David Grier is the world's best bluegrass guitar player. His technique is the equal of the very best pickers but his novel approach to harmony and almost bottomless well of inspired, coherent musical ideas put him way ahead of anyone else. He's my favorite!
Well said. Ive always hought David Grier is the best flatpicker ever, too. Musical taste is so subjective, bit it’s hard to argue that anyone has better chops than Grier.
I see something in this video that I've hardly seen before in music. He seems to be channeling the music out of thin air. He has his eyes closed and magically the creativity just springs forth. He veers from the basic tune a lot which many frown upon in bluegrass, but brings the level of play to a whole new level by doing so. Thanks David!
shorthopper88, what he's playing is anything but random. His fluidity, clarity, and creative embellishments on the original melody are what make him a great guitar player. And as for the beard, I think he looks weirder without it. I look forward to seeing your video proving you're just as good as David Grier!
Wow! What a great player. I sure am glad we have talented people like David, Richard Smith, Tony Rice and Bryan Sutton to improvise over these songs so that we don't look like a bunch of rookies reading it in a book. Bill Monroe improvised Chromatic licks are a staple of bluegrass and are used by many players.The only ones who object to great players improvising are those with limited skills and inflexible minds. I know some! David didn't "lose the melody" at all! He played within it. GREAT!
@bluegrasssingingman ...his timing is right on the button...what you're hearing is the fact that he doesn't just sit and play 8th notes for the whole solo. That can get dull after a while. He's way more creative than those guys you mentioned....albeit that those guys are great originals and pioneers for sure..no doubt Tony is one of my favourites. He IS the man for ingenious creative ideas, and Bryan Sutton is the man for balls to the wall solos. They're both the men...unless you like Sparks..
@GiladFoss agreed. He has so much more ideas and licks than any of the other guys out there doing it. One of the best improvisers out there in any genre.
I hear phenomenal playing such as this and I wonder how on earth so many variations, and such wild variations, come to be in muscle memory, well enough that it's possible to pull the performance off. Do they write it out in music or tab, and memorize it? Or is it that they've played so much, and for so long, that they can actually play crazy stuff like this off the cuff?
They've played so much that it's off the cuff. When you play so many variations of hundreds of songs in the key of G (like this song for instance, although he is playing in the key of A in the G-position), the movements/positions are second nature. Some of those ideas you see him play with are often retread, but then something comes out that he's played with in another tune in that same position or key. Then there are ideas that come out when you know your landing point in a phrase (like this phrase ends on the 5 --in this case a d shape), so he knows he is going to end the phrase on the d note... then he fills that phrase with a run/lick/series of melodic chording that ends on the D. To do this you need to practice it. The best improvisers are those that constantly improvise. Set a metronome, get your looper, call a friend, and start picking.
@richardsmithmusic exactly, and not to mention, its not like david can't bring it down a bit..... this is a solo show, if he didn't bring the fire, id be upset!
@bluegrasssingingman....I dunno what spaceship you just got out of but David Grier's time is not "choppy", whatever that might actually mean..... his time is great. Thats one of the things that allows him to play, unaccompanied as a flatpicker, with such great success. Grier is a giant and a unique voice. Also I read you told Richard Smith to go listen to The Tony Rice Instructional CD. Do you know who you're talking to there...... fool?
@bluegrasssingingman haha! no. however the blackberry blossom shall not be free from interpretation, and should not be doomed to fit a narrow confine of style haha you probably wouldn't like my picking either.
@bluegrasssingingman Once the melody has been stated, you have to change it a little each time. This is not an old time dance. I guess you think there is no room for chromatics in bluegrass. Well that's a matter of opinon.
@bluegrasssingingman I think Richard Smith is highly qualified to judge the quality of another guitarist's timing and chops, given his own. What, pray tell, are your qualifications?
@capitalismforme Nah....Dave's comfortable in just knowing that he's the man....and the only folks who's respect he would care about are the one's who are great muso's that give him cudos anyway.
@capitalismforme Nah. He's content just to know that he's the man...you have to actually be a really good muso to know this anyway....you can't explain how good this is to a non musician. Shame....
Merlyn Schutterle It's a valid critique. I don't agree, but the trite knee-jerk reactions to your opinion need to be seen for what they are. The sensitivity of these comment patrolmen is that of a teenage girl or an uptight granny. It's positively feminine.
