Customer Reviews

Irish Rhythm Guitar: Accompanying Celtic Tunes

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

 

 

I've seen John Doyle in concert several times and he is absolutely awesome. This DVD is great if you have even a rudimentary ability to play guitar. You'll learn the D tuning that all the Irish guitarists (and lots of American rock n' rollers) use, and a ton of ways to make your chords sound fuller and more interesting if you're into rhythm guitar. If you get a chance to see John Doyle with Liz Carroll, I highly recommend you take advantage of it!

Homespun and John Doyle have produced a very helpful guide to Irish rythm guitar. Doyle works in Drop D tuning DADGBE, a good tuning with the advantage of a drone, but with only minor alteration of fingering from standard tuning. Some of the chord shapes are difficult for guitarists with shorter fingers. John Williams plays the melodies very ably on concertina and button accordion at reasonable tempos. I would recommend this DVD highly

I am not an accomplished guitarist but someone interested in accompanying Celtic session. This is a great DVD. John covers all the types of Celtic songs and gives you a real feel for them. Each lesson is geared toward bringing you forward in the learning process. However there are a few points that buyers should be aware of.

First, John is a lefty so when you look at his display of how to play the cords you are going to have to translate that into right hand play. I as an amateur found this somewhat difficult to do, especially while playing.

Secondly, the chords, as mentioned in another review are difficult for those who don't have a large hand span. I had difficulty with them.

Thirdly, I bought another book at the same time with DADGAD tuning. Obviously, the fingering is different for all the chords. I did find the chords somewhat easier to play, though less full with DADGAD than with drop D.

All in all, I really enjoyed the DVD and the music. John brings a real ease to teaching others in a progressive manner. His style is the one I would most want to copy for accompanying Celtic music.