Customer Reviews

Classic Rock Guitar Soloing - Barrett Tagliarino

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first picked up a guitar right after college, it was to grow my sophistication in listening as much as it was to learn playing. I felt that I was hitting a wall in understanding the music I already liked and that playing some would help. The approach I took was to take lessons, but it became apparent that I wasn't practicing enough every week to make that worthwhile. What I was learning was essentially playing off the tablature the teacher wrote out. Then I discovered music books with tablature, and not long after that, guitar magazines starting running those too. Sweet! It's a shortcut, and you know that when you do it, but I was happy to learn a base of a bunch of songs to knock around with people and go from there.

Since the web has made music instruction DVD's readily available, I have been thrilled to take lessons from famous musicians, and see just how they teach their own songs. But I've been clearly missing a teacher's approach to soloing itself, which is why I got this one.

I think it's great! Barrett takes you from elemental beginner stuff all the way into the thinking behind how solos are designed, and how you put component pieces together. (I don't really understand another reviewer's complaint that it's the same old tripe about scales... this is clearly intended to teach people who haven't even seen that yet. You don't buy this DVD to look for groundbreaking new ideas.) The sections the lessons are organized into are very sensible:

Scales - Techniques - Licks - Learning by Ear - Phrasing - Solo Structure

When he explains why it doesn't sound right to mash a bunch of scales together, but that as a player you are telling a story, building on something familiar, and repeating key parts as necessary to keep listeners engaged, it makes a lot of sense. And when he cops to his own speech impediment (which you can hear, though it's not a problem) and uses it to explain why what he calls "stuttering phrasing" makes for a good solo, it is not only clear, but paints a very human picture of this guy who learned to make a guitar speak for him. I mean, it's almost a cliche, but here's the real guy, teaching our sorry but articulate asses how to play guitar solos!

I think this was shot some years ago, as Barrett refers to using tapes. But when he was explaining how to learn from other people's records and how to figure out what they're doing, I realized the whole downloadable transcriptions and YouTube thing have become crutches in this new century. They actually hold you back because it's too easy to be faking it *instead* of making it. This disc is a good bridge to the useful part of the good old days.

I wasn't going to post this review until I had some experience working with it. I can't really give it a 5 until I have a better context of how much it helps. But I realized I can update this any time, and you know what? *This* is what I should have watched if I wanted the real shortcut to understanding music better!

So, get it for yourself if you want to solo or just listen better. Or get it for someone else who is still just playing off tablature, like I was. This is a great introduction to a whole new world.

This dvd was a letdown not only was it short but it lacked substance.This guy has a strange vibe and talks too much about solos being like conversations and that if you "talked all at once" you would not be heard.....really? wow thanks for the hot tip!.

There is little time spent on useful scales(other than the same old tripe) and current rock and blues solo structure is left out completely.He does play one or two recognizable licks like the solo from Rod Stewarts Maggie May but any second year player could do better than that.You would be far better of to learn from Danny Gill,Stuart Bull,Jammie Huphries or Greg Koch if you want real meat and taters.Look around first before you buy this Duck!!.

PS