Hello!... and 2 questions regarding Awful Pretty lesson...?

smogfalls

Hi guys, I'm new here. My name is Alex Farran, I'm 26 and I live in Nottingham, England. I have been playing guitar since I was 7 years old, and I now teach guitar for a living aswell as gigging with a few bands.

Back in November one of my students was heading to New York so I told him he simply HAD to go check Jim out at the Living Room, he did, he loved the show and he got Jim's autograph for me! (Jim told him it was worth a few free lessons from me!).

I've only fairly recently gotten into the more country side of jazz and I'm really enjoying learning more about this style of playing. Jim Campilongo is my favourite guitarist on the planet, along with Marc Ribot. I've downloaded a couple of Jim's lessons and I'm extremely tempted by the "Awful Pretty, Pretty Awful" lesson... I love this tune so much and they playing is effortless and absolutely beautiful. My questions before downloading are as follows;

1. Does the lesson also cover the concepts/ideas behind some of the phrases?
2. Is it literally note for note, as in; the whole song. Because there are some lovely lines towards the end that I'd really like some insight into.

Thanks in advance, this forum seems like a great place and I hope to become a contributing member.

Take care,
Xan

TheRightHandMan

Hi Xan,

I'm actualy learning this lesson right now! When Jim says "Note for Note" he meanse it. You should be able to play this just like Jim if you want to and practice it enough.

As he goes through the various sections he does explain the various concepts/ideas and chords he is playing over and explains the notes in the context of the chord etc. I think he is very thorough in explaining what and why he is doing certain things. I'm really enjoying this lesson and feel like I'm really getting inside of the song as I'm learning it.

Hope that helps you decide.

Best,

William

smogfalls

Thanks so much William, I'm gonna go ahead and order this lesson later on this afternoon. Really looking forward to this. So far I've done Panhandle Rag, Bb Jazz Blues concepts and F Jazz Blues also. Really enjoyed those and felt like I learned alot from them.

Thanks again mate,
Xan

smogfalls

Just made the purchase, will get on with this in the morning... can't wait!
Thanks,
Xan

jakeherring

i got this lesson some months ago and it is absolutely stellar! William is correct, it's note for note and includes the info for the rhythm. you made a wise choice, my friend. i've also purchased When You Wish Upon a Star, Prettiest Girl in New York, and Twister. what am i rambling about... it's Jim Campilongo... you won't go wrong with any of them!

i had the honor of meeting Jim in Pittsburgh and he was so kind as to sign the back of my Telecaster with a paint marker.

so did you ever pony up on those free lessons?! ; )

JimCampilongo

the pony has stalled ;v) ... but I will get something up soon! Thanks for all the kind words...

smogfalls

i am so glad I downloaded this lesson, haven't had as much free time to spend on it as I had hoped, but I've just got past Solo over A1 & A2 & B section... this is such a beautiful and fun piece to play... I'm absolutely in love with it! I've always loved this tune, but playing it makes me appreciate it that much more.

Jim, thanks for meeting one of my students and signing that flyer for me! You are a true gent.

Xan

smogfalls

Hi guys, sorry to bring up an old topic, but thought I would post a link to me playing Awful Pretty at a gig last year with one of my students. (i organise "guitar club" gigs in my village to give my students a chance to get on stage and perform)...



Thanks for the lesson Jim, it was a great one to learn and I'm still playing it one year on!
Cheers,
Xan

NerdDiamond

Thanks for posting the video. I've bought a few lessons from Jim ( Twister, Playing The Blues, PTB Nailing The Changes...etc), and have been having trouble with this one. When I bought Twister I made lots of progress FAST, but I'm having trouble with the beginning to APPW. Any advice on how to nail the first few bars of the song?

JimCampilongo

Hi Nerd - Thanks for buying the lesson... What exactly is giving you trouble?

NerdDiamond

Hi Jim,
Those "sweep" licks that are part of the main theme are proving difficult. I know it's a case of practice, but I'm finding it hard to achieve the finesse you demonstrate in the lesson (even when you're playing very slowly). I'm more than competent at travis picking, and just started up hybrid picking, but that particular "chop" is not in my bag of tricks. I have tomorrow off work so I plan on dedicating the day to getting it right. Thanks for your interest in my progress, the great tunes, and this forum. You're definitely one of the good guys.

And on a side note,thanks for introducing me to the music of Jimmy Bryant, and Speedy West. You're right when you say that Telecaster and Pedal Steel are a classic combo! I'm meeting with a friend of mine this week who plays steel and we're going to jam out with their records.