Added: 5 years ago
From: renig427
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  • My dad, a pretty decent rhythm guitarist himself, was a Chet Atkins fan. Atkins was the first guitarist I ever heard, and nearly fifty years later, still among the best I ever heard.

  • @mallardgreen Yes, he was the best, but now there is a nice boy, playing the guitar must better than anyeone did in the past... Shung Tung. try it...

  • @Cordeiro757 I didn't find Shung Tung on youtube....is the spelling correct?

  • @mallardgreen Sungha Tung, on Youtub. Tell me your openion about this little Genius... Enjoy.

  • @Cordeiro757 Very, very talented child. I very much enjoyed his Canon in D done as a duet with another guitarist....thanks for pointing me in his direction. No doubt he has a long career ahead of him.

  • @mallardgreen Ok friend, i am very glad you like it. By the way, if you found some other genius, no matter what musical area, please let me know. Thanks and bye, Mallardgreen.

  • you might want to watch check out Ed Alleyne Johnson, an English busker who plays electric violin, and the french guitar whizkid Mattrach, particularly his version of Canon in D, the one he plays on a white Ibanez guitar.

  • @mallardgreen Thanks very much Mallardgreen.

  • gives me chills

    

  • gives me chills

    

  • a genious

  • Classic! You'd be hard pressed to find anyone anyone better in this style...Not taking anything away from anybody else; just giving due respect to a master.RIP Chet.

  • 19 persons tried to play this

  • @julezdu45 hahaha right on!

  • Does anyone know where to get a tab for this?

  • Can't beat this bloke!This is what it means to be guitarist

  • His playing makes my videos look so amateur... Thanks Chet, you've set the bar so high, I'm not sure that it will ever be passed.

  • @Aceguitar11 Good way to promote your web site ace.

  • this guys music just changed my life

  • Heres an example of why everyone wanted to play guitar before the Beatles and Stones!

  • Great guitarist, a hero of the guitar, a master.

  • pure!

  • I lived in Springfield Missouri when the Ozark Jubilee was on National TV in the late 50's.

  • Hi again Chet

  • Chet played with angels hands!!

  • @dinguitas Yep! and it sounded great! ; )

  • This is great! i was looking through my dads old guitars and found a gretsch chet atkins signed guitar. Im glad to see it was signed by A great artist. I hope the neck hasnt warped though. While it was in storage a string broke. Id appreciate it if anyone can inform me more about chet atkins

  • listen to chet atkins and jerry reed playing jerrys breakdown live and then feel real proud of that guitar

  • @idkyou1

    Google George Gruhn. Send him photos as he asks, & he will help you assess your instrument. Good fortune, and Peace!

  • hes the master of travis picking ^^

  • Does anyone know who wrote this song? Coltrane plays it on "Coltrane Live at Birdland" and I think both versions are really great.

  • It's from Franz Lehar's 1905 operetta "The Merry Widow", and actually spelled "Vilja".

    ...

    If only that kind of guitar playing was so easy as Chet makes it look and sound... only true masters can do that.

  • He fucken rips on the guitar. What a legend.

  • The Atkins style is the most difficult to play!

    Becouse Chet was a great guitar master,

    other musicians are primary compared

    with fingerpicing!

  • It's all guitar playing and anyone who takes up guitar playing is only a student for life. That's what Andre Segovia listed his occupation as, student of the guitar. Having said that Classical guitar is by far the most difficult to play well. Any and all little mistakes are pounced upon by those who follow it and those who play it are more harshly critiqued than others.

  • One of the forefather's of electric guitar.

    the original virtouso.

    the great..Chet Atkins

  • the guitar chet is using here is a 1958 gretsch 6120 chet atkins hollow body guitar.. it is not called a nashville as some people think .. that term is used on the re issue 6120's .. not the original.. hope this clears up the question on what type of guitar this is..hope it helps

  • One of the grand moments in the history of man.

    My forever hero.

  • I like this song! Grade execution!!

  • wow

  • How the hell do you play or even make up these melody lines and play them with the bass notes added?

  • be more constructive with your feedback

  • know*

  • does anybody what tuning this is?

  • i didnt really like it lol

    how come his vibratos were all in the whammy bar and none in string bending? serious question not a criticism lol

  • Chet could do finger/wrist vibrato I'm sure but it wasnt needed here.

  • Why? Because he's Chet Atkins.

  • Good question ! Chet is using the whammy bar in order to bend WHOLE chords as opposed to just bending one or two notes. This is easily done if you are bending to go sharp on the notes. BUT... the whammy bar lets you to get a

    smooth "wavering" sound by going flat then back to pitch on the present chord.

