Welcome to Berklee! (Tommy Emmanuel's evolution)

On the 17th of September 2009 Tommy Emmanuel came and delivered one of the most inspiring and invigorating clinics I have ever had the honour of attending.
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Here Tommy talks about his evolution as a guitar player and musician. He began his musical adventures by learning songs from the radio and, having never seen a bass guitar before, he learned how to play both rhythm and bass parts.
(Plays a section of 'The Savage' by the Shadows - 0:43)
It wasn't until he was 6 years old, 2 years after beginning to learn the guitar, that he saw his first bass guitar, a Fender Precision Bass, at a concert that he and his brother had played. It was also here that he first saw the Bee Gees.
After hearing Chet Atkins on the radio, and being drawn in by his unique style, Tommy began to learn Chet's work; this was made easier by the fact that he had been playing bass and rhythm parts for some time already. His struggle with flatpicks came to an end some time later when Tommy final saw an album cover of Chet's, with him holding a thumpick.
(Plays a section of 'Windy and Warm' by Chet Atkins - 5:35)
Tommy admired Chet for his inventiveness and his use of the independent thumb technique; he recommends that anyone who wishes to pursue this style should start with the simplest of songs so that the motor skills can become engrained in one's playing.
At the end of this section Tommy demonstrated a thumb stretching exercise that he came up with, describing it as "rather hairy" - so not for the faint of heart! (8:09)
He also demonstrated the differences in his hands that the nearly 50 years of playing have done; his right thumb is remarkably flexible, whereas that of his left is rather rigid due to the sheer about of rhythm playing he has done.
"I come from the bush ... where men are men, and the sheep are nervous."
- Tommy Emmanuel (4:07)

[@RobertGilliesMusic]

It's my pleasure - there was no way I wasn't going to share this with those who couldn't be there.

[@dhammarosi]

And now 1 million views. Wow

[@edwardmorton6691]

The mans an absolute star but so natural and down to earth with it. I love KZbin for enabling all us to watch and listen to stuff like this. It's been a real privilege

[@flagmuffin1221]

"Where men are men, and the sheep are nervous." This guy....

[@clemalford9768]

That's an old joke.

[@jgus4312]

Clem Alford it was 7yrs ago you must’ve been born yesterday

[@ms8742]

@@jgus4312 I heard that joke 30 years ago in college.

[@communityreject3627]

@@ms8742 some people are just stupid

[@BradfordGuy]

@@communityreject3627 " Community Reject 1 week ago @Mark M some people are just stupid" And some are sheep! HEHAW!

[@swikkis]

His time is super solid.

[@toneman335]

Tommy is a combination of talent, discipline, and determination.

[@paulmitchell5349]

Maestro.

[@arthurblackhistoric]

His best line here is . . Then when I was SIX!!! . .

[@jeffreyedwards609]

It flew over there heads.

[@Annunaki_0517]

Exactly! I live with a kid who plays like that. Check this out. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eIvOioyBrLyghdE Unfortunately these days he’d rather play Fortnite and Overwatch than practice, and I swore I’d never force him to play, so I just bite my lip. I hope that once he realizes cute girls dig guitar players and don’t care if you’re God of XBox, he’ll stop wasting his talent.

[@mdoering]

I don't know, "where men are men and sheep are nervous" was a pretty epic line...

[@bertramcoenraats8715]

phenomenally incredible

[@lawrencekedz]

This man is a gift to humanity...!!!

[@bazwillrun]

thats why Tommy and The Bee Gees et al are so fucking good at what they do...theyve been doing it all their lives, since they were young kids...i

[@akanecortich8197]

Tommy is the nicest guy you could ever wish to meet.

[@jwstout007]

And this is why he's an INTERNATIONAL treasure!!!

[@Neverdii]

he's the best guitarist they're ever going to see in their lifetimes most likely :) I would feel so fortunate to be there if I was them

[@gaybe2000]

this man has the pick of destiny

[@ophiolatreia93]

Because a pick is so essential for fingerstyle .

[@ifyourepliedyougay4969]

@@ophiolatreia93 💯

[@widowmakerheartattack5212]

You can go the the best music school in the world. NOTHING will surpass persistent practice and love of what your doing and reinventing.

[@KnowThyself619]

Very true.

[@jedimindtrix2142]

Generally most people don't attend music school unless they have the passion you speak of. Schooling and knoeledge are great compliments to a player who is accomplished and creative but they wont create the greatness.

