Top Nashville Session Guitarist Derek Wells - Creating Pro Sounding Guitar Parts - Guitar Lesson
Вставка
- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- Derek Wells is one of the most in demand session guitar players in Nashville! If you listen to Country music on the radio you are without a doubt hearing his catchy guitar work on most of the top songs on the charts! He is a first call session guitar player for the biggest and the best in country music. In this video he gives you a step by step process on how to make radio ready guitar parts.
Follow Derek on Instagram here:
/ d_weezee
Want to kick your playing up a notch and to take your playing from copying other people’s licks to creating your own? Check out my website here:
www.brettpapa....
Watch, listen and learn kids! This is what being a session player is.
Exactly. Number one rule: serve the song. The song is king.
@@angusorvid8840My #1 rule when asked to cowrite or brought in to finish a track with someone.
I’ll literally place an object on a chair or table that represents the song. It’s a fun way to set the tone that every choice we make is for the song in its current form.
The worst experience may have been a guy who paid me to come in three times and vamp on an E7 chord as he tried writing a story about New Orleans.…word by word. I was ready to call in William Shatner to just do poetry over E7. lol
"If you're breathing, tune."
Loved this video! Thanks for doing this guys.
Haha! Sure thing!
Hands down the best video on UA-cam for session guitar players. Whenever I come across a track and can’t get the right parts I watch this video and it always resets the way I approach coming up with guitar parts.
Glad you liked it Peter! Got tons of vids with all the Nashville session cats. Derek is awesome, great player, and great at breaking things down too! Thanks for watching!
Whomever thumbed down this video needs to change the batteries in their hearing aids. Derek is the real deal and this video is full of gems and solid studio knowledge from an accomplished artist. Thank you for this.
Haha! Thanks for checking it out!
Inspiring, down to earth, succinct and high caliber all round. Thanks for taking the time to do this guys. Makes me realise I am overplaying the hell out of my tracks!!!
Haha, sure thing! I'm sure your tracks sound great!
Nick Bright Thanks for watching! Overplaying can be fun too sometimes ;-)
I definitely got the same perspective from this video. Really awesome to see how great tracks are built by subtle layers which add to each other rather than crazy licks and riffs fighting for attention.
This is awesome Bret / Derek! Not enough content like this around, thank you both!
Sure thing! More coming soon!
This video was so darn mesmerizing. I had no idea how much goes into this but appreciated the chance to have an incredibly up-close view of the process with Derek's clear explanations of everything and especially his thinking. Super interesting to go through all of the parts. Tremendous respect for the skill, creativity and artistry involved.
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!
When the track is finished and released, could you let us know (artist and title)? Would love to hear the finished version. Thanks!
As a songwriter and someone who has had demos done in Nashville and I also create my own "pre-demo" demo at home this was incredibly useful. I love just getting a glimpse at how you go about it - letting us be a fly on the wall. Derek, thank you so much.
Scott Hamilton thanks for watching. Glad some of it got the wheels turning. Cheers.
That was great. Thanks for putting up this kind of content, Bret. And thanks so much to Derek - he is obviously a really nice, creative, talented and articulate guy. Could easily watch and listen to him do this stuff all day. "More Derek", is what I say.
More coming soon! He is a great hang! Really great player as well.
drutgat2 thanks for watching and for the kind words!
Derek Wells Thanks for sharing your thinking about guitar parts as character roles.
I’m playing in a new three-piece and it’s a bit daunting to be on the hook for all the guitar parts and almost all the lead vocals (for the first time). You just clarified and developed my thinking on how to mentally separate those jobs. Makes me feel a whole lot more zen-thanks man, I owe you one!
Well put man man. Really great content.
I always try my luck and ask mates if I can sit in during sessions, just to see other players' workflow. This was a great "fly on the wall" sit-in.. and definitely MORE DEREK!
Man, that was one of the best hours I spent on UA-cam. Thank you, Derek and Brett, for putting this together, truly AWESOME!
Sure thing Bill! Glad you liked it!
Absolutely fascinating. Love that process. Killer parts, playing , tone ...........and tuning
Great stuff. I usually don't watch hour long videos but this one was well worth it.
jess d thanks for watching, pal.
Awesome! Thanks for checking it out!
What jess d said 👍🏻
I just hit on this out of the blue and was mesmerised by the talented player and what goes into sculpting a record kinda like a Tom Petty song. I had to stick around for the whole thing. Wow!
Awesome! Glad you liked it!
Absolutely love this level of detail and watching Derek build layer upon layer into this song. Would love to hear the final client mix.
