It still boggles my mind that while everyone else was playing blues-boogie rock and hard rock/early metal, 17-year old Johnny Marr came up with this guitar part. Such a creative guitarist.
not everyone was playing blues and rock : john mc geogh, vinnie reilly, xtc, keith levene, robin guthrie, andy summers , not to mention people like hamilton bohannon an nile rodgers. but yeah i agree marr was a precocious genius
If I could play like that I'd be so pumped that I could never just sit there talking about it. I get a couple chords out and I'm all jumping off the couch and doing spin kicks. I kicked over my step dad's ashtray and now they want me to sell my guitar on craigslist.
Just learned this song, been playing guitar for 2 years. Self taught by playing songs I like, no theory required. (eventhough i do have a background in piano)
Far and away THE BEST lesson for This Charming Man. The only lesson that plays it exactly like Johnny does. Love all the "geeky" detail involved in perfecting this. Its broken down perfectly. Thank you so much.
Back in the early ‘80s, I played in my first band: we were a cover band, doing songs by then- new bands, like The Police and U2, mixed with songs by older bands, like the Beatles. But we also did what was then called “college music” - music that didn’t get airplay on mainstream commercial radio, and which you could only hear on your local 5000w college radio station; songs by bands like X, Replacements, Pretenders, Translator, Smiths, Cure, Banshees, Magazine - I can’t remember all of them, but we had a huge repertoire, and gained a large following, being the only band doing that type of music in our city in central California. One of the songs we did was This Charming Man - which I absolutely loved! We played the song in F#, and I managed to make it sound “almost” like the original, but it never sounded quite right - until I slipped a capo on at the 2nd fret, and had an “aha!” moment, finding all of those open strings! It was always one of my favorite songs to play, and watching this video brought back a lot of great memories. Except for maybe 1 or 2 different voicings, I played it exactly like this. Thanks for your wonderful tutorials - I wish you and youtube were around back in 1983 - my styluses would’ve lasted longer, and my records wouldn’t have gotten so scratched!
I have been using this video trying to learn one of the greatest guitar pieces of all time I started watching this video when I was 8 years of age I am now 13 and just learned to play it last week thank you so much for this trutorial x
Man you need loads of creativity and personality to compose something so pleasing to the ears and so different from most guitarists. Johnny Marr is a freaking genious.
One of the best tutorials I've seen for any song, not just "This Charming Man." I had the bones of this down in 10 minutes after watching this. And you're totally right about the capo vs. tuning up. Much better chiming by tuning up rather than using a capo.
This is a fantastic lesson. I've been learning relative pitch for the past year and have been sussing out chords and songs for training but this lesson is so thorough and well explained I just sat back and took in the content. Brilliant!
Never been able to get this to sound right until now... you've obviously put loads of research into into learning this song...thank you very much.. brilliant!
Pheww after one evening of repeating and repeating I almost got it up to speed with the recording. For now it's a great challenge! I think I'll have it down in a week or so. Thanks for the great tutorial!!
giving me charlie from lost vibes all jokes aside, everything was extremely well said and what makes it even more impressive is the lack of cuts/edits in the video
I dont normally comment on these things but that was REALLY good. What was really annoying was the fact that it was so simple in parts. First class indeed, really impressed. I'll check the rest of your videos!
This was the first song I learned to play from start to finish, with help from guitar pro. Was advised that I should learn something easier before attempting Marr stuff, but find learning other stuff easier now after almost exclusively focusing on Smiths tunes. Found your channel looking for Kid solo, but was pleasantly surprised to see your full tutorial. Going to spend a day this week and try and master Kid. Your videos are fantastic learning tools. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this tutorial. It had always been my dream to learn this song on guitar and thanks to your tutorial I am able to play it in its entirety 🙏🏼😭
Also, I love your mention of the African highlife style. As someone fairly new to guitar i'm having trouble following most of the tutorials online, but since you seem to do it best maybe you could outline some highlife basics. Thanks Adrian!
Thanks Anders. Glad you enjoyed the lesson. I'm no expert on highlife style guitar, but I do love the sound of it. I might well do some research and listening and prepare a lesson on it in the future.
Amazing tutorial! You are quite detailed and don't just rush through it for the sake of finishing the video. Well done! I really appreciate you taking time to explain this charming song so well!
Only just seen this - there are a thousand tutorials on this song out there and this is quite simply the best. Used to play it and forgotten it completely and this got me back on it! Thanks for taking the time, loved it and brilliant tutorial. JP
I have been interested in this song for quite some time now and have recently got into The Smiths and their work. This was the first Smiths song I had ever heard and I love it so damn much. Great lesson! You're a top teacher.
