THE MOUNT EVEREST OF GUITAR LICKS

In this episode we'll learn and discuss what I consider to be one of the craziest guitar licks ever played.
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[@reddwarf3069]

“Then he gets to the hard part…” LOLOL

[@lakejizzio7777]

LMAOOO

[@OverMotoren]

I was just going to say that.

[@sirlost94]

« End it on a big D » @8:34

[@TrevorDennis100]

Your comment definitely deserved a Like, but I would have hit that thumbs up just for your totally cool user name. A show that gave us such unforgettable lines as 'Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does mean changing the bulb.' Not even Spinal Tap could match quotes like that. BTW I just watched a YT clip to make sure I had the wording spot on, and laughed almost as much as the first time I heard it.

[@reddwarf3069]

@@TrevorDennis100 Awesome line! Great show!

[@Ramansdo3s]

Rick, each time I watch this video, my respect for your musical ability - and sheer bloody tenacity - grows. Kudos to you, sir.

[@Moodymongul]

1:29 - I only learnt to do this stretch, by freeing the thumb from the back of the neck! And dropping the 'freed' thumb's position, to behind the bottom side of the neck. You then have to learn to orientate the hand via the wrist and elbow (not using the thumb as a pivot). But, it allows you to stretch a little further

[@Hetriani]

How can you not love Rick! Seriously! Awesome video man!!! 🤘🤘

[@BeaRrug66]

Love to watch Rick. Half the time I’m lost, but his musical knowledge is unmatched.

[@KerryKugelman]

Another Rick Beato Master Class episode. Brava, Rick! You take the astrophysics of great guitar playing and music theory and break it down to the possible and achieveable.

[@normanquednau]

Hey Rick! This is astonishing... It was early 90s. I am studying Jazz guitar in Arnhem, NL.... And I hear Allan Holdsworth (RIP) for the first time. As I heared that lick for the first time... Well, I just flew away and couldnt figure out how to play that sh*t. And now it is 30 years later and you have the solution!! Thanks man. Subbed!

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

is there anywhere I can just hear you play for a while? I really love that style. That jazzy arpeggio thing.

[@peterkossits4794]

I'm actually kind of happy that my ear isn't good enough to pick out what's happening there. Saves myself a lot of suffering. UK's debut album was great.

[@jimmygrant3151]

Great video, but Uli has a great intro lick that's on the top of my list...Sails of Charon.

[@peterliden6313]

Love your ,honesty 👍🇸🇪

[@michelebolgla6558]

This is awesome! Thanks for giving some attention to a guy who never got enough recognition! Maybe you could do this, sometime, for Steve Morse.

[@sheltonshots]

This sums it up: “The way he uses the whole tone scale is like his own baby shoes - it’s so easy for him. His thought process was phenomenal. I can hear any guitar player and I know what they’re doing - I might not be able to play it - but I can see it in my mind’s eye. But I do not know what the fuck Holdsworth was doing at all…” -Steve Vai

[@d.h.9239]

Thats awesome lol what a compliment

[@Gwyn1stborn]

Now I just wanna hear Steve Vai drop a F-bomb

[@oudaram1]

I met Alan in NYC in the early 80's, he told me he doesn't know what he's doing if that's any consolation! Hahaha.

[@Avatar7x7]

John Mclaughlin said the same thing.. There's countless guitarist that are dumbfounded by Allan Holdsworth !

[@HoyaSaxaSD]

@@Avatar7x7 Question!

[@gogpoydi]

The amount of guitar hero’s Allan holdsworth inspired is insane, he deserves more recognition outside the music community.

[@caiusmadison2996]

His licks, they laint landscapes in your mind. Thats a good musician, when they do that. Paint on the canvas of your mind with sound...

[@omikl]

Here's a very cools story about "Unexpected Holdsworth". My Dad is 86 and very frail. A few nonths ago he was in Hospital overnight for observation after a fall. He got talking to the guy in the bed next to him, who was 92. The topic of their conversation went to music, my Dad being a former professional singer, and he mentioned that his son plays guitar. The other guy says "Well of course the best guitarist in the World came from Yorkshire..." Allan Holdsworth. Of course. So. If a 92 year old bloke from Knottingley was talking about him to an 86 year old from Pontefract, then his light still burns somewhere.

[@matthewvicendese1896]

It isn't outside the music community because it isn't nice to listen to. It is all about a musician showing off their technical prowess.

[@bojangles6444]

@@matthewvicendese1896 he is playing over complex chord progressions there is a degree of sophistication to jazz and fusion that separates it from pure technical wankery. He was doing this before there was Van Halen, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, any of the famous rock guys. Holdsworth, Al Di Meola, and McLaughlin we’re doing stuff in the 70’s with a level of technique and speed that more mainstream players think began a decade later. I don’t know why Van Halen says he only listened to Clapton- I think he doesn’t want people to know who he really stole his tricks from (Holdsworth). Hate it or love it you have to admit the jazz fusion guitarists were really ahead of their time at the very least. He might not have mainstream recognition but holdsworth has the credibility among the jazz players and conservatories that recognize him as “art music” or “above pop.” That’s something the purely technical rock players like Batio, Malmsteen, Becker etc will never be able to obtain (aka recognition from music snobs). A lot of the schooled musicians seem to call anything outside of jazz and classical “pop” for whatever reason. I think it’s because there music is never intended to have any sort of commercial success- to them that is art (for better or worse). Not that I agree but I was a music major my first year in college (percussion scholarship) so I learned a bit about how the schooled players think. Berklee School of Music in Boston not included.