Thanks for checking it out.
I find a lot of guys have their guitar in tune (easy) but they don't play in tune (way harder)
Great vid.
Very true! A lot of people just press too hard on the strings. I struggle with it constantly myself!
No doubt, so many factors can change whether you’re in tune or not. Having good ears is the main thing, but it also makes you crazy because you hear every little mistuning........
Best and most informative video ever! Great job all.
Thanks for checking it out!
Thanks Papa and many thanks to Derek Wells. Excellent job helps us all
Thanks for checking it out!
Appreciate you taking the time to watch. Glad some it gave ya something. Cheers.
That was absolutely fascinating...Came across this by accident....so lucky...Thank you so much for taking the time.
Sure thing! Thanks for checking it out!
Beginning guitarists who want to be serious players should watch this. Oldtimers like me should watch it too. Cool stuff. This dude is damned good. He listens to the track very carefully and works to compliment it. You can't overpower banjos and mandolins or acoustic tracks. Very different from the L.A. session scene in the 80s where I knew a lot of top cats. Nashville is about country sensibility.
True! All of them are very good at playing for the song!
man this is my dream. Wish I would have went down a different path. Can't fathom waking up and enjoying work every day
Haha! I don't know if they like it everyday but they do realize how fortunate they are.
This video is a great example of " Less is more" Do not have to be a super shredder . Well placed tasteful riffs in the right places ! It is also what you leave out ! I really enjoyed this video !
Yep it is true! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
This is a great video. What I really like is the way Wells thinks of each part as a different member of a hypothetical band, a different character, rather than just more “me”.
Glad you liked it! Thanks for tuning in!
Thanks for watching and for the kind words, Larry. We’ve all got our things that become our work flow. That’s a concept that has always worked for me. Cheers.
EXTRAORDINARY!!! I'm really blown away by your candor and straight up attitude, seriously impressive. I will watch ANYTHING that you have the time and willingness to share. Well done sir.
Thank you, Seth
Thanks man! Glad you liked it!
that was amazing. What a talent.
Yep Derek is amazing. Thanks for watching!
Such a good video.Watching Derek play the simple parts at such a professional level encourages me with my own simple parts. And definitely lots of ideas for how to approach my little band situation.
Glad the video helped you out! Thanks for watching!
A lot of guitar folks are gonna watch this (about 20 times) and not tell anyone about it!!!! lmao! This was so good!
Haha!
Really great tip with mixing standard tuning open chords and 1/2 step down power chords in the chorus.
Glad you liked it haha! Nice to see you sir! Your video is up next!
By far the most valuable video on UA-cam. 1000 lessons all happening at once during the video. Loved it👍🏼
westonstew thanks for saying that. I’m glad some of it helped. Cheers.
Glad you liked it! Thanks for checking it out!
This was very enjoyable to watch. Very cool to get into the mind and process of a pro at work. Inspiring. I could watch these all day.
More coming soon!
Great video. Shows the reality of recording a first class session musician and how he approaches the song.
Thanks for checking it out!
That was amazing artistry.
Thanks for checking it out!
@@BrettPapa I hope you’re involved in upcoming course JO has recently mentioned.
Man I could watch this type of video all day... I really dig the whole creative process and am trying to implement it with my own noise at home... Thanks so much for this!
You are welcome! Thanks for checking it out!
Body language is awesome. I can see this live in my mind. Thank so much for giving us a peek at the creative process and showing the writing and rewriting that is common to all creative endeavors. You are so cool.
Thanks for checking it out!
This was fantastic! Loved this. Very informative. Mr. Wells you are a very talented professional and I thank you for sharing this insight into what you do. Thanks also to papastache for making this video. The tone of that SG (or Les Paul as it may have been) on the solo was sweet. I loved it! Thanks again.
Sure thing! Hopefully more coming soon!
One of my favorite videos on UA-cam.
Awesome! Thanks for checking it out!
This was an amazing session to sit in on! Nashville players are unreal =)
Thanks for watching!
They are monster players but what's sad is the crap they are having to play on these days is just complete trash. Nashville has always had probably the best players in the world with guys like Roy Nichols, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, and of course Brent Mason and a lot of those guys have got to play on some truly classic and timeless records but now session players are relegated to playing on what Tom Petty called "bad rock with a fiddle in it". It seems nowadays studios want more rock players than guys with Tele's and b-benders. True chicken pickin' is hard to find on the radio these days.
