Added: 4 years ago
From: dschaub1015
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  • My dad made a deal with me saying if i could learn the solo for this in a year he would buy me an electric guitar. Can anyone send me to a link with a tutorial?

  • @heartsonguitar You can buy the DVD on Amazon. That is what I did.

  • Beautiful tone and touch.

  • Gee Rick you sure play tasty!

  • For anyone interested, my recorded work is available at CD Baby, iTunes, or my own site. (liondogmusic "dot" com)

  • cool

  • Thank you. This fortifies why this is one of my favorite guitar solos.

  • Damn fine work.

    Just when I think I'm getting good, I see something like this...

  • rick if he gets this, where do you live?

  • @knelledkismet Seattle, Washington

  • @RJRuskin im a singer who plays guitar, (from Maine). is there an rythm arrangement with the words and chord forms, without deciphering a bunch of tabs? i can do jazz chords, but this song has been eluding me for a long time. also im a flat picker. any suggestions would be great...

  • @knelledkismet I've never done one like that. I'm sure you can get the basic chord structure from any of the Steely Dan Anthologies.

  • @RJRuskin youve been kind for responding. ive got the chord changes, but the moveable chord forms on the chorus are always ommited. ive seen someone pull it off strumming chords. "ricki dont lose that number" bla bla bla bla bla bla bla, kinda down major minor major back minor major, then does it again later in the chorus higher. I'm sure your busy, i will find someone now that ive asked the universe. but if you have a moment of simplicity, post it for us...thanks. or just me ;)

  • Good GRIEF!!! I feel like Charlie Brown...GREAT STUFF!!!

  • This is really nice - I had a question for Rick - did you tab out a version of cincinnati flow rag - rev gary davis, in the 70's? If so, I learned it back then. I had a guitar teacher in san diego who was quite good, and had recommended your stuff in the 70's.

  • @jag766 I did a "TAB only" transcription eons ago.  I should still have copies in my archives. Was your teacher Brett Olinger or Russ Miller by any chance?

  • @RJRuskin Rick, that was a great transcription, i've played it for a long time. I remember seeing "Piano Rag" on the sheet. Yes, that had to be Brett Olinger at Blue Guitar. I lived in sd for many years, it had a great music scene during that time. Your playing still sounds great. Any possibility of getting a copy of that, whatever it costs you to get it, will reciprocate. I guess pm might be the way, thanks, jg

  • were can u buy or download the tab for this ????or buy the dvd in full iv been tryin to learn this for 9 months on an off still find it really hard

  • @deonneharborne 3 ways to get the TAB for this and everything else on the video: 1. With the video as a PDF. 2. In the booklet with the VHS versions that still remain (if anyone can still play that format.) 3. By purchasing the booklet alone(until the supply runs out) PM me if interested.

  • :53 - 1:03, pure musical bliss

  • Stahl! VERY nice. my alpha guitar is a Stahl Style 6 tribute by San Francisco luthier Alan Perlman. They do sing, don't they?

  • @jpcaed Ricky Don't Lose That Number by Steely Dan. However, IMO the best Steely Dan album (cd) was AJA --- check it out.

  • AW, FVCK IT...I QUIT!!!!!

  • Are you playing anywhere in SO CAL- or OC anytime soon?

  • @1canyonguy: I'm planning on being there next spring. You can get on my mailing list by visiting my site: liondogmusic "dot" com

  • omg...that guitar sounds sooooo good...way better then my Taylor 110

  • Simply magic. I could listen to you all day long Rick, this version is beautiful.

  • I wathced this DVD and Ruskin is simply great. I am also a fingerstyle acoustic player and he inspired me a lot, I believe he is a great teacher. And finally taht unique guitar 'Stahl' has a wonderful sound which I couldn't get even close with my Yamaha

  • I'm not worthy!!!!

  • might the loose strings just be what seems to be a short scale instrument?..looks kinda like a 000 copy of some kind...

  • The guitar is long scale and isn't a copy of anything. It's a 1907 Stahl built by the Larson Bros. of Chicago, IL. The strings are extra light.

  • my bad, mr technical guitar dude..!!..hehe...

    it just looks so small...unbelievable that it's a 100 year old guitar...it looks kinda new..!!..weird...I might have to try extra light now....I've been bangin my fingers with "medium" gauge for a while...so the tone is good..but..I'm gonna try light now..

  • OMG...I didn't know this was mr ruskin himself..!!...agggghhh!!!...I take back my last post...the first line anyway...

    you are an inspiration to me...I almost took lessons from you in seattle 15 yrs or so ago!!..but I was too broke...and I probably would have gotten discouraged...thanx for your playing...amazing..!!!..I'm gonna try to sus out some of your stuff...but I'm kind of a hack at acoustic...I play electric mostly...

    you da man..!!