[@alans423]

If it is West Riding music appreciation day I am going to throw in the gentleman mad dog Joe Cocker as one of the greats.

[@johnhumphries505]

Rick Beato's ear ability to decipher any riff and phrase even as complex as Holdsworth, I'm really impressed.

[@xmonikerhotmailcom]

It is attainable, just transcribe a lot. Start with simple and move up in complexity. I make a lot of my living transcribing stuff like this.

[@AndreasGautier]

John Mclaughlin said " if I new what he was doing, I would steal it all" That says alot about Allan's music..... especially when it comes from another genius of guitar like John

[@mejsjalv]

Didn't knew that one! The thing with Allan is that pretty much everything he played was so different compared to his contemporaries. Pretty much no obvious blues/rock licks. EVH was also one of those that had the uttermost respect for Allan and he was very supportive of him. No disrespect at all towards Clapton and Page, but among UK players you can't beat Holdsworth, Fripp, McLaughlin and Beck. Those lads are a different level.

[@davismiller3769]

This video in a sentence: Finally, conformation Rick Beato is actually human and there are licks he can't play within 10 seconds of hearing them, and more evidence to support that Alan Holdsworth is not actually human.

[@martinkojour8879]

Rick has a heart

[@stephen0793]

Allan Holdsworth*

[@EgoShredder]

@@stephen0793 You spelt Alien wrong. 😜

[@mitchelllevine5664]

😂

[@daan2564]

4:23 *plays impossible lick* "Then it get's to the hard part"

[@kaspafischer]

I mean... all of Holdsworth's parts were hard! No innuendo intended... 😂

[@feliperoos9476]

I was looking for this comment.

[@xenomorph42]

I’m originally from LA, but live in Japan and 10 years ago on my way back home from visiting my folks in Cali, we boarded our flight and as I was putting away my luggage this big guy was next to asking me if he should make more space so that I could squeeze in my bag, I said, “I’m ok” and when I turned and saw who it was, I immediately froze to the point where my wife was like, “you ok?” Allan Holdsworth was sitting next to me in the economy seat, I almost crapped my pants and most people had no idea who he was. It was really hard for me to talk at first, but he asked me if I like to drink, I was like “yeah! “ That helped a lot, it was. 14 hour flight and we just talked and talked not just about music, but also about his divorce and family, the plane could have gone down that moment, I just didn’t care. He was the nicest guy, approachable, down to earth, not conceded at all, sad that he’s no longer with us, but if you don’t know who Allan Holdsworth is, you need to check him out. Been a fan since the early 80’s and he’s definitely in my top 10 list of best guitarists.

[@jamesmick8653]

Unreal.

[@jamesdaily1561]

Thats a great story thank you for sharing.

[@achaille9110]

Wow!! That's so great. I could not believe my ears when I saw Allan playing live with John Wetton, Bill Bruford and Eddie Jobson. I hadn't even heard the UK album before that. Didn't know who Allan was or, even Jobson, for that matter. But, every song got a standing ovation by everyone there that night. Absolutely blew my mind. It's been one of my favorites ever since, along with One of a Kind and the other Bruford albums. Cheers!!

[@George14215]

Awesome! Did you get to shake his hand? I heard his hands were huge.

[@Cinegavo]

@@George14215 was wondering the same

[@xjcgwbaf]

Possibly my favourite Rick Beato episode ever. How about 100 episodes of ‘What makes Allan Holdsworth Great”....

[@kelvinpanesar6511]

Sponsored by Ibuprofen!!!

[@robertogomez190294]

What makes Allan Holdsworth the Greatest*

[@progshark]

If all the pop chart countdowns were replaced with episodes of ‘What makes Allan Holdsworth Great”, I might not ever leave his channel.

[@mountainman8775]

Yes!

[@davidscott1052]

@@kelvinpanesar6511 you are very funny man 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@jb4sax333K]

Overheard at a gig: Guitarist 1 - "Check it out, I figured out a new Holdsworth chord!" Guitari 2 - "That can't be a Holdsworth chord. It doesn't look painful enough!"

[@EvanMarien]

I jumped for joy when City Nights started playing!!! thank you so much for talking about Allan!! ❤️

[@RickBeato]

@Evan Marien Thanks Evan!!!🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@karllemut]

Casual comment... I went to LA to have a coffee with my old friend Vinnie... Colaiuta... Legend...

[@BrianOboylemusic]

I was thinking that... like how would I be if I moved to LA and was just in the middle of legendary people

[@BrianOboylemusic]

Second casual comment “ now for the hard part “

[@rickmaida4027]

Allan Holdsworth is a name I have not heard in a long time. I will definitely listen to him. Also looking forward to hear your review on Polyphia.

[@1111MJR]

Oh, yeah, and lunch with Joni Mitchell...

[@loosilu]

what a name drop!

[@WillRock07]

City Nights happened to be the first Allan Holdsworth song I ever heard and I was amazed not only at the playing but the chord voicing, progressions, rhythms, the HARMONIES he uses it's all so unique. Allan Holdsworth doesn't break the rules. He outright never read the rulebook and made up his own rules, and they're his alone. He's like an Alien that visited earth, picked up a guitar and just decided to start playing with no knowledge of music on planet earth to put him in a box. It's like the guy exists in his own bubble, there's nothing else like it.

