Customer Reviews

DVD-Dr John Teaches New Orleans Piano -Lesson One

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dr. John is not going to teach you how to play. In fact, he's not going to teach you anything, but if you can learn by watching his hands, then you will gain a lot. I've learned a ton of new licks just by watching him play. But if you're anything other than an advanced blues player already, you're not likely to gain from this DVD.

I'm a beginner and i can already play a few blues piano things thanks to the homespun dvd of david bennett cohen. he is a very good teacher and explains techniques over and over again until you understand them!

unfortunately dr. john is not really a teacher kind of guy. he's a very talented player, no doubt. but the fact that the producer Happy Traum had to sit next to him during the shooting to squeeze some techniques out of him already shows you right from the beginning that dr. john is not really there for teaching you anything. he's just doing what he can do best: playing and talking about fellow blues musicians!

this dvd is definately not for beginners, more advanced players might get some interesting stuff out of it, i didn't...

This DVD is for anyone who truly wants to learn how to play blues piano properly. Dr. John is a fantastic musician with an outstanding repertoire. Perhaps the only downside is that not all of the songs are transcibed which is a pity, especially with Swanee River Boogie, but that shouldn't deter anyone from buying this DVD. He is a true master and the opportunity to have him personally show you how to play blues piano should not be passed up. Absolutely fantastic!

Great pianist, uncontroversially, but the low resolution and quality of this video make it impossible to see what notes he's playing.

The dvd contained some great tunes and overhead shots of Dr. John's playing technique, but I found the transcriptions to be less than accurate. I transferred the audio track I was interested in learning to a file and used my SlowDowner to digest the tune. If you have a basic understanding of the blues and already know some licks, the dvd will be helpful. In any case, it still is great to listen to.

Very much into the New Orleans blues and get down boogie woogie . Doctor John has listened closely to the great New Orleans piano players and he is now a great one and legend in his own right .If you cherish plain get down earthy blues and a boogie woogie beat then this DVD is for you . Doc John also teaches you about the so rich black music culture still cooking in New Orleans . Suggest you purchase both volumes of his DVD's on this subect you will not regret .

This is not so much a piano lesson as much as it is a dense style resource. If you are willing to make ample use of pause and replay, there are several years worth of licks, turnarounds and left hand riffs to extract from this hour-long DVD. You get a helpful top view of the keyboard so you can see notes and fingering (I agree - a working familiarity of blues piano and N.O. piano is helpful - I recommend Jeffrey Gutcheon's out of print 'Improvising Rock Piano') and you also occasionally get side views, so you can see the technique of his hands, which I thought was very helpful when studying the technique of his piano rolls and trills (he sometimes anchors the 3rd finger and rolls the thumb and 5th finger, for example). You also get some interesting variations on the I-IV-V blues progression and a showcase of the range of expression in N.O. Blues - from legato and gospel-like to a hammering, rock style.

Even just for entertainment, the DVD is a pleasure to just watch as an unaccompanied performance. Watch Dr John emulate Allen Toussaint close up. Doesn't get any better than that!

I have examinate the Dr John pianoschool some years back (the videoversions, but I think its the same). To have Mac as a teacher is really something. With a camera above the pianotangents you can really study his fingers at magic work. Its imposible not to get in to the boogiegroove once you get started. Of course, to keep up with da doctor is not an easy task but its wonderful to try. The favorit-track? "Goodnight Irene" in James Booker-style. If you dont want to LEARN to play then just look, listen and enjoy.