[@kennybradshaw2122]

World class musicianship and an entertainer!

[@jra2515]

Tommy is a very nice and gracious man. I met him at CAAS and he was just as friendly could be.

[@m2dad2]

About 3 years ago Tommy was in town and I got a few minutes alone with him in the green room. From watching his performances I was convinced he had freakishly long fingers to make the reaches he does. So, naturally I asked him to pose for a photo with my left hand up against his. Much to my surprise his fingers were exactly the same length as mine, albeit mine were a bit wider. However, he told me the key is to practice, practice, practice those reaches and they eventually come. He was so right. I practiced like I had never before to the point my fingers and hand ached but within weeks I was making reaches and chord changes I never thought possible. I am so grateful for someone like Tommy who is so accessible and is on a mission to teach anyone who will listen.

[@EvilSean62]

ive met a few greats and mostly they have been open and nice ... i think the ones that are dicks are still on a quest and just want you to get out the way

[@MrRetinas]

That's a very inspiring story. I have to admit spending a few years stretching my hands until I could finally just about use my thumb for F or D/F#. I'd had to buy a guitar with a very narrow fingerboard. These come with their own issues! Anyway I was following one of Tommy's instructional books. It was a colossal exercise in frustration. But then I too met Tommy and discovered he had fingers and thumb about a third bigger than mine! So I guess your mileage may vary.

[@myyparentsbasement5167]

m2dad2 Go watch Shawn Lane. Stubbiest fingers ever - and the fastest guitar player that's ever lived.

[@13daniel1974]

I was so SAD....I divorced and moved away from the QUAD CITIES (Iowa/Illinois). He was there two years after I moved and I couldn't get back to see him. He is amazing.

[@christineschmidt8494]

Have you ever watched Bucketheads fingers? Now those are some long fingers, look like snakes crawling around on the fretboard!

[@biddibee3526]

Listening to Mr Emmanuel tell stories from his life while playing the guitar is a good morning treat to enjoy with my coffee. Thanks for sharing this video.

[@WarrenPostma]

This guy is THE MAN.

[@richardleslie3013]

My Dad reckon he seen Tom and Phil in 1962 in Cunnamulla ❤❤ toms the best at everything on guitar sit in with anyone

[@abedunovits]

He’s been a legend for a long time in Australia !

[@danielkneebone4412]

After seeing him live, even Eric Clapton said he was the greatest guitarist he had ever seen. That says something.

[@punishr36]

Steve Vai said he was stunned into silence and people in the future wont be able to play like him. Joe Satriani said when they played together on electric that "now I have a chance"." The man is incredible.

[@nachonightmare148]

Tommy is great. I've seen him live a couple times. He should be a household name like Chet. I geuss Chet isn't even a household name anymore. I want out of this world. Haha!

[@jedimindtrix2142]

@SvendBosanvovski You hit it spot on. He is incredible at the way he plays. He may not be the most technical player but what he does is extremely interesting.

[@shadow-Sun]

One word ...LEGEND .

[@kronos350]

This gentleman is phenomenal

[@Dante3085]

I think Tommy made me realize that the word talent is a negative and destructive word. At least it has a side which is that. I've watched many of his concerts workshops and just playing with fans. He never focused much on the thing that he is a very good player. Instead he just embraced that you have to keep going and that it takes time to develope skill, groove and timing. Once he even said to a guy:" Look, you play it like this. If I can do it, you can." I think when we see somenone who is very good at something and we say:" That's talent!." We're just expressing our current feeling of hopelessness in terms of achieving that skill and pureness, unaware of the abilities that we ourself might achieve if we really wanted it.

[@sonidamara5018]

Slash gnr can do that skill.. But he can not teach and entertaining in the same time like tomy

[@forgetful9845]

I think talent is usually very misunderstood and people forget that negative side. Something I've also noticed is people kind of saying it half jokingly and half serious that they won't ever be able to do something.

[@realdiamondshow]

Strange how, the more you practice, the more talent shines through. Clearly, from his youth, Tommy spent many hours playing guitar.

