I've been stagnant for about 10 years - used to play all the time in my early 20s but really haven't improved much after my first 2-3 years - I feel the same way and this is now my goal
Ya can't beat Tommy. I've seen him live 8 times and it's an experience, guitarist or not, you'll never forget. He gives it all to his audiences, large or small.
thank you TOMMY you are why i am as good as i am and im getting better every day from your lessons you give to us at no cost and you just want us to learn to play so we can enjoy life you are GREAT PERSON and GOD BLESS you for that THANKS AGAIN
The great thing about Mr. Emmanuel is every time he speaks/you listen to him, you absolutely believe in what he says. I appreciate that from somebody more than anything. God Bless that man, and all of you.
In case any1 didn't know....& since its impossible to tell from this vid alone....TE is an actual living legend !....If it were not for PBS I might not had even ever heard of him....since the few short years that I have....I've prob got more inspiration from him alone, then everyone else combined, in my 30+ years of playing guitar....& I'm not exaggerating.
Hes so right, I've only been playing this style just under a year and I can play chords and melody lines to now, my main instrument is piano but I love to play the guitar for a bit of something different, Tommys right though it does take a little time and practice but it will pay off and don't get frustrated just sleep on it and it will bind together in time, hes such a huge inspiration to me as a musician, wonderful chap to.
Like you, I've recently started thumb picking after playing guitar for 40 years. A whole new world has opened up, and I can't learn the songs fast enough. Enjoying music again like never before.
No, don't give up mate - just stick with going slowly - stop expecting instant results :) But honestly-no shame in that - I have been playing since 1971 and I have problems with this technique!
Thanks Tommy for your teaching, it looks so easy when you play, i know it's not easy it's a matter of practice, i don't have a thumb pick when I get one i will practice and thanks for the video
Thanks Tommy, for giving all of us the benefit of your wisdom and showing us the keys to thumb and finger style on the guitar. I learned a lot of these techniques through a lot of trial and error over the years. It would have been very helpful had someone like yourself given me this information when I was a young guitarist. Such is the beauty of RU-vid. Best wishes from Vancouver BC, where's you'll be playing a show with Frank and Vinny in May of 2015!
Been trying this and I didn't realise how important it is to dampen the low strings to get the pop sound then it works because I can hear it now, there is no stopping me now, Cheers
I'd rather watch instructional videos like this from TE than *any* "shredder". This man knows what the guitar is all about (and he can also shred when he wants)
This is one of those valuable videos, where the rewinding frame by frame (on yt with keys '') turns out to be very useful. ;-) I'd like to thank Tommy for spending this minute to learn us all some guitar playing techniques and this extra Freight Train basics (which starts at 2:48). Awesome stuff! Thank you Tommy!
MY FAVOURED GUITAR PLAYER IN THIS WHOLE WORLD. KINDA SAD SEEING HIM NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER..I HOPE HE WE WOULD KEEP PLAYING AN AMAZE US.. HAIL!MAESTRO!🙏🙏🙏
Its quite funny seeing you play basics like this knowing what a genius you are but all the same thanks we got to start somewhere and thanks for taking the time for us
Thank you so much Mr. Tommy. I have been searching for this genre of lessons online for so long. Now I've found it! I am learning from your lessons now.
I had watched this Video just when I had started, had no clue what you were playing, who you were or even what you were saying, just felt like it's the hardest thing to play like you! So I thought I'd pretend as if I don't know who you are and I dont like your playing😄that helped me learn to play little bit, now when I watch I want to listen to every word carefully and follow it! Thanks Mr. Emmanuel😄👏
I have been playing fingerstyle for a while but only got a thumb pick last weekend. Wow, it makes such a difference and Tommy's style is what I am arranging and practising with now as the alternating bass really gives the songs a push. I got Tommy's Milestones lesson on Truefire and I think that if you find the above lesson difficult get the Truefire lesson as Tommy takes you through the process step by step. The lesson ends with a few nice tunes which I am practising now For the price of a lesson or two with a local teacher the Truefire lesson will teach you much more (and make your playing sound great) plus you'll be giving a little something to Tommy himself which he deserves. :-)
+Bryan Dunn That sounds strange as I can watch all my Truefire vids on my pc no problem. I'd say contact Truefire for a technical answer. I have Windows 8 and it works fine.
and you fall to your knees and scream " Im NOt WORTHY" ahahahah.. I saw him in San Diego about 4 or 5 years ago...fantastic...check out his song ..Halfway Home....youll go half crazy trying to pull that one off..
