Posting these on RU-vid for those who either do not use social media or find the apps challenging. Trey started posting these every day starting Saturday, January 29, 2022
Sure the world is a messed up place, but we also live in a time where we can get personal fire side music lessons from somebody like Trey. Thanks for putting this up, it made my day.
Thank you so much for posting this. I met Trey in the Upper West Side of NYC in 2006. Asked him about his guitar style and he showed me this C to C lesson right there on the street. Did I follow his advice? No! And I regret that I didn't. It just seemed over my head at the time. But I will follow it now because it really is golden advice. Since I teach guitar now, I know how truthful this advice is and how important it is to know your scales and chords. Learning songs is another amazing way to improve as a musician. That day I met Trey, he also put me on the VIP list for his Webster Hall show. He really is a national treasure like someone else mentioned. Just also finished watching Between Me and My Mind which was an awesome documentary. Big Trey vibes these days. This video is helping me get through Covid. Love you Trey! Hope you read this one day!
Dear Trey - I wanted to thank you for all of these lessons. I have only recently discovered them following my first Phish Show (12/30/23) which caused me to become incredibly interested in learning more about your music. I have discovered so much about you (at least your public persona), and I have learned that you are not only a great musician, but a great person who is sharing information about music and also going beyond music to your experience with Drug Court which I am very appreciative of as it is incredibly important what you are doing. I have learned so much from your lessons, and my neighbors and I are now playing the CCR song in the Key of G! Also, I wanted to let you know how awesome your Circle Strings Dreadnought is. I was fortunate in being able to buy a very similar guitar that Adam at Circle Strings made - he is truly an incredible artist.
I love these lessons - thank you, Trey! It's so generous of you to share your time and knowledge with us in this way. I started guitar late (I'm 47), but better late than never! My sons (12 and 14) also started this year. Trey is an inspiration to us all (we've seen 14 Phish shows in 2022 together so far,!) I hope you know how important you are to so many of us. From the wonderful music you make, to lessons like these, to your openness about your personal struggles that so many of us share, you've been a light and an inspiration to multiple generations of my family now! Be well.
Sure wish I’d seen this two years ago.. playin one of my all time CCR favorites too. Ur a Beautiful Human. Can’t wait to see you and the band July 20th in Mansfield. Bringing my wife and 12yr old jazz prodigy keyboardist to see their first Phish show. What a gift you’ve brought the world and though it must be super fun I know it takes a tremendous amount of energy and commitment, not to mention all the endless hours of practicing you did to be so skillful to begin with. So Thanks. So glad you’re still rockin it out and loving life!
Eureka! Ok… What a trey’ish lesson. Oh my goodness, what a payoff. This is an amazing amazing idea. The “learn one song” idea is actually the hidden gem of this lesson. But, Ernest just unlocked the fretboard for me. I can’t do it yet, but I understand it now. What a guy…
So, I've been looking for the music theory paper of yours I mentioned earlier and haven't found it yet, so instead I've been trying to remember why I could not finish it and I think it comes back to (or may come back to) dyslexia and the general learning disabilities that surround that---and if there's one thing I've come to understand in 51 years of life so far is that what makes things easier for ME to learn generally also tends to make those things easier for every one to learn. I know I filed your music theory paper (or recommendation, or whatever it was) with John Coltrane's circular chart---with grand intentions of spending the time to understand both, and putting in some time into both, but not quite crossing the finish line. The point of all that is this: you, Jedi Tray Anastasio, like it or not, are one of the "greats" and so owe it to future generations to express your understanding of music in the format of your time, which luckily for us, youTube and not just a garbage can top. (Dizzy Gillespie reference, as I'm suer you know... Wouldn't you like to see that garbage can lid??!!! Well.... we posterity, would like to see your garbage can lids, please!) What held me back from the music theory paper you have recommended in the past is insecurity of the terms---the prerequisites, if you will, the mathematical certainty of it, when I have no source of mathematical certainty of my own... but you can bypass those with demonstrations. You just need more time on camera explaining and illustrating with examples---and more confidence that what you have to say MATTERS. To that end, just set it up (set up a video shoot, lessons, guest lessons, etc) the same way you set up a new band and coordinating services, and trust them to edit it to perfection. Because I promise you, what you have to say *IS* perfection, your friends (and me, if you need me 503 - three 27 - 9 three 2 9) can help it be as pointed as possible, and it is ALL worth capturing now. The "stats" so far are absolutely OFF, by fluke!!! What you have to say is important. Imagine if someone had a recorder during the first few music lessons Miles Davis gave to Jimmy Hendrix... It is not an overstatement to say that your words, and those of your musical confederates, can have such an impact on future generations. Again, I've not yet watched the remaining videos but I can already tell, whatever happened with these lesson videos was a fluke that under-represents the impact and reach they could/should have, and I'll say it again: Like it or not, you ARE one of the greats.... it is your responsibility to speak, so please, please, please do so!