@capitalismforme Nah. He's content just to know that he's the man...you have to actually be a really good muso to know this anyway....you can't explain how good this is to a non musician. Shame....
David Grier is the world's best bluegrass guitar player. His technique is the equal of the very best pickers but his novel approach to harmony and almost bottomless well of inspired, coherent musical ideas put him way ahead of anyone else. He's my favorite!
Well said. Ive always hought David Grier is the best flatpicker ever, too. Musical taste is so subjective, bit it’s hard to argue that anyone has better chops than Grier.
this is savage and obscene!!!
David Grier is unreal!!! He has an incredibly original style that brings pure excitement to string music! So great!
I constantly come back to this. It's so good, I can't stand it.
Such a good example of tasteful bluegrass picking. And very refreshing that he doesn't sound like he's copping Tony Rice. Absolutely brilliant.
Heard him in concert last night for the second time. Wonderful.
Darn this guy can play some excellent Bluegrass guitar! I love to listen to David pick! Wow!!!
LOVE IT! One of the best renditions I've ever heard.
I see something in this video that I've hardly seen before in music. He seems to be channeling the music out of thin air. He has his eyes closed and magically the creativity just springs forth. He veers from the basic tune a lot which many frown upon in bluegrass, but brings the level of play to a whole new level by doing so. Thanks David!
David Lieberman Agreed. The Joe Pass of acoustic flat top guitar.
shorthopper88, what he's playing is anything but random. His fluidity, clarity, and creative embellishments on the original melody are what make him a great guitar player. And as for the beard, I think he looks weirder without it. I look forward to seeing your video proving you're just as good as David Grier!
Great job 🙂 One of my favorites. Thank you for sharing.
He's so creative!
This artist gets me playing anyway, thanks!
this video is a gift too us all. Thank you
Go Dave! Quite an accomplishment to develop an original voice within the confines of traditional music.
That man is a genius!
He's the best. This is brilliant music.
Too damn good
Oh, now I have a new "best version of blackberry blossom I ever heard"
Second best! You have to admit TR’s is the best!!
A master of the art!
Fabulous Job David!
Best Acoustic Style , ILOVE it !!!!!!
Grier's right hand technique is the best in the business. And that statement might well apply to instruments outside of guitar, too.
How good is that !
MrBoris.. you have awesome videos. Thanks for posting.
he was in the zone
amazing per usual
Wow! What a great player. I sure am glad we have talented people like David, Richard Smith, Tony Rice and Bryan Sutton to improvise over these songs so that we don't look like a bunch of rookies reading it in a book. Bill Monroe improvised Chromatic licks are a staple of bluegrass and are used by many players.The only ones who object to great players improvising are those with limited skills and inflexible minds. I know some! David didn't "lose the melody" at all! He played within it. GREAT!
Whooh! Astonished! What a player!
i saw him in concert!!
slickest rendition of blackberry Blossom I've heard
Incredible. Thanks for posting.
Incredible
@bluegrasssingingman ...his timing is right on the button...what you're hearing is the fact that he doesn't just sit and play 8th notes for the whole solo. That can get dull after a while. He's way more creative than those guys you mentioned....albeit that those guys are great originals and pioneers for sure..no doubt Tony is one of my favourites. He IS the man for ingenious creative ideas, and Bryan Sutton is the man for balls to the wall solos. They're both the men...unless you like Sparks..
@GiladFoss agreed. He has so much more ideas and licks than any of the other guys out there doing it. One of the best improvisers out there in any genre.
I hear phenomenal playing such as this and I wonder how on earth so many variations, and such wild variations, come to be in muscle memory, well enough that it's possible to pull the performance off. Do they write it out in music or tab, and memorize it? Or is it that they've played so much, and for so long, that they can actually play crazy stuff like this off the cuff?
They've played so much that it's off the cuff. When you play so many variations of hundreds of songs in the key of G (like this song for instance, although he is playing in the key of A in the G-position), the movements/positions are second nature. Some of those ideas you see him play with are often retread, but then something comes out that he's played with in another tune in that same position or key. Then there are ideas that come out when you know your landing point in a phrase (like this phrase ends on the 5 --in this case a d shape), so he knows he is going to end the phrase on the d note... then he fills that phrase with a run/lick/series of melodic chording that ends on the D. To do this you need to practice it. The best improvisers are those that constantly improvise. Set a metronome, get your looper, call a friend, and start picking.
