot of effort put into creating this class so expect to put a lot of effort into following this class. Really learned a lot both with my playing and learning about getting a groove. Look forward to the next session.

After playing for over thirty years I’ve paid for plenty of lessons and on more than one occasion I’ve been disappointed. The BGI is one subscription that I can’t say that about. John Hatcher’s teaching is entertaining, clear, and thorough, yet he still leaves plenty of room for feeling and my own personality which is important with the blues. John’s vast historical knowledge of blues guitar, and its techniques and players is both inspiring and useful. I wish that this course had been around in the mid-eighties. The price for a BGI subscription is fantastic, it even survived my wife’s last subscription purge. When I asked her why she didn’t ask me to cancel it she said “it’s a good price, and besides that, you play better now.” Enough said.

While I really enjoy the Tuesday blues lessons the systematic course lessons and building block approach allowed me to progress much faster than I ever anticipated. The input from the community is very helpful as well.

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.

John Hatcher is a talented and passionate guitar teacher and the founder of Blues Guitar Institute, a website that offers hundreds of high-quality lessons on blues guitar. I have been learning from John for several years and I can confidently say that he is one of the best teachers I have ever had. John has a remarkable ability to create and present clear, concise, and engaging lessons that cover various aspects of blues guitar, such as chords, scales, techniques, styles, songs, and more. He uses a combination of videos, tabs, diagrams, and audio examples to explain each concept in detail and demonstrate how to apply it in practice. He also provides tips, tricks, and exercises to help his students improve their skills and overcome their challenges. John is not only a great teacher, but also a genuine and caring person. He is always interested in the progress and feedback of his students and he responds to their questions and comments promptly and politely. He treats everyone with respect, encouragement, and friendliness and he creates a positive and supportive learning environment. He also shares his personal stories and insights about blues guitar and music in general, which makes him more relatable and inspiring. The site John has developed is truly outstanding not only because of his great lessons but he has created a strong community of players that interact with one another. The site also gives all students an opportunity to showcase their performance, to self-monitor their progress. There are also live workshops with question and answer opportunities. I have learned a lot from John and I have seen a significant improvement in my guitar playing since I started following his lessons. He has helped me develop a solid foundation in blues guitar and expand my musical horizons. He has also sparked my passion and curiosity for blues music and guitar in general. I am very grateful for his guidance and support.

A first rate site with clear, unhurried, and logical instruction along with a wide range of resources and an excellent, supportive community. All the student needs to provide is commitment and a modicum of talent.

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.

I have been with BGI for several years now and for guitar it was the best choice I ever made! I'm in a unique position and John helped me figure out some things over the years and in the process I gained a friend! Thank you for everything

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

John's lessons on BGI help individually, he does a lot on one offs in his Tuesday blues that let me focus on something specific. However, he also has gathered numerous lessons on specific topics into "Roadmaps." There are Roadmaps for playing fingerstyle and slide and a fretboard Roadmap, which tie together multiple resources to give a solid foundation, Specific in depth courses, a community of like-minded people to discuss things with. BGi is a fantastic resource and I highly recommend it.

OMG John, your classes are amazing. I am a guitarist for many years but I am new to playing with a black mountain thumb pick and after 2 days of following your exercises have totally got me excited learning something new. The pick feels comfortable and i'm playing your exercises with ease. Now on to the next level. Your classes with the purchase of BM Thumb picks. GENIUS Thanks Steven

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!

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. Best thing about BGI is John's inspiring approach and brilliantly thought out lessons.

I can only say how valuable it would have been for me to have benefited from BGI when I first fell in love with acoustic guitar, and old blues in the early 1970s as a 16 year old kid. Of course BGI wasn’t around at that time. I didn’t have the talent to teach myself nor the money for lessons. Now I’m 67 years old, recommitting to acoustic blues guitar and studying with John at BGI since early this year. Took me months of practice to get Fingerstyle Fundamentals under my fingers but I did it. Now working on level three of Back Porch Blues. The lessons are very well constructed. They build upon each other. John’s easy but focused manner is highly effective. He’s a master of acoustic blues guitar and pays tribute to the old bluesmen in his intros. Can’t say enough good things about BGI. I look forward to my morning practice every day with excitement, knowing my guitar playing is improving. Thank you BGI!

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!

All the BGI lessions are based upon John's sound didactical approach, a deep dive into the bits and pieces of a Song or a lick or certain cord progressions and into the how to play it. John professionally combines theory with the fun of playing. BGI addresses all levels of delta blues pickers. The platform is vivid, the workshop Session Form a great source of interaction and in case you have a question, John is always in reach. For me the best place to learn and improve..Spiggi

BGI's lessons have greatly improved my focus.