[@erickborling1302]

Water On The Brain from Road games was what solidified my attention on Holdsworth for the first time when I was around 16.

[@nliebert41]

same, first song by him

[@zappadan2000]

"Then he gets to the hard part"... I almost died laughing right there... Love it

[@FreddysFrets]

Did anyone else suddenly realize....Holy smokes...Rick can REALLY play!

[@George14215]

lmao, same

[@ericclinton7399]

he. studied classical bass and jazz guitar in college and then did jazz master studies after graduating, what amazes me is how nimble his fingers still are, usually to play some of the stuff he randomly pulls out of his buttocks, players need to play at least an hour or so a day just to keep their fingers that flexible, with him being a father to three kids on top of his role as husband and educator, it would be hard for him to find an hour to play everyday

[@FretsOnFire]

Yes I did, but not in this video - probably in 1 of his videos I saw about a year & 1/2 ago.

[@kwik2hear915]

He's the"Man", looks like he'd be a fun teacher.

[@RaymondPeckIII]

Yup. I had no idea that he had this kind of facility. This is fucking HARD stuff! Now let's get him to play Fracture! :-)

[@alukuhito]

I don't even play an instrument, but I watch Rick's videos for some reason.

[@jamesmick8653]

Because he's a music master. One of the greatest teachers ever. His presence on here is a blessing.

[@dean9377]

I bet you watch for the same reason most of us do. Rare to find such a talent who also keeps it humble. Rick is sharing not just his talent but a love of humanity through music. Always positive. Keep it up Rick.

[@alenemarie]

I don’t play an instrument (but I used to sing), but my love of the blues/guitars/rock music pulls me to seek people like Rick out for information. I want to know WHY someone chose to play the way they did. I want to know how something was done in a studio for a production. It’s not enough for me to “just be a listener”... I need to just, KNOW, lol!

[@rickmartin7674]

You've found a curiosity, a wonderful thing :)

[@mikez1701e]

It's because Rick is very kind and knowledgeable at the same time and I love that

[@Bubba-zu6yr]

“I’ve never learned that lick…” Slacker. 😎😂

[@stephenbrown4649]

🤣🤣🤣

[@JulioLeonFandinho]

why bother? I mean, I'd need 10 fingers in my left hand and a brain capable of coordinating them 😢

[@WellMefisto]

@@JulioLeonFandinho 😂😂😂😂😂

[@OutlawFiddleJam]

Thank you Rick. I got to open for alan a couple times in the late 80’s. The thing I don’t hear very often about him is actually how normal of a bloke he was personally, like “ enough of this guitar stuff, let’s go get a pint!” Completely unassuming. He is missed.

[@oudaram1]

yea, i met him in the early 80's, real nice normal guy

[@These_go_to_eleven_1959]

Yes allan was a extremely nice very down-to-earth person with no ego at all he actually didn't think much of his own playing. He spoke negative all of his old work.

[@MaXaNoMaLoUs]

A friend of mine who got to Become good friends with Allan said Allan once invited him to a bar and my friend couldn’t see Allan anywhere and then realized Allan was the guy laying on the floor under the bar fixing one of the taps for a certain brew, just a mechanic wizard as well. I think Allan and his guitar playing was almost soo personal, he really didn’t want to even talk about it when he wasn’t playing. I learned this after meeting him and couldn’t stop praising him until he just said to me “you’re probobly better than me” it stopped me in my tracks and I just ended up buying him a beer after that lol, the next time I got to talk to him I asked him about a somewhat obscure song on Hard Hat Area called Postlude and the bass player Skulli Sverinson, it sparked Allan into remembering how that song was completely improvised he told me. What an absolute Giant, legend, GOAT, not enough ways to describe how awesome and important he was and still is to music and especially the guitar itself. R.I.P. A.H. Miss ya forever… haha, I just got a laugh out of R.I.P.A.H. That’s what he was, a total ripper;)

[@tellyourstorymusicbyikson]

I've listened to Secrets many times, partly as I was a dedicated drummer years back before I got into music production and studied Vinnie's playing. The fact that you took this out that efficiently in the video is insane. Definitely a terrific ear Rick. Rip Alan he was an incredible player.

[@johnboyr261]

You know it’s about to get serious when the guitar is high in the strap and isn’t resting on the right leg

[@ApekSuperheroes]

*blazes through the arpeggio* "That's really hard for me to play." Damn it Rick.

[@deathbypotato5030]

lmao, damn it rick

[@circlebird8765]

"Then it gets to the hard part"

[@benoitfournier6801]

Holdsworth ... he's probably the only one guitarist that played things that no other guitarist can play... but the most important : it was not just difficult/impossible to play, it was mostly beautiful... which is, and the end of the day, the only real purpose of music.

[@_Stroda]

Interesting is surely far more important than beautiful. An awful lot of brilliant music is decidedly 'ugly'.

[@benoitfournier6801]

@@_Stroda interesting is not enough... but I'm sure we just don't have the same definition of the word "beautiful"... doesn't mean "pretty" for me...

[@davidlindquist1499]

I see your Holdsworth and raise you Guthrie Govan

[@awguitarroom8033]

Shawn Lane? Guthrie Govan? Buckethead?