Probably the most helpful, enjoyable 59 minutes on UA-cam. I could use a followup session, same content taken further. Thanks.
Get ahold of him on his Instagram and let him know you want to see more. He is a busy cat!
Wow. Super impressed with Derek Wells. This is rad.
Glad you liked it!
This type of content is THE most valuable. A great adjunct would be to show the thought process when dialing in tones to fit the part. Great stuff!
More to come! Thanks for watching!
Dang so many guitars! I just have one electric! Now I know why my frequencies are muddy! So much to learn, thanks for this video!
Yeah all the session guitarists have tons of guitars. They need lots of tones. Thanks for checking out the videos!
Great video! Thanks Derek for allowing us to peak into your world.
Thanks for checking it out!
smokinop thanks for watching. Cheers.
The tip you gave about changing the sound sources (type of guitars) to separate things in the mix was a simple but still a great lesson for me.
I'm doing a recording where I was using the same guitar for all the layers and it was just sounding a mess in the overall result.
Thank you for that!
Thanks for watching. There are a lot more videos like this on my channel. Tons of great tips from people like Derek.
Thank you for sharing. That was a fantastic view into how a creative artist thinks and works through the process
Sure thing! Thanks for checking it out!
Awesome. Thank you.
Sure thing!
That was excellent. Not my kind of music but I appreciate and admire anything that shows the hard work and graft that a top rate musician puts into his craft. A willingness to share that knowledge and experience reflects greatly on his character and all done with such humility. One of the best things I’ve seen on UA-cam about Nashville. Much credit goes to the film makers as well.
Thanks man! Glad you liked it! More coming soon!
Thanks for the kind words, Stuart... appreciate you taking the time to watch!
@@Derwreck12 Hey Derek- at 34:50 which delay in the HX is that? sound and modulation sounds great
Simply the best youtube video I have ever seen. Thank you Mr. Wells!
Michael Nelson that’s very, very kind. I’m glad you got something out of it. Cheers.
Thank for sharing your process Derek. The "thinking as a character" bit is great!
Thanks for checking it out!
Yes yes and yes! Many thanks for this ...
No problem! Thanks for watching!
A very interesting, informative video. Make country great again. A real insight into the mixing technology. Thanks for taking the time to show us another aspect of the making of a recording.
edgeofeternity101 thank you for watching. Hope some of it helps. Cheers.
MORE! This was sooooo good!
More coming soon!
Awesome video thanks, really love watching great session players in session.....so much to learn from!!!!
That was great ... it’s really something to see the magic made, behind the scenes.
Awesome! Glad you liked it!
This was great to watch. Thanks Derek for going through everything. Learned a lot about parts/tones. Great job!
Kerry Gansel thanks for watching! Glad it helped.
DW is one of the best studio players in Nashville. I’ve been a fan since his touring days with Josh Turner. He is definitely an asset to the current recording culture. Keep burning those strings DW!🎸🔥
Haha, glad you liked the video! Thanks for watching!
Bass Honcho very, very kind my man. Cheers.
That was awesome Brett ..and Derek..Brett please do more of these..! So much to learn from watching these pros,even just to make my own home demos more polished 👍👌
Awesome to hear Jamie! Derek is a pretty busy dude but I'll see what I can do!
Love the focus here on the music, feel, and role of each part in the song. Gear is only a tool to help us accomplish the goal of making a great song. Often as guitar players, we end up thinking of it backwards. I don't think I hear him talk about how many amps he owns, or what brand of cables he uses. Fantastic video here, thank you!
Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it!
Erik Fintelman Thanks for watching and for the kind words. I couldn’t agree more.
Thank you so much for sharing your workflow. Amazing guitar work.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks again for doing this, Brett (I know it's your idea!)! This whole series has been very helpful in transforming me back into a musician, like I used to be!
I can see myself doing this.
That's awesome Jeff! Welcome back!
Finally got a chance to listen to this. WOW. Thanks so much for this! Enlightening
Love, love, love, thanks for sharing all this
Sure thing! Thanks for checking it out!
Thanks for showing us this Brett. Very cool how this is done. I’ve always wanted to see this. Thank you again
Sure thing!
Awesome perspective on approaching many aspects of the track! Keep more of these coming and man, that lead tone was nice and thick...awesome player 🤘🏼
Awesome! Glad you liked it! Thanks for checking it out! More coming soon!
Excellent video! Thanks Derek, enjoyed this...what a super player.
Sure thing! Thanks for watching!
That U2 sound is everywhere
Fan-F'N-Tastic!!! More Please!
More on the way!
