Sweet Chil....

57Deluxe · October 2014

I can't even be arsed to type the full title out let alone teach this..

So when a 14 yr old student of only 5x1 hr lessons mailed me to say can we learn this for next hour's lesson? - I replied:

Hi Charlie

...great song but, lousy lesson!

To be honest is a perfect example of 'style over substance' innasmuch as Slash pulls from his early guitar lesson days of CLASSICAL guitar and various repetitive scales to make up all the lead parts. The basic chord pattern is well, basic.

This isn't to say it is worth a stab and I have selected some of the better Youtube demos of each part. Be warned - this is hours and hours of meticulous and repetitive practice so attempt it in bite sized chunks.

Chords:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpMCxxL0bc0

Solo parts 1-5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP8FLbUbtHs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh_0uvKSnzk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3Df1x2h1a0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfFd7ayn7cY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjmRpQBUkD8

OK, now a good performance to watch his hands too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRy3e8sZB8o

We have something equally as enthralling to look at this week though...

See you Mon

++

Was this bad of me??

daveyh · October 2014

Yes.

Grunfeld · October 2014

Yes.

monquixote · October 2014

Yes.

Grunfeld · October 2014

Cos you could have said, "Awesome song! Let me show you how the first bit goes"

That would be ace, at 14 years old, to play the intro to SCOM.

Any guitar shop on a Saturday morning will verify this

57Deluxe · October 2014

...but his Mum comes to pick him up and wants to know that what we have done will form part of his GCSE in guitar... and he has a nylon acoustic... and she has the dosh...

ThePrettyDamned · October 2014

I think it would have been nice to tab out the intro for him, as that's almost certainly what he wanted.

If nothing else, it's a neat finger exercise. On a nylon, maybe not so much... But that might help him persuade his mum to buy him a proper leccy guitar

meltedbuzzbox · October 2014

Maybe a little harsh but very valid in my eyes, but im not 14 and hoping to get my slash on

I have this discussion with my father in law all the time, he goes to lessons currently. He is always complaining that the teachers he finds dont know all the songs he wants to learn. I personally feel if you are taking tuition to learn songs you might as well stay at home and hit the tabs. Lessons are about developing the basics, technique and introduction to styles (unless you are learning classical).

I'm sure you can explain a bit better at the next lesson

frankus · October 2014

57Deluxe said:

...but his Mum comes to pick him up and wants to know that what we have done will form part of his GCSE in guitar... and he has a nylon acoustic... and she has the dosh...

You know that's not what we want to know about his Mum.

mike_l · October 2014

He might be wanting to learn it to impress a young lady.

It might be his favourite song.

Slash might be his favourite player.

His mum might have said "If you learn SCOM, I'll give you £x".

You are being paid to teach him, so teach him what he wants to learn.

All seem like good reasons to teach him that song.

57Deluxe · October 2014

To be honest was a bit of a test of his dedication - to see if after my lead he actually goes off and tries it out for himself with the links... I will ask him to show me how far he has got.

BUT - you never form your tuition programme solely around what the student wants! First Rule!

Also I have already asked and his fave player is Ed Sheeran... and he doesn't have a girlfriend yet either -I tried that psychological carrot to make him practise more...

Panama_Jack666 · October 2014

It has that cool harmonic minor thing in the solo though so perhaps would be good to explain that if you want to add substance to a Sweet Child lesson.

RocknRollDave · October 2014

If I were to go for guitar lessons now, at the age of 41, I'd be looking for a structured regime with a solid theoretic backbone.

If I'd had that at 14, however, I wouldn't be sitting here typing about my guitar playing, as I'd have long since jacked it in.

The kid's 14, he wants to play SCoM, indulge him...If every lesson degenerates into "Teach me (insert ridiclous choice)" followed by "Teach me (insert another ridiculous choice)" and so on..then it's fair to say "Look, you'll learn more quickly if you get the basics down in a structured manner, and you'll do that quicker if you follow my set lessons" but which teen guitarist doesn't want to learn SCoM?

*cue endless posts saying "I didn't want to learn SCoM when I was a teenager....*

mike_l · October 2014

How about doing the theory behind SCOM whilst learning the song?

Show him the chord voicing, and the leads with the scales/licks used.

MatthewShreddery · October 2014

Nice way to put yourself out of business linking to youtube lessons...

RedRabbit · October 2014

I don't see much of an issue with the response assuming he's far enough along that he can begin tackling it by himself.

