Search - Danny Gatton: Strictly Rhythm Guitar on DVD

Buy this if you want to become a smoking rhythm guitarist in

Doug Maliszewski | Jamesburg, NJ United States | 12/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone who is interested in learning the correct way to play rhythm guitar should look no further. The late great Danny Gatton was far above the musical plane that most mortals ever aspire, and here you can learn how to follow.

His lessons are as fine as crystal--very rarely does he loose the train except to make a cool point--and he has obviously thought them out well in advance as he did with everything that surrounded his playing. Danny uses his fantastic rhythm section consisting of an amazing drummer and a doghouse bass player that burns down the house while simultaneously helping Danny to get his points across. And if this isn't enough, Arlen Roth--another smoker--gets up and plays lead. He even has his guitar tech join in at the end of the DVD and trade leads with Arlen while Danny holds down the rhythm chores as steady as a sea anchor holds a boat during a storm. Pay close attention all you shredders who believe playing rhythm is passe, you may find yourself taking that long overdue lesson in rhythm playing.

The DVD format itself is well organized and the learner can take the lessons one episode at a time at both normal speed as well as at a snails pace. The instructional manual is also well anotated and helpfull.

If you want to learn how to play rhythm like a master do yourself a favor and buy this DVD. Spend the time letting this warm, humble, and funny man show you the way to play magnificent rhythm guitar. There aren't many that can play like Danny these days and sadly he is gone forever. Fortunately for us mortals, we have a few rare gems like this DVD to remember him by. This is one of the few instructional tools that doesn't treat the artist as a star rather it shows him surrounded by and working with other artists to create real music.

Buy this DVD and his telemaster DVD--Danny's intro capella is worth the price of admission alone. Then buy his 88 Elmira Street, Redneck Jazz, and Cruisin Deuces CD's. After living with and assimilating Danny's take on playing into your own style you may discover that you have a fresh and clearer perspective on playing our beloved instrument not to mention a fondness for one of the guitar's greatest players. This guy was THE REAL DEAL!

If you trust my opinion and work hard, and I am not mistakenly speaking out of my respect and fondness for one of history's greatest players and one of my greatest mentors, in a few short years the people in the audience will begin to ask how you learned to play such fantastic and magical rhythm guitar.

We, your dedicated students, miss you dearly Danny
"

We lost a great one.....

D. Winter | Pennsylvania | 02/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What can I say..."The Humbler"..kinda says it all...just watch him play.
Looks easy ya say??
I've been playing now for 30 years...still wish I could play like that!!
Very "down to Earth" video reveals quite alot of ideas and licks...
......Have fun"

Not really instuctional.

o'neal lane | louisiana, usa | 02/25/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD is for advanced players only!!! Unless you have mastered chord theory, and music theory, or you have a natural ear for pitch you will be in way over your head. It is not really instructional but more of a demonstration. Like many of the "hot licks" dvd's its not really structured learning, more of a musician demonstrating some licks. But Gatten moves too fast and is very disorganized. I would not buy this DVD again and wish I had my money back. I would learn about as much just having a DVD of him performing in concert.

The best "Hot Licks" DVD's I have seen of yet are Warren Haynes Blues and Slide guitar and Ronnie Earl DVD."

Well-worth it, but...

50 | hermitage, pa United States | 01/18/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There are a couple of things you should be aware of about Danny Gatton and this DVD/booklet: Danny Gatton was, of course, an amazing guitarist, but NOT a very good teacher, and he freely admits on both of his instructional DVDs that he knows WHAT to do and HOW to do it but he can't really EXPLAIN it, so it is incumbent upon the student to approach these lessons thoughtfully and analytically in order to get the most out of them. Having some knowledge of music theory (of which Gatton claimed he was totally ignorant) will help tremendously. For example, the very first lesson on this DVD ("two-note wonder" chords) is an absolute treasure-trove of musical information (in spite of its simplicity) IF you take the time to study it to find out why these chords work the way they do (and if you do so, you will not only learn a lot about comping, but you'll also realize how to incorporate this concept into your lead playing, commonly known as "double-stop" playing). In other words, instead of seeing these lessons as ends in-and-of-themselves, try to look for the underlying concepts involved, and you'll get a lot more out of this DVD. A careful study of the accompanying text helps a lot. In fact, there may be some value in studying the text first, and then watching Gatton demonstrate the technique. At any rate, a word of warning: the accompanying booklet transcribes these lessons in both standard musical notation as well as tablature; the standard notation appears to be correct throughout, but I found a number of errors in the tablature. Any guitarist who can only read tab is going to get seriously messed up and wonder why the hell things don't sound right. The publisher has done a disservice to the student by not proofreading more carefully."