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Steve James, a popular performer on the contemporary acoustic blues guitar, presents a variety of ways that intermediate level students can improve their fingerpicking and handling of various chords. James covers Texas and Delta-style fingerpicking and demonstrates how to play chord inversions. He also talks about how to use dominant 7th, diminished chords, and scales. James plays such tunes as "Sugar Babe," "Buddy Bolden's Blues," and "Stack Lee's Blues" while teaching a number of helpful techniques. He also shows students how to play "Hot Time on the Old Town" and "Wet Laundry Blues." One of these tunes is a "bottleneck" piece while another is played like a New Orleans jazz-blues song.