  • @RJRuskin

    thanks for that useful info about the Larson guitar - do you know what the nut width is? would it be about 45mm?

    im using a guitar with a43mm, and find this a bit tight so i put the capo on 2nd fret to get more finger room. any suggestions on good fingerpicking guitars that dont cost an arm and a leg? i use a cort earth200 at the moment which is basically same proportions to standard martin dreadnought. thx

  • @chezruss Nut width is 1&7/8". What is your budget? P.M. me with more info.

  • @RJRuskin

    i m in the euro zone - my price range for a finger picking guitar is between 5 and 6 hundred dollars US. from the little ive learned about what i m lookin for it needs to be wider string width at bridge than standard, preferably solidtop, and maybe 12 frets to body instead of usual 14. i don t mind secondhand. thanks

  • Man, this is inspiring. Tremendous craftsmanship as well as "in the pocket" musicianship. The loose strings are a bit of a mystery...also, do you sell this song lesson individually?

  • Extra lights aren't loose, they're flexible.

    You need to get the DVD to get this tune.

    My site: liondogmusic "dot" com

  • i think when i buy my self an new amp i'll learn all your songs and buy me some ubber loose strings too ur awesome rick

  • thats sounds taste!

  • what is this song called? is steely dan the artist or song?

  • "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" from the Steely Dan catalog.

  • yeah!! I saw this forever ago..and couldn't even remember ricks name...he's amazing..thx for post

  • Great to find this on youtube. Bought the original vhs many many years ago and spent christmas hols trying to learn this tune. Great playing and great video Rick!! Wouldn't mind trying to buy the dvd, is it available in UK???

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  • If it isn't you can get it directly from me. Send me a PM for details

  • I have just finished this song only took about 100 hours over the last 6 months lol! is that slow? I think i might be musically retarded? Anyhow love your work Mr Ruskin, and i just thought you may like to know, i did pay for my copy! and i would have paid 10x as much. great DVD!!

  • Thanks for the kind words.

  • hehe my guitar teacher is coming in a hour... i wonder if he knows this song...

  • seems like you use extremely thin strings.

    there is no strong sound coming out of your instrument...

    but anyway very well played ;)

    keep on groovin' my friend and greetings from germany,

    judith

  • Ever consider the audio lost some fidelity in conversion for upload to youtube?

  • You have a white fro! thats the shit!

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  • not a putz. just rough times in indiana. but its cool. u have ur ways, i have mine. let's let that be and not argue over the net. or name call. cuz thats a little childish

  • "Rough times" do not grant you the right to steal another person's work.

  • true that. true that. but still.... like, example... blue rays... why wud ANYONE wanna pay 30 bucks for a movie? for us out there who have like, no job, or a minimum wage job, thats our whole paycheck . lol.

  • Your response only goes to prove that you're a putz.

  • pirating isnt bad. fuck having to pay for all that shit. stuff these days is overpriced. i support pirating. lol. hahaha and one finger up to those who gotta problem

  • You wouldn't be saying that if it was your work being hijacked.

  • Supporting Pirating only makes the economy worse and the ability to buy things more expensive.

  • actually pirating isn't a real concern of mine. its really only tearing down the mega giants and evening the playing field for musicians who want to make a career playing music.

  • No concern of yours because your work isn't being stolen. Put out your own product and report back on your happiness when you see sales being siphoned off by pirates and/or other unlicensed file sharers.

  • IT is in fact something I'm going to have to deal with. But the fact of the matter is that there is plenty of money in live gigging, t shirts, licensing agreements, stickers, posters, personalized thongs, etc. What people fail to realize is that many small fish have actually become big fish through illegal downloading. whereas before you may play a show and 1 person buys the album, now maybe 11 go home to download it. those people give the album out, and suddenly the next show you play is packed

  • I'm here to tell you that your argument is pure fantasy. I doubt you've been in the business for very long.

  • That's fine. But keep in mind that whatever you think is fantastical about what I'm saying, its just as fantastic an idea to think that downloading is going to go away. The people that will survive in this business are not the ones bitching about downloading, but the ones who use it to whatever advantage they can. Thanks for your time.

  • Well, like the man said earlier, let us know how well your master plan works after your product hits the street.

  • Can't say I'll have the time for that. I'll be too busy bringin in the dollars :-P

  • ok, but can YOU play it?

  • hay, im new to playing guitar, and was trying to figure out how you pulled off the bends, could yu make a vid, of just bends along with sum simpler things for me to practice by?

  • Beautiful guitar, song, tone, and technique. Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us! Larson built some wonderful instruments - love the fret board markers and bindings. I think that guitar solo may be the best of all time (Skunk Baxter originally, I believe) and am stunned to hear it interpreted so well on acoustic. Bravo!

