Jorma Kaukonen teaches "Water Song"

[79goldmaster1]

absolutely a standard for any picker....this is great!

[welcome2myhell]

His acoustic talent just far outshines his electric work.

[luckyowl4201]

Way fuckin' cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



[jonp93003]

By "his" I meant Johnny Paycheck's band had stopped at Cold Spring and the guitarist and I played Jorma's music. I really want to know who JP's guitarist was.

[jonp93003]

Does anybody know who his guitarist was when he was touring during 1976? I played guitar at Cold Spring Tavern in the hills above Santa Barbara then when his band stopped by in 1975-6. I left a 12 string for musicians to play and I taught this one to JP's guitarist while he showed the proper way to play Embryonic Journey.

[hjalmarBuoi]

From Finland, Suomesta !

[yumpladukfoo]

@wdmounger

Maybe "not that hard" to copy it, I agree. But, how easy would it be to compose something as beautiful? ;-)

[Ingr9821]

Great on acoustic. Wonderful with Jack Casady playing bass.



[TBird5790]

Hey Afterglo0w,

It seems pretty unanimous. You sir, don't know what the H&*LL you are talking about.

Jorma has laid down a body of work almost unparalleled in acoustic fingerpicking. And a dedicated instructor, and seems to be just a decent guy all around.

Did you catch the comment about him being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Yeah, you must be right in your shallow pea brained thinking. Jorma is weak. Yeah, right.

Why don't you post your fine fingerpicking songs for us?

[LavransRM]

Elegant in its simplicity. If you want to find your way around an Open G tuning, this is a good starting point. I got to learn this from Jorma at "guitar camp" at the Fur Peace ranch, along with Embryonic Journey.

Bass players would also do well to study Jack Casady's bass lines.

Having seen Hendrix, Clapton, Jorma, Garcia, Santana, Gurley, Cippolina and many more great guitarists back in the 60's, trashing one of these guys at the expense of the others is a meaning exercise in stupidity.

[degasE1]

One of the truly GREAT acoustic guitarist of the last several decades! Great playing is ageless.

[fusje000]

Hey Afterglo0w..."the guy" is in the R and R HOF - class of 96. What have you done lately?

[jakethesnake576]

This video literally inspired me to learn guitar. Elegantly simple yet powerfully beautiful. I absolutely love this. Thank you for this post. :)

[gitgurl601]

jorma taught me this tune in person, at camp. Dont be intimidated by it, really. Its really just 4 or 5 motifs. Lots of repitition thru -out tune.

cheers

[afterglo0w]

this is pretty weak...

[saiyan195]

@afterglo0w And your definition of good is?

[afterglo0w]

@saiyan195

I dont have a definition, only saying overall the performance is bad. the guy looks like hes stoned and needs to poop but is holding it in

[yumpladukfoo]

@afterglo0w

Sir afterglo0w, you talk more like a poser-glow, or better, a 0-glow. The man is in his late 50's here. A rigid "poop" posture does not imply a lack of technique or creativity. Sorry for being harsh, but how many songs have you composed on this level of simplistic elegance, like the universe we live in but, yet cannot understand? How ignorant of you to be so critical of a composition that has so much emotion and imagery, that , I boldly comment, you DON'T have? You f*cking child.

[afterglo0w]

@yumpladukfoo

whoa tiger!

you can argue all you want, im just sayin, this is pretty weak...

[GeorgeRBM1999]

This is one of those instructional videos that is both inspiring and soul crushing at the same time. "Wow, this is amazing and beautiful" coupled with "I'll never in my life be able to play like this"

[wango6158]

Jormas the best! Saw him in the 70s with Hot tuna & Solo. He picks a gutar better than anyone!!!

[bobdwilliams]

wow I need to keep up with these!

Thanks for posting these Happy!

[jimilve]

stoaked and happy to hear water song on PBS,not too surprised,great song!

[jmunnikhuis]

Thanks Jorma, its that easy! jk great vid

[fjespo]

... the one and only, what-else could anyone Possibly need.., as far as learning the guitar there is no better...

Peace, Jimsterjam OR aka~Jimi

[Manu404]

Really great lesson, i love jorma and hot tuna, what a fu***** great song. The best with genesis i think. (In fact, every song on Quah are juste awesome :D)

[wezq41888]

Hey thanks Jorma! After all, it wasn't so hard to play as it seemed first to appear !

[imdrs]

Jorma is nothing shy of AMAZING!! Thanks, Jorma. You rock!!

[calebsj]

gotta love the steel finger picks.i met him back in the early 80's while i was dating his rythmn guitar players(Michael Falzarano) sister...

[thereaflashgordon]

Wow!

[TheChiFlows]

Such an underated guitar player .He really is and was one of the greats.Brings back so many memories for me.!

[oidebs]

Love Jorma. Love HFT. Love this song. Good memories. This was the intro to a radio show on WPLJ in NYC in the late 70's.

