I wonder why so less people asking for vibrato. Since I heard Fire and Water of Free played by Fil I was totally crazy about this intensive vibrato. It’s a pitty that Fil remove his vibrato video and Fire and Water from this webside.
If i try to copy it is more a shaking the neck in my hand then the “guitar doesn’t move” thing like Fil called it in his ACDC Playing tips video. I tryed out so much, from position of my hand and fingers to whatever and it start to sound right and become better and better but i feel like beginner when I see the rotating hand of Kossoff. So Fil, my suggestion: Do you can you open a topic where the sd community can discuss there vibrato techniques and experiences or can create a new vibrato lesson? thank you
I concur. I did say it several times – that the vibrato is super important to me – but I understand it may be considered as a last thing on which to work. Notes first, vibrato second.
To me, even if I just knew three notes, I’d love to be able to vibrate those three the way I hear them in my mind (Kossoff-Young).
But I think that when I was younger, this is not what I had in mind, I simply didn’t conceive it this way yet.
Vibrato takes years to develop, because it is another one of those things you sing in your head. You need to develop your sound in your head first, as it is strongly connected to timing (vibrato and timing are strongly related that is).
Once I will have dominated the matter of the Schaffer Vega Diversity and the main sound of AC/DC of those years (1978-1983) I most certainly dedicate more than one full in depth video to the matter. 🙂
Awesome Fil and thankyou,you have great timing and feel and tone , your videos are very helpfull and I love the website and the dedication to acdc, acdc inspired me to firstly love blues and rock and then to play guitar and since then Ive explored everything from country to blues to hard rock and some metal but blues is the underlying passion to it all for me ,keep up the good work Fil and rock on,Al Gibson (Australia)
Fil, man I gotta say this. You have an amazing style and feel for the blues. At the same time, throwing in a little harder rock feel. It just works. Perfection in this style has been nailed by you.
Fil, scusa eh…le tablature di questo blues non è che le puoi scrivere e gentiiiilmente allungarcele ? Senza non riesco proprio a impararla ! Ciao ciao
Lorenzo
Well this comment touched me. It touched me. I don’t know why, but I am foolishly and childishly attached to Texas. Always been. Must be because I was born there, but you touched me. Thank you
TIMING is the rule number one. This changed my way of playing rock’n’roll. Now I play in a different mode. As the blues. Play what you feel in that moment. You can play the same box in different ways according to what you feel… timing tells your brain, your heart, your fingers what to play and how to play, you and your guitar become one thing. Vibrato and bendings are different every time… you feel!
Splendid writing. Also, I meant to thank you for all you wrote in the past days. I always read everything – via email I’m forwarded all the comments – but I’m working hard on a few things (real life job and music-wise) these days and my time to answer comments here it’s littler these days. Also, your English is excellent. Yours, Fil 🙂
Fil,
I’ve just read your story, story behind your studio… at first I just thought you’re one of those well-off men, who show themselves off (why shouldn’t they when they have such skills) but man, you completely blew me away. On some other site I saw your family – a beautiful wife and your AC/DC kid. I don’t know many players with THIS passion for playing as well as for life.
YOU should be the idol of nowadays youth, not that Bieber, son of a bitch.
I know you have already read dozens of these comments – you fully deserve them and I don’t know if you’re not so fed up that you even didn’t read this, but let me tell ya: You ROCK man!
Not only I’m not fed up by the smallest bit (I’m loving it more than every) but also, I’m very thankful to the people like yourselves. It is true I give it all, but it is also true that I am enormously enriched by comments and relationships – though virtual, still pleasing – with folks like you. Thank you, from my heart 🙂
I could listen to this all day, great track. You’ve got the skills and the heart to really play guitar like few others can. Hopefully some day I will be somewhere near where you are.
