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James Taylor's newest lesson


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Nice of him to do these.

His Christmas Carols sound so lame to me though..

 

But this song by him is a favorite.

I always said to my wife that the song reminded me of us.

 

 

When I hear this song, this early experience always comes into my head.

I used to go with a girl that loved James Taylor..she used to say I lookd like James Taylor.

Thats when I first heard a lot of his songs.

 

One day Im outside her moms flat & I see this girl walking by arm in arm with a guy..,and I was stunned, she was beautifull, but what struck me was she looked so damn happy.

They turned to go into the flat right next door, before going in, she turned & looked at me standing there,stunned.

She knew who I was.

This girl was in one of my classes in school.

I used to cut most of my classes..but I always went to that one class...to look at her.

Id have to say in my years in school, that was the most beauifull girl I've ever seen.

Anyway..from then on I said to myself THAT'S the kind of happiness I want...and from then on I got more selective.

Thank God I did.

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The fact that he straps two cameras on and in his guitar and makes videos on how to play some of his most popular songs free for the public, speaks volumes about the artist and the man.

 

He has such an extraordinarily unique playing style, attempting to play his songs from the smatterings of tabs out there has been one frustration after another as they never ever sound like James plays them. That is, until these videos. After watching his video on Fire and Rain, and practising it for over a month, I'm finally to the point where I can play it to sound about 80% the Taylor way. Of course there is no lesson to make your voice sound like his. I enjoy each and every one of his videos and savour them like they are fine wine... no ... chocolate.

 

Now that I can play Fire and Rain, Wandering, You Can Close Your Eyes, and Sweet Baby James, I was hoping he would do a video on Carolina In My Mind. I've tried many youtube lessons for this song, but nothing has clicked. It looks like Christmas has come early with this new video. I'll be working on this one for weeks. [biggrin] [biggrin] [biggrin]

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Love that he does these, wish I could take the time and have the patience, but whenever I try to sit down and do these my J-45 steals off in a different direction, a more familiar path, and away I go. He certainly has a wonderful style, someday I'll shut myself away and learn some of these moves.

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The fact that he straps two cameras on and in his guitar and makes videos on how to play some of his most popular songs free for the public, speaks volumes about the artist and the man.

 

He has such an extraordinarily unique playing style, attempting to play his songs from the smatterings of tabs out there has been one frustration after another as they never ever sound like James plays them. That is, until these videos. After watching his video on Fire and Rain, and practising it for over a month, I'm finally to the point where I can play it to sound about 80% the Taylor way. Of course there is no lesson to make your voice sound like his. I enjoy each and every one of his videos and savour them like they are fine wine... no ... chocolate.

 

Now that I can play Fire and Rain, Wandering, You Can Close Your Eyes, and Sweet Baby James, I was hoping he would do a video on Carolina In My Mind. I've tried many youtube lessons for this song, but nothing has clicked. It looks like Christmas has come early with this new video. I'll be working on this one for weeks. [biggrin] [biggrin] [biggrin]

 

http://www.jamestaylor.com/guitarlessons/

See lesson six on his website. It's Carolina In My Mind.

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Love that he does these, wish I could take the time and have the patience, but whenever I try to sit down and do these my J-45 steals off in a different direction, a more familiar path, and away I go. He certainly has a wonderful style, someday I'll shut myself away and learn some of these moves.

 

LOL....I know what you mean! I do the same thing-darn guitars have a mind of there own..............

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Just received this lesson too – and wanted to post it.

Then saw it was already done, great.

 

What I wanted to say was that I see some small paradox in the sublime method Taylor has found to show us what he does and the strange ways he takes those chords. Ahaaa, , , so obvious, , , then with a little confusion on the top -

 

No matter what, J.T. is the maestro – and that 5:26 mark is priceless.

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Yeah, this is very cool by the master. Seems like he's aging in a very graceful manner and seems to be very comfortable in his skin these days. Id like to learn some of his songs, but it seems this is still more 'advanced' fingerpicking, would love to learn Fire & Rain.

 

What do you guys think of the tone of his Olson as compared to the old J-50 ?

 

Very different guitars no doubt, never played an Olson but it striked me as a very responsive, sensitive creature.

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Yeah, this is very cool by the master. Seems like he's aging in a very graceful manner and seems to be very comfortable in his skin these days. Id like to learn some of his songs, but it seems this is still more 'advanced' fingerpicking, would love to learn Fire & Rain.

 

What do you guys think of the tone of his Olson as compared to the old J-50 ?

 

Very different guitars no doubt, never played an Olson but it striked me as a very responsive, sensitive creature.

I think it sounds terrific. Crisp, full and well balanced.

Have heard it before where it gave more overtones (if it wasn't another O. from the herd).

 

In this take the strings seem to be where they should be and the same goes for the player. He's so close to the instrument

 

Cedar top, if I'm not too far off, , , , and rose back'n'sides.

 

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As I'm working through this song with James teaching me, I find it fascinating how the Taylor "style" lends itself so nicely to guitar lessons. We've all seen video lessons before, but James' laid back attitude and simple, relaxed presentation make him an excellent teacher. He even 'vocalizes' a bit during the playing enough to keep us on track as to where we are in verse and chorus but not too much so it masks the sound of the notes.

 

I'm having a great deal of fun discovering all the nuances of this piece.

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