Squonk wrote:
Another way to learn, If you dont have anyone to play with (Guitar that is) like me, is to watch live music or even buy Live DVD's.
I kind of worked out Claptons "Wonderful Tonight" lead and solo, and was quite taken aback when I saw him do it on the "24 Nights" DVD, I had the fingering all wrong, but so easy to pick up from the Live concert.
What's the "right" fingering? I'm currently working on Richard Thompson song
1952 Vincent Black Lightning. I played a recording for my teacher. He worked out one way of playing it, I'd worked out another. His way involved a triple pull-off on the 1st string (play one note, pull-off the next 3 descending notes) and we decided to go this way because it was the only way to play it at the required speed (for mere mortals). So now we had two ways of playing it (once we'd worked out the tuning being used). Mine was easier in many respects but there was that one part where the only solution seemed to be the triple pull-off. We couldn't combine the two ideas because playing it my way would never get you into position for that triple pull-off.
Then a little later I got to watch the DVD - and there's Thompson doing it another way. Arguably a less efficient way as his way involves a double pull-off on the 1st string but then he has to get his third finger down on the 2nd string really quick - a movement that we'd eliminated.
All three sound pretty much the same - if you can work them up to the required speed.
It's worth studying the original version and the way that it's played because there may be some cleverness in reducing finger movement or in moving from one position to another in order to set another passage up. But there may well be more than one way to do it and in such cases your way and the star's way may be different but equally valid.