Let me thank you for this major “gasoline” that you’re giving to me. My certainty is that you will be there and beyond. It’s not about the scales, the speed-ness ( 😛 ) or other things like that. It’s about the passion and how you translate it into any music. You know what is the technique to translate passion into music? Prepare to be surprised: it’s the TIMING. It’s not the notes, it’s not the scales. It’s the damn timing, the single most difficult thing for a human being to grab. The freaking timing is KING. I strive, strive and strive to play with some interesting timing. The suffering on my face mainly relates to my un-human efforts to get it in timing. My body movements – as embarrassing as they might seem to anyone – only relate to that effort. IF you grab this concept – which is mandatory to communicate to others anything, even in human speech the timing with with you say things (THEN comes choice of words and “tone” of voice) is very important. Food for thought, I think 🙂
PS this whole interwebz site (solodallas.net) could be justified by the single concept of timing. If – IF – I am able to transfer that concept alone, we will all be better musicians. Everything goes back to that single thing, really. Even when I started youtube, foolishly, the timing – if you recall – was what I was stressing most all of the time. I learned it from AC/DC and Free, as I had NO whatosever timing. I sucked balls at timing. Funny, no?
Interesting, most of the time I’ve focused on studying the scales, patterns, and runs Angus does thanks to your videos. Timing would explain it, when I try to make a solo up it isn’t nearly as good as something I’ve already learned. However, I do believe you need to master scales and the understanding of the beast before the timing. I still can’t really “link” my boxes together in a solo, (i.e. how Angus changes from the A scale up to the E, then to a D scale in the Hell’s Bell’s solo.) I understand which ones are good choices to go to, but how to connect them, I don’t know. I’ll work on my timing, but for the time being I’m just gonna have fun jamming out to some tracks. I do agree with your “why I do it” post, standing up really makes you feel it better. (And makes you have a lot more fun, even if I’m not the best guitarist in the world it is very fun to act like angus, even if you mess up. It’s an art, isn’t it?)
The way I am starting to see it, especially about Angus and a few other “self taught” players, is that they linked the boxes via a “inner melody” in their head. Let me explain better. When doing solos – it’s solos we’re talking about here I guess Ben – I noticed that in INTERESTING solos there is always some kind of melody that gets stuck in your head. It works like that for me at least. Meaningful solos are not just scales played well, even in timing: there’s a melody with a consequential meaning that is the underneath glue for all of it. So what I tried doing was in fact to play the solos, not the scales. That way, I got to learn how and where they use to tie the boxes with/at. Still, when not played meaningfully (i.e., timing and then other nuances, such perfecting the way the finger and the pick touch the string – naturally – and vibrato, it’s modulation, … ) even those solos – still being accurate 100% to the original thing – don’t sound right. Naturally, this is because the hand, mind and whole body have to grow together and blend in at the unison to do it right. I was rehearsing Hells Bells last night. This time I really have all the notes down 100% like never before, but I am striving (my hand is super sore this morning) with the timing and touch on it. I am re-listening to what I recorded last night and while I am getting there, I am not THERE yet. It’s just one of those times (it’s always like this for me actually) where you reckon how great he was
I know how you feel. Every time I try playing a solo and do well, I feel great. Then I go listen to whole lotta rosie and realize that Angus is a master of the guitar. I guess that happens when you’ve been playing guitar all your life. You may not feel like you’re quite “there” yet, but if you ain’t there, you must be darn close. When I watched your hells bells solo lessons on youtube (Learned that solo on Easter, talk about irony), I feel just the raw power of your playing. It’s definitely very good. Before I ever found your videos I just learned songs on guitar with tabs, and didn’t really work with other parts of the guitar, really trying to understand and feel it. Then I come upon you, and all of your videos. You are the player that changed the way I play. I don’t use an electronic tuner anymore, I don’t use tabs. I listen now, and I study. I don’t think I could ever thank you enough for what your youtube videos, which may not seem like much, really do. Thank you, Fil.