[@We-all-watched-the-video]

@@awguitarroom8033 hell yeah!

[@WhaleBluePRS]

"Enigmatic Ocean" by Jean-Luc Ponty was my introduction to Allan Holdsworth. It remains one of the most important recordings in my life. Highly recommended introduction to his playing. Thank you Rick!

[@RaymondPeckIII]

Mine, too. Then I moved onto the Bruford band and UK. Bought iou when it was released. Allan, we miss you terribly.

[@leonguisburg413]

The outro solo from "Turtle To The Sea" from "Enigmatic Ocean" in itself was/is a Holdsworth masterpiece

[@WhaleBluePRS]

@@leonguisburg413 You sure got that right! What a great way to end the album.

[@a.s.518]

Outstanding album, took my head off when it came out. Tried playing the stuff, could only do it slowly. Then Road Games. Man.

[@WhaleBluePRS]

@@a.s.518 You know it! An then there's "Metal Fatigue"...!

[@gangelone999]

Rick: I can't play this lick. Then, proceeds to play it

[@mindartis4081]

Right!

[@FancyNoises]

Haha, yeah. I've said and done what Rick's doing though: there's playing, and then there's PLAYING, which is what Allan was doing ;-)

[@kennhern]

At first I thought, "you could use tapping with that" But knowing how the great Allan Holdsworth played, I knew it involved destroying hands

[@oddfellowfloyd]

"Destroying hands..."! XD A perfect description of the battle between fingers, tendons, and mind.

[@deangoritz9625]

How you can even pick out those notes without slowing it way down blows my mind. Awesome stuff rick

Keep listening and picking out licks and solos for a couple of decades and you'll learn :-)

[@streetwiseguitar5113]

It’s a language. If you speak/play the (Improvisational) language Fluently and you already have an idea of what’s going on… Combine that with very good ears...Well there is the, “how” to at all!

[@maurypb]

At speed, those wide intervals and stacked 5ths sound like he's playing the harmonic series. Hearing it broken down into relationships with the root key somewhat kills that auditory hallucination :)

[@HURMSANFORD]

He did

[@caiusmadison2996]

@@maurypb its because of the nature of sympathetic harmonics. If you slow it down, you don't fully activate the sympathetic resonance in the legato technique. Faster, possibility of added tap harmonics to weave into the solid note. Slower, they either miss, or don't land correctly to initiate the sympathetic ringing.

[@studapeppahead5384]

Rick, PLEASE keep doing what you are doing...you are the torch-bearer for real music.

[@shignila5787]

Totally agree

[@alantaylorfc]

He's a hero.

[@DanielGonzalezC]

All music is real music, regardless of taste.

[@vasilias2230]

Hahaha, don't Idolize men, especially corporately approved KZbinrs to be a torch bearer for "real music" you'll be let down quick. I love Rick so don't get It twisted, but I respect not Idolize him. Just be careful

[@OZRIC1985]

@@vasilias2230 Well, I idolize and highly respect great teachers, and Rick is an incredible teacher! :)

[@frankpaws]

Allen came to the studio I was working at in 2000. Really nice guy. Had to record his album there because his wife filed for divorce and the studio he had was being sold off. Allen recorded and mixed the entire album in 1 week. Very nice and humble guy. Use to like to goto the Red Lion after the session and would put this powder in his beer to take away the carbonation. I wish I wasn't so shy then. I listened to Allen when I was in high school and wished I would have taken more of an opportunity to talk to him. Kind of hard being an Ohio boy via Seattle sitting in front of some of your biggest influences suddenly. Don't get me started on the foot in mouth Eddie Van Halen moment.

[@frankpaws]

@AssaultingGravity89 It had to be sixteen men. Though the allmusic liner notes mention another studio. Unless the week he was in was just laying down the basic tracks. But it didn't sound like that was what they were doing. I know it was recorded on an SSL 4k G+.

[@grizcuz]

Your powder in the beer anecdote rings true. I'm from the city where Allan was born and bred and I've been trying to find out about his early life, without much success. But I did discover that he was into brewing his own beer and developed an ale he called the Fizzbuster, because he wanted a drink with zero carbonation. Which was probably closer to the beers he'd have been drinking in the north of England as a young man.

[@mountainman8775]

@@grizcuz Wasn’t the fizzbuster a valve or a draughty beer tap system he developed?

[@grizcuz]

@@mountainman8775 Yes. I got that bit wrong, it was some sort of device that turned fizzy American beer into something more approaching English beer.

[@adorephoto]

@@grizcuz actually his brew was called "Demon Ale"

[@johndef5075]

What Vinnies playing ain't chopped liver either😂❤

[@shauncarter924]

Ricks guitar playing continues to impress me. He’s obviously waaaaay better than he lets on. This video and the Peter Frampton video is all the proof you need. I hope to be like Rick one day.

[@PauloNideck]

city nights is such a beautiful song when I discovered that album I'd listen to it over and over again

[@martinkojour8879]

Point the finger at me fully

[@gdeceiver]

"such a beautiful SONG". no such thing as "a" beautiful music. You could say "it's such beautiful music" (without the article), but then you wouldn't be referring to the song specifically and the meaning is slightly different. and you actually sell English lessons lol

[@PauloNideck]

@@gdeceiver get a life

[@Mordred478]

There will never be another Allan Holdsworth and we'll still be trying to figure out what his musical brain perceived as he played in a hundred years.