Thanks Trey!!! I feel so relaxed with your delivery and enthusiasm! I have been taking lessons from a great guitar teacher and it is super cool to see a different way of looking at "the path."
I feel like Bobby also had this down to the tee. I admit I never looked at it quite this way but this actually made things click about his playing these days.
I love the connection in here between the words of the song and the description of chords. It makes me think that the dominant chord is that urge to travel away like the singer in the song. Then, the tonal center is kind of like the candle in the window as a beacon to come home.
Learning the basics of scales and how to apply them was something that came so easily, but my progress completely stalled at that point and for the past however many years I been trying to figure out how to make melodic music from those scales. The good thing is that in trying to figure it out I ended up learning a lot of music theory and I have improved my ear. Whereas initially it was just disconnected patterns or boxes on the neck without regard for what notes I was playing, now I'm trying to get the hang of chord tones and scale degrees. modes aren't just different boxes to memorize but now I see how the chords will incorporate say the flattened seventh and the whole progression is mixolydian or Dorian. I had no burning desire to learn any of this stuff, and if I was able to make semi decent sounding riffs just using the boxes, I would be perfectly content.but I stumbled my way through all of it as I tried to learn to make improvised music. I think the easiest way to learn is when it's born out of need
You’re so cool. I recently discovered this music lesson tutorial playlist and have been saving it, and in truth, should not have played the first two episodes because I have so much coming up in my life that anything beyond what I have on my plate is a distraction, but I just couldn’t help myself. As a long time music teacher (but very much on the down low-a dyslexic, looking to teach others who were lost in the standard system of music education, with only one or two well chosen students at a time, like a Sith) I had to know if your approach was in line with mine, and of course it is. I am writing you only having watched the first two so that it is fresh in my head and for the main purpose of begging you to do more videos along these lines. Do them with a horizontal aspect ratio instead of the vertical, plan it out with some folks. WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER NEEDS TO BE RECORDED. I found this playlist because I can not find an old, old, old recording of you speaking of music theory in a classroom at Cornell university NY in the early 1990’s or some such… because that’s where I borrowed the tape from, and the tape was so hissy and hard to listen to that I took all the highs and lows out to the extent that I thought (for an embarrassingly long time) you had a violinist doing your examples! (Ultimately, of course, it was just a revelation into the violin like construction of your guitar.) I am what you’d call an Intermediate-Advanced player, who unfortunately skipped the drumming to begin with, but as a dyslexic, have payed GREAT attention to how we learn, what is effective teaching, and of course there is no way I can represent all that here. So… if you want to find me, I am Christopher Darrow (currently of) Portland Oregon but for here and now I will offer this feedback…. (Assuming you didn’t already do this in later videos of the series-but I’m pretty sure you didn’t because you seem like me-point the way let them do the work.) I would LOVE to see a slower count using DOMINANT chords… major and minor are all over the Inter-Web Tubes… but the discussion of Dominant chords is lacking. I tried to read your paper on music theory and for whatever reason keep getting a bit into it then putting it off for later. I think THIS is your legacy… That leading chord, and the principles involved… they way you play with sonic expectations based on those leadings, your FEEL of how that comes together. I am purposely not looking at the playlist titles of your course as I provide this feedback, because even if you touched upon it, ONE more well produced (so as can be slowed down in RU-vid, etc, set of examples of each, a screen shot at a half filled out piece of paper charting this stuff by hand (which I think is essential… don’t give them the whole neck board, just how you recommend they (we) write it out for themselves (ourselves) as represented by a partial completed board in one key… give that and examples of you counting off (with notes or chords) some of the tracks form the albums you listed, etc. I have been playing VERY seriously since 1991 and teaching since 1995 or 1997 and I still plan to go through all the exorcises you listed so far, but I would love to see an excellent cheat sheet of the dominant chords up the neck and the ways in which you commonly transition between them and leading or root tones for several positions. That’s all for the moment. Just my first thoughts. I am already astoundingly thankful for all that you are and do already-I only offer this feedback to encourage you to do more. I’ll try to do it every 2 or 3 videos when I can get back to viewing them. Until then… PLEASE do more of this, show examples, employ others. There is soooooo much more of an imprint you can leave on us if you embrace this medium and employ those who know how to use it. YOU can make it a more positive place, even more than you already have, and it will be easy and fun for you.