Yes, many famous guitarists(and not famous for that part to) just go by their ears when they learn, some of them simply cannot read note papers(myself included), so they go by ear and feel instead, notes are great, but if you can’t memorize them it’s not a big deal, you can then put alot of effort into trying to go by ear and feel and learn that way 🙂
It’s SO much easier than you think. The notes are the usual ones. The boxes are the usual ones (by the way, YES, we’ll be covering those boxes with a tutorial, finally). The only thing is that I am bending and playing the notes with intention and timing. That IS really all of it. There is no secret. Sure, it’s a pain. See me move like an idiot for THAT reason: if I play sitting on a chair, you’d be getting half of the good juice because simply, it wouldn’t come out of me that way. Moving instead helps me coordinate my goof body and also gives me additional strength to bend AND vibrate. Those are a pain, the bendings with vibratos.
paul17
Posted at 21:51h, 01 AugustI wonder why so less people asking for vibrato. Since I heard Fire and Water of Free played by Fil I was totally crazy about this intensive vibrato. It’s a pitty that Fil remove his vibrato video and Fire and Water from this webside.
If i try to copy it is more a shaking the neck in my hand then the “guitar doesn’t move” thing like Fil called it in his ACDC Playing tips video. I tryed out so much, from position of my hand and fingers to whatever and it start to sound right and become better and better but i feel like beginner when I see the rotating hand of Kossoff. So Fil, my suggestion: Do you can you open a topic where the sd community can discuss there vibrato techniques and experiences or can create a new vibrato lesson? thank you
by the way this my first comment;-)
SoloDallas
Posted at 12:04h, 02 AugustI concur. I did say it several times – that the vibrato is super important to me – but I understand it may be considered as a last thing on which to work. Notes first, vibrato second.
To me, even if I just knew three notes, I’d love to be able to vibrate those three the way I hear them in my mind (Kossoff-Young).
But I think that when I was younger, this is not what I had in mind, I simply didn’t conceive it this way yet.
Vibrato takes years to develop, because it is another one of those things you sing in your head. You need to develop your sound in your head first, as it is strongly connected to timing (vibrato and timing are strongly related that is).
Once I will have dominated the matter of the Schaffer Vega Diversity and the main sound of AC/DC of those years (1978-1983) I most certainly dedicate more than one full in depth video to the matter. 🙂
Alby
Posted at 17:24h, 15 JulyAwesome Fil and thankyou,you have great timing and feel and tone , your videos are very helpfull and I love the website and the dedication to acdc, acdc inspired me to firstly love blues and rock and then to play guitar and since then Ive explored everything from country to blues to hard rock and some metal but blues is the underlying passion to it all for me ,keep up the good work Fil and rock on,Al Gibson (Australia)
Matthew T.
Posted at 18:04h, 19 MarchFil, man I gotta say this. You have an amazing style and feel for the blues. At the same time, throwing in a little harder rock feel. It just works. Perfection in this style has been nailed by you.
Devil'Fingers"
Posted at 19:26h, 22 DecemberBlues is the thing!
Timvo
Posted at 10:35h, 17 Novemberman… I love it 🙂
GibsonGuy
Posted at 13:35h, 02 NovemberNice Man, Love it! Sounds a liitle like SRV (Texas Flood) when you’re in the Box, just a few notes!
Nice Site too by the way!
You’re an Awesome Guitarist !
Bertaz
Posted at 14:54h, 23 OctoberFil, scusa eh…le tablature di questo blues non è che le puoi scrivere e gentiiiilmente allungarcele ? Senza non riesco proprio a impararla ! Ciao ciao
Lorenzo
jcobb785
Posted at 20:41h, 19 Octobersimply awesome…you make texas proud fil
SoloDallas
Posted at 21:44h, 19 OctoberWell this comment touched me. It touched me. I don’t know why, but I am foolishly and childishly attached to Texas. Always been. Must be because I was born there, but you touched me. Thank you
Chabum1970
Posted at 04:18h, 03 SeptemberTIMING is the rule number one. This changed my way of playing rock’n’roll. Now I play in a different mode. As the blues. Play what you feel in that moment. You can play the same box in different ways according to what you feel… timing tells your brain, your heart, your fingers what to play and how to play, you and your guitar become one thing. Vibrato and bendings are different every time… you feel!