[@maxmenius9839]

Rick’s ability to break down complex passages is extremely impressive.

[@suesjoy]

I wish I could take lessons from him! I’ll buy his ebooks, fer sure!

[@3rdstone1]

Yeah, it's almost ridulous: " I can't stretch this far, so I can't play it". But he's still been figuring out how to play Allan's out of this world stuff. Impressive is an understatement.

[@KeenanCrow]

A lot of it is just aural training and theory knowledge.

[@thinkerly1]

@@KeenanCrow Another one of these guys who just says "Ho hum." Where do you guys come from? Do you even play?

[@KeenanCrow]

@@thinkerly1 not what I meant at all. It’s something accessible that anyone can learn. That should be encouraging.

[@yes_head]

There's an instructional video Alan made -- probably in the late 90s or early 2000s -- where he diagrams out how he sees and thinks about his solos. I swear my brain melted just trying to understand it. He really was the Coltrane of the guitar.

[@RaymondPeckIII]

Reaching for the Uncommon Chord

[@ericfurst6091]

When yoz dig in, it makes actually sense his tought-process.

[@mhauser9457]

Rick: “Then it gets to the hard part” Me: 😂😔

[@d.j.casanova960]

6:45 that “OOH” is the expression of a man who truly loves playing the guitar, music, and of someone who may be one of the most knowledgeable musicians when it comes to guitar, but can still have fun and enjoy learning something new.

[@choowie92]

To my ears, Allan Holdsworth is so out of this world I never dared playing any of his licks. Your break down of this monster lick is actually a good opportunity for me to give it go. Thank you, thank you!

[@paulsimmons5726]

Rick, your ability to figure that out and then play it was pretty damn amazing. The cool part was listening to what you did with the concept, not just playing the actual lick itself! Fantastic video! Thanks for sharing!

[@ACoustaDC]

I think I could figure out how to speak Mandarin before I can figure out this guitar part.

[@lewsheen7514]

LOL!!!

[@the_grube5782]

.000001 Seconds: The time it takes to recognize you're hearing Holdsworth

[@brucegwynn8509]

Damn Rick, you have to be the smartest guitar player in the world, hands down, unbelievable knowledge of the neck of a guitar

[@ClockworkDave]

It's uncanny. I try to imagine what's happening in his head when analysing and playing and it's just astounding to me.

[@lt_johnmcclane]

@@ClockworkDave the good thing is he does a great job explaining himself so you can kind of know what’s goin on in his head. He breaks the parts down into intervals and he has a great ability to recall ones that are familiar to him on the spot. No matter how fast a run is he knows it has to be within physical reach and he’s heard and played so many he can just do it. Helps he has a near perfect ear as well as an understanding of theory

[@caiusmadison2996]

Perfect Pitch practitioner. He is very good at deciphering music, whatever the instrument, as its playing, which is a talent many have lost, and seek videos to learn or tabs. Thats fine and all, but those that learned by listening, they are the soulful benders, and perfect cover players. They had to feel to learn, not read and retain. That makes for a much more intuned musician with music as they are playing it. Makes improvising easier too.

[@televinv8062]

Well said. Very impressive all round music guy with stupidly great guitar abilities.

[@TheAgentAssassin]

And to think he was a producer for a long time. Imagine walking into the recording studio as a guitarist and you see Rick Sitting there. I'd be like oh sh...

[@matthewsnyder6127]

I'm a clarinet player and I also love Holdsworth. Setting aside his guitar prowess, he was an extraordinarily unique improvisor and composer who created his own musical world. That is rare in any genre but he did it in rock, putting to shame 99% of all other rock musicians. He was so melodic and had his own harmonic language. He was really a jazz musician in a rock player's clothing.

[@matthewsnyder6127]

@@aussiechiro That's a great point! He used progressions with many subtle colors and his lines stuck to those changes pretty closely. Other players take simple changes and play extended harmony over them but Alan started with extended harmony so he didn't need to go "outside" to make them more interesting.

[@Nutmegger7]

Great analogy

[@jerecsoria]

"OH! " counter: 4 5:55- Oh! 5:57-...WOW 6:44- oo00H‽‽ 6:55- Whoo!

[@barth1977]

Kudos for the use of the double interrobang!

[@carlmarks8170]

Ric "Flair" Beato: WOOH!

[@gollumthewicked]

I had the pleasure of seeing Allan do a guitar clinic at a Carvin store in Sacramento, CA. I sat there as a teenager like a kid at a candy store window. An hour plus sitting on the floor within arms reach just soaking in the insanity of what I was witnessing. I knew he was good, but the stuff he was improvising was beyond any grid I had. The tragedy in my mind at the time was that so few people even showed up, which was just bizarre to me. I think there were only two of us there under the age of 30, let alone 20. To all young guitarists, if you're studying Page, Hendrix, Van Halen, you're doing a disservice to your future playing if you're not also studying Holdsworth.

[@Marshallgemal]

Whenever I ask any guitar teacher or pro if they had a chance to take guitar lessons from any guitarist living or deceased, they always say Alan Holdsworth. Its just a testament to his musicianship, technique, and sounding like no one could ever

[@bryanwchambers9734]

I had the pleasure to meet Allan in the mid nineties at one of his gigs at a very small venue. He was just chilling at the bar with an ale in hand before the show. I talked to him briefly and got his autograph and he was very humble and generous.

