"Sparks" - The Who Tommy Guitar Lesson

Pete Townshend's style as shown in "Sparks" from Live at Leeds--whole song demonstrated step by step, including a cool John Entwistle bass riff. Fender Esquire into Princeton Reverb Reissue.

[@richardstellar]

you know how many years I've been looking for a tutorial like this on Sparks? Well done sir!

[@jhecht99]

this is not a good lesson...it's a GREAT lesson....you need to listen to it a few times (unless you are a guitar wizard) but none of it is too difficult, and the sound is perfect......thanks again for your help with this song.....much appreciated...

[@ronschwolsky1626]

I agree... Sparks is my all-time favorite Rock instrumental. Townshend has always been an underrated guitarist. Cheers!

[@christinecollins6648]

I also love Underture

[@BostonWhoFan515]

Sparks is my favorite rock instrumental as well. The live version.

[@BostonWhoFan515]

@@christinecollins6648 Pete plays some extraordinary acoustic guitar in both Overture and Underture.

[@tomduerr6409]

The Who is The Shitt

[@toxic_badasss9656]

I love Sparks it's an incredible instrumental, I prefer The Woodstock version the most Pete's guitar sounds amazing on it 🎶🎵🎶🎵❤️

[@robscure23]

Really excellent lesson, thank you 👏👏

[@BostonWhoFan515]

It's amazingly complex and simple at the same time when you break it down to its basics. But if you add Pete's hands, emotion and aggressive style and sound it changes the whole dynamic of the song. A very unique guitarist. Very tough to duplicate as opposed to other guitarists. The evidence is clear in the intro here. You nailed it but Pete's approach changes the entire sound. He's amazing. My favorite guitarist and band. "IT'S IN HIS HANDS", as Pete's guitar tech frequently says. Good job. Excellent song too!

[@harrykadaras9459]

I could not have said it any better - and being from Boston myself, I've see them a few times at the "Gahdin".. Something about Pete's playing mesmerized me..his tone, those slick chords, and the melodies just leave me spellbound that more technical guitarists like Jimmy Page fail to do. I figured out all of Page's stuff but duplicating Pete is just harder...don't know why....

[@BostonWhoFan515]

@@harrykadaras9459 I totally agree. Obviously I'm from Boston too, hence the name, and I've had so many incredible moments in the old-school Boston Garden. Most of it was sports related as most concerts were at other venues in MA. My dad and uncle saw The Who at the Garden in the early 70's. Their prime yrs with Keith Moon. But I saw Deep Purple there. Ozzy too, right after Randy Rhoads died. I think it was Brad Gillis filling in at the show I went to. If memory serves me right Randy died like a month or two before I seen Ozzy. Because when we got the tickets months in advanced Randy was still alive. So Brad was very new but he pulled it off. I was so bummed though. I'm a guitarist and Randy's always been one of my favs. I wanted to see him so bad. I saw Page & Plant there as well, but it was the new building by then. Dubbed The Fleet Center at the time haha! As for sports it was the Celtics that give me the best Garden memories. I saw Larry Bird in his prime. He gave Boston so many magical moments. Which are some of the most historic NBA moments of all time. And as for Townshend's playing I with you. He's so unique. Incredible chord vocabulary with all the sus, diminished, augmented etc chords. His right hand is just as badass. The aggressive fluttery flourishes he does just sound incredible. And that's just his acoustic playing. His electric playing is always pushing the envelope. It's because of Pete that we have Marshall stacks and all that. He started it all. His electric playing is obviously aggressive, (that's a default with Pete lol), loud, chuggy, beefy, thick, mean and intimidating along with his stage presence. He's awesome. As are The Who. Cheers bro!

[@TimotheeLee]

That's a flatten 7th. Make sure your students understand this. That's a blue note and pretty much the basis for any blues leads.

[@jesstowns10]

@@TimotheeLee - You're thinking in terms of notes, not chords. Yes, the note is a flat 7th, but the chord is called the "7th chord". The chord with the non-flat 7th is the "major 7th chord".

[@chicolopez8722]

Excellent dude! You right on with this.

[@boydkool]

great lesson thank you...it's my favorite rock instrumental also, didn't realize it was so easy. :)

[@thestrugglevideo]

I'm a monster WHO fan, never tried to play guitar ever but I'm gonna borrow one and learn some of these riffs. Great job!

[@harrykadaras9459]

Really nice job breaking down my favorite rock song of all time....with the live version being the Woodstock one....iove if you included that sweet little solo Pete did in that version right after the best power chord in history...

[@xr650r01]

Wow, this is an awesome lesson! Simple! It truly demonstrates the genius of Pete Towshend. Thanks for sharing!

[@jhecht99]

that was a great lesson, wasn't it?!...and it is not too difficult once you are shown the way.....

