HOMESPUN
Taught By Tony Rice.
Level 3
Two-DVD or two-VHS set with music/tab booklet
Hosted by Happy Traum, with Wyatt Rice, second guitar
In a wide-ranging and detailed session, Tony Rice demonstrates his world-famous
technique, gives invaluable advice, analyzes some of his best-known pieces and
discusses his style, influences, guitars and favorite players. This exceptionally
rich two-part set is filled with fascinating conversation and the amazing playing
we’ve all come to expect from this master picker. Tony has geared this lesson
so that aspiring players at all levels can learn important techniques and benefit
from his vast musical experience.
You’ll gain insights into important elements, such as Tony’s method for getting his guitar in tune, how he warms up for a show, the correct way to put on a capo, proper left hand fretting technique, advice about speed and dexterity, the secrets of Tony’s guitar micing and how he plays some of his signature licks.
Tony plays and breaks down some relatively easy songs, including "The Last Thing on My Mind," "Bury Me Beneath the Willow" and "Wildwood Flower," showing how these country-folk standards can evolve from basic Carter Family style to an arrangement utilizing Tony’s unique embellishments. You’ll see, up close, the details of his right hand technique – his fluidity of motion and how he holds the pick, adjusting its angle to give him his trademark cross-picking sound.
Clarence White was Tony’s first major influence, and he relates how his own sound was derived from the rhythm patterns and licks of his early idol. He slows down astonishing solos they each played on "Nine Pound Hammer,"and describes the scales he uses for his improvisations both in basic G position and up the neck. Tony also discusses Doc Watson’s powerful role in his musical development, launching into an exploration of fiddle tunes "Stony Lonesome" and "Billy in the Lowground."
Tony Rice’s uniquely beautiful ballad arrangements of "Shenandoah" and "Danny Boy" (both in dropped D tuning) combine chord-melody style, improvised scales, the use of harmonics and other lyrical techniques that will give you endless pleasure in guitar exploration. Wyatt Rice then joins his brother in a demonstration of how to play minor key tunes "Little Sadie" and "Jerusalem Ridge." Finally, Tony uses "Salt Creek" to demonstrate his highly regarded back up technique, with Wyatt playing lead. The brothers then go out with a version of the classic "I Am a Pilgrim" to finish the set.
This extended lesson by one of acoustic music’s most admired and innovative guitarists will bring new skills and creativity to your playing, and will provide hours of fun as you work your way through these great pieces.
Review:
"If you can't manage a private session with Tony Rice, this two-disc DVD set may be the next best thing. It is all that we have come to expect from Homespun.... Rice is a thoughtful and articulate instructor.... (He) knows exactly why he plays what he does and easily relates the information to the viewer in an understandable and useful way. The camera work is excellent." - Bluegrass Unlimited (Highlighted Video)
Student Review:
"I received my copy of the Tony Rice dvd in excellent condition a couple
of weeks ago, and it is permanently in my dvd player. What a great performer
Mr. Rice is. It is wonderful not only to hear him playing but also to hear him
talk in a very relaxed way about tuning, noodling? and his (wonderful) guitars.
I would also like to thank Mr. Traum for putting this great dvd together." -
Richard Pawlot, Netherlands
Tony Rice is perhaps the greatest innovator in acoustic flat-picked
guitar playing today. His output spans the range from straight-ahead bluegrass
to jazz-inflected "new acoustic" music. Over the course of his career
he has played and recorded with virtually every luminary in bluegrass, including
J.D. Crowe and the New South, The David Grisman Quintet, Norman Blake, Ricky
Skaggs, his brothers Larry and Wyatt Rice and the supergroup known as the Bluegrass
Album Band. His many solo albums and those with his cutting-edge group, The Tony
Rice Unit, have created new standards for the acoustic guitar. Today, Tony Rice
remains one of bluegrass' top instrumentalists, bringing originality, vitality
and mind-boggling virtuosity to everything he plays.