[@HBSuccess]

He was indeed well said. See my comment of our experience with him prob 10 yrs earlier as college kids. Instead of blowing us off he spent an hour or more with us and actually let me strap on his guitar and check out his gear. He’d say “now try this….you’ve got it!!…etc. He was very supportive and interested in the fact that we were on a college jazz band tour of the UK…he loved the idea of music education in general. Such a gentle soul RIP.

[@glasgowguitarist3636]

I met him at a clinic he did in London and spoke to him one to one at the end. He was a true gentleman (with a pint of ale in his hand 🤣) and was so down to earth it was humbling to realise how someone so gifted couldn’t see how amazing he was.

[@hkguitar1984]

To quote Joe Chambers in his interview with Joe Bonamassa, "Thankfully I don't need to ride a bicycle like Lance Armstrong to enjoy riding a bicycle". I've been a "practicing" guitarist for over 45 years, this makes my head hurt.

[@TurrigenousOfficial]

Haha! At 1:27 Ricks using my chord chart I made that became a 'meme' for a day which was sourced from my top 10 Hardest Allan Holdsworth chords vid! That was a nice surprise!

[@RickBeato]

Cool!!!

[@TurrigenousOfficial]

@@RickBeato Loved the vid, the channel (I use it often when teaching) and for keeping Allans legacy/brilliance alive!

[@dankline7091]

Are there some passages in this lick that sounds a bit like "Cliffs of Dover?"

[@Poparad]

It's the same idea, in the same key, too, but applied very differently. Eric Johnson uses the same C major/D major triad pairs in that famous hybrid picked line at the end of the intro to the song.

[@stevehawthorn8733]

Little known fact, Allan actually had an octopus grafted on to his left wrist in pursuit of his craft, talk about dedication

[@dan8346]

Wrong. He is mostly human but his left hand mated with a Tarantula back in the day. The result you see before you.

[@davidjorgensen877]

Octopus graft = octave stretch. It's basic Latin.

[@JeeWeeDonkers]

Wasn't that a spider? He has a spider on the headstock his Ibanez signature model.

[@CGCEifel]

After he passed they gave his octopus to Cory Wong's right wrist.

[@JulioLeonFandinho]

"then he gets to the hard part" I'm leaving right now... I'm in a dark corner curled up... crying... inconsolably

[@saxcellorm]

Now this is funny!

[@JulioLeonFandinho]

@Regular Joseph It's supposed to be fun for the listener, but ask any proffesional musician, of the highest level, how fun they've had practicing 40 hours a day, studying theory and harmony and reading music and so on... Learning Allan Holldsworth playing isn't fun, at least at some point... it happens with all the very difficult stuff, you learn it through suffering and struggle. The fun starts afterwards. Delusional people never realize this, that's why many people doesn't appreciate properly the most training musicians. It's just fun and having a good time, like a walking in the summer, on the beach, or something like that... So, yeah, cheer up... imagine Holdswordth, when he was beginning to play, saying 'I must cheer up'. He would never play like he did, never...

[@JulioLeonFandinho]

@@carlosclaptrix I need to see you playing this lick, smartasses

[@KevinJarnot]

Allan was the greatest rock/jazz guitarist ever. “Sand” is a masterpiece.

[@timtravasos2742]

Wow! The fact that he can actually hear all of those notes and then reproduce it is mind blowing. 😱

[@allosaurusfragilis7782]

I know. The more I see of rick, the more impressed I am

[@OZRIC1985]

Rick is just so great at everything having to do with music (playing, ear training, teaching, recording, etc.). He brings such a wealth of musical knowledge to us on his great channel. Thanks Rick for everything you share with us! Your KZbin channel is my absolute favorite! :)

[@buckaroo16486]

Rick: I can’t play it Also Rick: ** rips it **

[@Cycle1001]

"And then he gets into the hard part..." I couldn't stop laughing

[@davidofpiano423]

I already knew which lick Rick was talking about before I even clicked lol

[@TheCreekyman]

Dude, we have the same name.. I was trippin

[@zdtluanga7682]

Yeah 😅 the thumbnail with headless guitar gave it away

[@roxannemoser]

Me too!

[@maurypb]

That's the lick I thought about from the title, but I thought it was too long ago for it to be mentioned in 2021.

[@xFlaaar]

Same lol

[@SyntagmaStation]

Paul Davids asked Rick to help him out with a video a few months ago, and Rick tells him “sure but I’m not much of a guitar player” 😆

[@NeilRaouf]

benoit mandelbrot is the allan holdsworth of theoretical informatics!

[@SyntagmaStation]

@@NeilRaouf haha! True!

