McLaughlin - here's how he does it...

[simeon]

tab and midi for all the stuff on his new DVD....

Link (http://www.kevinmichaelmusic.com/JohnDVD/John%20McLaughlin%20DVD%20Guitar%20Tablature%20Pro ject.htm)

[908SSP]

Link doesn't work:confused:

[simeon]

oops - try this...

http://www.kevinmichaelmusic.com

goto "download Mclaughlin TAB"

[TonyV]

Thank you very much

[spaceboy]

ace! so is this basically all you need from the DVD then? or do you still need to buy it to get the most from it?

poor John, getting his lovely DVD stolen... ah well ^_^

[dumb donnie]

Originally posted by spaceboy
ace! so is this basically all you need from the DVD then? or do you still need to buy it to get the most from it?

poor John, getting his lovely DVD stolen... ah well ^_^

It's not being stolen. There was no transcriptions of the exercises included with the DVD so after everyone complained they put up pdf's on John McLaughlin's website. Then someone converted them into tab. They are intentionally free.

[Kevin Michael]

Gentlemen,

I'd like to clear up what seems to be misconceptions regarding the John McLaughlin DVD boxset 'This Is The Way I Do It'.

Firstly, to Simeon, I thank you for the link. Much appreciated.

To Spaceboy: If indeed your post made reference to John's music appearing on my website, your use of the word 'stolen' is quite a serious accusation, but I shall give quarter, and provide a civilised response below.

In addition to http://www.johnmclaughlin.com http://www.abstractlogix.com the John McLaughlin DVD guitar scores are also available from my site because I am the person who scored them. Guitar scores for the entire 12 DVD Chapters are complete. Although the .midi files which were generated from the written scores can be helpful, they are provided only as a supplement and hopefully to inspire the serious guitarist to purchase the DVD.

To Donnie: All modal, harmonic and rhythmic structures of the guitar scores were meticulously analyzed mathemusically, written out long hand on manuscript, and then entered into and prepared on the computer over a 7 week period of time. This work was done by me and with John's personal authorization. Nothing was 'converted' until the final phase when the native Finale and PowerTab files were converted into Adobe PDF format to be made readily available on the net, and no score has been made available without John's generous permission.

I hope I have successfully answered any questions you may have had regarding these scores and their availability.

I have only today joined this forum, and a fine and informative forum it looks to be. I look forward to reading and learning from all of you.


Greetings,
Kevin Michael

[TonyV]

Kevin,

That looks like a lot of work, it was something the DVD needed.

Good job.


Tony

[spaceboy]

yeh, sorry - stolen was completely the wrong word. Was just thinking that if all that WAS all there was to the DVD then it's a bit... silly, giving it away free.

but fair do's, and a good job you did to!

(wow, you know John! ooooh ^_^)*

*to some degree at least. and a higher degree than me at any rate...

Originally posted by Kevin Michael
Gentlemen,

I'd like to clear up what seems to be misconceptions regarding the John McLaughlin DVD boxset 'This Is The Way I Do It'.

Firstly, to Simeon, I thank you for the link. Much appreciated.

To Spaceboy: If indeed your post made reference to John's music appearing on my website, your use of the word 'stolen' is quite a serious accusation, but I shall give quarter, and provide a civilised response below.

In addition to http://www.johnmclaughlin.com http://www.abstractlogix.com the John McLaughlin DVD guitar scores are also available from my site because I am the person who scored them. Guitar scores for the entire 12 DVD Chapters are complete. Although the .midi files which were generated from the written scores can be helpful, they are provided only as a supplement and hopefully to inspire the serious guitarist to purchase the DVD.

To Donnie: All modal, harmonic and rhythmic structures of the guitar scores were meticulously analyzed mathemusically, written out long hand on manuscript, and then entered into and prepared on the computer over a 7 week period of time. This work was done by me and with John's personal authorization. Nothing was 'converted' until the final phase when the native Finale and PowerTab files were converted into Adobe PDF format to be made readily available on the net, and no score has been made available without John's generous permission.

I hope I have successfully answered any questions you may have had regarding these scores and their availability.

I have only today joined this forum, and a fine and informative forum it looks to be. I look forward to reading and learning from all of you.


Greetings,
Kevin Michael

[Phineas]

just ordered mine from abstract logix - they're on sale right now for $155 holiday special. this looks to be the most well thought out comprehensive instuctional guide for intermediate to advanced players out there & should last me quite a while. I can't wait to get started. there's some clips on guitarplayer tv web site too.

hey Kevin - great job man!

[Ted James]

"mathemusically"???



