Customer Reviews

Guitar Method: In the Style of Beatles

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This DVD is terrible. Audio and Video quality are extremely poor, the production quality is below amateurish, and it's under 20 minutes long. The "instructor" is neither a gifted speaker or teacher, he's just some verbally challenged guy who hurries through demonstrating 56 one or two measure long segments from Beatles song. The songs are not referred to by name, they are known only as Riff 1 to 56. The "instructor" will play the "riff" once, then play it again slower, and move on to the next one. No instruction is given on how to play what he is playing, so this is not useful for a beginner. As for intermediate to advanced players, you will also learn nothing. (Save for the fact that you could probably make a much better video than this in a Saturday afternoon with your HandyCam...) There is no insight given into George, John or Paul's styles, technique, how they achieved certain sounds or effects, etc. However, the instructor does give you his thoughts on the Beatles body of work after the collection of riffs has been played. Unfortunately, he has no real thoughts, and just babbles inanely for a few minutes. (This actually is my favorite part of the video because it's like a scene out of "Spinal Tap". Sadly, it's not funny enough to be worth the purchase price.)

If you are a serious musician, or want to be, don't buy this. Warner markets a series of videos on the Beatles guitar style that you should check into instead. Although I have not seen them, I feel quite confident that they would at least be better than this.

I have bought literally hundreds of dollars worth of guitar instructional books, CD's and DVD's, and I can confidently say that this DVD is not only the worst of the bunch, but it is absolutely worthless. I would have given it "0" stars if I could have, to indicate it's true worth. How can you learn anything from watching some guy play songs on the guitar, even slowly, when he is such a terrible teacher that he can't provide any valuable instruction on what he is playing? You would be better off downloading the free tab, or even paying for it, and listening to the original music. And Curt Mitchell has the audacity to state the Beatles, the most famous rock group ever, weren't very good guitarists. Well, if they weren't good guitarists, why is Curt teaching their style? Why doesn't he teach the style of some "whipping" guitarists like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen or Eric Johnson? Why did he leave out the best of the Beatles' guitar playing ("Taxman" and "And Your Bird Can Sing")? The fact is that the Beatles' guitar playing perfectly FITS THEIR STYLE OF MUSIC, and I believe is one reason the Beatles' music sounds so great. Could anyone imagine Satriani playing lead for the Beatles? Of course not. They didn't become the most popular band on the planet with bad guitar playing. Why Mitchell doesn't understand this I don't know.
I e-mailed mvp three times and asked them where the full band and rhythm tracks are that they promised on the cover, and I never received a response.
If you want QUALITY Beatle's guitar instruction by someone who is EXTREMELY knowledgeable and articulate-I would even go above articulate and say eloquent-get the three books written by Wolf Marshall: "Best of the Beatles on Acoustic Guitar," "The Beatles Hits," and "The Beatles Favorites." The three books cover 68 songs, break each one down into sections, give an in-depth analysis of each section, and include CD tracks at normal and slow speed. Marshall's writing shows his appreciation for the innovative and creative geniuses that the Beatles were. He puts all of his musical knowledge into describing the nuances of the Beatles' unique style, and does so amazingly well. No two books cover the same song. (You'll need to do the search on the title of the books and not the author on Amazon.) And you don't have to pay for a worthless DVD!
No, I'm not related to Marshall-I just own several of his books. As a further testament to the Beatles' unique style, Ricky Rooksby, in his book, "How to Write Songs on Guitar," frequently mentions chord changes in Beatles' songs because of their uniqueness and instructional value (and they don't sound too bad either!). In the introduction of this book, Rooksby writes (page 8), "The Beatles are well represented, not only because they were outstanding but because most people are familiar with their work. A copy of "The Beatles Complete Chordbook" (Wise, 2000) is invaluable from a songwriting point of view." (sic-the correct title of that last book is "The Beatles Complete Chord Songbook").
I hope this helps in your decision-making.

I bought this DVD hoping it would be decent. I LOVE The Beatles and everything about them, and I thought, "This better be good!" for the price. I watched it, and, not being very advanced in guitar playing (I have a black Ibanez acoustic, but still love it) I, or even my mom, who is really good, could not follow along one bit! The instructor mumbled a lot, was very boring and kept looking over to the side nervously. Let's talk about the few good things about the video, shall we?

The actual guitar playing was pretty good.

Yes. I hate to say it, but that is the only real good thing about the video. Now the bad things:

The instructor was very boring.
He did not say the names of the songs he was playing! (really bothered me!)
The video was very low-quality, probably a home-video thing.
He went through the songs WAYYYY too fast, even the slow versions were much too fast for most people to follow along with!
I doubt anyone can see exactly WHERE his fingers are on the fretboard, so what's the use?
The tabs and notation that comes with the DVD are (obviously)confusing for new guitarists.
After the 56 riffs and licks (I like saying that!) are over, he talks about the Beatles' overall music. In this, he says that they 'were not the "whippinest" guitarists'. WHAT? What about GEORGE?! He rocked!! He was one of the whippinest guitarists of all time!! (Sorry. I am a huge George H. fan and defend him on all accounts. *Sigh* What has the world come to?)
He doesn't even mention George's techniques like the cover said they would!
They are missing some of the greatest songs: Taxman (awesome riff by Paul), And Your Bird Can Sing (Awesome riff by George) and, of course, Here Comes The Sun! (George with some pretty, fancy, complicated, awesome fingerpicking riffs!) HOW COULD THEY?!
It does not seem that the instructor even KNOWS much about the Beatles. He says, before playing an extremely fast riff from Bungalow Bill, that he 'doesn't think The Beatles could play this fast'. Paul probably could! Maybe George!
Also, he says stuff about the Beatles that seem to be more his opinion than plain facts!
This was something I noticed: At the beggining and at the very end, they play the riff of "Dear Prudence", except they use the melody of "Lucy In The Sky" as the main part! (Yes, I do pay attention to all these details.) I guess it's because the riffs sound alike.