  • Fantastic stuff, pal.

  • I love it..Do You do any other steely Dan???

  • man please don't talk to the video...

    Have you seen any other yellow replies of the author???

    Buy the DVD and see the rest... or rapidshare it ;)

  • Downloading copyrighted material from Rapidshare or similar sites is theft.

  • I'm a master stealth thief than :) I pay money to rapidshare lol...

  • No. You're an asshole for supporting a pirate operation.

  • Just absolutly great playing Rick....; )

  • Couldn't be better.

  • Nice technique and explanation !

  • Wonderful sound and great tech.

  • anyone know what kind of guitar he's playing? The strings look like they bend so effortlessly and it sounds so good!!

  • It's a Wm. C. Stahl built by the Larson Bros of Chicago, circa 1907. Strung with extra lights.

  • Thanks RJ, it's a honor to get a reply directly from you! Your playing is so inspiration. It's a beautiful guitar and amazing that you can get so much tone using extra light strings. all that tone and the playability of extra lights, wow!! Thanks for posting.

  • Assuming a given guitar is responsive in the 1st place, it will still sound fine with extra lights provided that it is properly set up for that light a string set. To be sure, volume is lessened and some tonal characteristics will be slightly changed. I find the ease of play and the additional technical/musical vocabulary worth the trade-off.

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  • Nicely done.

    Can this stuff be played without nails?

    I play bass and can't grow nails.

    I play guitar also, . . playing most of the Steve Howe guitar pieces, where I use the pick and 2 fingers for the finger picking.

  • Having long nails is a personal preference. Not having them shouldn't be a problem in learning this material. Neither would using a pick and fingers combination rather than thumb and fingers.

  • Even though I don't play guitar, I got a lot out of watching this. Gives one a deeper understanding/appreciation as to why the music sounds like it does. Thanks!

  • Some beautiful sounds coming out there. Excellent stuff.

  • the weird fingering takes i bit to get your head around, i only wish i had fatter fingers, this guy is the real deal. how do you get that tone out of those 10s. thanx heaps rick if it wasnt for guys like you id still be palying 12 bar.lol cheers

  • Awesome!

    edit : 100 th comment?

  • Open string and sl-i-i-i-i-des render the moment's mandate as reality suggests, reality, and..."just" that. Oh sonorous angels, deft in thy cause, melody be thine.

  • This is just great to watch!

  • It took me awhile back in the day, to get into Steely Dan. I eventually realized that I really was listening at all. As soon as began listening a little closer, boy I realized they were more than just hip, but uniquely different than what was being played on the radio at the time. Talk about chops!

    I've been working on a rough sketch of this particular tune myself, so it's great to see that I'm going in the right direction, according to Ruskin's arrangement. He is really good. Peace.

  • Wow! He's got the imagination, the fingerstyle chops...I'm impressed.

  • good stuff

  • awesome..I want to throw away my guitar after that..lol

  • verga de toro?

  • wow that is amazing

  • are you missing some body parts?...hmmm...

  • wow that soolo is more thought out then i thought. Thats why i love steely dan. they always love to complicate it which makes you feel like theres a new level to reach i guitar playing. great guy playing this teaching video cause hes showing the right stuff.

  • That's totally insane guitar. Insane, I tell you.

  • damn, i wish i could play like that. i've been playing for two years...how come i don't sound that smooth.

  • cos that guys probably been playing more like 30+

  • it takes much longer than 2 years to perfect an instrument ive been playing way longer then that and im shit compared to this

  • what gauge do u use?

  • Extra light bronze 80/20

  • What a great thing to offer students good job man.

  • I have his instruction video and have learned the first number. It was painless and fun. He's a great teacher.

  • tabs plz

  • The TABS come in PDF form with the complete video. They aren't available separately. See either: liondogmusic "dot" com for purchase info.

  • real acoustic player.. love it.. thanks man

  • at 0:30 I hear the melody of"song for my father" from Horace Silver Quintett

  • That's because Fagen & Becker used that song's bassline...

  • just beautiful

  • Dude that's so cool how he has a fingernail/pick.

  • thats his fingernail...

  • they all are i bet . its hard 2 grow em out lol

  • Such feel .....sweet playin

  • is he using a classical guitar? with steel strings?

  • No. It's a steel string guitar from 1907 made by the Larson Bros under the brand name of Wm. C. Stahl.

  • i have your video, and for the life of me, i've not been able to find any tabs for your version of the song, where could i get some because its really great!!

  • A booklet of all the music was part of the original VHS release. Re-sellers would often not include it 1 reason or another. The DVD version includes the music as a PDF.