Word of the day.

[gennation]

I downloaded these from John's site about a year ago. They've been there since he got them.

I thought, "cool I don't need the DVD's now". Well my wife got me the DVD for some occasion...let me tell you, the $160 was chump change for how much they are worth. Trust me, you WANT the DVD's...the transcriptions are not complete, nor are they all right.

Maybe Kevin will fix them up someday and finish them. The only grip is about the music notation, you have to watch it go by two measures at a time on the screen. If only there was a way to print what was on the screen so you could lay ot out in front of you. Because the screen notation seems to be dead on.

Oh by the way Kevin, great stuff you have at the Mahavishnu interactive site. It bewilders me how you came up with ALL those transcriptions of that amazing music. Very cool!

EDIT after rereading Kevins post he does mention the scores have been completed, I'll be heading over to his site. If that's the case, Thx Kevin.

[sepultura]

Awesome, this is what I needed. Loved the DVD's though I couldn't play like him for nuts (obviously).

[willhutch]

Well my wife got me the DVD for some occasion...let me tell you, the $160 was chump change for how much they are worth. Trust me, you WANT the DVD's...

Gennation, please elaborate. From what I can tell reading your posts, we see eye-to-eye on many things musical. I'd like to know what, specifically, are you gaining from the DVD? Is it more theoretical or technical? Is it a lick-library? Is it hands-on with immediate impact, like Don Mock's suff? Or do you have to do alot of mining, like "Chord Chemistry"? Have you come away with any revelations?

As a McLaughlin fan, I'm interested in getting it. But it is an expensive addition to my heaping collection of study material. I'd like to know what I can expect to gain from it, assuming I actually put in the time to master the material.

I invite anybody else who has the DVD to comment. Thanks for the help.

[gennation]

John does NOT show you how to physically play like he does. IOW, he doesn't really talk technique (how I hold the pick, alternating picking, etc...)

But he shows you literally EVERYTHING he plays. The first chapter starts out taking things most serious guitarist know, the scales of the Major scale, or modes. But he shows you how to think of them in Intervals instead of the note after note patterns that many others play.

That's where the intro ends for most guitarist. Because after that he starts showing "John Mclaughlin" stuff. The Triads chapter shows some great exercises, then has you doing them over So What!

It just escalates from there. By the end of the first DVD he's shown you A LOT of stuff. Useful stuff. Then there two more DVD's!!! It's a journey through his 90's era, a Mahavishnu vamp, some Shakti material, and much much more.

The lessons are laid out great. You get a lesson, he shows you and Easy demo of the material, then an Advanced demo over the same tune.

Then he stands in a room with a large screen projector, and he talks through analyzing whats going on with the Advanced Demo. He'll stop the music pointing out this section and that section. Very detailed. And as with any lesson he always incorporates all the previous material in each Demo.

So, a lesson is taught, an Easy demo is played, an Advanced demo is played, then John analyzes the Advanced demo in detail.

To play like John would be short comings for most people, but his concepts of theory are the thing that will stick to you forever. GREAT teaching! That's what the DVD's are all about.

The drawbacks to the DVD are...

During the analyzing of the Advanced Demo, the audio he's/you're listening to is recorded through the microphone that he's talking through. So, at times it isn't the greatest. But you do have the actual Advanced Demo to listen to by going back to it.

The other one is there no book persay, or complete persentation of the notation. It's all on screen. As this thread mentions there is tab and notation available, but it's incomplete for sure and has mistakes he and there pertaining to where John is actually playing the parts.

And, if you don't read notation you might have an issue. What's on screen is ALL notation, no tab. And, the tabs are incomplete. So, you should know that if you are going to by it.

But, still...John presents it in a way where you are going to "get it". It'll just be hard to follow through the playing part of the program.

Hope that helps.

There's at least one video of the DVD's on youtube.com. He shows the Matindale Advanced Demo.

Also, guitarplayertv.com has clips from chapter one. But it's just the "here are the modes" part. It doesn't getting to showing you what he does with them..

But with all of those vids you'll get a good idea of the format everythings persented in. I equate it to a trumpet player getting a lesson from Miles, or a sax player from Coltrane. Plus you can watch it over and over.

Hope that helps.

[GovernorSilver]

I noticed this DVD set is on sale for $99 so I searched and found this thread. Gennation's review helped me decide to go ahead order. Thanks!

BTW, I notice there's all these links to PDFs and tabs on the product page now.

[Washburnmemphis]

I noticed this DVD set is on sale for $99 so I searched and found this thread. Gennation's review helped me decide to go ahead order. Thanks!

