Customer Reviews

John Denver Authentic Guitar Style (Guitar Personality)

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

 

 

I thought this book would reveal how John himself played these songs. Especially I hoped to learn the authentic intros to songs like Country Roads or Poems, Prayers & Promises. What you get is an easy guitar book that anyone can play. The arrangements are mostly just picking standard chords. It's not much more than most players could figure out from words and chords without tabs. Annie's Song has the most authentic arrangement. This book is worthwhile if you are beginning to learn guitar and to read tabs. However, I can hardly call it "authentic" if you want to learn John Denver's style.

This is either exactly or so close to exactly as to what is played on the albums that I have heard. Don't know of a better way to play John Denver songs except from this book. I wish the publishing companies would offer this level of music to all musicians from every title and artist. Anyone very skilled with any ear or talent may be able to fake the songs (and I mean fake.) If one plays from this book and listens to the songs I suspect they will be more close than any book out there. My ears are old but I can tell you this is the very best of the John Denver books. There are only two other books of all JD's that I have ever seen that come close to this. One was a single song from one book and the other book only had portions of correct play.

And you get to look inside! Play it for yourself and listen. You'd have to be tone deaf not to know this is good.

Rant ahead!
My wife asked me to play a single John Denver song. This Old Guitar. The other official JD books were written for I don't know who exactly. She wasted money many years ago on almost every John Denver music book published. Sure they sort of were the music but don't get me in a court of law over a copyright on them because I'd swear they are not what was copyrighted. Sadly the sheet music industry is almost a big fraud scheme. I understand when they offer "easy" or other well displayed words to inform the purchaser of the presumed quality of the work. I do not understand how any company or artist would allow authentic or as recorded printed on some of this stuff. Shamefull! Just shamefull!

This book is not in the above rant.

If you listen, carefully to the recordings, or watch a filmed concert of John performing, and theck the tabs in this book, you will see that they are remarkable. The person below, seems to be confusing Johns playing with the other guitars on the records. Some books include all guitar parts. Books in the authentic guitar style....series are just what they claim, the guitar style of the titular artist.So, if you want to play songs as John did, this is the book for you. If you want to play songs as the other guitar players on the records, then you'll have to transcribe those parts yourself.