I'm glad that you a) talk about the chordal construction, instead of just reading out tab and b) acknowledge the High Life influence, not that it was ever really a secret
Hi Adrian, another great tutorial. I've been loving this song since I first taped it off the John Peel session back in 83 but never made the highlife connection before but you're spot on. Always something to learn...
Your tutorials are top-shelf. Thank you for sharing. There’s actually no need to retune your guitar for this song. Johnny does it with a capo on the second fret. Cheers, Adrian!
The most sophisticated pop guitar I think /i've ever heard. I know Prefab Sprout and Andy Summers had a lot of chord flair too but this song is so layered and broad.
I.literally love you I've been playing just normal simple chord songs for like 4 years on and off and I was like yeah I'm gonna try something out of my comfort zone and this seemed impossible you play it with such ease but I'm getting there because of you im so so happy thank you :'( you are wonderful
Your end hooks when it goes up to the high E 10th fret are different both times from what the studio plays. I like what you did and think it sounds very unique and amazing in It's own way!
Your lessons are always excellent - you choose great material, and you explain really clearly. Thanks to you I’ve “broken into” some songs and solos I had presumed were beyond me, including this one! Thank you very much!
Wow! Excellent tutorial and insight into this song. I learned to play this song from another You Tube tutorial a while ago but it just didn't sound right. You've cleared up many of the minute details that version was missing. Thank you!
Thanks so much...one of my favorite songs from an exceptionally gifted artist. Props for working so hard to teach us all...I am diving in and have the some work to do!
Been checking out most of the videos on your channel. Your an excellent teacher. Top notch stuff. I love the extra notes, tabs and how accurate you aim to get.. Took me about a week to get this song down but its definitely made me a better guitarist and your other videos have moved me along as well. Plan on going through a lot of them. Keep up the awesome work.. You should get paid to do this.. Il get my bassist and other guitarist to learn their parts and once I can sing and play at the same time (will take some time) adding this to our setlist!!!! Thanks bud!! also loved sound and vision + search and destroy
Adrian, I love your unassuming demeanor while being such a boss player. I can play some shred style stuff but always found a level of “simplistic” genius in players like Johnny Marr that often gets overlooked. So glad you appreciate it too. Your vids are ace my friend
Thanks so much for this. It took me a few days to learn but now got it. The hardest part for me was the transition to those 2 major 7 chords. Great to find your site with loads of other tracks. How about doing a Sundays song?
I´ve always wanted to play this, but thought it would be impossible - now I´ve learned it within a few days thanks to you. Thank you, you´r e a super - teacher
On returning to the guitar after a hiatus I thought this bit of Marr genius would be a good place to start. Excellent lesson, thanks very much. If I may make a suggestion, 30 seconds at the beginning with you playing an open E just so matching tuning is easier. Thanks again. Good work.
Many thanks for posting this. I've played this song fairly similarly to how you play it but after viewing your tutorial I picked up a few nuances I had missed. Great stuff!
wooo i have been playing this slightly different for years since there was not a proper video on how to play it back when i learned it. This is perfect!!
It still boggles my mind that while everyone else was playing blues-boogie rock and hard rock/early metal, 17-year old Johnny Marr came up with this guitar part. Such a creative guitarist.
not everyone was playing blues and rock : john mc geogh, vinnie reilly, xtc, keith levene, robin guthrie, andy summers , not to mention people like hamilton bohannon an nile rodgers. but yeah i agree marr was a precocious genius
If I could play like that I'd be so pumped that I could never just sit there talking about it. I get a couple chords out and I'm all jumping off the couch and doing spin kicks. I kicked over my step dad's ashtray and now they want me to sell my guitar on craigslist.
Keep rocking it out! 👍
Keep kicking ass trays kid :3
Just learned this song, been playing guitar for 2 years. Self taught by playing songs I like, no theory required. (eventhough i do have a background in piano)
my thoughts have been put into words finally about this song
Rock and roll man 😀
Far and away THE BEST lesson for This Charming Man. The only lesson that plays it exactly like Johnny does. Love all the "geeky" detail involved in perfecting this. Its broken down perfectly. Thank you so much.
the intro isn't really exactly like Johnny Marr plays it but aight
Back in the early ‘80s, I played in my first band: we were a cover band, doing songs by then- new bands, like The Police and U2, mixed with songs by older bands, like the Beatles. But we also did what was then called “college music” - music that didn’t get airplay on mainstream commercial radio, and which you could only hear on your local 5000w college radio station; songs by bands like X, Replacements, Pretenders, Translator, Smiths, Cure, Banshees, Magazine - I can’t remember all of them, but we had a huge repertoire, and gained a large following, being the only band doing that type of music in our city in central California. One of the songs we did was This Charming Man - which I absolutely loved! We played the song in F#, and I managed to make it sound “almost” like the original, but it never sounded quite right - until I slipped a capo on at the 2nd fret, and had an “aha!” moment, finding all of those open strings! It was always one of my favorite songs to play, and watching this video brought back a lot of great memories. Except for maybe 1 or 2 different voicings, I played it exactly like this.