BTW, I notice there's all these links to PDFs and tabs on the product page now.

ditto

Thanks for the heads up!

[Free]

Is Kevin's McLaughlin tab still available? I don't see it linked anywhere, but would LOVE to have it.

[GovernorSilver]

Is Kevin's McLaughlin tab still available? I don't see it linked anywhere, but would LOVE to have it.

http://www.abstractlogix.com/xcart/product.php?productid=17686&cat=276&page=1

Click the link that says "TABLATURES"

[Free]

http://www.abstractlogix.com/xcart/product.php?productid=17686&cat=276&page=1

Click the link that says "TABLATURES"

Thank you, sir!

[gennation]

Good to see this get bumped. John's DVD is great...the price has dropped quite a bit from when I got it...if you ever wanted to REALLY talk Modal application with someone who uses them, John's the guy...it's like talking 'cool' with Miles.

Since it's an old thread that's been bumped...

I met Kevin through a JML forum and ended up meeting him in person at a 5 Peace Band concert in Ann Arbor. Kevin is very cool, has some great stories, and was even kind enough to send me a pick that John used!

Hat's off to this DVD and hat's off to Kevin, he's got a great talent for transcribing!

(also, in that link...get that Project Z - Lincoln Memorial CD, absolutely incredible! It came free with the DVD set, other wise I would've probably missed it completely)

[GovernorSilver]

I did order a CD with the DVD set, but it was Miles From India - I'm always a sucker for Indian-Jazz fusion and couldn't resist.

There are way too many intriguing titles on that site - too many for my wallet, that is. :o

[Swain]

Some here have asked about the impact these instructional materials would have. And if the Transcriptions would be all you'd need?

My friend ordered them. And after watching all of the first DVD, and some selected parts of the others, I was blown away.

Do I plan on getting them? Yes.

Have I? No, not yet.

The impact of these materials? It IS a full on MASTER CLASS from one of the guys who was there, and still is. And by "There", I mean at the forefront of truly fusing styles, and continually pushing forward.
So, the "impact" could be to transform or strengthen your overall perspectives and attitudes towards your approach to music.
And yeah, you'll probably get a lot better Technically, too.

No, the Transcriptions are not "enough"!

(Silly Rabbit, Licks Are For Kids! LOL)

It's the whole Approach, and the way in which these things are presented. You NEED the DVDs!

And a few years...........

:)

I do plan on getting these. Just not yet, for me. I am already working through some things that will require all of my time, for quite awile. But, this DVD set is really something.

[joemesser]

Just another huge thumbs up....yes, BUY the DVD set. For what you are gettting, it truly is "chump change"
The tools he provides are very, very powerful and it's all about fitting them into your own style. It's not a class on "how to play like John", unless you want it to be.
Having said that, have you ever listened to his lightening fast runs and thought "What the F did he just play?".......well, he shows you and you can go in slo-mo!!! (thank goodness)
Truly a gift to the guitar world from The Man himself.
I think I'll be learning from this thing for years and years!

[Washburnmemphis]

Fast service, I ordered mine at around 3:15 yesterday afternoon, FEDEX was at my door today at 11 am with the package! Considering that it had to clear customs, I'm impressed.

[GovernorSilver]

Yeah, I got mine pretty fast too.

I started watching DVD#1 last night, and skimmed over Chapters 2-4 to get a feel for the material. Afterwards, I concluded the tablature transcriptions are of limited value, because what McLaughlin is communicating are concepts over "licks" or rote "exercises". For example, he presents modal exercises as intervallic patterns in steps of 3rds, 4ths, etc. You're better off getting the pattern in standard notation - if you get the tab, you have to rewrite the tab every time you change your fingering. The tab might be of greater value for his "demos" (he provides an example solo - what he calls a "demo" - for each topic - in an easy and advanced version, with analysis of the advanced version). However, he leaves the impression these are just "proofs-of-concept" - sure you can learn all these "demos" off of tab, but if you decide to change fingerings, you'll have created extra work for yourself.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not an anti-tab guy - I'm just saying he's clearly teaching ideas, not "play like me" stuff.

[gennation]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not an anti-tab guy - I'm just saying he's clearly teaching ideas, not "play like me" stuff.

This was originally released with no tab what so ever and ONLY the notation on the screen.

Kevin told me the original no-tab idea was to let everyone figure it out using their own sense of direction (so to speak). This is also why the tab that was eventually put out is not always what John is actually playing...it's actually Kevin "deciphering" it from audio and notation into tab, using his own sense of direction.

