Quote:
Originally Posted by TBman
I have that and his two DVD set of Fingerpicking Freedom. This stuff is great, the only problem I have is that I start going off on tangents experimenting with the stuff on on DVD that I forget about the DVD! .
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Like you, Barry, I also find myself going off on tangents with Toby's lessons. I have reached many plateaus where I know what technique or sound I want to achieve, can see it in his tab, and listen to it being demo'ed, but can't get there at the moment. Then, life gets in the way and that initial drive to get off the plateau has been lost.
Toby's lessons are a distillation of weekend or week-long workshop. There's no way that the average joe can master the material in a short time. And really, to grok the whole thing might take a year or more. I've said it before: if you can find a way to do a live workshop with Toby, you will be amazed at the progress you will make because the lesson will truly be tailor made for you and your playing level.
"Blues Fingerpicking Freedom 1 and 2" still top my list of favorite lessons; "Band in the Hand 1 and 2" a very close second (if not equal). "Bringing Out the Bounce" is also on my top list as is "Fingerpicking Hank Williams". But this is just me. Every lesson that Toby has written has a little something that you can incorporate into your own style. When you hear Toby perform, you will quickly realize that every song he performs also has something a little different: Toby uses his extensive toolkit well. And, because the toolkit is so extensive, it can be daunting to the beginning or intermediate player.
But, gradually, I have accumulated a few of his tools. I went back into "Blues Fingerpicking Freedom" last night to play around with G6 tuning and it was like I had just unlocked another level in a video game... when did that happen?
So Lowrider, keep plugging away and keep trying to imitate that sound (remember, it's not the technique you use, it's the resulting sound you are looking for). With luck, sometime soon your ears will change and you'll really hear the music in a totally different way. When that transformation happens, the world is your oyster.
Best,
Rick