I grew up across the street from Tuck. I started playing the guitar before Tuck, but once he got his Sears Silvertone guitar (followed by a Ventures guitar...remember those?), he took off and passed me in no time. He is one of those guys that just has a God given gift. It came to him so easily. Pissed me off :).
Amazing words of wisdom from a very unique finger style guitar player and thinker. Going back is the secret to learning the basics of what the great artists have done just as one learns to speak. Experiencing music is irreplaceable.
About '78 I had a steady Th/Fri gig at place called The Winery on California x Elco in Paly Alty. Tuck 'N Patti started playing across the street at new restaurant... both buildings are long gone now. Tuck came over to jam with us a couple times during his break. Cat was burning back then!! There is so much gospel truth to all he says, his analogies are spot on and learned from experience. Juggling all the balls... the stuff he say about actually listening to what is coming out, not what you think you are trying to play is the $100 lesson!
Fabulous interview, and a great host/interviewer. He allowed Tuck to answer the questions at length and in detail. Tuck is a very inspiring person and guitarist. Thanks so much for posting, Don
I completely agree. These are two intelligent professionals, having a discussion. Which is exactly what an interview should be. When was the last time you watched something this absorbing and thought-provoking on television? highly-paid prime-time journalists should take note of this interviewer's technique. Tuck is awesome in the true sense, in that his talent is literally difficult to understand. I hear something new every time I have the privilege of hearing him play (or talk). And when he's on stage with Patti, well... if you haven't seen them live, please do!
He's an inspiration! I had the chance to see him years ago at a small club in D.C. I Sat less than 10 feet away from him and stared in wonder. Just great!
His performance of Body and Soul at the end was just amazing. Guitar playing is a blend of music, martial art (art of using multiple muscles in many ways) and chess (a visual matrix with its own logic and countless possibilities and shapes)-enigmatic, unique and endless.
How did you learn and develop your guitar playing? "Well... A lot of listening, which now I wish it had been even more listening. And a lot of experimentation and thinking about it. And I think that the listening is really the most important part." Hear hear!
awesome interview. such a shame about the sound quality... Tuck's voice is totally distorted all the time. It was funny when he was talking about his gear, which he put together in order to obtain the cleanest tone possible, because the sound of his voice was so far from being clean
Bruno...I think he was saying this is the way he learned and he was suggesting an easy way that other musicians can learn. If you like a particular guitarist better than Wes; then listen. 3 finger, four finger...I think he was asking the musician to be facile and not lock into a beginners way of learning. I learned to finger pick, strumming chords makes no sense to me although I can hear it and appreciate it. My husband can hear. He instantly knows if some one is playing a B or a B Minor 7th. I think Tuck was teaching us to do was to heave technique training and ear training. I appreciated the approach.
He is one of the best, George benson, mark whitefield etc..( but all around greatest guitarist in all styles ild say is Stanley jordan,take a look at Stanley jordan
A lot of us were bitten by the "GUITAR BUG" when the Beatles and the Stones became famous. Like Andress I was a piano player and dumped it to learn guitar, I don't know why It didn't occur to me to keep playing piano in parallel with guitar, just young and stupid I guess.
High as fuck, reading about the uh hum, ah ham, uh hu, uh hum, uhuh, uh hum, hu hum, a ham, uhum.. Uhum, uhum ..... ... Uhu , uhu , uhu, ..uhu aha uhu, uhu muhu uhm hu, aha, aha aha, aha aha, uh hum aha uhum, uhum okey, aha uhhum hulumm aha, uhum. Uhum, yeah.. Aha, aha, aha ...
I think Tuck is an amazing player, really a top cat. However, after this interview I became very disappointed with points of view. Nobody laid the foundations of the jazz guitar, there is no such thing. Each player is a link in an infinite chain of good music. So, playing with 3 fingers is a better way to start on the guitar just because Wes did it? Ok, so it's even better to play with only 2, because Django did it, right? Why so much staccato playing, Wes, Django, Pass, you name it... never played in such a way. Well, of course they never pretended to be a one man band. Martin Taylor makes great use of staccato playing, but only in the right places, he is awesome too. One last thing, copying note for note of what others do may be an excellent ear training but it questionable whether it will improve your playing. Imagine Beethoven copying note for note of Mozart's sonatas to improve his compositional skills... He probably preferred to do his own business.
I think you miss the point in many ways probably because of an inability to listen. However many fingers you're talking about, he is just describing how he learned, and how his favorite players played. That's all. He uses all his fingers because he looks at everybody. Your criticism of ear training tells me that you are not a schooled musician. Ear training is part of a good musical education and it DOES make you a better player. If you know where a note is, you can play it. Otherwise, you're just lost. Beethoven, was greatly influenced by Mozart...that is a historical fact. He knew much of Mozart's music and was the better for it. Your argument defeats itself and tells me you're probably not too much of a musician. You MAY be a good player, but musicianship requires what you seem to think is unnecessary.
Norm Fletcher First of all don't criticize someone that you've never seen or heard, I'm PHD in music so I consider myself to be a schooled musician. Second, I'm not criticizing his playing but rather his talk. Straight copying other people don't make you play, compose or improvise better. However, I understand that popular musicians need to learn from other players as they don't learn from a score like classical musicians. Listening is pretty much a basic thing, everyone does it, even none musicians. Ear training is obviously necessary, I did it all my life, but that's a different matter than I discussed on the topic. Influence is one thing, copying is another... Of course Beethoven was influenced by Mozart, who at the end of the 18th century wouldn't be influenced by him. By the way, you may know where a note is and still miss it, sorry... only those who go on stage are aware of this fact.
Norm Fletcher I agree with you concerning Tucks take on learning...all people do not learn the same way. It may seem low brow for a person educated in music however, it doesn't make the book educated person and expert on how others learn or understand. Tucks way and ideology of learning seems to suit him just fine. Although he wishes he had done some things differently because he understands how HE learns and feels he would have done what he does better....and that is personal. And he is very clear about that in this interview, feeling that he is an "extreme case" in relation to Wes. When someone speaks of their personal experience the most important thing a person can do IS LISTEN....something Tuck has and wishes he had more of....I find this very good advice.
Bruno Figueiredo it would surprise me if your PhD was in jazz music, specifically. Any jazz musician knows that transcription is part of passing down the history of this art form. There is a common language in the recordings that can't be learned from a book.
terrible sound, thanks. i disagree with him on learning. listen to who you want, play like them at first, then hopefully move on. there are a zillion exemptions to every rule. how do you live in this world and not listen?