[@Sonja14athome]

@@forgetful9845 The negative side of being born with God given talent is that everything related to it comes so easy that it's also easy to take it for granted and wrongly believe there is no need to put work with it to excel. Kids with talent are so far ahead of their age group they Can get away with it...for a while. Before they know it, their peers, who Have been putting in the work begin to pass them up & leave them behind & if they aren't helped to develop self discipline, their talent will go to waste. Parents, too, though need to be more proactive with their kids from the first notice of talent - not to make it a chore, but to show them how it is fun - fun to learn a little each day & then a little more, then compete with yourself & try to learn and/or do 1 thing more than you could the day before, Always keep it fun and you'll be giving them a love for it and just maybe they'll be lucky enough when they grow up to make a living doing something they'd do even if they didn't get paid to do it.,

[@Sonja14athome]

@elissa f I beg to differ with the recent study's "findings" Both types, practicing 10,000 hrs each, will absolutely NOT produce "absolutely no difference" between a person born without talent and one born with it No matter what the field, the top ranks are always made up of those who are artists and those who are merely competent technicians. The difference between an artist and a technician is "heart". Heart is innate talent. It is not, can not be learned, can not be created. It is not, will not, be magically bestowed upon the completion of 10,000 hrs of practice. A person is either born with it, or not. Period. The study w/b more credible had it said findings were : Those with talent who seldom, if ever, devoted time to practice were found less adept at performing certain specific techniques in their field than those with no talent, who had practiced for 10,000 hrs. It was also found that those talented who practiced for 10, 000 hrs far surpassed those with no talent who also practiced 10,000 hrs. I am more than confident that a detailed audit of every single part of every part of that study would reveal it to be flawed. You can not tell me that if 8 people with no talent practiced 10,000 hrs, and so did Mohammed Ali, Larry Fitzgerald, Beverly Sills, Tommy Emanuel, Michael Jordon, Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and Richard Petty, that within each of 8, two-person teams there would be "absolutely no difference" in the results for each person - They'd be exactly the same. Puh - leeze! I'm not taking any issue at all with you, elissa f. Just the study claims. I may be missing, or misinterpreting something here - I am pretty tired - so, please, if that's the case, enlighten me & save me from my overworked brain! Thx.

[@Horido1231]

i could listen to him for 10 hours...

[@adamredman3000]

I first saw Tommy on a late night news show I used to watch in Australia in the 80's called "Robbo's World Tonight." This show was classic in that it was probably the first "news" show where the anchor would take complete control, injecting his personality into stories, often very serious stories with droll commentary, eye rolling, yawning etc. Each week, or most nights, there would be an interlude where Clive Robertson would introduce some act. Tommy was one of these and it was early on in his career. In a later episode he played with his brother. Been a fan ever since so this was just a great clip to stumble across. cheers

[@pls_explain9608]

That same thing happened to me it was on Clive Robertson I heard this guitarist play Michelle - I thought ‘who is this guy? How come I have never heard of him before?’ expecting that he must be some great international artist that I had somehow never manage to have heard of before. Then I learned that he was from the bush out back. I couldn’t believe such a talent could be so underrated and unrecognised - but I knew it wouldn’t stay that way 🙂

[@alisoncarpenter232]

There is nothing this man can't do, he is the master..the ultimate guitar player and he is still progressing. Amazing!

[@JohnJesus]

The fact he always took the harder path (unknowingly most of the times) means he is the best at what he does

[@sundaru1]

Love you Tommy you are humble and fun great guitar player

[@toamataafa9463]

Love this guy..Tommy Emmanuel👈👍thanks for sharing this video👍

[@danielmesery2904]

A lot of years, and alot of talent.....⭐🎶 And a sense of humor.....😎

[@caranauba]

this makes my eyes rain

[@Mike-dk7wj]

He is the absolute greatest.

[@allymayful]

Love Tommy's story about Barry Gibb.

[@leecooper4213]

allymayful: THANK YOU! I replayed that spot on this clip until my finger is sore.....Could NOT, for the life of me, figure out WHO he said! I even turned on sub-titles, but (as usual) that was no help! I got all the story build-up, but then couldn't hear WHO he named! So thanks a bunch for posting this comment......Now I get to laugh!! Funny.....

[@gordeevious]

What an absolute legend and a class act.

[@albertortiz1338]

Just amazing..

[@theslidedaddy]

So inspiring. Thanks for sharing this gem.

[@bkguitarrepairrestoration5509]

wow, best player I think I have ever seen...

[@docwill184]

Thanks for the synopsis and time-markers...

[@MatthewRivers]

Amazing guy! Great video...

[@ukulelechriswilson]

Thank you master Tommy.

[@tomkozic8505]

Great stuff

[@johnbuffaloe9160]

What an amazing artist!