Thanks for your wonderful tutorials - I wish you and youtube were around back in 1983 - my styluses would’ve lasted longer, and my records wouldn’t have gotten so scratched!
Thats so fucking cool dude that sounds like an amazing experience cheers
You probably got some good memories of them times? That Chorus eighties sound should be on every guitarist s repotoir.
On live vids, I've seen Johnny play it both ways, with and without the second fret capo. Most recently, he played it capo'd with The Killers.
When he plays without capo, he has different tunning.
Johnny Marr has a unique ability to develop incredibly catchy riffs on 3 strings.
This guy is a great teacher, so easy to follow his clear instructions and finally I can actually play this great tune!
Agreed
sroodjim he’s like... the best teacher ever
I have been using this video trying to learn one of the greatest guitar pieces of all time I started watching this video when I was 8 years of age I am now 13 and just learned to play it last week thank you so much for this trutorial x
Good man Paddy! I’ve been playing for 30 years and still haven’t gotten it right
IrishBog u have some of the best smiths covers on UA-cam?!??
reminding you of this comment just to cause you pain
didn't realized this video was that old till i read ur comment lmaoo it has such a great quality!
You’re my age??? You’re like 17/18?? Man, I wish I started playing sooner.
Man you need loads of creativity and personality to compose something so pleasing to the ears and so different from most guitarists. Johnny Marr is a freaking genious.
One of the finest guitar compositions in rock history in my view. Johnny Marr found something special with this one.
This guy gave me the best guitar lesson I've ever had
One of the best tutorials I've seen for any song, not just "This Charming Man." I had the bones of this down in 10 minutes after watching this. And you're totally right about the capo vs. tuning up. Much better chiming by tuning up rather than using a capo.
Grant Miller Thanks very much Grant. Yes, was playing it for years with a capo and it never quite sounded right.
Watch your top E, I snapped mine
Please do heaven knows I'm miserable now.. Having trouble with other tutorials and would love to learn it from you... Thanks
There's s johnny marr vid explaining it... look it up
I didn't know Stephen Merchant was such a badass on guitar!!
he's cuter than steve..
Lol that wnas my first thought seeing him
Rose Byrne's ex
he needs to form a band with a ricky and Karl lookalike. Pilkies making music 2
@@tomwalsh6655 steve could go in the distance on an album cover
This is a fantastic lesson. I've been learning relative pitch for the past year and have been sussing out chords and songs for training but this lesson is so thorough and well explained I just sat back and took in the content. Brilliant!
An excellent tutorial at a great pace, and with great audio in 1080p! Couldn't ask for more :)
Thank-you, glad you liked it!
Never been able to get this to sound right until now... you've obviously put loads of research into into learning this song...thank you very much.. brilliant!
I think johnny would be impressed.
You nailed it, Adrian!
May have commented before but this is by far the best tutorial for any song on UA-cam ....credit to you mate
Pheww after one evening of repeating and repeating I almost got it up to speed with the recording. For now it's a great challenge! I think I'll have it down in a week or so. Thanks for the great tutorial!!
giving me charlie from lost vibes
all jokes aside, everything was extremely well said and what makes it even more impressive is the lack of cuts/edits in the video
I dont normally comment on these things but that was REALLY good. What was really annoying was the fact that it was so simple in parts. First class indeed, really impressed. I'll check the rest of your videos!
This was the first song I learned to play from start to finish, with help from guitar pro.
Was advised that I should learn something easier before attempting Marr stuff, but find learning other stuff easier now after almost exclusively focusing on Smiths tunes.
Found your channel looking for Kid solo, but was pleasantly surprised to see your full tutorial.
Going to spend a day this week and try and master Kid.
Your videos are fantastic learning tools. Thanks!