Love these "inside baseball" videos. Give us MORE!
More coming soon!
Hell of a lesson! Thank you for your time and talent. 1 question . Who is your inspiration?
Hit him up on Insta. He will probably get back to you.
we need more videos like this!
some things you cant learn from songs!
For sure! More like this coming soon!
This was great! Wonderful insight. Thanks!
Sure thing! Glad you liked it!
Omg! This video is everything!!! And his comments at the end about working on your own gear is pure GOLD! I have gained so much in my career by being able to maintain my gear, and the most important gain is by working on it myself I’ve learned it and am so much more knowledgeable about what is possible with my gear and what gear I need
That Jeff Senn J style sounds incredible with those Gold Foils!
For sure!
Thanks a lot for this. So well done. Derek is articulate and SUCH a great player! Really enjoyed it. Great sound too. Kudos.
Ken Stewart very, kind words. Thanks for watching. I’m glad you got something out of it. Cheers.
Awesome! Thanks for watching! Hopefully more to come soon!
really enjoyed that. Thank you to both of you!
Sure thing!
I love hip hop! Awesome
Loved this one Papa!
Thanks Doug! Glad you liked it!
Gold mine
Pretty much haha! Thanks for checking it out!
I love these session player videos you do Brett . Cheers from oz 🇦🇺
Me too! So much fun to get in the minds of the masters haha! Thanks for checking them out!
Thanks for the great video and your insights! Excellent
Sure thing Tom!
You changed my mind. Derek Wells rocks! An excellent musician who is humble and kind even to jealous a-holes.
Haha! Derek is an amazing talent! Glad you liked the video!
Awesome content! This kind of real stuff is rare to find.
Herro Glop thanks for watching!
Thanks for checking it out!
Excellent video Brett. More of these please!
I'll see if Derek is around. He is great.
That was one of the most interesting, informative music production videos I’ve ever seen. Awesome playin’ and insight into your studio mindset, Derek 👍🏻 Brett we need these type of videos on a regular basis, man! Thanks
Thanks! Glad you liked it! More like this coming soon!
Thanks for watching and for the kind words. Cheers.
love that tone, this sounds really good
Thanks for checking it out!
Brett. This is the $h1t man. More, more, more of these. Love em.
More coming very soon!
Really enjoyed this. Just starting/learning to record myself and have been doing similar kind of layering of parts, tones and textures. Derek lends some really useful insights. Great stuff again, Brett.
Thanks for checking it out! More coming soon!
Jim Valver glad some of it helped! Thanks for watching.
Brett..best of luck In Nashville!!
Thanks! Can't wait to get there!
This was really great ! As soon as you started your 2nd take I was playing a lead track in my head !
Awesome for the studio, nightmare for the touring guitarist to play live!
Haha, pick the best parts and roll with it! Thanks for watching!
You guys rock! Top notch content! Excellent intent!
Thanks for checking it out!
This was definitely a happy accident to come across on UA-cam. Always felt like I would love to be in this world, turns out I’d just be gawking and awestruck all the time! Fantastic idea for a video and great execution by both of you. Would love to see more videos like this in the future! Thanks again.
More coming soon! Thanks for watching!
What a great video. Great playing and tones. Fantastic insight in the process of laying down your parts. It’s a shame that people can’t appreciate this video for what it is, some great guys giving their time to to us for free! We live in amazing times that top guys like this will do this for us, and some of us still moan and snipe, it’s so sad!
Thanks for checking it out! Glad to hear that you enjoyed it!
BigDave Dave Thanks for watching, pal. When Brett asked me to do this video, I told him that the biggest reason I was into it was because 19 year old me would have killed for content like this. It’s an amazing time, indeed. Cheers.
Great stuff! Thanks for this fantastic video!
Sure thing! Thanks for watching!
Good stuff , thanks for taking the time both of you 👍
Sure thing! Thanks for watching!
Unauthorised Service thanks for watching, pal.
Great & informative video. Awesome! Thank you for your effort Derek / Brett!
You are welcome! Thanks for watching!
That was fantastic! Very informative. Thanks Papastache and thanks Derek!
Sure thing! Glad you liked it!
Great concept and video. Thank you Brett and Derek. Man, the tasty fills from about the :53 mark on ... so many cool licks to try and learn.
Sure thing!
Chris Casey thanks for watching and for the kind words. Cheers, Chris.
Excellent video, I learned a great deal. Thank you!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, sure, yeah, yeah
Great insightful video. Thanks a lot for posting this!
Sure thing!