Thile lesson

[DougC]

My guru is a guy from Portugal named Norberto Gonçalves da Cruz.

The video has English captions. And he has about 10 lessons online.
I learn something from all of these teachers!
As for the technical quality of the CT video, I think it may indeed be part of a funky style young folks like. But who cares? I'm grateful for his lesson.

Mike Marshall covered much of the same ground years ago.

I enjoyed Chris's lesson all the same.

[Willie Poole]

These videos could have been made at Festival work shops, they are not made to be used over national TV so the information is what is important not the quality of the camera work...What could you expect for free? I`m sure all of these folks could and would like to make a perfect video and of course it would take a lot more time to do the clipping and editing and over dubs if needed....Some people just aren`t satisfied with any thing and they pick it apart, I do my share of that also but not in this case....

Willie

[JeffD]

Just to rephrase my previous post - The Thile video is a triumph of substance over style, steak over sizzle.

[Bertram Henze]

Chris does a good job working with what he is given and he delivers some good information but if I were him I wouldn't be happy with whoever produced this thing.

This is the core dichotomy which must be observed to maintain clarity in this discussion. Good content deserves good delivery. We should honor the first and may explicitly wish for the latter (and maybe get our wish granted in future videos to come; this forum is being observed).

[Pete Jenner]

... a triumph of substance over style.

Jeff I think you overstate your case but I agree the message somehow gets through.

[Dave_PA]

Great video. There's a lot of really worthwhile stuff here. What he says about tension is something I think about a lot - staying relaxed from fingers to wrist to forearm to elbow to shoulder. It's *so* easy to tense up, and in ways I don't even notice until I pay very close attention.

I'll also echo a previous comment about how horribly unnatural the Mike Marshall/CT pick-hold method felt to me at first. But I stuck with it, and now it feels like the only possible way to hold a pick. And when I returned to guitar, I was surprised and very happy to find that the benefit carried over there too. It's a good habit to get into.

[SincereCorgi]

My sources say Chris is paid to wear a lot of the clothes you see him in, and it ain't Wal-Mart or Costco. Yes, I just said that. Does he look like he's ready for the board room? Nope, but if you think he dresses badly apparently you haven't seen what a lot of people between 20 and 35 are wearing.

Huh, that's intersting. I've always thought that Chris had a stylist or something, since he wears a lot of stuff that either requires a lot of time picking through thrift stores – time he probably spends, like, practicing the mandolin – or spending a lot of money at those boutiques that only have three shirts hanging on a white wall and soft techno music.

[Hallmark498]

I liked it and glad he did it. Why so much hate?

His cloths are very nice, If he shopped at banana republic his pant would be over 200 bucks and the shirt 100 but he is a superstar so neimans is not out of the question. (If it was neimans his attire would cost more than some peoples instruments.)

[jaycat]

. . . you can't deny the production values on this video are atrocious.

Yeah, like those old Paramount blues records. The content ain't bad though.

Chris does a good job working with what he is given and he delivers some good information but if I were him . . .

You mean "if I were he." Not to be too picky . . .

[Pete Jenner]

Yeah, like those old Paramount blues records. The content ain't bad though.



You mean "if I were he." Not to be too picky . . .

Hmmm - I had my doubts so I looked it up. I stand corrected. Thank you jaycat.

[Richard Mott]

Guitar player here, but after all the comments this lesson generated I just had to watch. I think it's superb, extremely coherent with an engaging and unrehearsed delivery. Great stuff.

[Chris Browne]

Excellent lesson and the lack of cinematography actually helped me focus on what he was saying, as if I was sitting in a room with him and unable to zoom in on his hands.

[rubydubyr]

Either that, or CT was abducted by terrorists who stand right behind the camera and point AK47s at him to make him reveal secret strategies of western devil music...

[rubydubyr]

I don't normally sit for a 10 min youtube vid due to my low attentio

[rubydubyr]

How many times have you seen no-one explain them and what did they look like?

[OldSausage]

I'll have what she's having.

[rubydubyr]

Actually, I am having a very good 8 o'clock African plains coffee at this point, and was having ice tea all day, they just struck my "funny bone" a little bit

[Pete Jenner]

I'll have what she's having.

[Delaware]

I thought it was funny as well as interesting.

[Bertram Henze]

[bart mcneil]

It is hard to dislike a guy who can stimulate such mirth by wearing a big belt buckle, funny pants and presenting an unrehearsed lesson.

[Dan Margolis]

I watched the video after first reading the comments and, yes, complaints. I heard CT and his mandolin clearly - zero "unbearable background noise." It was a clear lesson, easily understandable, with many good points, and it was fun to watch. All the carping by people who can't play as well as CT and never will blows my mind. I guess if you can't feel good about yourself you can have fun criticizing a free lesson by one of the world's great musicians.

[rubydubyr]

It is hard to dislike a guy who can stimulate such mirth by wearing a big belt buckle, funny pants and presenting an unrehearsed lesson.

You forgot the wild hair...... Did they roll him out of bed, throw some clothes on him, and stand him in front of a camera?

[rubydubyr]

I watched the video after first reading the comments and, yes, complaints. I heard CT and his mandolin clearly - zero "unbearable background noise." It was a clear lesson, easily understandable, with many good points, and it was fun to watch. All the carping by people who can't play as well as CT and never will blows my mind. I guess if you can't feel good about yourself you can have fun criticizing a free lesson by one of the world's great musicians.

[Ron McMillan]

I watched the video after first reading the comments and, yes, complaints. I heard CT and his mandolin clearly - zero "unbearable background noise." It was a clear lesson, easily understandable, with many good points, and it was fun to watch. All the carping by people who can't play as well as CT and never will blows my mind. I guess if you can't feel good about yourself you can have fun criticizing a free lesson by one of the world's great musicians.

Absolutely, Dan. The negativity here is astonishingly one-eyed. The accusations of it not being an accomplished production ignore the fact that it is framed with an artist's eye, and the minimal use of zoom is employed at precisely the moments required. The gripes about a few uhms and emmm moments are nit-picking in the extreme, and a function, I am sure, of the director and Chris Thile deciding on the appearance of an informal, unscripted lesson - when the lesson is, in fact, carefully plotted out through a series of extremely informative, valid points. The ridiculous moaning about background noise is simply that - ridiculous: the audio quality is perfectly adequate.

The amount of extremely useful content in a short ten minutes is remarkable. This forum has quite a few people whose apparent expertise is indirectly proportionate to their depth of playing experience, and for people to pick holes in a fine lesson delivered up free of charge by one of the top players in the world is not just mean-spirited, is shameful.