Search - Grateful Dead: A Step-by-step Breakdown of Grateful Dead's Guitar Styles and Techniques on DVD

AWESOME DVD ON LEARNING TO PLAY LIKE THE DEAD

RecreationalMushroomMan | 10/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Excellent DVD! Clear, concise, and exact licks. The instructor (Nate LaPointe) clearly shows you both the Jerry and Bobby part for each song. That's the real beauty of this DVD in that you get to see both guitar parts. He also switches back and forth between acoustic and electric guitars and nails the tone of each. The video and audio quality is very good on this disc.

The instructor of this DVD is a practicing dead guitarist! He plays the Bobby part in a Dead cover band in Southern California called "Cubensis." Do a search on youtube to check them out. I saw them live and was blown away. Nate is an amazing guitarist -- not with flashy licks, but he plays the most solid chord comping that I've heard.

Here are my two gripes. Nate plays along with some jam tracks in the dvd, but it would have been nice if they had included them to practice along with. A tab booklet would help too, but he does break down every lick on the video. Also, the song list is kind of typical, Casey Jones, Friend of the Devil, Etc. Considering a serious Head is going to buy this dvd, a few deeper cuts would have been nice. Ship of Fools, Candyman, Bird Song...

In conclusion, it's great DVD for learning to play Guitar like the Dead. It's a fun watch, with a great instructor, and chock full of material. I would highly recommend it. I sincerely hope that they put out more of these DVD's."

Excellent, with reservations...

Scott Schellings | 10/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I expected more than I got from this release.
Based upon the brief description given, I would've expected a more in-depth perspective-- i.e., some historical research, exposition and explanation regarding Jerry and Bob's approach to their playing within the band. (Perhaps I didn't read carefully enough before ordering.)

Instead, this is a step-by-step "how to do it right" manual for eight of their more well-known songs.
Which, actually, is ok.

The production quality is average at best, but the licks are right on.
To learn from this video, you will need to listen well, and be willing to rewind frequently.
While the pro player will not find much here, the beginner or intermediate player certainly will.

(In the interest of context: I'm 39 and have been a guitarist and musician for 25 years, amateur and professional.)

I would've been more interested in learning about how Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir wrote, and how their separate guitar parts worked together musically, and whether they actually ever *thought* about that or not than just seeing the parts displayed for reproduction, but maybe that's just me.

Despite my possibly negative tone, I still give this release 4 stars- because it *is* useful, and fairly well-done. The fact that I expected more does not diminish the value represented here.

So go ahead-- dust off those rusty strings.
Make 'em shine.

"

Good DVD

Daniel C. Neal | Iraq | 10/09/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Super instructional DVD. However NOT for the beginner. I am lending it to a friend who plays better until I am ready. Good incentive to practice more."