[@bdhay02]

Loved this. Allan was one the biggest influences on my playing and approach to music as well. I heard Allan with IOU back in Nov 1983 when the band came to Vancouver, BC, Canada. I met him during the break as we were ogling his rack on stage. He was playing his red Charvel running into a Hartley Thomson head with a bunch of other gear that had us spellbound. He joked in the first set that his rack was nicknamed “Mission Control”. It was also Chad Wackerman’s first time touring and Jimmy Johnson was also new to the trio. Paul’s vocals were spot on and he really helped keep the vibe going as a solid front man. Allan joked about Chad “looking 16” cuz he was so young back then. lol Lastly, Allan was just a monster (even back then) and was playing extended solos all night long. In the second set he had to take a break between songs to stretch his left hand cuz it was starting to cramp up. He apologized to the crowd about his hand cramping. Some wise guy in the crowd immediately yelled out “Get a girlfriend!”. The audience broken out in laughter b it Allan seemed more embarrassed or annoyed by the comment. There are other stories of meeting Allan at NAMM with Vinnie. Meeting him with my Dad at The Baked Potato and also bumping into Bill Delap at the same show. I got to play a beautiful green SG style Delap headless that Bill wanted Allan to try. Cheers, Brad from Vancouver

[@TheJammerman]

Imagine being in the studio and Alan breaks out that riff and says "you know? Like in Mario Kart?" And you just sit their with a blank look on your face because Mario Kart hasn't been invented yet and you don't realize he is a time traveller and can't understand what he just said.

[@JimGeigerMusic]

He was like from another realm of guitar playing. Not just his leads, but his compositional style, innovative chord voicings and voice leading, and the fact he worked mostly out of a trio format. Just a whole new musical language came from Allen's huge hands.

[@jamesmick8653]

Knowledge and appreciation for Allan Holdsworth will grow for centuries. A true master.

[@mrtruefifth]

HOW TO LISTEN TO HOLDSWORTHS's MUSIC if it feels hard to 'understand' Allan - try this: Don't wait for the usual Major or Minor tones or simple chords, because Allan's music is built on expanded flavours of tones and harmony - like Jazz often can be - so instead - try to FEEL the music as a story of TENSION and RELEASE - not just minor or major - when you 'get this' - new musical worlds and experiences opens up for you!

[@Aaron628318]

i always enjoyed listening to Allan Holdsworth because I could feel my mental musical envelope being stretched beyond its normal boundaries.

[@diegoleiva7242]

I've always felt Allan's playing that way. He went out of his way to stab you with angular runs where you least expect them to be. I'm not a fan of his music but it's impossible to ignore that. I love his approach and while totally different, it's what I love from Marty Friedman too, who's my favorite guitar player ever.

[@omikl]

I had a copy of his REM tuition video 25 years ago. It seems as though he had figured out all of the note "patterns" that were physically possible for him to play on the guitar. Organized them into his own "scales", then figured out what they fitted over... He describes an almost synethesic aspect of his improvisation, in that as the chordak harmony of the tune he was playing, "Go" and "no go" zones on the neck mentally "lit up" for him, and he picked where to go next. While playing 16th notes at 200 bpm in 12/8, obviously. ;-)

[@MikeU128]

@@Aaron628318 Yup. Holdsworth (and the two albums he did with Bill Bruford's fusion quartet) really opened up a whole new musical world for me. Back in 1980-81 I picked up Bruford's first two solo albums, because I was a fan of his playing in Yes. At the time the music confused me a bit, because I was mostly into more mainstream stuff. But I was like, "Whoa... who is this Holdsworth guy he's got on guitar, and WTF is he doing?!??" Those two albums sent me down the rabbit hole, and I've been an avid Holdsworth (and jazz fusion) fan ever since.

[@Aaron628318]

@@MikeU128 I had just the same experience but for me it was Gazeuse! by (Pierre Moerlen's) Gong (aka Expresso in the US).

[@JimGardner]

There's an Allan lick on a track called If You Were Mine, written by Gary Husband for the Level 42 album Guaranteed, which is just as mental. Also, the whole of the blow on Peril Premonition from Secrets. It. Cannot. Be. Played.

[@manderse12]

Rick: I continue to to be amazed by the library of information in your head. I have recommended your channel to so many people by now. You're a treasure on KZbin! Thank you for all of your great videos.

[@jamesmick8653]

100%

[@rayjeeves8000]

This video made me realize how much Holdsworth influenced Eric Johnson!

[@boblob2003]

Satch too... and ALL the "legato guys" of the 80's / early 90's.

[@shawnmarine9563]

Jean-Luc Ponty’s Enigmatic Ocean has some of the best Allan Holdsworth, Daryl Stuermer, and of course Jean Luc solos you will ever hear in your life!

[@rakazamra148]

True (:

[@sainvol]

Thanks! Checking it out right now. Very good stuff. Reminds me of Jeff Beck on Blow by blow. One of my personal favorites.

[@KanePat]

So true, that is what came to mind when hearing this music. Love that JLP album

[@kylegrossi8175]

That album is incredible!

[@billsherrington5996]

Was going to say the same. Love that album. Also check out Bill Bruford's "Feels good to me" album for more of Holdsworth's astounding playing!

[@a.denisecoates8651]

Love it. My ability to follow your train of thought has improved eminently sense I first stumbled onto your channel. Thank you for making music so accessible.

[@MrSonicAlchemy]

Let's not forget his work with Bruford. One of a Kind has some phenomenal guitar playing on it! Jeff Berlin plays some mind-blowing bass lines as well.

[@HBSuccess]

Saw Alan In a basement club in London in the 1980-1 timeframe. Was there with our college jazz band. While most of the kids were at the play “Evita” a small group of us went to see Alan instead. We scored a front row table. The show was of course phenomenal, but even better is what happened after. Alan spent probably an hour with us talking about his set-up and his music, and he actually let me play his rig! At the time I knew he was great, but had no idea just how great and influential he would wind up being. But even more than that he was one of the nicest people I’d ever met. That was a life-changer for sure. RIP Alan.

