Video Lessons – Weeping Willow Guitar

When I Paint My Masterpiece: Guitar Solo

Craig — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 13:39:52 +0000

When I Paint My Masterpiece

Jerry Garcia Guitar Solo 10/3/87

Bob Dylan wrote “When I Paint My Masterpiece” in 1971. The Band delivered the first recorded version of the song on their 1971 album "Cahoots," with Dylan’s rendition appearing a few months later on Bob Dylan’s "Greatest Hits Vol. II." Although Jerry Garcia had been performing “When I Paint My Masterpiece” as early as 1972 with his solo projects, the Grateful Dead didn't add the song to their repertoire until 1987. The solo taught in this lesson comes from 10/3/87, and can be found on "View from the Vault III."

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Alabama Getaway

Craig — Sun, 04 Oct 2020 01:50:17 +0000

Alabama Getaway

On the surface, “Alabama Getaway” sounds like a standard, Chuck Berry-esque 12 bar blues. However, the song is anything but standard, and instead of being a 12 bar blues, it follows an 8 bar blues form with a couple of twists.

"Alabama Getaway" was first performed by the Grateful Dead on November 4, 1979, at the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. It became a concert perennial in the early 80s before slowly dropping out of the band's repertoire in June 1989, only to be revived in 1995 for a total of 4 shows.

The Dead played "Alabama Getaway" a total of 141 times, with 88 of those occurring in its first three years (1979-1981). In 1980 alone, they played it during 50 of their 86 performances that year.

The studio recording of "Alabama Getaway" that appears on "Go To Heaven" opens with a 4 bar guitar solo which the Dead dropped when they played the song live. In this lesson, I’ve given 3 variations of the intro (2 solos and one “rhythm only” intro as they would play it live). We’re also going to take a look at the way Jerry approached rhythm guitar on this tune.

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Mountain Jam Guitar Lesson

Craig — Mon, 20 May 2019 15:05:36 +0000

Epic Jam

I'm always getting requests for The Allman Brother’s “Mountain Jam”, and this makes sense as there is no other one song that wholly represents the Allmans as much as this. Clocking in between 30-45 minutes, the song truly is a musical journey and gives everyone in the band a chance to really shine. The first recorded version of Mountain Jam dates back to May 4, 1969 and the was last played on the very last performance by the ABB on October 29th, 2014.

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Blackberry Blossom – Scott Fore Transcription

Craig — Sat, 05 Jan 2019 23:49:27 +0000

If you're not familiar with him, Scott Fore is a bluegrass guitarist that has gone on to win multiple competitions, most notably the prestigious National Flatpicking Contest at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, placing second in 2000 and 2014, and winning first place in 2002 and 2015.

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Allman Brothers Band – Blue Sky – Duane Allman Solo

Craig — Wed, 02 May 2018 03:05:39 +0000

In this lesson, were taking a look at the first guitar solo (Duane Allman's solo) on "Blue Sky" from the Eat a Peach album.

Duane's solo (as well as Dickey's solo) are both great examples of using only a handful of notes to craft a very melodic and memorable solo. Unfortunately, this was one of the last songs Duane played on before his sudden and tragic death on October 29, 1971. His playing was spectacular on this recording, including effortlessly switching between whole step and step and a half bends with spot on accuracy.

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They Love Each Other – Jerry Garcia 5/8/77 Solo

Craig — Fri, 16 Mar 2018 00:46:57 +0000

In this lesson, I bring you Jerry Garcia’s solo on “They Love Each Other” from the legendary May 8, 1977 show at Barton Hall, on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca New York.

"They Love Each Other" is a Hunter/Garcia composition that appeared on Jerry Garcia's 1976 solo album "Reflections". It was debuted February 9th, 1973 at Roscoe Maples Pavilion at Stanford University alongside a number of other soon-to-be Grateful Dead staples. It was performed 226 times after the initial Stanford performance.

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Loser – Jerry Garcia’s Solo from Dead Set

Craig — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 22:04:51 +0000

This lesson looks at Jerry Garcia's guitar solo on "Loser" from the double album "Dead Set".

By request, this lesson focuses on Jerry Garcia's 16 bar solo over the Grateful Dead standard "Loser" as heard on the album "Dead Set".

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Sugar Magnolia Guitar Solo (Video Lesson)

Craig — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 16:32:25 +0000

In this lesson we will be examining Jerry Garcia's 10 bar guitar solo from the 10/29/77 version of "Sugar Magnolia"

"Sugar Magnolia" was released on the Grateful Dead's 1970 album "American Beauty", and was co-written by Robert Hunter and Bob Weir. "Sugar Magnolia" went on to be the band's most played original, played nearly 600 times between its inception and the Dead's last show on 7/9/95.

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Tears In Heaven Guitar Lesson

Craig — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 19:27:17 +0000

"Tears In Heaven" first appeared in the 1991 film "Rush", and was later included in Eric Clapton's "Unplugged" collection.

Clapton has admitted that part of the inspiration for the song came from the death of his son, Conor. After Conor's death, Clapton rediscovered the acoustic guitar, and much of the writing he did in that period was for the acoustic guitar. This lesson breaks down my rendition of this lovely, but haunting piece.

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Dire Wolf Lesson – Jerry Garcia Acoustic Guitar Solo (Video Lesson)

Craig — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 13:43:10 +0000

In this lesson, we are looking at the Jerry Garcia guitar solo from the acoustic version of "Dire Wolf" that appears on the 1981 live album, "Reckoning".

The 1981 live Grateful Dead album "Reckoning" features songs from the band's Warfield Theatre run in the fall of 1980, and the opening track "Dire Wolf" is the subject of this lesson. The version of "Dire Wolf" that appears on that album was taken from their October 11, 1980 show, and features an energetic solo from Jerry Garcia that beautifully mixes his bluegrass and jazz influences.

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