I wish they would make a download for just the notation though, with no tab. It would be easier than following it on screen, especially for block training certain pieces and having to wait for the DVD to register and play from point A to point B just to look at what the notes were.

[GovernorSilver]

This was originally released with no tab what so ever and ONLY the notation on the screen.

Kevin told me the original no-tab idea was to let everyone figure it out using their own sense of direction (so to speak). This is also why the tab that was eventually put out is not always what John is actually playing...it's actually Kevin "deciphering" it from audio and notation into tab, using his own sense of direction.

I wish they would make a download for just the notation though, with no tab. It would be easier than following it on screen, especially for block training certain pieces and having to wait for the DVD to register and play from point A to point B just to look at what the notes were.

My DVD set did not come with hardcopy of any kind either. I'm referring to the tab on the website.

The transcriptions of the demos in standard notation are on the same page where tab is. Click the link "PDF (Click here to download)"

[gennation]

My DVD set did not come with hardcopy of any kind either. I'm referring to the tab on the website.

The transcriptions of the demos in standard notation are on the same page where tab is. Click the link "PDF (Click here to download)"


I wasn't talking about a hard copy. I have the downloaded tab too, but I wish they had a file that was ONLY the notation, without the tab getting in the way.

[GovernorSilver]

I wasn't talking about a hard copy.

Then I am confused as why your statement "This was originally released with no tab what so ever and ONLY the notation on the screen" was addressed to me when I posted nothing to contradict this statement of yours.


I have the downloaded tab too, but I wish they had a file that was ONLY the notation, without the tab getting in the way.


Like I said, click that link.

[gennation]

Then I am confused as why your statement "This was originally released with no tab what so ever and ONLY the notation on the screen" was addressed to me when I posted nothing to contradict this statement of yours.



Like I said, click that link.

Sometimes what comes out in text is not what was intended...

Sorry, maybe I should have quoted this, "You're better off getting the pattern in standard notation".

When I bought the DVD all that was available was the notation you could watch on the screen, there was nothing to print off and read. Then I found the tab had been released with the notation, but the tab was wrong and some of the notation was questionable too. But mainly, the notation is hard to follow and block train with when it's on the TV/monitor.

I didn't realize they had a 'just-notation' version available. I'll check it out.

[vivacuica]

I have the DVD, just got it on Friday. So far it's pretty damn good, and inspirational for sure -- I spent almost 3 hours practicing just the modal stuff the first day, and I already knew the modes. It was just his approach that was interesting.

As far as the downloadable PDFs, they appear to me to be the same ones that are on the screen when he is playing. I'm taking a guess here but I think he played directly into a notation program like Finale and the program did the transcription -- not a person. That's why there's some questionable stuff. Still, they're valuable to have.

Personally I get more out of listening to him talk about ways to practice these things as opposed to watching him blowing and then trying to learn his stuff. It's entertaining for sure, but I'm not so sure about the value there.

The bottom line is though, you get 3 DVDs and lots of great stuff to practice for $100. How much do you think a lesson with John would cost, even if he taught? These DVDs are worth it.

[GovernorSilver]

As far as the downloadable PDFs, they appear to me to be the same ones that are on the screen when he is playing. I'm taking a guess here but I think he played directly into a notation program like Finale and the program did the transcription -- not a person. That's why there's some questionable stuff. Still, they're valuable to have.


He used the MIDI output of his Godin MIDI guitar rig for transcription.

I recently started learning his melodic minor scale exercises from Chapter 8. So far, I haven't noticed any discrepancy between the guitar audio and the on-screen notation. At first I wished someone had put up the notation for the exercises on the web too, but I quickly got used to pausing the video, sight-singing the exercise, then playing it repeatedly until I memorized the exercise in my head. I tried to resist the temptation to attempt learning the whole exercise right away and instead focused on memorizing a couple of bars at a time, only adding more after memorization of the previous bars was complete. Admittedly, this is a PITA compared to practicing exercises off of a book or website but it'll be interesting to see what results come out of it. I recently collaborated with some friends on a simple piece that included a "cadenza" for me to play in the key of D (major or minor), gradually transitioning to G, which we then played live. I messed up badly in the beginning of the piece, but did ok during my cadenza. The thought later occurred to me that more focused practice on modal playing might be useful for that situation (we might play the piece again), so I turned to McLaughlin's wisdom...

I also tried watching his fingering with the DVD player set to 1/8 speed, but decided to not adhere too strictly to his fingering, as it seemed more important to get the sequence of pitches right than the exact fingering. It also reinforces (for me) the memory of the exercise by trying it on other parts of the neck and changing up the fingering.