P.S. No matter how often I comprehend CEREBRALLY the distinction between 4/4 and 3/4 I still can’t seem to FEEL it. Especially in terms of what to tell a DAW to fit my rhythm guitar. If you have any exorcises for that, please share! On that note, several years back I made the mistake of playing too much at once, but the idea behind my doing that was sound: I played bass tutorials on saxophone, drum tutorials on guitar, etc, etc. (My mistake was playing for 16 hours straight, as my welcome back to the creative season, Fall, when finally I’d record an album… I could not play anything for a year after that session!) I think there is. TREMENDOUS space for you here… to speak your lessons, to curates others, coordination with services like Melodics… even to reach down into school systems and ask what a few teachers (or students) at the classroom level want to know / feel they have been missing. I love that you are so humble, and true to your original self. (Who, just by the way, completely got me in 1993 Syracuse with the secret language--I had my eyes closed during a jam and suddenly the music stopped and the band and half the audience was gone!!!) Bring that same playfulness to this format, with specific examples. There are a few pedals/services that slow RU-vid videos down… this would be an excellent application for those, so, more partnerships. If I can help in any way, let me know. In the mean time, when I can afford to get back to this (in a month or so) I’ll send more initial feedback, just in case it is helpful in any way. Be well. Keep doing what you’re doing. And THANK YOU.
Interesting. I just recieved my AnalogMan King of Tone and put my pedal board back together after a year in the boxes. Thanks for coaxing me along. My hands dont work right since my stroke. Love you yo. J.
Reminds me the usual story: after decades of his students asking, what is Zen, the Master decides to instruct his students to go back and listen to the wind.
Then how do you know where to go when soloing over a chord progression? Do you play notes from the f major scale for the duration of time the f chord is sounded?
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and methods for developing a song. Just want to share something. I guess you could describe it as some type of "deep musical undertow"? for me. Songs/Music that I love but, to this day don't comprehend, haven't analyzed or didn't recreate have always occupied an almost supernatural role in my life. I mean to say that I am just floored. Like a Randy Rhoads solo..... If I proceed to learn the track, progression, lick etc... I become a better player BUT for me, the magic of the original subsides. Like the supernatural becomes academic. Is it just me???
Right there with ya…Use Your Illusion II. When I was 12 I studied axl’s lyrics every night front to back 25 years later, I simply stare at the guitar tab slash put on that album. Its timeless and unbelievable how he connects on that album instrumentally. Yeah, it’s possible to learn but for some odd reason I leave it alone. It’s true though. There’s things are truly and nearly impossible to wrap our heads around just based on how powerful and impacting they are and always will be.
Hey guitar folks in the Phearsome Phoursome Phreakingly Phan-tastic Phan Club: Songs that are a wonderful intro or beginning point: - Prince Caspian - My Mind’s Got a Mind of It’s Own - Water in The Sky - Runaway Jim - If I Could - Fast Enough For You - Squirming Coil
There is no way this series of videos got shown enough or to the right audiences… Experts can confirm or deny but it looks to me like those were posted as Facebook Stories were getting started, the algorithm was in even more flux than usual, and I seriously doubt the audience connections were correctly implemented. There’s simply no wya the view counts and comments are representative if the actual or potential interest in Trey just hanging around the fire talking about music… nor can the usefulness of his doing so be captured by those metrics. Sorry I’m late to the party, but it didn’t come up in my feed until I was searching online for the equivalent of a local audio file I somehow lost from my hard drive. The internet was born to hear Trey speak about music theory and cat videos… the rest is nonsense!