    BTW - I still have a number of new VHS copies (booklet included) of this video in stock. If anyone is interested, these are being sold for $17.50, US domestic postage included. The booklets without the tape are being sold for $12.00, US domestic postage included. Contact me through the youtube system.

    RR

    Contact

  • Excuse me. I need to go burn my guitar, then hang myself. Be right back! :...-) :-(

  • you are really, really great, you must dreams of notes when you sleep, outstanding.

  • beautiful is right wish i knew where that crossroad was so i could sell my soul

  • That's great, you get a beautiful sound and you interpret the song really well. I plan on giving it a shot but I know that if I bend as many notes as you do here, I'll detune my guitar into the middle of next week....! :)

  • OR WHAT

  • This is absolutely beautiful.

  • that was beautiful work on a beautiful song.

  • standard tuning, is it? which gauge strings do you use?

  • Standard tuning. Extra light bronze strings:

    10/14/22/30/36/48.

  • brother do you play guitar?

    that's what he's using instead of a PICK.

    the triangular PLASTIC THING they use to PLUCK OR STRUM THE STRINGS!

    :]

  • Simply amazing.

  • excellent lesson!

  • Good video, i think you have made the example as simple as possible, for such a clever and complicated arrangement as this, only a fool would say that this is not a great song as well. Ta Rikki

  • Do you have any "Journey" video to play by??

  • Sorry but no.

  • nice video...how about something for the beginners

  • My "Fingerstyle Christmas" videos have simpler arrangements on them. They should be available as downloads in the near future. Check the Video Progressions website for details.

  • Fingerstyle acoustic guitar is my favorite stuff to play.....Does anyone know of any other great instructional vids/tabs like this?

    I've worn through my old standards like Days of the New, Zeppelin, etc. THanks!

  • absolutely positively beautiful.You make that thing sing as if it was connected to your mind and you were just thinking the sounds.You are truly blessed.

  • my uncle took lessons from him at the "puget sound workshop" as he calls it. it sounds reallly cool.

  • is a bllueridge br 160 any good?

  • WOW

  • That solo sends shivers down my spine. Gorgeous! Almost makes me want to pick up the guitar again.

  • wow. this video is a really good lesson. Its really good

  • I actually cant see him using finger 3 at all, he seems to use finger 2 for the top two strings for some reason? very good by the way

  • Trust me, I am using my ring finger any time I need to play 4 notes at a given time.

  • hi Rick, just got your DVD, unbelivable love your work should keep me going for about 2 years, hey man do yourself a favour check this you tube clip out, go to ( Crossroads Steve Vai Guitar Duel Comedy Version) its well worth a look, tell us what you think. cheers from Australia.

  • Maestro Segovia! We thought you died, when in fact you've been living in Canada all this time. Clever guy! Please upload a video response demonstrating the correct way to play this fine arrangement. It would be 'inexcusable' for you to deprive us of the rare opportunity to see *you* perform it, especially now that you whet our appetites by pointing out the fatal flaw. Please also include a sample from your latest instructional video. Accountability - It's what's for dinner.

  • Clarification: This was in reply to sixchomp, but youtube error caused it to post as a new comment.

  • Sixchomp, I never said squeaking was acceptable. The point is, the purpose of this lesson is not to teach technique or perform. He is conveying his arrangement, which is deserving of merit. Your assessment is tantamount to seeing a play and dismissing it over a mispronounced word. You deprive yourself from the benefits of the overall experience by obsessing over *contextually* irrelevant minutia.

    BTW, I studied at Juilliard, but make no claim to be on your level. Perhaps less fettered.

  • Very well put, thanks for calling someone out, I tend to tire of the self proclaimed experts, who in fact typically know little to nothing.

  • ha!....sixchomp got his ass spanked!..serves hin right for looking for opportuinities to impress at the expense of those with more talent than he'll ever know!

  • Brilliant interpretation. Here is what I hope may be a constructive suggestion but not sure: as a dyslexic lefty who (albeit poorly) plays right-hand, left-hand and right-hand upside-down guitar, I find it very difficult to go between to two different screens rather than looking at a single guitar (inverted or otherwise). I really applaud your technique and teaching style though and enjoyed it a lot.

    Jeff

    J

  • beautifully,great

  • There are still some VHS copies of this video available.

  • what tunes do you do?

  • Georgia On My Mind, Rikki don't Lose That # + 3 originals - Kudah Duxx, 6-String Conspiracy, A Coma Takoma, are taught in depth. Microphone Fever, another original is played.

  • thank you bro..you d man.

  • hi Ricky, your an inspiration to all, my fingers are cooked,you were talking about your guitar what do you recommend that would come close to that?

  • Roy McAlister makes smaller bodied guitars with similar internal architecture to mine. He even makes a "Rick Ruskin" model. You can contact me directly for more info.