This kid is utterly amazing. Kinda makes me want to throw my geetar away and never look back.
He’s pretty good.
A shame about on post-processing that was done. I wish I could hear the performance sans the added reverb/delay.
Fun - he’s pretty good but more importantly, he plays solidly in the pocket of the beat so the song grooves.
He’s basically approaching the guitar with a combo of standard playing and Kaki King-style playing - she’s one of those guitarists who plays with both hands on the fingerboard and using a lot of percussive maneuvers on the body of the guitar.
Honestly **FGiE **- it’s nothing your average player couldn’t do - maybe not as a little kid like our guy in the video, but it isn’t all that tough…
Word, WordMan. Kid does have a nice groove, though. Lotsa kids can’t hear/feel that.
I did think there were a couple of briefly dreadful parts in the ‘solo’ portion.
Too bad about the over amplification. I thought he sounded really good on “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
Well, I thought it was pretty amazing given his age and with that percussive playing style he was using. Plus I really like that song.
And I noticed the mistakes too, but felt it didn’t detract from it.
And I liked the way he was playing behind the beat.
I’m no expert, but he was ok on that song. I was far more impressed with this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xRARmrorGU&feature=related
I have a soft spot in my heart for More Than Words anyway, and I thought he captured the tune very nicely.
Impressive, but there’s nothing there that you couldn’t do also - no need to hang up your axe. In fact, if you liked that, there’s every reason to pick it up and start woodshedding! Michael Chapdelaine seems to have lots of tabs of his stuff.
The big advantage the kid has over us grown-ups is he’s got no agenda, no particular plan - he just fell in love with the sounds he could make a few years back when he started and let his playing develop. Us grown-ups seem to think if we can’t master ‘that lick’ in a month we should give up. There’s a huge gulf between teaching kids and adults for that exact reason.
I agree, and I was being facetious about not playing anymore. It’s never been a contest to me, but the kid in the vid makes me wish I’d gotten an earlier jump on the guitar than I did (damn you youth league sports!).
If unconvinced, then watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-mMUplpts8&feature=related
Verily I say unto you…
The kid is amazing. Admit it. Average guitar players aren’y capable of this stuff.
FoieGrasisEvil Yes, he’s very impressive - he has a great sense of the independence and interaction of his bass, chord and melody lines. He’s playing the way I’m told that Ed Bickert, Chet Atkins and Lenny Breau played when they were around his age, and I look forward to following this kid’s career. He’s playing around a grade 6* or 7 Royal Conservatory of Music level at about half the age of most of the people who have those grades.
I will add, however, that the arrangements that he is playing are fantastic for how idiomatic they are for a good fingerstyle guitarist. They fit right under the hands. I hope my earlier post didn’t sound like I was nagging you, nor that I am in any way trying to belittle this young man’s remarkable accomplishments. I would encourage you, if you like this style of guitar playing, to get your hands on some of Hiroshi Masuda’s arrangements, or some of the stuff by the above mentioned Michael Chapdelaine. Pick one and figure out some of what’s happening there - there’s lots going on that you can pick up and work with, and the hardest part is developing your strumming hand if all you’ve ever done is use a pick…
Best wishes, and thank you - I hadn’t heard of him before your post.
*That’s not a put-down or a backhanded compliment - the Royal Conservatory grades are harder for guitarists than they are for other instruments. Grade 8 is around the level for entry into university as a performance major, and the Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto (ARCT) is about the equivalent of a master’s degree.
Thanks Ministre, I will check them out. The kid reminded me of Stanley Jordan a bit.
I don’t know. I am a pretty mediocre guitar player, only going for maybe a year and a half, but I’m pretty confident I could play that. I’ve focused on learning fingerstyle guitar, though, 'cause it’s what my dad always plays. As a result, I have a lot of trouble playing big riff-based songs that you might find easy, but fingerstyle guitar is deceptively simple. You might be thinking of the melody where John would be singing “There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done…” but that’s really not that bad once you get your picking hand used to the fill.
I’d recommend you look into learning fingerstyle guitar if you like this. It’s not all that hard, and it’s a lot of fun to play. Even easy songs become impressive, which is nice 
There was absolutely nothing impressive about either of those videos. That kid is just a mediocre guitar player. If you want to see something impressive, watch this.
–FCOD
Hah. While impressive, I’ll see your twin guitar attack and raise you some feel:
(dig the bass player too)
(these guys all seem to have the Beatles in common!)
Yeah, I have a friend whom wishes he could play like me, which is to say, I grew up, ahem, playing a lot of Yngwie and Satriani-type arpeggiated nonsense, which was never very hard for me.
For my friend, he plays a LOT of capo’d fingerpicking stuff and it sounds amazing. I’m not all that great at it.
I also would really like to be able to play slide delta blues like Ry Cooder (don’t we all, though).
Sorry, the kid in the OP has much more musical feel than the kid in the video you linked to.
And here’s Stanley Jordan double-tapping ‘Autumn Leaves’.
Oh my god, I tried playing Death Letter by Son House about a month ago, and I now have so much more appreciation for the guitar skills of those guys. I mean, I’ve always loved the blues, but I never really thought of bluesmen as great guitarists. I was wrong.
Sorry kids, but when it comes to solo acoustic playing in the pocket and having insane technique nobody touches Jerry Reed.. That riff in the beginning is absolutely insane. Those changes. Jesus.