Ok. Well, there you have it. A collection of Beatles songs, missing a few ingredients and being presented by some boring guy that, apparently, not very many people know. At least the guitar playing is ok. Maybe in 15 years of watching this video, after I get my dream electric guitar (Epiphone Casino or Gibson SG), I will actually be able to play 10 or 12 of these crazy riffs.

- A very disappointed George Harrison fan

Curt Mitchell is a solid guitar player with great technique. You can learn a lot by watching this video. He covers both acoustic and electric styles fairly evenly and covers early Beatles through their more eclectic White Album material. I was only disappointed that the video includes 56 generic riffs with no indication of which songs/albums they come from. The song titles are completely absent from both video and printed material which I suppose is due to legal and financial reasons. Anyway, for those who want to link the riffs with the songs, I put together the list.

1 She Loves You 2 She Loves You 3 I Want To Hold Your Hand 4 I Want To Hold Your Hand 5 Here Comes The Sun 6 Can't Buy Me Love 7 Can't Buy Me Love 8 Hard Day's Night 9 I Feel Fine10 Ticket To Ride 11 Help 12 Yesterday 13 Paperback Writer 14 Get Back 15 Get Back 16 Get Back 17 You've Got To Hide Your Love Away 18 Day Tripper 19 Day Tripper 20 Day Tripper 21 Drive My Car 22 Drive My Car 23 Drive My Car 24 Norwegian Wood 25 Michelle 26 Michelle 27 In My Life 28 Girl 29 Back In The USSR 30 Back In The USSR 31 Back In The USSR 32 Dear Prudence 33 Dear Prudence 34 Wild Honey Pie 35 While My Guitar Gently Weeps 36 While My Guitar Gently Weeps 37 While My Guitar Gently Weeps 38 While My Guitar Gently Weeps 39 Happiness Is A Warm Gun 40 Happiness Is A Warm Gun 41 Blackbird 42 Blackbird 43 Blackbird 44 Piggies 45 Piggies 46 Rocky Racoon 47 Birthday 48 Birthday 49 Birthday 50 Yer Blues 51 Helter Skelter 52 Helter Skelter 53 Helter Skelter 54 Revolution 55 Revolution 56 Revolution

Instructor is inarticulate/incoherent. Sound and video quality is poor. Camera angles are such that you typically can't even see what he is playing. The only enjoyment to be had is the mental challenge of trying to remember what tune the "riffs" are from, since he never mentions the actual song titles.

I've seen Mitchell's video in the style of ZZ Top and I'll admit he does know how to play very well, but . . . he has the audicity to insinuate that he is a better guitarist than the Beatles themselves. In the intro to Bungalow Bill, he states more or less that he doubts if any of the Beatles were good enough guitarists to perform "the terrifingly fast Al Dimeola style riff" at the beginning of the song and than proceeds to play it himself. He also states as another reviewer notes, that the Beatles weren't the most "whippingnest" guitarists. Well, maybe they weren't techical players like Clapton, Hendrix and Al freakin Dimeola, but they sure did inspire and continue to inspire a legion of guitarists, myself included.

If the Beatles weren't good enough players for you, Curt, why the hell did you go to all the trouble to learn the songs and then make a video teaching others to play the songs, thereby making some cash on the side . . .oh, that's why.

I mean at least show some respect for what some consider to be the greatest band to ever grace the planet.

I am a great fan of the early Beatles . Their guitar style, while certainly not at the technical level of today's guitar gods, it is what set them apart and gave them their unique sound and appeal.

That said, this DVD is truly awful. The Beatle riffs played are technically proficient and I'm sure it's possible for someone to get something out of watching them played. But the commentary by Curt Mitchell is a mess. He is so inarticulate that he is painful to watch and listen to. At one point he makes the observation that the Beatles were, "No whippin' guitar players." The same could be said of his speaking skills.

This DVD is the worst. It only provides you some information and the guy just played the tune twice (one at normal speed and one at a slower speed) and then you on your on.

Don't buy it.

Well I strongly disagree with the previous reviewer. I am a professional guitarist (but a slow learner) and I have several "In the style of" dvd's. Curt Mitchell is a great guy! No, I don't know him personally, but he comes across as very genuine and he's just being himself. I admire him for that. He's not trying to act or perform, he's teaching us riffs. And I love his commentaries and opinions on guitarists and bands, in fact I would love for them to be longer and more in depth! I would have rated this dvd 5 stars if it were longer. Curt Mitchell jams!!

So, if you just want to actually figure out some of the beatles riffs and have some fun and you are already a happy owner of the complete scores/tabs of beatles stuff you'll love this.. I do. I have a bunch of the Curt Mitchell videos and they are great for what they do... True, the host doesn't retell things about what may or may not have been motivating the boys, there are plenty of books and videos for all of that... this is cheap and simple and hey, if you don't know all of the songs by sound, buy some beatles cd's for gosh sakes... for what this is...it is well worth it.