@JLDB1987 It's unbelievable, isn't it? Wish I had a few hours a day to sit around and metronome...
@richardsmithmusic exactly, and not to mention, its not like david can't bring it down a bit..... this is a solo show, if he didn't bring the fire, id be upset!
❤❤❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉
i use a d'andrea pro plec myself. I've been meaning to try a blue chip also.
Very cool version. Roy Curry also has a great version on here.
@bluegrasssingingman respectfully, you are OUT OF YOUR MIND! :) david grier dwarfs larry sparks.... thats just nuts.
some of the bet flatpicking I've ever heard!
Holy sh%#!!!!
This is one of my favorite things
@bluegrasssingingman....I dunno what spaceship you just got out of but David Grier's time is not "choppy", whatever that might actually mean..... his time is great. Thats one of the things that allows him to play, unaccompanied as a flatpicker, with such great success.
Grier is a giant and a unique voice.
Also I read you told Richard Smith to go listen to The Tony Rice Instructional CD. Do you know who you're talking to there...... fool?
how does he rock so hard?
nice
@smuffjules Cool. Glad you think so.
I do. I use DAWG brand pics.
bets version ive seen. amazing how he sounds just right with no rythm of any kind. nothing but a man and his guitar.
@bluegrasssingingman haha! no. however the blackberry blossom shall not be free from interpretation, and should not be doomed to fit a narrow confine of style haha you probably wouldn't like my picking either.
@bluegrasssingingman Once the melody has been stated, you have to change it a little each time. This is not an old time dance. I guess you think there is no room for chromatics in bluegrass. Well that's a matter of opinon.
@bluegrasssingingman I think Richard Smith is highly qualified to judge the quality of another guitarist's timing and chops, given his own. What, pray tell, are your qualifications?
@capitalismforme Nah....Dave's comfortable in just knowing that he's the man....and the only folks who's respect he would care about are the one's who are great muso's that give him cudos anyway.
richardsmithmusic you’re the man too! Best, Jim K
When in doubt, pinky out.
Or something like that
@capitalismforme Nah. He's content just to know that he's the man...you have to actually be a really good muso to know this anyway....you can't explain how good this is to a non musician. Shame....
You're so intelligent. Did you know that?
Grateful Dead... (correct spelling)
?
Yes. And so?
@wankatronic And Kenny Smith...his hand hardly moves at all.
mean mary for the win!!!
@lordofthemoodring Don't engage this guy. He's nuts.
Why is he playing Blackberry Blossom in the key of A? It's always played in G where I come from
Maybe because David Grier got way further than where you come from?
Maybe because the last song he played was in A, and he is playing alone with a capo, so who cares?
Playing stuff at lightning speed sometimes aint always right . I prefer someone like tony rice etc ... more tunefull.
Decent point except one thing: When Tony Rice played this exact song it was roughly 10bpm FASTER than what David played here.
Meglio di Tony Rice!!
Oh, David - just stop! It's just not fair to the rest of waaaaaaaaay down here at the bottom of the barrel.\😜
Never knew Walt from breaking bad played guitar.
Wonderful, but a little too much sour cream on the taco...for my taste.
Wonderful, but a little too much syrup and not enough pancake for my taste.
Where's your video??
Then I would encourage you to go elsewhere.
Merlyn Schutterle Haven't you heard the pancake 1000x already?
"wonderful.. but since I can't play nearly this good, I gotta find some pointless criticism to save my precious ego."
Merlyn Schutterle It's a valid critique. I don't agree, but the trite knee-jerk reactions to your opinion need to be seen for what they are. The sensitivity of these comment patrolmen is that of a teenage girl or an uptight granny. It's positively feminine.
yea I can play a bunch of random notes really fast on the guitar too, that doesn't make me a great guitar player. And whats with his beard?
shorthopper88 you are are an idiot
Vincent something tells me you are alone...
Okay, show us.
@capitalismforme Nah. He's content just to know that he's the man...you have to actually be a really good muso to know this anyway....you can't explain how good this is to a non musician. Shame....