[pactater]

@oidebs What show? I loved PLJ & was pissed when some corporate goons bought it out and turned it in to pop pap. PLJ played all kinds of great music, not just "hits."

[Ian6178]

i love this song

[musikfanat]

Yay, Jorma! Thanks for posting this!!!

[GeorgeRBM1999]

Wow, I'd forgotten how great he was/is. I haven't heard this in 20 years. Genius.

[LateNotes]

beautiful music Jorma

[homespuntapes]

I'll try and track that down. It might be "Three Days in Chelsea" or "Killing Time in Crystal City." I will try and run it down for you all.

[jazzboy101]

I checked out those songs, and I don't think they're it. But I was fooling around with it, and I think the particular riff is an E to A (major) thing.

[pbl1]

@homespuntapes - sounds like "watch the north wind rise"

[jazzboy101]

What is the name of the song in the opening part?

[bassist448]

It truly sucks to be 15 in this generation. Even though I'm not a guitarist I'm very appreciative of great ones. Whenever I join a band I always try to turn the guitar player on to Jorma. But usually they are really closed minded and think of Hendrix as the greatest guitar player ever. Don't get me wrong, I love Hendrix, but if I had the choice to be in a band with Jorma or Jimi (In their prime) I would most likely pick Jorma. He just plays with such beauty and passion. And I greatly admire that

[lateforthesky61]

You are so right and I congratulate you on your choice. Jorma and Jimi are both great for different reasons, but Jorma brings a country blue grass and even classical fusion to his amazing fingerpicking style. Check out "Double Dose" for the electronic side of his talent, and also try Quah for his sublte quieter mellower side. A great artist...and nice guy too who survived major heroin addiction...Check his self titled website and daily thoughts.

[mullah06]

Truly a great sentiment, have you listensd to JA Bless It's Pointed Little Head? killer live Jorma in the heyday @ the Fillmore West

[bassist448]

I have listened to Bless it's Pointed Littlee Head. It was one of the first live albums that I really loved. JA is so much better live too in my opinion. And I have heard nothing but great things about 30 Seconds Over Winterlan. So I will check that one out too.

[mullah06]

And 30 Seconds Over Winterland!

[irishelk1]

@bassist448 fair play to ya man yeh he sure is great and jefferson airplane were amazing,better than any shit music today like all that black eyed peas bullshit!

[naderchaser]

@bassist448 You, my good man, are what has long been known as a "throwback". Remember that moniker and wear it proudly. It is an old term for a person that is stuck in one generation, but really leans toward or flat-out is supposed to be from a previous generation. I have always thought of throwbacks as wise people....perhaps "old souls", per se. If you are familiar with those Renaissance Fairs, where they dress in old midevil clothes, etc, many of them could be considered "throwbacks".

[jakethesnake576]

@bassist448 Amen man I just turned 17. Was less than 2 when Garcia died. We really did miss alot of great music, but it was THIS video that inspired me to pick up guitar and keep the sprit alive. When I saw how simple it was, I told myself I'm going to learn this. If we dont keep the music alive, can we expect people like 50 cent and lady gaga too? I wouldnt count on it

[oreokookie1000]

@bassist448 Wh ere they go wrong.::..theres no 'GREATEST GUITAR PLAYER, OR GREATEST THIS OR THAT....Jimi and Jorma share alot of common blues roots, but Jorma has alot of folk influence here and years back (airplane)...how 'bout stevie ray?? tryin to compare in terms of "best" is foolish and immature...tell them to grow up!!

[Kozmo260]

Pier 85 I think? was right next to the Intrepid.

[Kozmo260]

I remember seeing him play this on the peer by 42end street in NYC early-mid 80's. It rained so no electric band he played solo acoustic the whole time and the wet speakers kept blowing out along the way :)

[deweypug]

Sick! I love to hear this when he has slowed it down - he hits every note with PASSION! Peace Jorma!

[mattleemattlee123]

One of my favorite tracks by the Tuna. I think this even eclipses Embryonic Journey, another great Jorma fingerpicking tune. With Jacks incredible distorted bass lines sounding like a hundred bowed double-basses, this transcends a "finger-style" guitar piece and enters the realm of all-time classic music. An atmospheric masterpiece. Fun to play, too. I did it with just a dropped D and G...much harder that way!

[malerror]

It just needs that heavy Bass by Jack Cassidy..

[pocia13]

wow...o_o

[mrpual49]

Jorma is an admirable guy. The Jefferson Airplane isn't widely regarded as the very talented band that they were. Surrealistic Pillow is a great album. The group diverged artistically. Check out Jorma's Third Week in the Chelsea. It is something rare in rock music, an introspective look at the hollowness of rock stardom by a guy who would rather follow his artistic vision than fame.

[jflash214]

never heard of him, but I love it. very exotic name for a hick :)

[mrpual49]

He's not a kick. He was born in Washington D.C. where his father was a member of the foreign service. He was one of the founding members of the Jefferson Airplane. He is just a great interpreter of American roots music.