You know, there are a LOT of guitar lesson sites out there... a lot. Most of them have never been that much help to me - except for John's BGI. It helps of course that I love the Blues. John's teaching is clear, methodical and helpful... and it works for me, which is all I really care about. Over time, he has added some helpful theory lessons. Most of all, John is personable and he listens to his subscribers. You feel like you are working with a real person. Thank you John ! How has BGI helped me ? I have learned to play music that I love .... what else is there?

I have learned enough delta blues licks to be able to string them together in improvizations. Best thing about BGI is multifaceted. The instructor is good at presenting the lessons. The instructor takes the time to get to know his students. There is a great comradery among the students via the forums and zoom lessons.

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.

I have been a subscriber to BGI for a long time now. Johns lessons are solely responsible for sorting out my thumb and finger separation when picking! There are so many excellent lessons in the BGI archives for improving both technical skills and theory theory knowledge. The best thing for me about BGI is Johns thorough explanations in lessons, leaving no stone unturned. I am likely to be a subscriber for a long time to come! .

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.

I've always enjoyed fingerstyle guitar playing. However, my skills were limited. Your great videos have opened up some great new blues progressions with excellent explanations on how to make them part my skill set. I think the real strength of your lessons is your delivery of the material. It seems clear you love to play the guitar and your willingness to share your struggles and successes just seems to add up to a sincerity that inspires me to follow your fine directions.

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. There are so many things to like about the instruction here.. there is something for every level of playing skill, and there is always something put in front of me that helps take me to the next level. Most of all the lessons are direct and straight forward, presented clearly in an unpretentious way that respects the music and student both

Well, when I do get the chance to play which isn’t very often, John has the lessons laid out as if I’ve never missed a beat! Arguably, the BEST teacher I’ve had in year. Always a new take, new material, and….new hope!!! Love the program, and John rocks!!! By the way, he will answer your emails, too!

I had played lute (yes, a lute) for years and wanted a big change. I had decided on country blues and slide. Great. How does one even start after such a decision? I came across a BGI video and really liked the approach that was taken. Instructions were clear and broken down into manageable chunks. The instructor was very positive and articulate. 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.

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. I first found BGI by searching "blues guitar lessons" on youtube. John Hatcher's instructional videos were always the ones I would go back to, would get the most out of. There are a LOT of choices out there for online guitar lessons, but BGI is worth Every. Single. Penny. The best thing about BGI is the way the content is taught. John is a born teacher and he helps you build up individual techniques, putting them together so that you can use them immediately, then builds on top of it, so that before you know it, you're playing something pretty challenging that you might have thought impossible before. The camera angles are always great, and the content is broken down methodically and deliberately so that you rarely, if ever, feel like something was glossed over. There's a bunch of quality of life nice-to-haves like accompanying tabs and the ability to slow down the video as well.

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. Thanks John

John with BGI is my constant source of new and exciting guitar concepts be it acoustic blues, electric guitar or slide that gets my own creative juices flowing on my own guitar and busts me out of any rut. It's almost like John can read me and anticipate my 'guitar rut' with introducing superior concepts to snap me out of it. My playing has absolutely vastly improved thanks to his well-conceived BGI lessons and courses!

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.

Not only does BGI improve your skills, knowledge and understanding of the blues, but John is always patience 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 , whom support one another. ‘Happy woodshedding’ & Go well into song, B

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.

For years I have been trying to nail down that Delta blues sound. I have purchased 18 books (I just counted) dedicated to learning the blues. None of these books really have what I am looking for. Most are overly complicated and not clear or concise. I am fairly new to BGI. I signed up about 5 months ago. In these 5 months I have learned/developed that blues sound I have been searching for for many years from songs such a as Sweet little lady, Sandpiper Stomp, and Back porch blues. I am looking forward to learning more as time goes on (as this site has a lot to offer). Definitely a lifetime member! Thank you Mr. John Hatcher for saving me a lot of time and money. Jeff

It all makes sense and it is a lot of fun. The lessons are clear, both in demonstrating what is being taught, but also putting it in a foundation context, so that there is logic to it, and it can be used to build as I move forward. The lessons/classes are short and to the point, so the learning is quick and clear. BGI also offers training in many aspects I enjoy and want to learn. Fingerstyle, slide, open tunings, traditional and modern blues. The skills apply to many other genres. A lot is the classes seem geared for acoustic guitar, but I mostly play electric and it transfers over seamlessly. Might even provide a "cooler" sound. The live Sessions are great; get to seem some cohorts around my level and hear their struggles and successes. For the membership price, the wide access to learning materials is incredible.

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 non r that I found out that are as detailed and also easy to use as BGI. Highly recommend and I love the weekly email updates.

How has BGI helped; the lessons on theory, the individual song lessons and more. Best thing; web site layout, John's teaching style is not bad either, (or is it " neither?)

I really like BGI I can’t believe that John returned a 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. Thank You John