Next: Hammond says it himself, he is a singer that accompanies himself on the guitar with harmonica and tires to embellish the song. He clears up that he did not grow up with his father John Hammond Sr., and did not know of his fathers significance in the music business until going pro himself.
Read the other DVD review for some small idea about that mans' brilliant career. His father was a bloke with an ear for talent extrodinaire! Like you should read about!
Next they shows us classic Robert Johnson turnaround camera focus on thumb and 1st and 2nd fingers of right hand. 'Trying to learn to play is half the battle - you have to make the effort'. Plays Johnsons' Phonograph Blues in key of A. The some Blind Boy Fuller Piedmont NC things going on...still country blues. 33:15
John talks about making enough noise to, as a solo act, keep everyone's attention. He is like 3 performers in one, rhythm, harmonica, guitar. Plays cross harp E guitar = key of A harmonica. Plays Jimmy Reed song on harp and guitar slightly over blowing the harp to bend the note like he finally figured out Jimmy Reed did himself.
You can see what's going on with his hands in this one. This is like progressive acoustic blues guitar! Next we do a Robert Geddes tune with a minor harp feel using the A Harmonica but playing the guitar in Bm. He does play a Bm blues and harmonica over it and it is like two different people.
His rhythm work is more simple Chicago blues here ie. with a flat pick style which would make it less challenging for anyone but his harp playing is dynamic as all get out. There is no question that John is a superior guitar player and everything else too. A class act.
But, like I have said, for so many star featured guitar instructional DVDs, you as a student, need some foundation first. And commitment to the genre which you can build up to at your own pace in a more structured way and then come back and be a little less awed.
40:00 Happy pulls a few teeth and gets John to play some pentatonic notes in the Bm position. I don't thinks John even knows that terminology but how can he not?
45:00 This is pentatonic box ville, Blues scale and minor 9th chords. Uses unwound third string on his Hawaiian wood UK made Vinnie Smith custom guitar. 49:56 writing songs of his own. Bob Dylan, John Prine, Neil Young are old stomping ground buddies from whom it poured songs. More difficult for John he says.
Little Sun Jackson Texas blues style mentor 52:07 Time is just run out I come to find out 1:02. 1935 steel body National Resonator Guitar 1960 - Met Michael Bloomfield at 17 yrs old he was 18.
Michael introduced him to the blues scene where he knew and was invited up to play on stage with everybody. Met and was influenced by Big Joe Williams. Drop Down Mama in open A - a great song and a staple. This A tuning is nice too a Robert Johnson tuning. Walking Blues show us. Then goes to E tuning EBEGsBE 'Hell Hound on my trail' too
1:38 John Lee Hooker in standard tuning open A. Now we talking! He knew John Lee and was friends with him. So it winds down from here. Mentioning that when Chas Chandler, the bass player for the Animals invited Jimi Hendrix to England he was playing in the band with John Hammond. Wow! Happy was there too in the audience. Of great interest. I met John very briefly and have seen him at least three times. Twice solo and once with Bonnie Ryatt on the bill. John is a force of nature. In your search for his material remember to differentiate from his electric earlier works to his later acoustic solo work. I once scored three of his best records at a thrift shop record bin for 2 bucks each. The older releases are out of print.
The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it. – Chinese Proverb