    Plus he was likely using flat-wound strings of a fairly heavy gauge.

    Hope I was of some help with your question.

  • thank you very much so actually =]

  • Its called style buddy.

  • The whammy allows you to apply vibrato to chords rather than single notes. So he could apply vibrato the entrie chord rather than just a single string.

  • he is the top of tops.

  • I'm not sure you can even compare Chet to Vai.

  • I can play a few of his songs for about note for note, but nowhere near as smooth as he can. He plays practically flawless. And remember he is playing without distortion so any mistakes would be 10 times more noticeable.

  • @alex989 Not necessarily. In many cases, distortion is more difficult to play with. Besides, why in the world would you use distortion for anything like this?

  • RIP Chet

  • Sorry, Chet makes Vai look like a banjo player and was about 40 years ahead.

  • and Vai cant make you tap your feet.

  • @IXIBobOhIXI Vai can most certainly make you tap your feet.

  • @pak40l46 Chet was pure genius and a master at his bag (and a few others). He was one of the best players around, BUT (if I'm catching your meaning correctly) nobody makes Vai look like a "banjo player". Sorry. They are both great players and thank god we have them both (among others)....otherwise, life would be pretty boring.

  • @pak40l46 Hahahahahahahaha!

  • No one is as smooth as Chet Atkins

  • @rburg1954 In his style...probably so. He was hard to beat. Incredible!

  • No great shots of his hand 'till about 1:28 (ish)

    Who doesn't love Chet?

  • Classic! Vintage classic! Thank you for posting!

  • Those ears!

  • that's one big guitar and an even BIGGER guitarist behind it...the man, the master.

  • Remember, he was a Certified Guitar Player!

  • anyone know where i can find this music or tab?

  • +1

    That would be great. Searched an found nothing.

  • I've also been looking and no luck

    Thing with Chet songs is he makes them sound so easy and clean, but just try play them not that easy

  • Chet Atkins In Three Dimensions 50 Years of Lengendary guitar by John McClennan and Deyan Bratic (Mel Bay Publications).

    The Best Of Chet Atkins (Hal Leonard). Both books are indespensible!

  • Isto é realmente o melhor guitarrista country/Jazz que conheço.

  • if you listen real close at 0:35 you can hear someone coughing several times haha.

    kick-asstic video. chet is the bees knees

  • clubsandwedge is a genius, I never noticed that this song could fit a mario game until he made that comment, then it hit me in the face, and I was left wondering how I could miss that. Now I think of when I played Super Mario World on the SNES as a kid every time I listen to this song.

  • You know what this would be great in? A Super Mario Game :D

  • ah, come on lighten up. If the kid went outside there'd be more traffic.

  • BluesRockRo, Fuck you sincerely. My dad even plays Super Mario. I think clubsandwedge is absolutely right. Not only that, but his name implies he plays golf.

  • That's intelligent.

  • ya dude it would lol, brill idea

  • haha, i can see how this song could fit in an old video game.

  • every chet atkins video that i've seen from when he was this young, he's always got that "yeah i'm the man" look on his face.

    so true...

  • I discovered Chet Atkins about 10 years ago. This is the first time I've seen any video of him playing. All I can say it amazing.

  • I like the comment that his music makes you happy. I've been listening for 40 years and his music never let me down.

    Thanks for posting such a great piece of history.

  • This just puts a grin on my face! 5 stars

  • Agreed, mrfreetv.

  • Oh man! Great stuff!

  • Chet was an original. Merle Travis was great but Chet was more sophisticated. He took the classical style of finger picking and made it an art.

  • Exactly, even though comparisons are futile, it's the little touch of Django that brings Chet a little further along musically. It keeps his ideas fresh.

  • mrfreetv,

    You don't know true your post is, he was a great guitar play but even greater as a person.

  • old school

  • Chet was living proof that a guitar can produce a bandfull of sounds all by itself in the hands of a master.

    His touch, technique and phrasing will never be equalled. I wish I could have met him because it seemed like he was just as great if not a greater person than he was the artist.

    He is sadly missed.

  • I don't think I could've put it better myself. I wouldn't say Chet is my fav, but hes so silky smooth. A real talent

  • i recently started listening to chet atkins and what i can say so far, his music simply makes you happy. but he can also produce other styles, as in Dark eyes he plays sorta russian/greek stylish if u ask me, its sounds really good and me think of being in a greek restaurant. hes simply one of the best and first

  • eh,,,Part of the Chet now am I ????

  • wonderful

  • Atkins was one of a kind .Merle Travis was close.Three greatest guitar players were

    Atkins from Tennessee

    Travis from Kentucky

    And Arthur Smith from North Carolina

    Atkins was fantastic on Classical Guitar

    He Played "Memories of Alhambra" -breathtaking

  • Don't forget Django Reinhardt and Andre Segovia. To me Atkins, Reinhardt, and Segovia represent the Holy Trinity of guitar playing.