Thank you so much for taking the time out to record this Adrian
whats the deal with that creepy dude to your left
It represents Morrissey nowadays
@@leonardocarneiro9520 loooollll 🤣
That’s what they used to say to Johnny Marr 🤣
I think he’s freaking out at how good the song is
@@leonardocarneiro9520 💀
Thank you so much for this tutorial. It had always been my dream to learn this song on guitar and thanks to your tutorial I am able to play it in its entirety 🙏🏼😭
There's a free and accurate tab on my site and some extra background info on the song - click on the link above.
anyonecan
playguitar.co.uk
Also, I love your mention of the African highlife style. As someone fairly new to guitar i'm having trouble following most of the tutorials online, but since you seem to do it best maybe you could outline some highlife basics. Thanks Adrian!
Thanks Anders. Glad you enjoyed the lesson. I'm no expert on highlife style guitar, but I do love the sound of it. I might well do some research and listening and prepare a lesson on it in the future.
anyonecanplayguitar.co.uk This would be greatly appreciated! Keep up the good work!
Sweet! I definitley will.
Amazing tutorial! You are quite detailed and don't just rush through it for the sake of finishing the video. Well done! I really appreciate you taking time to explain this charming song so well!
This is the best lesson for this song available in this plataform. Amazing work friend.
This is the one of the best tutorials of all. Even alongside Johnny Marr’s own Headmaster Ritual tutorial. Brilliant.
Very true what you say. JM is one of those musicians who work for the song, not to show off, as it always should be. Excellent tutorial, by the way.
amazing lesson. note perfect. took a while to lock it in. who can believe Jonny Marr wrote this at 17years old? hats off. nice one Adrian!
Only just seen this - there are a thousand tutorials on this song out there and this is quite simply the best. Used to play it and forgotten it completely and this got me back on it! Thanks for taking the time, loved it and brilliant tutorial. JP
great work. I finally nailed it after much sweating. sounds so chimey on my Rickenbacker!! Love it!!
Nick Flavell Thanks Nick. Yes, I imagine it sounds superb on a nice Rickenbacker!
+anyonecanplayguitar.co.uk totally love your telecaster. Sounds great!! Is it a vintage guitar?
+Nick Flavell It's a 52 reissue but it's about 20 years old - don't know whether that qualifies as vintage?
+anyonecanplayguitar.co.uk I think 50s - 79 equals vintage but not 100% sure. Got to get me a Tele at some point :)
All the dislikes on this video are because they gave up and got frustrated because this is one of the best tutorials for such a complex song ever.
I have been interested in this song for quite some time now and have recently got into The Smiths and their work. This was the first Smiths song I had ever heard and I love it so damn much. Great lesson! You're a top teacher.
I'm glad that you a) talk about the chordal construction, instead of just reading out tab and b) acknowledge the High Life influence, not that it was ever really a secret
Having a lot of fun learning this song/lick! Excellent presentation and tone from the tele.
Hi Adrian, another great tutorial. I've been loving this song since I first taped it off the John Peel session back in 83 but never made the highlife connection before but you're spot on. Always something to learn...
Your tutorials are top-shelf. Thank you for sharing. There’s actually no need to retune your guitar for this song. Johnny does it with a capo on the second fret. Cheers, Adrian!
brilliant - thanks for the effort - a great tutorial for a great song
Thank-you.
The most sophisticated pop guitar I think /i've ever heard. I know Prefab Sprout and Andy Summers had a lot of chord flair too but this song is so layered and broad.
Took me two years, on and off, but I can finally come back to the video and play it along with you. Thanks!
Adrian, thank you. Spent an afternoon on it and nearly got the intro.
Amazing teacher so clear. I am Jonny Marr. Ok, maybe not lol
I.literally love you I've been playing just normal simple chord songs for like 4 years on and off and I was like yeah I'm gonna try something out of my comfort zone and this seemed impossible you play it with such ease but I'm getting there because of you im so so happy thank you :'( you are wonderful
This is a great lesson, thanks so much for this. If you ever get the time I'd love to hear you break down more Smiths songs!
Your end hooks when it goes up to the high E 10th fret are different both times from what the studio plays. I like what you did and think it sounds very unique and amazing in It's own way!
Great stuff! More Smiths please!
Revisiting your lesson today after quite awhile. Brilliant study of it. Thank you very much
Your lessons are always excellent - you choose great material, and you explain really clearly. Thanks to you I’ve “broken into” some songs and solos I had presumed were beyond me, including this one! Thank you very much!
Wow! Excellent tutorial and insight into this song. I learned to play this song from another You Tube tutorial a while ago but it just didn't sound right. You've cleared up many of the minute details that version was missing. Thank you!
Superb video, literally learnt this within the 20 minute time frame that your video is in! thanks mate!
Thanks so much...one of my favorite songs from an exceptionally gifted artist. Props for working so hard to teach us all...I am diving in and have the
some work to do!
You give some quality lessons there Adrian. Good production quality and clear concise delivery make these lessons very easy to follow.