SoloDallas
Posted at 04:23h, 03 SeptemberSplendid writing. Also, I meant to thank you for all you wrote in the past days. I always read everything – via email I’m forwarded all the comments – but I’m working hard on a few things (real life job and music-wise) these days and my time to answer comments here it’s littler these days. Also, your English is excellent. Yours, Fil 🙂
doltcha
Posted at 15:32h, 22 AugustFil,
I’ve just read your story, story behind your studio… at first I just thought you’re one of those well-off men, who show themselves off (why shouldn’t they when they have such skills) but man, you completely blew me away. On some other site I saw your family – a beautiful wife and your AC/DC kid. I don’t know many players with THIS passion for playing as well as for life.
YOU should be the idol of nowadays youth, not that Bieber, son of a bitch.
I know you have already read dozens of these comments – you fully deserve them and I don’t know if you’re not so fed up that you even didn’t read this, but let me tell ya: You ROCK man!
SoloDallas
Posted at 16:05h, 22 AugustNot only I’m not fed up by the smallest bit (I’m loving it more than every) but also, I’m very thankful to the people like yourselves. It is true I give it all, but it is also true that I am enormously enriched by comments and relationships – though virtual, still pleasing – with folks like you. Thank you, from my heart 🙂
Hyce777
Posted at 04:10h, 20 AugustI could listen to this all day, great track. You’ve got the skills and the heart to really play guitar like few others can. Hopefully some day I will be somewhere near where you are.
SoloDallas
Posted at 04:14h, 20 AugustLet me thank you for this major “gasoline” that you’re giving to me. My certainty is that you will be there and beyond. It’s not about the scales, the speed-ness ( 😛 ) or other things like that. It’s about the passion and how you translate it into any music. You know what is the technique to translate passion into music? Prepare to be surprised: it’s the TIMING. It’s not the notes, it’s not the scales. It’s the damn timing, the single most difficult thing for a human being to grab. The freaking timing is KING. I strive, strive and strive to play with some interesting timing. The suffering on my face mainly relates to my un-human efforts to get it in timing. My body movements – as embarrassing as they might seem to anyone – only relate to that effort. IF you grab this concept – which is mandatory to communicate to others anything, even in human speech the timing with with you say things (THEN comes choice of words and “tone” of voice) is very important. Food for thought, I think 🙂
SoloDallas
Posted at 04:17h, 20 AugustPS this whole interwebz site (solodallas.net) could be justified by the single concept of timing. If – IF – I am able to transfer that concept alone, we will all be better musicians. Everything goes back to that single thing, really. Even when I started youtube, foolishly, the timing – if you recall – was what I was stressing most all of the time. I learned it from AC/DC and Free, as I had NO whatosever timing. I sucked balls at timing. Funny, no?
Hyce777
Posted at 04:25h, 20 AugustInteresting, most of the time I’ve focused on studying the scales, patterns, and runs Angus does thanks to your videos. Timing would explain it, when I try to make a solo up it isn’t nearly as good as something I’ve already learned. However, I do believe you need to master scales and the understanding of the beast before the timing. I still can’t really “link” my boxes together in a solo, (i.e. how Angus changes from the A scale up to the E, then to a D scale in the Hell’s Bell’s solo.) I understand which ones are good choices to go to, but how to connect them, I don’t know. I’ll work on my timing, but for the time being I’m just gonna have fun jamming out to some tracks. I do agree with your “why I do it” post, standing up really makes you feel it better. (And makes you have a lot more fun, even if I’m not the best guitarist in the world it is very fun to act like angus, even if you mess up. It’s an art, isn’t it?)
