https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgOk9-GP37k

I have a ten year old student named Asher. Asher is very enthusiastic about learning to play the guitar. Thanks to his grand parents and parents, he is very familiar with The Beatles catalogue. One day I asked him to do some research to find out which Beatle played the hot flamenco intro to The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill. He did his research, and told me that none of The Beatles played the intro (it was a trick question). The intro was on a recording (a loop) on an instrument they used called a mellotron (although a studio player did the recording for the mellotron maker. His name remains a mystery). Asher was intrigued with the instrument. I told him I owned one in the 70s. Well, that is half true, because I owned half, and Tommy Fisher, who was the singer/songwriter of the band, owned half.

I began reminiscing about the 70s when I was with the band Ocean. I am the worst about keeping old recordings. I have them, but they are in a sack or in the bottom of a box somewhere. So, I went the easy route. I called my old friend Tommy. He was happy to burn me some CDs of our recordings. We met for lunch and reminisced about the good o’ days.

Tommy played guitar and sang as I did. When we bought the Mellotron we didn’t have a keyboard player. Tommy suggested his nephew, Danny could learn. He was 15 or 16 at the time. He learned very fast and took to it like a fish to water. Tommy had a four track Teac reel to reel recorder. We recorded many songs over the next two years.

THE  SONGS:

Brian talks about Valley Of Decision:

This song reveals where my head was in 1977. Musically, I had been listening to progressive rock such as Genesis, Pink Floyd, and Yes. That is quite evident in the style of the song. I had a Gibson  SG that had only one pickup. We called it my ” bendable buddy” because I was always bending the neck and abusing it for effect. I used a Marshall half stack amplifier. I used those for all the tracks on the song.
At the time, I was trying to find myself spiritually. Like many young men, when they get interested in reading The Bible, I started reading The Book of Revelation, which is the last and most enigmatic of all the books. It is probably a good idea to start a book at the beginning instead of the end. I really knew nothing about theology or eschatology (I still don’t know much). Nevertheless, The Book Of Revelation  was the inspiration for the lyrics.

Brian Turner – guitar and vocals (lower voice)
Tommy Fisher- rhythm guitar and vocals (higher voice)
Danny Macfarland – mellotron and synthesizer
Virgil Anderson – drums
Al Acton – bass
Backing vocals – Trevor (Ace) Ben Feltner, Renee Feltner, Karrie Stefflen, Tanya Peacock, Virgil Anderson
Sound and lights- Trevor (Ace) Ben Feltner

Valley Of Decision
music and lyrics by Brian Turner

Tommy talks about View of Image:

When I wrote View Of Image, I too was searching spiritual things. In the quake of dawning (lyrics of the song) was the creation of the world by God. In the distant mood of light, God is light and he created the world. Have you ever heard the story is the Word of God. Have you ever heard the glory is God and in the wake of the night you will have wisdom, Is when you awaken out of your sin and discover God has been calling you all along. The storms are the storms of life and the peace is what God gives you when you turn to him. In the new day is when you’ve turned to him. Then you’re searching for a new way of life in a city of lonely structures you will not stand alone. And the last part in the new beginning you see a new way of life, all the things that the world forgot, and you see the earth that could be, to succeed what you were doing when you were lost.

Back then, I was pretty ignorant of spiritual things. So, I was just expressing it the only way I knew. That’s why I rewrote the song with more direct words and more accurate spiritual subject. And I changed the last part in the new beginning to be the kingdom of God coming.

Tommy Fisher- guitar and vocals
Brian Turner – guitar
Danny Macfarland – mellotron and synthesizer
Virgil Anderson – drums
Al Acton – bass

Brian talks about View Of Image:

I used my Gibson EDS 1275 double neck guitar for this intro. I slap could myself for selling it. I used my bendable buddy on all leads.

View Of Image
Music and lyrics by Tommy Fisher

While talking to Tommy I said, we may not have made the “big times” but, Lord knows we tried. Tommy was quick to point out that out of all the singers under the same management that we were under,  are all dead now except him, in fact, they all died young. Our manager was Tommy’s sister, Bonnie Lloyd, and a great manager she was! She managed to get us signed with Charles Stone and Cobblestone Productions. At the time we were with him, they also had Queen, Thin Lizzy, and Rick Nelson. But Charles Stone, before forming his own Productions call Cobblestone, was with Concerts West. He handled all of Elvis’s production. He was personal friends with Elvis and even had a TCB necklace that Elvis gave him. Rick Nelson was killed in and airplane crash flying to a gig in Dallas that we had shared with him the previous year.