  • Also john williams (not the composer)

    do you know los indios tabajaras? two south americans who play together.

  • Joe Maphis should have been on your list, somewhat ahead of Arther Smith.

  • Maphis had his style and has inspired many players. I'm a tarheel and knew Smith personally. That's why I included him.

    I love the guitar ( although I don't play).

    classical is my first love. Listen to Granados

    Spanish Dances if you can!

  • id walk a million miles to shake chet atkin´s hand....

  • sweet

  • Great video. *thumbs up*

  • Check out his use of the vibrato at the end. Sweeeeet!

  • The correct name for this piece is VILIA, NOT VILLA. Wonderful to see/hear the master playing it.

  • sloppyhoe hahahaha

  • Naming Buckethead in this thread is ludicrous.  Just because someone can shred on a guitar does not mean that he is any good at all. Anyone can get fast on guitar. Mastery of it comes from knowing when it's tasteful, and most of the time, it isn't.

    Chet broke ground and redefined the instrument in ways that only a handful of others have, before or since. Buckethead is not one of those people.

    Y'all take care.

  • It rubs me the wrong way to say the buckethead isn't ground breaking the way chet atkins is, because he is. chet doesn't always play soft melodies...buckethead doesn't always shred. instruments are constantly being redefined, if they weren't, music wouldn't be so interesting. it isn't all about technical ability, nor is it all about style, its the fusion of both that makes great players.

  • buckethead is ugly though... and it comes thru in his music.

  • listen to colonel claypool's bucket of bernie brains...or buckethead's rendition of the willy wonka theme...the playing is anything but ugly.

  • music aint a competetion, u may think buckethead is better, thats ur opinion, but its totally different,xhet does classy music while buckethead did awesome shreddin, and remember stuff like distortion wasnt around till the late 60s

  • what a strange world we live in where people compare buckethead to someone like chet atkins

    all i can say is if you ask buckethead who the best guitarist is between the two he would not say himself....i doubt any guitarist with true depth would be so bold

  • eons of practice might get you to his level of techincal skill, Steve Howe uses a lot riffs in his style in Yes and his solo efforts

  • heard chet atkins play villa, went out in the back yard and burnt my guitar.....

  • Pretty much the end of the story. Well said.

  • Whether or not you think your a better guitarist than Chet...which I highly doubt...one thing he has that you dont is experience.

  • Chet Atkins, possibly the best guitarist of all time.

  • he certainly knew how to work that guitar

  • MR. Guitar

  • Yazzo... Now I can see how George Harrison came up with all of those lovely runs on his Gretsch... I always thought that George just pulled those out of his rear end... He just copied Chet Atkins!

  • I didnt know chet only fingerpicked...thats awesome!

  • why is sticking to only one stlye awesome?

  • Kudos, definitely agree. It's ok if you just want to learn a technique thoroughly, but I play Metal, Bluegrass, Old Country, Blues, Ska, Punk and all these things help and inspire me.

  • I am saving up for the reissue of chets 59 country gentleman. Paul Yandell says its the best sounding guitar he has ever played. And he has played quite a few.

  • No i dont have to check at all its a gretsch. anyone who knows chet at all knows he played gretsch guitars till 1980 then went to gibson and the estate has gone back to gretsch.

  • Do they still produce Gretsch-guitars as they did back in -59?

  • i just had to check out buckethead. Ha ha ha I gotta admit I never thought I would see someone on stage with a chicken bucket on their head. Whatever but here is the thing jewby221 to say you have been playing all of 7 months and your better than chet is just plain stupid. I dare you to post a fingerstyle song. Something easy like windy and warm. Or did you mouth write a check your ass cant cover?

  • But what kind of a guitar is mr. Atkins playing on? Or is it that you have to check?

  • gretch.

  • Can you tell me what kind of a guitar he uses here? Thank you...

  • Gretsch Nashville 6120

  • To all those who love to make asses of themselves.

    Get a life and quit bothering other's.

  • Why is it so hard to find a YouTube messageboard without people getting angry and making asses of themselves?

  • Good question. I think the basic lack of civility on the internet in general is due to the fact that there are no real consequence for people who act like idiots and respond to others in a disrespectful manner. People know they can say whatever they want and nothing ever happens to them. I guarantee that most of the awful comments made HERE would not be made if the two people were standing next to each other in the same room. If they did, someone might get punched.