[@pastorwarreng9775]

Hey Hoodrio, thank you so much for this awesome lesson. I'm learning one of my all time favorites.

[@Pedro2706]

Try playing that whilst doing a scissor kick or a windmill!!!!!!Thanks dude-been listening to this since I was 14 in 1970-what a player Townshend is.Great lesson-can you do the Live at Leeds My Generation!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@hubbsllc]

~16:00: "How much cooler is that?" Very much cooler indeed! Thank you for making this video available.

[@markgroesbeck2717]

Amazing lesson. Really unlocks some of those chord shapes. Thanks!

[@thebrownfanchannel8277]

Always wanted to learn this song for years and years. Thank you so much for this!

[@entwistle4ever]

Nice and clear. You can't beat KZbin for stuff like this.

[@pdbordelon]

WOW never knew how complex the chords are - great!

[@twst1]

good stuff...thanks for the up. Pete has gone underrated as a guitarist for too long. He's a fine player

[@mrsoul4231]

Fantastic video-thanks so much for this.Theres not enough Who tutorials out there and especially not of live at leeds.I would love to see more! Ps I also second maqqe71 on petes solo tecnique. Thanks again!

[@LearnerChess]

Great demonstration. Thanks. I've been wanting to play this song for a long time but never really knew how. Now I have a chance. :)

[@germann85]

Dag...if I could play like that I'd never leave the house.

[@4orrcountry]

Well done!

[@mikewest4649]

My favorite live recording. 70 years young and trying to learn guitar and your video is inspiring

[@RollingStoneZzzzz]

Thank you for the lesson! You are correct about Live At Leads being one of the GREATS! Peter and The Who are musical GENIUS! To use SO many open chords and make so many different songs and they are ALL sound different and NEW. AMAZING 👏 TALENT! I saw them play a few time's one was at the Boston Garden where Keith Moon had a little TOO much and fell off his drum set during the 2nd or 3rd song. The first time I saw them was Providence Rhode Island it was general admission. I was againt the stage totally loving the show. I almost was suffocated waiting for the front doors to be opened. Then later on that tour...Cincinnati Ohio! We know what happened. I TOTALLY understand why the banned general admission shows after that. Again I appreciate your expertise and time. Ray Boston Massachusetts

[@suesswein_music]

I think it's crucial in the ethereal part to hit the open D string below the E major chord. I've always wondered if it is sloppy playing, accidentally hitting the open D string, but it's the best possible drone.

[@tommyrossinconcert]

THANK YOU SIR! I got this down, going to blow some people away this weekend ;-)

[@kentieb]

I'm really enjoying your lessons. So far, this is my favorite--demystifying this beloved instrumental from my youth. Thanks so much for posting these.

[@Muwt]

I've been getting that not-quite-right for 20 years. Huge thanks!

[@ni66o]

Excellent, I knew I had it in me somewhere and you've got it out, Kids are gonna love this (they're alright by the way)

[@ExileNJ]

Great lesson and a nice brakdown of the song. Thanks.

[@jjhtr]

Very nice.......also I haven't seen Pete play too many Telie's; always seem to hear a SG in his arms

[@Hoodrio]

Pete Townshend used (and abused) many Fender Telecasters between late 1965 and 1967. Most of the instruments were contemporary pre- and post-CBS models. He also played Schecter Tele-style guitars (the PT) in later years.

[@brbadge]

www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/guitar/52telecaster.html

[@titushicks150]

@@Hoodrio Thank you Sir. Excellent tutorial. Saw them first in August of 1975 with Moon. Then every time they've toured since. I too have been playing this wrong for about 40 years now. Oh, and Pete played his share of Les Pauls in the mid - late 70's as well. Oh, not to mention the early Ricks !

[@RLB52]

Thanks

[@blastosist]

Great lesson - thanks!

[@MrPete-pe6uk]

phenomenal! well done!

[@user-hv9xp3fg9h]

Great lesson! Someone with a true understanding of Pete's style.

[@MFastoso]

I like the Townshendesque flourishes to compliment the timing ;-) You may have thrown the gauntlet down on this one.

[@patrickrobinson317]

Great Lesson !!!! 😀😀😀 Thanks for making it !!!1 Patrick from Bethesda Maryland USA !!!!

[@ExileOnMainStreet]

This is my favourite video on KZbin haha. Would love more Live at Leeds videos!

[@AJKRSINGH1950]

Thank you SIR That was most gracious . And coming from a non guitarist Sparks and even all the WHO numbers were thought unimitiable till now. Good job and good luck

[@chefstu1968]

Did you say clams? That's funny! That's for the lesson. I learned a great deal today!!

[@adonf]

OMAGADOMAGADOMAGAD THANK YOU !!!