I was with Ocean from 1976- 1979. Those few years have so many memories. We were a group of young men with big dreams. We worked hard. We rehearsed and recorded almost everyday. Tommy, Danny, and I do not see each other often, but we have created a bond that endures. Al and Virgil left town many years ago and we haven’t seen them since.  Out of the five members, four of us were baptized into the christian faith by an evangelist named Dennis Evans in a cow tank in his front yard. The years in Ocean paved the paths for where we are today.

Pictures of Ocean

What does Black Water, by The Doobie Brothers, Cinnamon Girl, by Neil Young, and Going To California by Led Zeppelin have in common? All three songs were played on the guitar in double drop D tuning. To achieve double drop D tuning we tune both E strings, string 1 and 6 down to D. This is a great open tuning that is used by many acoustic players.

A You Tube subscriber asked:

Hello sir! do you have a lesson on the numbers? for example you mentioned Root 3, 5 for the C chord. What does that mean?

Hi Wilner, Good question. I discuss intervals briefly (too briefly) in this cuatro video (about 2/3 into it):

But, I presume you play guitar. I should do a video on intervals because it is one of the most important concepts you will need for guitar. Interval are the notes of the major scale. There are seven notes in the major scale (cdefgab). Each note is given a number name (1234567). All notes are identified as intervals (numbers). For example, the note G is a 5th interval. G# (a note one fret higher) is called a #5 (pronounced sharp 5). Chords are constructed from intervals. For example, 1 3 5 = C major triad. I have tons of materials I use for my students you are welcome to use. Here is one on the subject of intervals:

http://www.guitarlessonsbybrian.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/improvising1.pdf

This is guitar goodies with hundreds of pages I use to teach:

http://www.guitarlessonsbybrian.com/home/guitar-goodies-by-brian-turner/ I hope this helps and keep picking!

I discuss interval in more detail in my book:

How To Play Guitar: Introduction

My student, Tom, asked me a question about guitar pedals recently and I thought I would use the opportunity to share it with y’all.

What pedals should I use?

Tom: We were looking at pedals yesterday at a music store and were totally lost. Do you have any recommendation? Are there jazz pedals, blues pedals etc. and how does the amp ( Fender Blues Jr) affect the decision?

Me: Traditional jazz players usually do not use pedals at all. They might use a touch of reverb which is usually built into the amp. Does your fender amp have reverb? I believe it does.
Everybody else uses pedals. I use two, sometimes three.

Digital delay is the most essential. I would get one of those first. I use the MXR Carbon Copy but any of the major brands such as Boss and Ibanez are good. You can do many things with a delay. The most obvious is echo. You can get as many or as few echoes as you like. By adjusting the settings you can make the guitar sound like it is in a big hall or a cave. You can create harmony by playing in time with the echo. A good example is Brian May of Queen. He did an instruction video in the 80s illustrating his use of echo. Another example is Edge, of U2, he uses delay on everything. You can also get a slap back effect that is used for country and rockabilly.

I also use a Boss chorus. It’s hard to describe what a chorus does. You just have to hear it. It sounds like doubling the guitar. There are probably some examples on YouTube. You can simulate chorus also with the MXR Carbon Copy.

The third pedal I use is an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer. It is very popular because SRV used it. The Tube Screamer is what is known as an overdrive pedal, similar to a distortion pedal. It is preferred by blues players more than a distortion pedal because it doesn’t distort as much. The idea is to simulate overdriven tube amplifiers turned up loud, which is the sound of the classic rock such as Clapton, Hendrix, and Page.

Rock players, and especially heavy rock players, prefer distortion pedals. Boss makes a variety of distortion pedals. You might prefer distortion pedals because you can get a lot of distortion or you can roll it back to simulate an overdrive pedal.
The Boss distortion pedals are good, but there are a lot of varieties. You may want to try some to see which sounds best to your ears. You can’t go wrong with Boss pedals. They cost a little more but you get what you pay for.

The Wah wah pedal is a lot of fun. Dunlap makes a good Wah wah pedal. That is the sound you hear on the intro to voodoo chile by Hendrix.

