[srick]

There was a sale at Stefan Grossman's website and so I splurged and got the rest of Ernie Hawkins videos. I am skimming through them and really have to complement Ernie on these lessons. Plus, each lesson is accompanied by a recording of RGD playing the song.

Ernie keeps hitting on the syncopation and the fact the Gary Davis was only playing with a thumb and a finger. Ernie also noted something that I had noticed - Gary Davis wears his thumbpick way down on or past the knuckle. This makes a big difference when you pop those strings; there's a lot more power in each stroke.

It will take years to go through these (and the other lessons that I have accumulated), let alone master them. But it's a lot cheaper than some other hobbies I can think of. If you haven't guessed, I rate Ernie Hawkin's RGD lessons "five picks!".

Rick