tommy emmanuel "only"

taylorman197 · #1 10-23-2009, 04:41 PM

i'm getting inspired to concentrate more on my guitar playing after seeing joost (jazzman, inc) in youtube playing his ryan nightingale. ordered a tommy emmanuel cd titled "only" and transcription on amazon, should be here by saturday. anyone here who knows how to play his music? i'm a pretty good rhythm player using a flatpick but haven't really tried fingerpicking. any advice other than don't get my hopes up learning the songs?

TBman · #2 10-23-2009, 08:06 PM

I don't have the most nimbliest of fingers, so take it from there, but his songs are on the tough side. Mombasa is the easiest one in that book, at least it was for me. There's one or two songs in it that he plays with a flatpick.

15 Man · #3 10-24-2009, 07:54 AM

Ok, I won't tell you not to get your hopes up since you requested it; but TE is pretty amazing. The great (and also not so great) thing about all his songs is that they are all in Standard or Dropped D tuning. The not so great part of it is that he's often (but not always) playing these otherworldly chords that are pretty amazing. He makes it look so darn easy when you watch him; but it's a different story when you try to duplicate what he's doing.

But this isn't stopping me either. I've been playing for close to 42 years; but other than Blues tunes, just got into other fingerpicking stuff several years ago. I've been working on "Those Who Wait" from the ONLY CD for at least six months; and so far I have just the first half of the first verse figured out. I've also been working on another one of his called "Angelina" with about the same results. I've also heard that "Mombasa" is easier than many of his other ones; but haven't checked it out yet.

But having said all that, I'll also tell you that working on his stuff has made me a better player overall (not that I was a lousy player). Working on his songs has opened my eyes - and ears - up to a few things I hadn't thought of before. Also working on some of his songs makes you appreciate even more what a great player he is. So keep at it and just remember to have fun.

ljguitar · #4 10-24-2009, 10:32 AM

Hi Tman197...
Don't ever let folks tell you not to get your hopes up or that you can/cannot play things. Inspiration leads to growth.

If Tommy's stuff is a bit out of reach, back up and learn from some more basic instructors/inspirers like Mark Hanson (accentonmusic dot com).

None of us when we began could play this stuff...many of us now do.

taylorman197 · #5 10-24-2009, 06:37 PM

great advices here. thanks! i guess like TE says, "those who wait"...

mmmaak · #6 10-25-2009, 12:09 AM

I am glad that there are so many songs that I cannot (yet) play. The guitar would be so boring otherwise!

GS8GLENN · #7 10-25-2009, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taylorman197

i'm getting inspired to concentrate more on my guitar playing after seeing joost (jazzman, inc) in youtube playing his ryan nightingale. ordered a tommy emmanuel cd titled "only" and transcription on amazon, should be here by saturday. anyone here who knows how to play his music? i'm a pretty good rhythm player using a flatpick but haven't really tried fingerpicking. any advice other than don't get my hopes up learning the songs?

Try learning Tommy's version of Billy Joel's.."And So It Goes"...it's really not that difficult to play. I am a huge Tommy fan...if you ever get the chance to see him live, by all means go. He really is a great guitarist and a wonderful performer. I found a tab for this song on his web site.. they have some great tabs there from a lot of the forum members.

Best wishes..tommy is inspiring..good luck.

www.tommyemmanuel.com

WCK · #8 10-26-2009, 04:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taylorman197

i'm getting inspired to concentrate more on my guitar playing after seeing joost (jazzman, inc) in youtube playing his ryan nightingale. ordered a tommy emmanuel cd titled "only" and transcription on amazon, should be here by saturday. anyone here who knows how to play his music? i'm a pretty good rhythm player using a flatpick but haven't really tried fingerpicking. any advice other than don't get my hopes up learning the songs?

Hello there, I have been trying to learn TE tunes for 1 year now, I have the tab book you mentioned, TE also got two others tab books "Mystery" and "Endless Road" which are the transcription for his CDs. I would like to recommend his tutorial "Emmanuel Labour" DVD to you - he explained and slow down some of the tunes in "Only" (And others tunes) - from memory "Those who wait", "Mombasa" and "Drivetime" are included.

Cheers

usb_chord · #9 10-27-2009, 10:04 AM

Just like with anything else, if you're determined enough, you can do it. Good luck.

dodge · #10 10-27-2009, 11:12 AM

I have "those who wait" down pretty good now. When I first started to learn it I thought no way can I do this but I practised feverishly. I also used some lessons from youtube to help to, along with the tab book this young guy's videos are quite helpful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV7Dk5Ri1XU

taylorman197 · #11 10-27-2009, 05:40 PM

wasn't able to practice this weekend. my 4 year old kept me busy. nice advices here though. i'll check the video links when i get the chance, thanks to all. seems like there are a lot of TE fans here in AGF. i'm new here, it's a nice forum...

SpruceTop · #12 10-27-2009, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taylorman197

i'm getting inspired to concentrate more on my guitar playing after seeing joost (jazzman, inc) in youtube playing his ryan nightingale. ordered a tommy emmanuel cd titled "only" and transcription on amazon, should be here by saturday. anyone here who knows how to play his music? i'm a pretty good rhythm player using a flatpick but haven't really tried fingerpicking. any advice other than don't get my hopes up learning the songs?

What you could focus on is how Tommy plays his songs as a guide and you'll find that doing certain passages your way, while preserving the essence of his work, will make your rendition more personal and you may be able to do it easier too. Just a suggestion.

Regards,

Sprucetop

SlimPickins · #13 10-28-2009, 01:06 PM

The TE DVD that really helped me a lot is "Up Close". He has a good variety of TE styles including some of the old traditional fingerpicking such as Freight Train, Bye Bye Blackbird, & Who's Sorry Now.

Hope it helps...... good luck.

(Oh yeah, check out his version of Imagine by John Lennon. Great song and one of the easier ones to play by him that I've found)

TBman · #14 10-28-2009, 04:32 PM

I can't find my TE Only tab book. This thread got me interested in taking another shot at some of his songs. I'll find it. It has to be around somewhere, LOL.

DrDavid · #15 10-28-2009, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dodge

this young guy's videos are quite helpful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV7Dk5Ri1XU

OT : Yes, this young fellow is a real talent. But....am I correct in perceiving that his fingers are also like 4 times longer than any other human being's?