Been checking out most of the videos on your channel. Your an excellent teacher. Top notch stuff. I love the extra notes, tabs and how accurate you aim to get.. Took me about a week to get this song down but its definitely made me a better guitarist and your other videos have moved me along as well. Plan on going through a lot of them. Keep up the awesome work.. You should get paid to do this.. Il get my bassist and other guitarist to learn their parts and once I can sing and play at the same time (will take some time) adding this to our setlist!!!! Thanks bud!! also loved sound and vision + search and destroy
This was so helpful, thank u so much! I’ve been trying to learn this song forever and finally I’m able to play it
Fantastic clear and accurate lesson. There are more open string notes than I had realised!
Johnny Marr riffs are great to learn advanced rhythm guitar techniques.
Absolutely loved this lesson. many thanks Andy
Adrian, I love your unassuming demeanor while being such a boss player. I can play some shred style stuff but always found a level of “simplistic” genius in players like Johnny Marr that often gets overlooked. So glad you appreciate it too. Your vids are ace my friend
Thanks so much for this. It took me a few days to learn but now got it. The hardest part for me was the transition to those 2 major 7 chords. Great to find your site with loads of other tracks. How about doing a Sundays song?
I´ve always wanted to play this, but thought it would be impossible - now I´ve learned it within a few days thanks to you. Thank you, you´r e a super - teacher
Cheers Phil, glad this was helpful to you.
Really well done...had it down in no time thanks to you after dreaming of playing this for years. Thank you!!
The Smiths are one of my all t8me favourites and I thought out of my league to play. Thanks to this lesson that’s changed! Thanks heaps Adrian.
Great lesson! I thought I would never be able to play it, but you changed my mind. Thank you!
Liam Mcpoyle is that you?
Not gonna lie, you made me crack up
lololololol.
He reminds me of Thom Yorke lol
Spot on! This tutorial definitely comes in my top one of all guitar tutorials on youtube.
Love your tone on this and your precision
Gotta say, you are a fantastic teacher. And it's nice to see someone teach this version as opposed to the acoustic hatful of hollow version. Thanks.
dude I love you ,cogent,crisp and clear I hope my son learns something from you ,He is five and digs the Smiths.Thank you
Thanks for the great tutorial! Appreciate the patient clarity.
Never thought I'd be able to play this in a million years, but this tutorial has helped bring out my inner Marr! Another amazing lesson from Adrian.
Really good lesson mate, nicely broken down and very accurate
stunning version. brilliant tutorial. thanks.
What a super cool tune and a great instructor. Thanks
More praise - very helpful and clear lesson.
On returning to the guitar after a hiatus I thought this bit of Marr genius would be a good place to start. Excellent lesson, thanks very much. If I may make a suggestion, 30 seconds at the beginning with you playing an open E just so matching tuning is easier. Thanks again. Good work.
Wish I had found this Master Teacher 11 years ago. First 6 string was bought then and 24 hours later it went on the wall along with my frustration.
Fabulous lesson, thanks! Being desperate to learn this a long time
This is one of the best "how to play" videos I have ever seen.
Just wanted to thank you for this brilliant tutorial. Really helped me get to grips with one of my favourite tunes!
Thank You Adrian. This is the definitive lesson,brilliant job.
Many thanks for posting this. I've played this song fairly similarly to how you play it but after viewing your tutorial I picked up a few nuances I had missed. Great stuff!
Thanks
Could you do a lesson for - You’ve got everything now? It’s one of my Smiths favourites 👍🏻
This video is honestly the best one I’ve seen and I’ve learnt it from you! Thank you so much!
Great instructional vid. Not a huge smiths guy but had to learn this riff. So glad I found this clip. Thank you!
Awesome lesson. Well presented. Thank you sir!
Really really excellent tutorial! Very thorough, & easy to follow. Thanks so much!
That was great. So much better than other videos. You really broke the song down in an easy to understand and playable format. Kudos.
Excellent lesson. Loved it. Many thanks.
wooo i have been playing this slightly different for years since there was not a proper video on how to play it back when i learned it. This is perfect!!
The best tutorial out there, you get every last detail! Thanks so much I’ve finally learned this :)
finally, a guitar lesson that shows you their version of the song in full before teaching!
Finally someone who can play and plays it correctly!!🙏🙏🙏
Thank you for this. Really good, level-headed presentation
Outstanding teaching skills! Thanks sooooo much regard from Copenhagen
superb lesson, really clear and concise. Really helped me.
Adrian, you are a genius, you know your stuff mate.
Cheers mate. Love this song and learnt it thoroughly. Great teacher.