[chazattak]

excellent last line mr.pual

I'm only 20 but I wish I coulda got into Jorma and even the Airplane, $hit, when I was 5! lol. Ahh well back to the guitar hahah

[pompitus]

Thank you for posting this. This is one of my all-time favorites. I've always been a flatpicker, but now I'm getting this fingerpicking finger roll and song down pretty nicely. Even after 30+ years of playing soley as a flatpicker.

And, of course, thank you for the beautiful song and video Jorma.

[localguitarlegend1]

Do not go gentle..

[elvisaron1]

Thank`s Finland you are Finish =)

[yankeeinlaguna]

Love listening to this...the clarity is awesome...brings back many memories from more than 30 years ago...sorry to say! I'm going to see if my daughter can pick this one up! She takes lessons here in Laguna Beach at the Guitar Shoppe. I'm in the Kangen alkaline water business and want this to be my theme song during demo's! Peace & Love.

[BLoblaw005]

Absolutely the most beautiful acoustic guitar song I have ever heard. When my German Shepherd died, I used the studio version to make a tribute video for my beloved dog... I really miss her :-(

[jimilve]

@BLoblaw005

[dutchflats]

Sweet Perfection!!!

[ayavner]

I like this better than the Album version with the bass and drums.. but then again i am biased towards solo acoustic stuff. This is a good video - i tuned to open G last nite and had this down in about 20 minutes.. alot simpler than it looks. Thanks for putting this up!

[Thejbirdy]

LOVE THIS ONE.

YAY JORMA!

[MrBruceBarham]

yeah Kevy, I actually know a guitarist here in memphis, Eddy campbell, who learned this of vinyl in standard tuning and used harmonics and did it great..NOW we see it in open tuning, lol ever heard dave van ronks story of learning a John Hurt tune?

[jojogun1957]

Hi folks,in trying to learn this song I stumbled into Pink Floyds Fearless( off of Medal),same tuning I think.Hope I didn't side track you.

[Northof90]

Awesome ... Thanks, Jorma !!

[celloprofundo]

"Keep on truckin', Jorma, truck my blues away.." :) Love your music !

[ayavner]

i like this version better than the studio version. Great song!

[cousinneal]

the doobie brothers did this one too! jorma is great,i saw hot tuna a few years ago and they sounded wonderful!!!!!!

[jkweddingentrancesux]

@cousinneal

r u sure?

Jorma wrote this. I have never heard any other band do this

[KevyNova]

Oh crap, I figured this song out (open tuning and all) 20 years ago by ear with a VINYL record! I'm not saying this to brag or anything, I'm just saying that it would have been SO much easier if we had youtube back then! Haha!

I still love playing song even though it's one of the hardest songs I know. Jorma rules!

[bodhidarma1]

its easier nowadays for sure. i think that's brag worthy, though. I can barely figure out songs in standard.

[KevyNova]

Thanks. Jorma was a big influence for me when I was a teenager 20 years ago and he still is. I spent years figuring out all of his songs (solo, Hot Tuna and Airplane) by listening to old scratchy records and to tell the truth, I'm glad that I didn't have things like this back then because I think it made me a better guitarist. But it is nice to watch these videos now and see that I was actually playing them right!

[chris33765]

Awesome. I've played this on banjo, and it looks really easy on guitar - the way the video breaks it down. I just got my first guitar a couple of weeks ago, watch out.

[dogrey]

I'd like to hear a banjo version. Do you play it three finger or clawhammer?

[MaCkSmE]

wat kinda guitar?

[JTgrimteam]

Can you please tell me which song starts at the very beginning of the video ? I would really like to know :)

[homespuntapes]

I'll check and find out for you.

at

[smith77777777]

@homespuntapes So what is the song played in the beginning?

[Occaras]

Living in the Moment

[rsimons77777]

to answer the question, the song at the beginning of the video is called "Do Not Go Gentle", It is on Jorma Kaukonen's album called "Land of Heroes"

[keo774]

@JTgrimteam do not go gentle. i think it's a strumental dedicated to his father

[infocus2020]

@JTgrimteam IT SOUNDS LIKE "WATCHING THE NORTH WIND RISE".

[kharmakreep]

@JTgrimteam i think it's called "Do Not Go Gentle"

[JTgrimteam]

A true master.

[mygad]

Hence all the comments and continuing interest. - yes we should all use our ears and be expert enough to do it the way they did in the old days - simply listen to the music and be able to figure it out. Trouble is - there are more people interested in learning than there are musical savants who can simply listen and do.

[mygad]

A link to a tab or superimposed tab on the screen would make this a lot more helpful and encouraging there guys.

[rocknrollneverdied]

I really think that this is enough. I think people should be using their ears more than their eyes.

[kharmakreep]

I have a tendency to agree, however, that is a skill that not all possess. I wouldn't mind a superimposed tab.