Hey guys,
I've been trying to figure out what direction I want to go in with learning the guitar. I think I've narrowed it down to blues and something else but I don't know what it's called.
I just found out about Tommy Emmanuel.. and WOW. He was playing his acoustic guitar and it was amazing. I believe he finger picks and uses a plectrum also. But what genre of music is he? What would I tell a teacher when he asks what type of music I want to play?
Next to the music Tommy plays, I like some blues and some bluegrass. Not all of bluegrass though, but a lot of the faster paced stuff. I was wondering how lessons handle this type of thing.. I if start learning "Tommy Emmanuel" music (for lack of a better word for now) will I be allowed to learn blues and blue grass music from my teacher too or do most people just focus on one thing?
Thanks a lot,
Mike
Hey Mike
I might not be too much help but I wanted to chime in a bit.
I have a friend that has seen Tommy 5 times already, this Sat night will be his 6th and I am going with him. I am so excited. I havent seen him before.
But my friend says that he plays at the Bluegrass festival here in our state so that made me wonder if it wasnt a style of bluegrass??
But the other thing is that you can study any style of music you want, and if you choose to start studying a different style then you have that option as well. When you take on a teacher, they are there to guide you but ultimately you pay the bucks and you should be in charge of where you want to go musically. My teacher teaches me theory on just about every lesson but some days we apply that to country, somedays blues, some days rock and roll. etc etc
Good luck on everything.
Geoo
“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell (Scottish classical Guitarist. b.1942)
Dear Mike,
From a newbie who has quite a wide taste in music... I've found it enjoyable to play from as many different streams as possible.
I've found this helps keep my enthusiasm up and also keeps my attention to learning new music.
Hi there,
Thanks for the input guys. I hope you really enjoy the show Geoo. I've only seen him on DVD but it looks like a blast!
Sam, I understand. I will always play a wide variety, I think. (who can play guitar without some Rock, for example m/) but, when I used to take piano lessons the instructor wanted to know what genre I wanted to get into and I didn't have an answer. So if I end up takign guitar lessons, instead of teaching myself, I want to know what to say :)
Hi there,
Thanks for the input guys. I hope you really enjoy the show Geoo. I've only seen him on DVD but it looks like a blast!
Sam, I understand. I will always play a wide variety, I think. (who can play guitar without some Rock, for example m/) but, when I used to take piano lessons the instructor wanted to know what genre I wanted to get into and I didn't have an answer. So if I end up takign guitar lessons, instead of teaching myself, I want to know what to say :)
If you're at a loss say blues. As a lot of rock in the last 50+ years has basically been derived from the blues. Same chords, scales, just different rhythm, sometimes. Plus, knowing your blues stuff lets you apply it to other genres as well. Everybody steals from the blues. :D
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming -- "WOW--What a Ride!"
Ahh.. well they just want to know what genre as a starting point. You cant begin a journey without taking a first step and you cant step in two directions at the same time. But you can go lots of places on that journey? Make sense?
I agree with the blues comment. Lots of blues in rock and roll, lots of blues in country... Lots of bluesy sounding stuff sounds good with jazz.
Take care
Geoo
“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell (Scottish classical Guitarist. b.1942)
Blues is pretty much the root of all the popular styles, and a good background in blues will serve you well in other genres.
But you don't need a name for the style. Carry in a Tommy Emmanueal CD and tell 'em "This is what I like."
:)
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
lots of `mike` out here :lol: .Welcome to GN 8)
finding genres of music is an interesting task. kind of like researching for a paper.
if you like bluegrass check out Bill Monroe, Ricki Skaggs.
another genre you may like is simply called Americana.
it covers a broad array of historic periods.
give Mississippi John Hurt a listen. also delve into Ry Cooders discography. he has CDs out that sample early styles of American music.
Paradise and Lunch is one of my favorite Cooder Albums.
From a newbie who has quite a wide taste in music... I've found it enjoyable to play from as many different streams as possible.
I've found this helps keep my enthusiasm up and also keeps my attention to learning new music.
I would agree :D
Yeah, I like lots of different stuff. Keeps you from getting in a rut, too.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Thanks for the replies everyone. I agree about getting into all sorts of things.
I had two more questions, but didn't feel right making a new thread.
Is most blue grass finger picked or can I as a single guitarist (without a band) play some foot tapping bluegrass without fingerpicking (just untill I gain some skill)
Anyone know any songs I can look into if that's possible?
Also, I'm thinking of the right type of music right? Blue grass is that music that is kinda fast and designed to get people up and dancing? Like Hoedown music? :lol:
Thanks!
Mike
Yeah, bluegrass is that fast stuff. It's flatpicked, though, not fingerpicked.
When I started on bluegrass, the first tune I learned was "Cripple Creek". If you want to do bluegrass solo, pick a tune that a) you can sing - you'll want to get that 'boom-chuck-a' rhythm going with the bass-strum-strum alteration to set your pace for the solo, and it's really tough to keep a solo going for very long at the tempos you need to sound authentic... singing and strumming lets you tackle the tough stuff in short bits between verses - and b) one with a melody people will recognize. If you're a bluegrass fan, there are a lot of standards like Little Maggie, Arkansas Traveler, Turkey in the Straw... I'd leave the instrumental breakdown stuff for later on - true classics are Orange Blossom Special, Foggy Mountain Breakdown, etc.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
Hey thanks for the reply.
Your mention of flatpicking made me go look around for it. Please forgive me, I just started guitar as a lot of you prolly know, but I've never had any knowledge of this music before. I heard it, yeah, but never really took notice. But since I have my guitar and have heard it...it's like something I must do.
I'm confused though, about the kind of things you play Fingerpicking vs. Flat picking.
Like I said I'd like to play like Tommy Emmanuel someday. But browsing around for flatpicking I found Doc Watson. He has the same effect on me as Tommy Emmanuel. Doc Watson has 2 dvd's out from Homespun videos. One on flat picking and one on fingerpicking. I can't really tell what the difference in the sound is..except that mabye fingerpicking is a little slower tempo'd? I just got some books from the library on fingerpicking, but have no means of playing the things near the end of the book to see if that's the goal I'm looking for.
If you go to http://www.homespuntapes.com/prodpg/prodpg.asp?prodID=1020 you can see a video preview of Doc Watson's flatpicking video. In the clip he plays something like what I would want to play. My ignorance led me to believe that you do that with fingerpicking, but clearly he's flatpicking :oops: Is it possible to get that "sound" fingerpicking or is that sound strictly flatpicking?
Is there any books you can learn flatpicking with?
I'm sorry for all my questions, but I'm really confused now.. :oops:
Thank you for all your help though!
Mike
flat picking IS bluegrass.
and flat picking means what it implies; you use a pick.
speed is typical for the masters.
it is best to aim for accurarcy at first.
check out Bill Monroe, Ricky Skaggs, Earl Scruggs, and Vince Gill. all amazing pickers.
there are so many others. you have discovered a deep and historical genre.
go digging and you will be amazed.