The compression pedal is popular with studio recording musicians and country players because it keeps the signal constant, not to loud and not too soft. That is another pedal that is hard to put in words. You may want to go on You Tube to hear one. Michael Oldfield uses heavy compression and has a great sound. There is a concert on You Tube of him performing the Tubular Bells 2 album. It is awesome!

Keep in mind that pedals effect the tone of your guitar and amplifier. Once upon a time I had a chain of about six or seven. Over the years I tossed out one at a time because it does something to the tone of your amplifier.

Having a nice guitar and amp is the first priority which I think you have that.

A salesman might try to sell you a multi-effects pedal that supposedly does everything. I have never liked them because they mess up your tone in my experience. You usually find two or three sounds that you like. All the other sounds are impressive at first but they usually sound kind of cheesy. You don’t see a lot of pros using them.

As a performing musician, remember, with each pedal, gadget, connection, and chord, you increase the chance of problems on stage while the audience is staring at you. Also, if you perform a lot, it increases your set up and break down time. I like to keep things as simple as possible. It still takes me an hour to set up my gear at a gig and I always add on 30 minutes extra in case I have a technical problem.

But, keep in mind that I’m an old-school guy. This is all just my taste.
To summarize, I would get the MXR Carbon Copy and a distortion or overdrive second. They are the essential pedals. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

I hope this helps. Jam on!
Brian Turner

I am continually asked, “Who is the greatest guitarist in the world?” The question is like asking someone what is the prettiest color. I would say blue, but, as soon as I do, someone will want to argue that red is prettier.  Everyone has different tastes and preferences. Some of my favorite guitarists aren’t even listed in greatest guitarists articles that are seen online or in magazines. And, some that are listed, do not appeal to me at all. Having said that, let us narrow the field, and ask, “Who is the greatest living guitarist?” Many people would say, and I would not argue with them, that Tommy Emmanuel is the best guitarist living. I have seen him live three times and he is like none I have ever seen. I have heard a couple people say Doyle Dykes is The King, but I have not seen him live.

I have compiled a list of my favorite guitarists. I have listed my favorite four from each decade since 1930’s. If yours isn’t listed, my apologies, they are my favorite.
The Greatest… I Mean, My Favorite Guitarists

 
 
1930s
Django Reinhardt (Hot Club Of France)
Charlie Christian (Benny Goodman Orchestra)
Oscar Aleman
Robert Johnson

1940s
Freddie Green (Count Basie)
Oscar Moore (Nat King Cole)
Herb Ellis
T_Bone Walker

1950s
Les Paul
Chet Atkins
Joe Maphis
Muddy Waters

1960s
The Beatles
Jimi Hendrix
Joe Pass
Nokie Edwards (The Ventures)

1970s
Jeff Beck
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
Steve Howe (Yes)
Steve Hackett (Genesis)

1980s
Steve Morse
Eric Johnson
Phil Keaggy
Adrian Belew

1990s
Danny Gatton
Michael Hedges
John Jorgenson (especially his gypsy jazz shows)
Leo Kottke

2000s
Tommy Emmanuel
Doyle Dykes
John Pizzarelli
Howard Alden

Watch Tommy on You Tube: Tommy Emmanuel performing Guitar Boogie.

Visit my web site:
guitarlessonsbybrian.com

Or, email me with any comments or questions.:
brian@guitarlessonsbybrian.com

Thanks for your support!
Brian Turner

Every Friday and Saurday night. Music of the Southwest and the greatest songs of the 20th century.

Brian Turner
Performing in Kingwood

The new Tularosa Southwestern Grill offers great food, drinks, and LIVE MUSIC.  Brian Turner will be performing from 6:30 till 9:30 as shown below.  The Tularosa Southwestern Grill is located at 1522 Kingwood Dr., (at the location formerly known as Ninfa’s.)

Fri. Aug. 5, Brian Turner
Sat. Aug. 6 Brian

Fri. Aug. 12, Brian
Sat. Aug. 13 Brian

Fri. Aug. 19, Brian
Sat. Aug. 20, Brian

Fri. Aug. 26, Freddy Duran
Sat. Aug. 29 Freddy
Sun. Aug. 30 Freddy
tularosa-swgrill.com/
Tularosa Southwestern Grill
guitar lessons by brian for more details