Rhapsody In Blue - Electric Jazz Guitar

Rhapsody In Blue - segment of George Gershwin's masterpiece
Dedicated to Barbara Stone & Frank Dawson
Performed by Chris Forte
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Lutheran Church of the Ascension
Northfield, IL
Filmed by Lester Cohn

[@puertecitos6888]

best piece of music ever written

[@paulinhocorrea8705]

I agree 100%

[@haskeymorrison]

same@@paulinhocorrea8705

[@StefanGraw]

Wie kann man nur auf die Idee kommen, die Rhapsody in Blue auf Gitarre zu spielen? Brilliant!!

[@TresMamboMusicSchool]

I would not have believed it could be done...the orignal for strings and big band and TWO pianos and you pulled it off beautifully with just 6 strings ....If there is a musical heaven I think you have just earned yourself a front row seat....keep up the awesome work !

[@mxr618]

For Frank Dawson, God rest his soul. Taught me so much at Illinois Benedictine College about a hundred years ago, it seems. Fantastic job!

[@danielappleton153]

You pretty much nailed it. I never thought it could it could be done with a guitar. I can learn from my misconceptions. Thanks.

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

Daniel Appleton Thank you for your kind words. It's still a work in progress

[@danielappleton153]

theforteband I've heard heaven knows how many versions of this piece. I listened to as many as I could find from solo piano to full orchestra, & they're ALL unique. But guitar ? Color me pleasantly surprised !

[@sexypoetry]

+Daniel Appleton …yes, it "can be done" with a guitar... but it's better if you whistle….

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

+Daniel Appleton Thanks, it's still a work in progress honestly. I still hope to record it in a studio setting, where I can control my tone a bit more.

[@sebastiansullivan4770]

@@sexypoetry lol were you going around looking for guitar covers to complain about?

[@ThomasHope73]

OMFG! So much work... and sooo worth it. What a spellbinding performance of such a magical piece!

[@andyguitar]

Really beautifully done! You're an inspiration.

[@Abdullah-sn7pi]

This is amazing!!Gershwin would be proud

[@gullable]

Chris, your timing and touch are unreal. Really connects with how the OG sounds and feels, while also taking advantage of the unique jazz guitar sound. Well played!

[@theweeklydosage]

Phenomenal performance. I'm currently trying to transcribe an even more stripped down version on the bass right now... I've got a long, long ways to go. Fantastic work.

[@Mychannel377]

MASTERFUL!!! Wow, what a performance. Thank you for sharing!

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

Gina Knight Thank you, Gina! And thanks for sharing my video. You humble me.

[@osvaldorivero4242]

BRAVO. !!!!!!!

[@henryfaulkner6051]

Holy Crap..! Totally Awesome..!

[@Aspartamebraintumor]

I had to actually stop the video part way through cause this makes me really want to play guitar. I have too much to do today. good work

[@LouisRodrigues]

Great version, Chris. Loved every second of your performance. I hope someday you'll perform along with a Symphony Orchestra or have you already? Imagine an electric (jazz) guitar instead of a Grand Steinway. Wouldn't that be a treat for our ears & eyes! Souls too.

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

Thank you so much , Louis. I'm still at it, so obviously one day it would be a dream come true to perform this with orchestra.

[@mikeguthrie5432]

A very "snappy" rendition! I really liked it. Good job Chris!

[@randlerobbertson8792]

lovely. indeed lovely.

[@sebastiansullivan4770]

A work in progress? I'd really love to heard how it sounds now. This really is great.

[@FerMagee]

Great! I came here because of Liquid Tension Experiment cover of this song

[@aquilesjorgerabaud1030]

Maestro!!!

[@rodolfoscwartzman2754]

very very good

[@CristobalSanhuezaMusic]

woooowwwww amazingggggg

[@fredradatz9575]

Great 👍

[@paulportuondo4970]

This is by far the most beautiful rhapsody in blue cover i've ever heard! PS: Which size of strings have you used for this cover?