  • Les Claypool is good but what happened to skill with your sound? Geddy Lee kicks hims quare in the butt and is also his Bass God and geddy is very tastefull with his sound

  • You've been playing for 7 months and you're better than Chet Atkins? I guess we'll be hearing you on the radio soon.

  • Hey clown! Id like to see you play Humoresque here on youtube. You just cant go making BOLD statements with out proof. By the way PRIMUS SUCKS!!! :)

  • Then stick a video up..

  • AHAHAHAHA that comment has made my day. :)

  • you're a fucking joke dude

    put up or shut up

    what's stopping you?

    oh, i know

    the fact that you're a tasteless fucking shredding wanker

    i know who the hell buckethead is, and he can kiss my fucking ass

    take away his pick and he's nothing

    and playing a minor scale 1000x at 280 bpm is not "good"

    hell, it's not even melodic

    it's noise

  • You commented to the wrong video, methinks...

  • no, its right

    youtube doesnt post the replies to a comment in the right place

    if you look back on the comments, some idiot was insulting mr guitar

  • Yes, I only noticed that after posting my comment...

    Anyway, I think you are right, but no need for getting angry or to insult back. Ignorant people like him will always exist.

  • i know it's just a flamer looking for an argument, but you're right

  • you mean melodeous im sure

  • you mean melodious i'm sure?

    lol

    no melodic and melodious are pretty much the same i think.

    melodic is related to melody, and melodious is referring to as an adjective

    i'm not sure though

  • Play for a few more years and you'll see things completely differently. I've been playing for 4 years and I am just now getting an appreciation for real quality music of all types and times. And like others have probably said already, playing fast isn't necessarily playing well. Playing fast just impresses teenagers. A good musician is someone who has a strong sense of rhythm and great command of their instrument in my opinion and Chet Atkins has that hundreds of times over.

  • Agreed

  • You people do realize that music isn't a damn competition, right? You can't compare Buckethead with Chet Atkins. They're two different people with two different souls, one's just more technically advanced than the other. Personally, I think Buckethead is shit. Chet Atkins, as far as I go, is one of the best mainstream American guitarists of all time.

  • Both Claypool and Buckethead are from very different genres of music you idiot. If you've been playing 7 months and you're better than Chet, then how come I haven't seen you on TV? Heard of your music? You my friend are the definition of Shallow minded dumb ass.

  • The world misses Chet and his unique tone and quality no doubt the world's most listen too Guitarist...R.I.P Chet...We miss you

  • Chet Is The Best Ever!!!

  • I'm proud to say, Chet Atkins was my father's guitar-playing idle. Rest in Peace Chet and Dad.

  • Very cool

  • I just buried my Father today, and Dad always told me the same....I didn't appreciate Chet until later in life..an honestly great guitar player.(jewbie above...come back in about 10 years)...I was also foolish in my youth...

  • Nice !!! I love this song. for some more good ol' country / bluegrass music check out ray riddle on myspace. do a search for his name. You won't be disappointed if you do...

  • lol

  • Name of this song ??? anywone knows ¿???

  • It's in the title. Villa.

  • no way lickableplum, this has les claypool written all over it

  • Les Claypool is a clown. Chet Atkins is one of, if not THE greatest guitar player of all time.

  • For one thing, I don't think it makes much sense to say that it's got Claypool "written all over it" since this predates him, and for another, Claypool and Atkins are both brilliant musicians, neither is a "clown".

  • You know guys, that was probably a joke.

  • Does anyone have the video of Chet playing Dizzy Fingers on HeeHaw? It's been removed and I'd love to have it.

    Thanks.

  • "Actually it's a Gretsch Nashville. Also known as the 6120. The Country Gentleman was not produced until later."

    Actually the 1954 designed 6120 was only refered to as 'The Chet Atkins Hollow Body'. The Nashville did not come in to play until many years later when Gretsch lost the rights to Chet Atkins names like 'Country Gentleman', Tennessean etc. The Country Gentleman was a larger better braced guitar than the 6120 Hollow Body.

  • "Actually it's a Gretsch Nashville. Also known as the 6120. The Country Gentleman was not produced until later."

    Actually the 1954 designed 6120 was only refered to as 'The Chet Atkins Hollow Body'. The Nashville did not come in to play until many years later when Gretsch lost the rights to Chet Atkins names like 'Country Gentleman', Tennessean etc. The Country Gentleman was a larger better braced guitar than the 6120 Hollow Body.

  • reminds me of a kurt kobain guitar solo, very grundge era

  • Masterful. This guy has caused more people to sell their guitars than all other reasons combined...

  • *pictures himself havin a peaceful vacation*

  • this guy is my grandmas cousin lol, woo!

  • Depends on whether you want a reissue or the real thing

  • expensive as hell