Danny Gatton: Strictly Rhythm Guitar

Anyone who is interested in learning the correct way to play rhythm guitar should look no further. The late great Danny Gatton was far above the musical plane that most mortals ever aspire, and here you can learn how to follow.His lessons are as fine as crystal--very rarely does he loose the train except to make a cool point--and he has obviously thought them out well in advance as he did with everything that surrounded his playing. Danny uses his fantastic rhythm section consisting of an amazing drummer and a doghouse bass player that burns down the house while simultaneously helping Danny to get his points across. And if this isn't enough, Arlen Roth--another smoker--gets up and plays lead. He even has his guitar tech join in at the end of the DVD and trade leads with Arlen while Danny holds down the rhythm chores as steady as a sea anchor holds a boat during a storm. Pay close attention all you shredders who believe playing rhythm is passe, you may find yourself taking that long overdue lesson in rhythm playing.The DVD format itself is well organized and the learner can take the lessons one episode at a time at both normal speed as well as at a snails pace. The instructional manual is also well anotated and helpfull.If you want to learn how to play rhythm like a master do yourself a favor and buy this DVD. Spend the time letting this warm, humble, and funny man show you the way to play magnificent rhythm guitar. There aren't many that can play like Danny these days and sadly he is gone forever. Fortunately for us mortals, we have a few rare gems like this DVD to remember him by. This is one of the few instructional tools that doesn't treat the artist as a star rather it shows him surrounded by and working with other artists to create real music.Buy this DVD and his telemaster DVD--Danny's intro capella is worth the price of admission alone. Then buy his 88 Elmira Street, Redneck Jazz, and Cruisin Deuces CD's. After living with and assimilating Danny's take on playing into your own style you may discover that you have a fresh and clearer perspective on playing our beloved instrument not to mention a fondness for one of the guitar's greatest players. This guy was THE REAL DEAL!If you trust my opinion and work hard, and I am not mistakenly speaking out of my respect and fondness for one of history's greatest players and one of my greatest mentors, in a few short years the people in the audience will begin to ask how you learned to play such fantastic and magical rhythm guitar.We, your dedicated students, miss you dearly Danny

There are a couple of things you should be aware of about Danny Gatton and this DVD/booklet: Danny Gatton was, of course, an amazing guitarist, but NOT a very good teacher, and he freely admits on both of his instructional DVDs that he knows WHAT to do and HOW to do it but he can't really EXPLAIN it, so it is incumbent upon the student to approach these lessons thoughtfully and analytically in order to get the most out of them. Having some knowledge of music theory (of which Gatton claimed he was totally ignorant) will help tremendously. For example, the very first lesson on this DVD ("two-note wonder" chords) is an absolute treasure-trove of musical information (in spite of its simplicity) IF you take the time to study it to find out why these chords work the way they do (and if you do so, you will not only learn a lot about comping, but you'll also realize how to incorporate this concept into your lead playing, commonly known as "double-stop" playing). In other words, instead of seeing these lessons as ends in-and-of-themselves, try to look for the underlying concepts involved, and you'll get a lot more out of this DVD. A careful study of the accompanying text helps a lot. In fact, there may be some value in studying the text first, and then watching Gatton demonstrate the technique. At any rate, a word of warning: the accompanying booklet transcribes these lessons in both standard musical notation as well as tablature; the standard notation appears to be correct throughout, but I found a number of errors in the tablature. Any guitarist who can only read tab is going to get seriously messed up and wonder why the hell things don't sound right. The publisher has done a disservice to the student by not proofreading more carefully.

This is really for fans of Gatton, not that useful as a teaching tool. 80's VHS blurriness combined with very poor choice in guitar (blingy glitter makes it hard to see) and camera angles where you pretty much have to guess what he's doing. But then again, it's Gatton so worth watching and listening on repeat. But more for just entertainment than education.

Gatton was a great player, and seeing this dvd shows how much a skilled player can do with a simple no frills guitar - he plays a Tele and gets sounds out of it like a Hammond B-3 organ, and shows power chords that he was apparently playing before Pete Townsend picked up a guitar. Also plays rhythms and melodies at the same time. When he has another player doing lead on his Tele, they are phenomenal. My only hesitation in recommending this is that there's not a lot of tab, and the camera doesn't focus closely enough on his fingers at times, so it's a little hard for me in several places. On the other hand, his lesson on Chuck Berry riffs is worth the purchase. Of all the guitar dvd's I've bought so far, I like Kenny Sultan and Ernie Hawkins the best. Hawkins has actual film of Lightnin' Hopkins and Mance Lipscomb, then Ernie shows it step by step, and he's a very effective teacher. I just ordered Warren Haynes and James Burton's dvd's, so don't know yet how they'll stack up.

This DVD is inspiring as well as being fun , which is a hard combination to find .I love rhythm guitar and pay close attention to it , but I need to work on it a lot more , hence buying this DVD . I like to see whether a band's guitarist can play rhythm in a tasteful way and if not , that tells me that they may not value it .Danny clearly does (or did) .As another reviewer put it , Danny shows how to work with other musicians and that is one of the most important things for me to see as I value it very highly - let's face it , it helps you to get work .A number of styles are shown - basically , it is a great lesson from a player who transcends 'ability' and is in a whole other realm .Very highly recommended .

Excellent instruction from one of the greats!

danny gatton, what can i say