Homespun Tapes are making us better musicians

It was only a couple of weeks ago that I stood in awe of Tony Rice and his band at Springfest and like the many other guitar players in the audience, wished I had spent a few more hours locked away in my room practicing. Tony is simply one of the finest players on the bluegrass and roots music circuit today. He has been at the forefront of this music for decades and is admired the world over by novices and seasoned pros alike.

So a two DVD tuition set of just what makes this man tick, what inspires him and more importantly just how he plays those amazing tunes. Happy Traum once again takes on the role of drawing out this quiet country gentleman from his shell and getting him to reveal many of the guitar techniques that give Tony his unique sound. Happy is a very fine musician himself and knows just what questions to ask to get the many musicians who have happily recorded these DVDs for him to open up. Tony is no exception and from the opening chapters where he explained his completely unique method of tuning a guitar he had my attention.

If you are a total beginner to the guitar this DVD will not teach you much but it may inspire you a great deal. You have to have a reasonable knowledge of chords and different positions for the chords to be able to begin to play along, but Happy and Tony make it as simple as possible to follow.

The great thing about DVD is the ability to get clear freeze frames in an effort to work out some of the chord positions and I found myself doing this constantly as I struggled with even the simplest tunes like “The Last Thing On My Mind” But I wasn't discouraged when I didn't get the tune exactly as the techniques led me to try some new things I hadn't tried before. It was also fun to try tunes I had even played many times with other bands. Jerusalem Ridge was a tune I played with my old band, Beware of the Dog in London and after watching Tony and how it really should be played I may have to give it a rethink. I also play a very simple version of Danny Boy in DADGAD but Tony takes that lovely tune to a whole new place with a simple drop d tuning and some very tasty chords progressions.

There is so much more to this pair of DVDs though, from Tony's different techniques for backing fiddlers and banjo players to the microphone setup he uses to record. He also talks about his influences like Clarence White and Del McCoury.

I think there is something for everyone on this set. If you are a beginner there is a booklet with the chords included to back the tunes which is a great way to practice. For more advanced players there are lots of new things to try and even if you are a professional player there is enough on here to hold your interest and entertain you. I also don't believe there is anyone so good that you can't learn something from a Tony Rice DVD.

The Tony Rice Guitar Method is available at Homespun Tapes.

Happy Traum will be hosting the Homespun workshops at this year's Merlefest.

Look out for more reviews of great tuition videos and DVDs from Homespun right here on JigTime

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