[@SanguineThor]

Watching Rick go "WHOO!" After trying to learn a lick is so inspiring to practice lol

[@charlesdbruce]

Man… I’m stilled crushed that AH is no longer with us. 😔

[@CathyKeating]

I always learn something, tuning in. I had never heard of Allan Holdsworth before. I will check his music out. There are heroes out there that we don't know about. Thank you, Rick, for profiling and highlighting and bringing out some of the major influencers whose legacy might otherwise be unknown. Love this channel, so much!

[@SendilSelvan]

Allan is an entire university of study in his unique style of music! Mapping chords of all shapes with corresponding scales, the Allan philosophy in music is truly unique and unlike any other. The only other artist who also developed his own style and comes to such staggering heights as a formidable force in music is Frank Zappa. Both Allan and Frank are irreplaceable. Thank you so much Master Rick 🙏🏽😊

[@PacificAirPhoto1]

Knew it right away, I have the Secrets album and that opening is so quintessentially Holdsworth. And he’d never play it the same way twice since he always improvised... he’s beyond anyone who ever picked up the instrument, just pure instinctive genius! ❤️

[@danbardos3498]

Us: Why didn't he just go... Alan: DO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER!?!

[@jerandcor]

It's so cool to see one of my musical heroes try to learn a new lick. Bravo for displaying the process and being so honest and cool about it. You're an inspiration Rick, thank you.

[@ernestdenov3599]

You're a brave man to even attempt that, Rick! Aside from learning a few of his tunes (with the help of the transcription book, "Reaching for the Uncommon Chord") I've never even thought about trying to learn his solos. I have all of his albums as a leader and I've seen him live at least a half dozen times, but you know, a man's got to know his limitations. Sadly, Allan was apparently never happy with his playing and couldn't stand to listen to anything he did more than a year ago. Every time I listen to him (which is often), I find myself shaking my head in disbelief!

[@Pehennji]

"Thank you Allan." Thank you Rick for keeping the memory alive of such a mindblowing artist.

[@swaffy101]

You really showed how every lead guitar player gets super excited when they almost get something. Reminded me of my dad, thank you.

[@MrVyrtuoso]

I could be wrong, but this doesn't seem to be a lick, but a spontaneously conceived expression that AH pulls out of his hat...

[@aka.Mr.French]

Agreed; Allan was never a "lick" guy. That said... I was discussing this in a Holdsworth group on Farcebook; some folks seemed a little bent by "lick." I contended that Rick chose that term just as shorthand, and that It may serve to draw in viewers that would be curious as to what "lick" he meant but were unfamiliar with Allan's astonishing body of work. I noticed that about half the video was about Allan -- his influence on Rick and thousands of other guitarists, Gary Husband's relationship (friend, collaborator, composer in this case) with AH, Allan's importance, EVH's love for the guy... seems to me the video's about as much homage to Allan as it is a discussion of that amazing passage.

[@dkelley9661]

LOL! Thanks Rick! For introducing the rest of the world to what I’ve known now, for decades!

[@magnumopus511]

Amazing lick indeed, the Mt Everest technically wise. Allan's thought process and approach in playing guitar is not of this world. The nearest who can rival him in terms of technical ability is Shawn Lane and Frank Gambale, but sound wise conceptually Holdsworth is in a league of his own.🔥

[@jan-a26]

It would be interesting to have a video about King Crimson's Fracture. Just talk about it, we don't want your hands to explode.

[@CBR1000FJ]

He could interview Anthony Garone who just wrote and published a book about that piece: Failure to fracture.

[@DerekHunt]

Rick, thank you for taking the time to share Allan. I really believe, after 30+ years of study on the instrument , Allan is the modern pinnacle, with Segovia holding the second place trophy. Segovia brought guitar, as an instrument, to some parallel to the orchestra. This is important and it's valuable for us. Allan turned it into something different He elevated it but more importantly, he transformed into sound that we will be analyzing for hundred years. Discard his technique, which hasn't been surpassed, and is harmonically unique in a way that modern music calmly bows its' head and listens, because we need more time to grasp it... in the same way that the fourth movement of Beethoven's 9th starts building on that D minor and that subtle shift as the F# pulses, but drops to the F and bursts into perfection for what we know as Ode to Joy! This is Allan Holdsworth. He is incomparable, he is so unique. It's like he is the Rosetta stone for Harmony as experiencing it for the first time. He is the first guitarist to take the guitar and destroy it, beautifully, in a way that says, "This isn't a guitar, it's not the saxophone I wanted to play, but it is something new. It's my interpretation of sound. Listen." I miss him very much, and I'm so glad you are able to share his voice with people. 100 years from now, no one will care about Spotify, but academics will be trying to decipher and teach about Allan. We were alive when he spoke, what a marvelous time to be able to hear that.

[@makeamericaguitaragain]

You're freakin' awesome, dude. I just love everything that you do. Music teacher I wish I had. Thanks for all you do, Sir.

[@AimingWanderously]

Rick: I can't play that Me: [wishes I "can't play that" also]

[@Bonnevil79]

Teaching me about musicians I've never even heard of. This (amongst many other reasons) is why I try to watch all of your videos.

[@tomgrassia5830]

Allan, THE king. RIP ❤️

[@jasonring5231]

Man......Eric Johnson has so many people that have influenced him and you can hear in this amazing lick by Holdsworth that he is one of those influencers.