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DVD : Eric Johnson: Total Electric Guitar |
- Great ARTIST STUDY, but not the best tool for guitar growth.First I'd like to say I'm a huge EJ fan and have every record from Ah Via Musicom onward, Tones just isn't that great IMO. This DVD/booklet combo is really thorough at covering ERIC's style and some of his influences, but it's not the be all end all of guitar technique books. It also doesn't really cover any theory. If you're simply looking for a good study on Eric Johnson's techniques, some of his influences, and his outlook on playing, then this should be a great investment. Otherwise, I'd suggest looking into Sheets of Sound by Jack A. Zucker for hybrid picking, alternate picking, and Sweep/Economy Picking techniques, The Improviser's OS by Wayne Krantz for a great improvisation method, and the Modern Method for Guitar by William Leavitt. I'd also suggest buying the Chord Factory by Jon Damian, as it will expand your chord vocabulary exponoentially (unless you're Joe Pass).
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- I do get itIt's pretty hilarious reading the one star reviews posted here. Basic material? I was a music student in college and not once did I run into a guitarist that had the virtuosity and picking perfection of Eric Johnson. If you pay a little attention to these lessons you will find worlds of detail in his technique, touch and phrasing that may help you delineate the difference between just being good and being great. A true virtuoso lifts an instrument so far beyond shredding that it's hard to compare what they do with players that think speed is the only dimension to technique. Eric Johnson is the epitome of a virtuoso.
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- Loaded with ideasEric Johnson really seems to have mastered a variety of styles. This video is light on music theory, but heavy on useful tips and tricks. His exploration of Hendrix, Richards, Reed, Atkins, and others makes this video an interesting look into the styles of several guitarists, and complete with examples of how to play in their styles. He also demonstrates many interesting harmonic uses and talks a lot about picking and fingering (which isn't that relevant for the advance player, but there are still things one can pick up and incorporate). This is DVD has little fundamental music education (doesn't dive into scale theory much) but many tips on how to get interesting sounds and melodic lines, as well as some nice tips on chord voicings.
Rating:
- Ridiculously good!Most of the music product I buy is on eBay, but occasionally you can only find something special on Amazon. And Amamzon has an awesome collection of EJ's work.
After purchasing and watching Live/Austin City Limits (1988) complete with blonde, Flock-of-Seagulls hairstyle and Sgt. Pepper's jacket, I wanted to pick this up and see if a mature and seasoned Eric Johnson would really give up some good pointers about technique, tone and thoughts.
And he didn't let me down.
Many guitar players in instructional video-land sit in front of a camera and you get to watch them play for 45 minutes with hardly any narrative or a lot of looking-down mumbling mixed in with a few licks or "Here's what I nicked from Jimi Hendrix." Not the case here, thank goodness.
Eric is such a pleasant person to listen to and such an inspiration to watch play that I highly recommend this 2005 piece.
Even if you don't play, it's still entertaining enough just watching him play that it deserves a look/listen.
It's easy to see why Billy Gibbons, Stevie Ray Vaughan and even the reclusive Jeff Beck have given a thumbs-up to EJ over the years. Steve Morse, no lightweight player himself, was quoted, "This guy is ridiculously good!"
And he is!
EJ's "problem" is that he has no peers to compare with and there he sits, at the top of the heap when it comes to blistering runs, powerful bass-string roars and those carefully crafted, thoughtfully plucked and emotion-wrenching chords.
You would just love to have lunch with this guy sometime!
Rating:
- Grand and Glorious Superstore of TechniquesI want to emphasize that this is not for beginners except for those who may be inspired by seeing and hearing a wide variety of possible techniques.
With that said, it really seems to be geared toward the guitarist who has at least an intermediate skill level and is looking to explore new techniques or sharpen their playing.
After a brief tune-up, Eric begins explaining and illustrating techniques of some of the guitarist who have inspired him (Hendrix, Clapton, Chet Atkins, Chuck Berry, .. etc). Eventually, he goes over his own techniques much of which are combinations of other techniqes and scales. He also includes GREAT and very detailed instruction on picking techniques.
On most instruction, the picking hand and fretting hand are shown separately on a split screen and are easy to see. The DVD also has a number of exercises that can be played at normal or half speed with the ability to loop.
While he really does a great job of describing and demonstrating the styles and techniques, he does not spend a whole lot of time going over them. He also breezes over certain parts rather quickly. Though this part will probably frustrate many beginners and players who want more time spent in that area, it is absolutely necessary to cover such a great amount of material. I also feel that this is one of the strong aspects as it allows intermediate and advanced players to quickly pick and play with new techniques without being bogged down by numbing repetition.
What I love about this DVD is that it is so densely packed such a wide variety of techniques and absolutely beautiful playing. If you have the aptitude, don't need every detail defined, can pickup guitar visually and are interested in exploring techniques in rock, jazz and a little country - get it!
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