[@akashboinpally4389]

Dopeee

[@eliasamiand299]

Congrats from france that was awesome :)

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

Elias Amiand Merci!

amazing performance! jaw dropping :-)

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

+Elías Torres Arroyo Thank you so much for your kind feedback.

[@cidcampeador1952]

BRAVISSIMO ! ! ! ! ! !

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

+cidcampeador1952 Mille grazie!

[@kaijohn-blunch2358]

Good Work!

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

+Kai John-Blunch Thank you for enjoying the video.

[@RCFrizz]

!Iloveit! Is this your own, arrangement, or is there sheet music for guitar?

[@charlesmiller7283]

Quite a difference between rock guitar and jazz guitar.

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

+charles miller In all honesty, I didn't know how else to title it.

[@ConnorSmith-lh7uw]

Please tell me there are tabs for this :)

[@RockNJeep]

Wow. Great performance! And not far from where I live either. Is that your own transcription? BTW awesome guitar. Looks lived in.

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

+RockNJeep Thanks for the kind feedback

[@zlatiangelov2146]

Beautiful sound on that guitar, mate. I'm wondering if it is possible to get that kind of sounding with my strat guitar 🤔

[@sabtahi13]

I believe in you! Give it a whirl...

[@Maximus10]

I mean I’d say he’s got a hollow bodied jazz sound. It’s totally doable on your strat tho, I’d recommend making sure you have a clean sound(minimal gain/distortion) and keep the mids low but boost treble and base

[@tommichaud3310]

Which tuning are you in for this? Is it E standard?

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

Tom Michaud Yes, this is standard E tuning.

[@simonkrupa9524]

beautiful. where did you learn this? is there music for it somewhere?

[@homopyramid9554]

Would you make lesson of this please?

[@BenMathewsGuitar]

Cool! Is that your own arrangement/transcription?

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

+Ben Mathews Sorry for my late reply, but I adapted this from a classical arrangement I found online. Thank you for the kind words.

[@MaxPipa96]

Would you happen to have sheet music for this?

[@ashzz123]

OMFG!!! thats amazing dude.. seriously amazing!! Keep it up dude!! (and feel free to make tabs anytime lol)

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

S Sim Thank you for sharing!

[@TheNavalAviator]

I adore this! But tell me why does nobody do the grand final on guitar, too hard?

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

Thank you. I've practiced a longer arrangement with the "pretty" section in E Major and segueing into the finale, but don't feel like I've mastered it yet. It's doable on the guitar though.

[@TheNavalAviator]

Don't wear square-toed shoes when doing it on video and absolutely everything about it will be superb. Looking forward.

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

Lol. Thanks for the tip!

[@Govanmauler]

Ooooooooooooh my

[@alexandroschatzakis4542]

That was amazing! Is there any sheet music for this transcription?

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

Thank you for your kind words. You can find one here: www.amazon.com/Rhapsody-Blue-Solo-Classical-Guitar/dp/1476871507

[@rjmusic4437]

Is that an EMG?

[@ClockworkKyle]

That's what I'm talking about.

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

ClockworkKyle Thanks for checking out the video

[@greenbrightly]

ChrisForteGuitar astonishing stuff

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

Thank you, Neil. I greatly appreciate the kind words

[@ぴーぺっ]

tabs please

[@Tomrolk]

shit! i was trying to do this, somebody already did FUCK!

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

+Tomás Jesús There's definitely still plenty of room for more versions.

[@jimmorrison789]

Is he playing on flatwounds?

[@ChrisForteGuitar]

These are not flat wounds. D'Addario EXL 145, 12's with an unwound G string. In all honesty, I was not thrilled with how the tone was recorded here, I'm hoping to get a studio recording together of the piece.

[@jimmorrison789]

Pure beauty!

[@jonathanfuentes2363]

Tabs????

[@mrjamesgrimes]

Feel like you could get a little better jazz sound out of that 335..