As long you are willing to help out during lesson time with any bits he might be struggling with I think it's a good way to get him to learn songs. Nothing wrong with encouraging a bit of independent study.

57Deluxe · October 2014

...turns out it was his Dad that made him ask!! His Dad apparently (according to Mum/ex wife) likes to think of himself as a bit of a player too... Strange then that he didn't show him how...

Anyway, after 20 mins fiddling with the intro he got bored and so did I, so we went back to learning something more suitable for his level at this time. At least he now knows that you have to put the time in to succeed.He went away with two classic 90s songs to thrash away at with all parts covered...

jellyroll · October 2014

He's had 5 lessons and you're telling him it's not worth learning because the chord progression is too basic?

57Deluxe · October 2014

no - am telling him the chord progression achievable as it is basic...

(I think you guys need to re-read my comments with a sense of irony!)

jellyroll · October 2014

I think you need to re-read your own comments. They're not ironic, they're just confusing. "Great song....lousy lesson...style over substance.....basic.... Isn't to say it's worth a stab(sic). .....oh, and here's somebody else's video lesson 'cause I can't be arsed......."

frankus · October 2014

57Deluxe said:

no - am telling him the chord progression achievable as it is basic...

(I think you guys need to re-read my comments with a sense of irony!)

Okay, provided you go back and read mine with a sense of elated whimsy.

... as a sign of dedication

thomasross20 · October 2014

Sweet Child, amazing song, responsible for getting me into guitar.. I learnt the whole album after a year of intensive playing - powerful stuff - and still magic today - never doubt the magic of this song!!

koss59 · November 2014

I teach a lot of people and believe your job is too inspire them. By showing you don't like his idol or his favourite song you've now distanced yourself from him and if he's anything like I was at that age he'll quit.

BloodEagle · November 2014

dick move

Rick · November 2014

Seems like you've rightfully made yourself redundant..

speshul91 · November 2014

Say what you want about slash he is the reason I started playing. I'm currently on my 2nd reading of his autobiography and he admits himself at times its just basic stuff he plays. As we used to say in the army: ours is not to question why.....

Sambostar · November 2014

Lazy kid, I was performing that solo at age 15 and I learnt it off the record, piece by painstaking piece, both through ear and repetitive newfound muscle memory. Although some photocopied tab helped too.

Anyway Slash is all about phrasing and timing and bends, slightly out, bad or whatever, I would imagine that it's actually quite difficult to teach his nuances and get them exactly right. If he did learn it, it would probably sound awful anyway.

If he quits, we all know he'll buy a PRS when he is a practicing dentist when he is 50 and get lessons on playing Joe Bonamassa so big deal.

Sambostar · November 2014

I wish I didn't try to fly before I could crawl too and my guitar teacher gave me loads of shit at that age, I wouldn't have dared ask him to teach me something like that as I respected that he was trying to ground me and it would have been a massive insult to his incredible knowledge and classical ability. Teachers should be bad, it weeds the ones out who aren't going to stick it and gives the rest a good wholesome widespread grounding. Or alternatively, keep yourself employed and sell degrees online. I like the nasty teacher angle better.

57Deluxe · November 2014

Well - interesting to see the 'players' and the 'students' amongst you!

FYI I got sent back a msg from his School Music Teacher regarding the requirements for him to take GCSE Music Guitar and funnily enough it didn't ask for SCOM anywhere! As he WANTS to take the GCSE, I think focus on fundamentals is more important at this stage...

"Charlie does not need to take and pass a graded exam but he does need to be at the standard of at least Grade 1 on a musical instrument in order to take GCSE Music. If Charlie takes the exam, he need only show me his certificate. If he does not take the exam, he will need to perform a piece for me at Grade 1 standard or above."

So currently we are learning the importance of Apoyando and Tirando and employing these fingerings for a few 1st octave scales and the first performance piece on the list below for Grade I accreditation!

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee301/snotmale/Webhosting/Grade1_zps08a718a4.jpg

PolarityMan · December 2014

57Deluxe said:

Well - interesting to see the 'players' and the 'students' amongst you!

That's a bit of a dick thing to say. I personally think it's more artistically valid to learn a song that you like and inspires you than to go through any of the turgid bullshit on the sheet snippet you posted. Maybe I'm a "player" rather than a "student" but at least I'm in a band writing and performing music that inspires me rather than taking out my bitterness on impressionable kids who are only starting their musical journey under the false authority of being a "teacher".

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