TE - So helpful, thank you. Coming from almost 30 years of picking/shredding/strumming, this is opening up a new world. Feel like I'm new at this lol, but hoping to "pick" it up fairly quickly. Funny how, at first my right hand/fingers are like "wha, whoa, whats this"
He starts with a C chord-adds the bass- then some melody and rhythm-a key change-and I am already lost. Well I only have 40 years of playing in- I will keep at- maybe in a 1000 years I may get the hang of it!
UR'ight. He to the bone deserves winnie the world best, 'cause he got the last two premises; the zeal in craving for the better (admiring forebearer, chet atkins, I guess,) and the zeal for next generation.
I cut my teeth on Chet Atkins... so it is no wonder that I am enchanted by Tommy. I should point out that he also keeps things nicely "under control" by his intuitive mastery of selective muting of strings with his right palm. It prevents things from blending into a blur of dissonance !
Break it down into multiple lesson. Start with the "Boom-Chick-Boom-Chick", then move on to the chord shapes/voicing etc. I had some classical lessons years ago so the right hand technique came quickly and easily to me, but if you look at this as multiple lessons, you'll get it. If he can do it, you can do it. Remember how to eat and Elephant? 1 bite at a time.
Mate how did you get arpeggiating right? For me, chords seem really easy, but i can't figure out how to pluck strings separately with every finger while keeping the bass going
He looks and sounds sickly in this video :\ He prob felt like shit that day, but had to make this scheduled recording and said, "Fuck it" and showed up anyway.
I bought a thumb pick, had already been using my thumb like this.....but I really didnt think the thumb pick helped anything, and I actually prefer the mellower attack sound of the side flesh of my thumb. The only time I preferred the thumb pick is when I held it and used it like a regular pic for flatpicking. I now can alternate 'pick' with either the side of my thumb, or the very tip of my 1st finger. I also do not use any nails on my right hand, cutting them down as far as I can. I will occasionaly down stroke with the flat front of my nails though... I still have the Blue Chip thumb pick, and will break it out occasionaly...then I realize I hate the sound, and go back to my real thumb ;)
+Sacco Belmonte I said those EXACT same words in 05 to his face now 2016, I finally got it, results will very depending on how much " work" you put into this concept and this only. Im so ADD , It took a while. I started with even easier stuff , Dust in the Wind, Landslide, Blackbird, ect.. Good Luck. work steady, stay focused.
while you can easily find a tab for the first section of the song, a tab would really help for the key chase and the more complicated parts... I tried practicing with the video without success.. but once I had a tab for the first section it was much easier ! has anyone got a tab for the complete song and not only the start? thanks!
I Have a question !! He mute the top strings with his right hand or with the chords in the left hand ? : ) By the whey wonderfull technique it give the guitar a more rich beatifull sound , hope one day i can master it !
Glean from the TIMING and the technique here. Anyone can play those same 'notes', but Tommy is the one that makes it all sound like 'FINE MUSIC'. Isn't this true of all the greatest musicians. People don't always listen to this sage advice, but its about breaking old habits, and sounding professional. Its like those old orange juice commercials, both are juice in the glass (apparently the same in appearance) , but only one is taken from vine ripened oranges, grown to perfection and only one is "premium orange juice" as opposed to something that just came frozen out of, let's say a "can" It's about the timing and the technique, really.
WOW this stuff is fantastic from Chet and Mel type of finger style but I wonder even though I played guitar since I was 12 lol and still know nothing at 55 I wonder if this method will benefit me, so my question is it worth for us oldies to pick this style up. This is great for the new generation hope this music will sit for the future, like Mozart and Bach. So TOMMY good onya mate from down under Sydney. Cheers