SoloDallas
Posted at 04:34h, 20 AugustThe way I am starting to see it, especially about Angus and a few other “self taught” players, is that they linked the boxes via a “inner melody” in their head. Let me explain better. When doing solos – it’s solos we’re talking about here I guess Ben – I noticed that in INTERESTING solos there is always some kind of melody that gets stuck in your head. It works like that for me at least. Meaningful solos are not just scales played well, even in timing: there’s a melody with a consequential meaning that is the underneath glue for all of it. So what I tried doing was in fact to play the solos, not the scales. That way, I got to learn how and where they use to tie the boxes with/at. Still, when not played meaningfully (i.e., timing and then other nuances, such perfecting the way the finger and the pick touch the string – naturally – and vibrato, it’s modulation, … ) even those solos – still being accurate 100% to the original thing – don’t sound right. Naturally, this is because the hand, mind and whole body have to grow together and blend in at the unison to do it right. I was rehearsing Hells Bells last night. This time I really have all the notes down 100% like never before, but I am striving (my hand is super sore this morning) with the timing and touch on it. I am re-listening to what I recorded last night and while I am getting there, I am not THERE yet. It’s just one of those times (it’s always like this for me actually) where you reckon how great he was
Hyce777
Posted at 04:40h, 20 AugustI know how you feel. Every time I try playing a solo and do well, I feel great. Then I go listen to whole lotta rosie and realize that Angus is a master of the guitar. I guess that happens when you’ve been playing guitar all your life. You may not feel like you’re quite “there” yet, but if you ain’t there, you must be darn close. When I watched your hells bells solo lessons on youtube (Learned that solo on Easter, talk about irony), I feel just the raw power of your playing. It’s definitely very good. Before I ever found your videos I just learned songs on guitar with tabs, and didn’t really work with other parts of the guitar, really trying to understand and feel it. Then I come upon you, and all of your videos. You are the player that changed the way I play. I don’t use an electronic tuner anymore, I don’t use tabs. I listen now, and I study. I don’t think I could ever thank you enough for what your youtube videos, which may not seem like much, really do. Thank you, Fil.
Carl Murray1997
Posted at 08:11h, 20 AugustEddie Van Halen said he never learned a scale. He played what sounded good to his ears.
OldSchoolRocker666
Posted at 08:23h, 03 SeptemberYes, many famous guitarists(and not famous for that part to) just go by their ears when they learn, some of them simply cannot read note papers(myself included), so they go by ear and feel instead, notes are great, but if you can’t memorize them it’s not a big deal, you can then put alot of effort into trying to go by ear and feel and learn that way 🙂
ar2619Rob
Posted at 10:03h, 18 AugustThat guitar sings clearly, so much “emotion and pain”, played with your whole self.
pbasslitedeluxe
Posted at 21:08h, 14 AugustSee brother, I’m not the only one who missed your blues, don’t forget the strat version, I miss that bend at 3:04
FjordMonkey
Posted at 12:32h, 14 AugustFil I fcking love your “boxes” you know what i mean…CAN YOU TEACH ME!!!!NAOW PLEASE!!
SoloDallas
Posted at 12:37h, 14 AugustIt’s SO much easier than you think. The notes are the usual ones. The boxes are the usual ones (by the way, YES, we’ll be covering those boxes with a tutorial, finally). The only thing is that I am bending and playing the notes with intention and timing. That IS really all of it. There is no secret. Sure, it’s a pain. See me move like an idiot for THAT reason: if I play sitting on a chair, you’d be getting half of the good juice because simply, it wouldn’t come out of me that way. Moving instead helps me coordinate my goof body and also gives me additional strength to bend AND vibrate. Those are a pain, the bendings with vibratos.
SchoolofRocknRoll
Posted at 12:19h, 14 Augustjust sounds like a saxophone
Ryley
Posted at 12:06h, 14 Augustaahhh the soul in ur playing is amazing Fil!