[@jadealone]

AWESOME!! Thank u! Above all other Pete songs, I have wanted to learn how to play this song. XLNT

[@macandrewes]

thanks! rockin it on the SG here in toronto

[@garywalsh3487]

This is REALLY great but their greatest album is Who's Next, specifically side 2. It's a phenomenal instrumental, but there are many many others that are as good or better. It's ok to give high praise to something, but beyond that is kind of imposing to others.

[@Hoodrio]

Thanks, John. Regarding the Princeton, I have been through 17 amps in the last 10 years, and the PRRI is the absolute keeper!

[@northernthrifter8817]

I learnt this from your video I play a 56 les paul reissue through a vox VT 30 using the AC30 setting and the tone is uncannily similar with a little tape delay and some reverb. In my book Pete's a far better player than Jimmy page I loved the SG special period I don't know why he switched to the notoriously shit norlin era Les Paul deluxes they just weren't the same. The story goes they stopped making that sort of SG and he couldn't find enough of them I find that hard to believe I had an epiphonne limited edition 61SG special but I didn't like the pickup's and I couldn't get the action that suited me out of it so it had to go I did double my money on it though.

[@alanlane3670]

Ripper........just wish I could play......

[@straightpipec6099]

That was great. Really exciting music. I could hear moonie’s drums in my head while you were playing.

[@Hoodrio]

Thanks so much for the kind feedback! I’ve done several hundred lessons and this one remains at the top for me as well.

[@Gabriel_Quesney]

Thanks for every tutorial about Pete.

[@mark1952able]

EXCeLLANT! Love it good job Thanx

[@Hoodrio]

Just walk down e-d-c-b-a-g. Those are the only notes in the passage. Thanks!

[@bluemooze]

Outstanding! Thanks

[@chicolopez8722]

👍😀

[@chicolopez8722]

Right on,baby!!!!

[@chinooksilver]

I love that song. The rendition from Woodstock is my favorite song of all time. According to Pete's autobiography, the drummer and the bass player were on LSD during that session. I won't name names.

[@randypittman2151]

Wow…thank you so much:)

[@benjimenez7702]

hey brother thanks for this excellent lesson. I saw a local Cleveland, Ohio 2-piece band called the "Dead Gumbos" open with Sparks and I've always wanted to learn that song since then. So thanks again brother

[@kurtb8474]

Thanks for posting this. Of all the times over the last 40 years that I've done my best to play along with all versions of Sparks, on the Tommy album, Live At Leads, Woodstock, etc, it's nice to see the actual fingering for it.

[@Hoodrio]

Thanks for the kind feedback. Glad it helped!

[@CharlesHereford]

Great Lesson! This has always been my favorite Live Album and my most listened to album. -- Thanks!

[@wolfgangmueller1673]

Thank you! You saved me a lot of time to fiddle that out. If you like to share more from 'Live at Leeds' feel free to do so :-)

[@apexjoe4769]

Great Job ! 👍

[@maqqe71]

Awesome! I wonder if you could do a video to show some Pete Townshend style solo techniques? I can't really get that style of his that makes the solo so interesting to listen to, like in Heaven and Hell from Leeds or Water from Isle of Wight. It would be really appreciated!

[@jmflyer55]

NIce job breaking this down, thanks for working it out. Personally, I've always considered PT the most famous guitar player who can't play lead.. I do however consider him an excellent rythym guitarist. (which is equally important, maybe even more so, but no one gives rythym players credit it seems) Good lesson here. BTW, how do you like the Princeton amp? I have a modded Hot Rod Deluxe & thinking about a different amp....Thanks again!! John

[@eduardorodriguez5593]

Thanks thanks

[@anthonyrichard8001]

NICE! THX!

[@roknsoul1]

Thank you so much, one of my favorite songs!!! This is heaven:)"

[@tysongarrett8688]

Sublime!

[@TuberOnTheLoose]

17:22 - On the Woodstock video he does not cheat. He clearly changes the chords.

[@falconeaterf15]

Sad I can only give this one thumb up.

[@jreagle58]

Eight years late, I am! I'll ask anyway, did you have a backing track or just followed the original recording? FWIW that was great!

[@Hoodrio]

J E Thanks! As noted at the beginning, I was playing along with the original Live at Leeds recording.

[@chriss1492]

First I'd like to thank you for being a great teacher, and I appreciate your approach and style of instruction that focuses more on concepts instead of rote memorization of notes and chords. I'm a huge Who fan and Live at Leeds is one of my favorite albums of all time...period! Great stuff here and you are a cool guy!

[@Hoodrio]

Thanks, Chris - very much appreciated!

[@JJ_Marriott]

Great work, Thanks for that - have you got a clip for the Young man Blues riff? :)

[@alienjukebox2158]

really appreciate this one

[@entwistle4ever]

Interesting. I like this.

[@lespaul8461]

Brilliant

[@hutz13]

Man, I wore out 8 track,cassette, and vinyl versions of Live at Leeds. I've tried to learn it for years and your lessons have really helped!