[@jon780249]

Fascinating and very humorous too!

[@CHUMPTYTRUMPTY]

Tommy wouldn't like my saying this because he is way too humble and grounded but he is actually fucking brilliant in so many ways and truly an inspiration to countless musicians worldwide!

[@trevortimoko7512]

one word AWESOME

[@hillbillymanjackson]

I have seen him 2 times and cant wait to go again.

[@badaml]

What a great video! Thank You for posting this! My time to attend a music college is long past, but I still daydream about it now and then :)

[@RickyHortonMusic]

I was there!! It was awesome!

[@stevehughes1510]

He's an international treasure this man..........what a great artiste.

[@MaXaNoMaLoUs]

I love the point he was making about his own learning, which is, we learn by mimicking and we don’t always know how someone is doing something, so we make our own way. It reminds me of this drummer instructional video, where the guy said “I grew up listening to The Police, and the song Walking on the moon, and I tried learning the awesome high hat licks only to later find out that the drummer of The Police over dubbed a separate track of high hat improv” so in trying to mimick that sound the guy found his own way

[@MaXaNoMaLoUs]

It’s like Paul Gilbert talking about Shawn Lane playing insane licks on guitar and it sounds like he is using two hands but he is not

[@buffalowings89RnR]

he's talking about his hands adapting to the guitar playing over the years and his left thumb being now "modified" I thought the guy was BORN to do this unreal player. much respect to Tommy Emmanual

[@guitarsword1]

Tommy is the guitar master.

[@bolingopaccy3515]

Amazing guitar

[@playmovingpictures]

Aussie my mate tommy, god bless you.

[@DC180]

Tommy you are just mind blowing.

[@GuitSiva]

Thanks dude for sharing Tommy Emmanuel in Berklee..👌👍😊

[@michaelp8856]

wow - wow - wow!

[@allosaurusfragilis7782]

The more i see of TE the more impressive he becomes. Bit of a legend really

[@flightofthefatman]

Dat was awesome.

[@frillylizzard]

thanks for posting. Saw him bout 25 years ago in Brisbane at southbank.. never heard anyone to this day play an acoustic like that.. a great guitarist!! love him.

[@supersteveworld]

Tommy is just incredible. Cool vid thanks :)

[@PlanetRockJesus]

I just love this guy and his music.

[@mahmoudeledrissi7234]

legend i love this man. he is my inspiration. and till now i can now reach his talent.

[@Goffas_and_gumpys]

How good's this fella ey. Genius.

[@fg87fgd]

"I come from the bush. (..) Where men are men and the sheep are nervous."

[@KjartanHaugen]

wow, great video!! more more please :-)

[@TheGregor1605]

fantastic!!! :)

[@headlesssoldier]

what a talent!

[@patricklastname5646]

What a cool and knowledgeable guy.

[@AcousticHills]

This guy is truly Amazing!

[@ConservativeVoicesUniversity]

he really is a great man I met him in jax fl what a guy

[@mikeinmunich8814]

Awesome. The Australian God of Guitar.

[@weswright3187]

He’s plain brilliant.

[@MrJoeyBoombotz]

Master of masters.

[@philisgarn]

He will always be practising.

[@50nuccio]

What a magnificent human being. He and Guthrie are so down to earth.

[@LINE4RR]

This just about made my year, thank you so much for this.

[@robinlabouche2230]

Tommy is a proud Australian !!!!!!!

[@DouggieDinosaur]

Tommy Emmanuel is the reason Chuck Norris plays saxophone.

[@sanctuarynuts]

That's the best comment ever!!!!

[@aleksanderszymanowski6631]

douggiedinosaur hahaha!!!

[@nigelparsons2402]

Now that’s funny.. I have one of his original Matons! Still!

[@MightyCraicDJ]

LMAO

[@westerling8436]

Wow

[@jesuisravi]

what a guy!

[@Gichanasa]

I have been listening to, watching, and following Tommy for over a decade, and I still learned so much about him from this talk. His left and right thumb being completely different shape from the years of practice and training just plain floored me with respect for his dedication. What a wealth of knowledge and source of inspiration he is! Thank you for sharing this great video.

[@AnthonyBurnsSydney]

The Yoda of guitars.

[@locle7998]

Tommy is a true blue Aussie and a great musician, always willing to pass on to the younger generations his wisdom . Lovely guy . ❤️

[@kenlyneham4105]

If you believe in yourself as much as Tommy does, you will succeed.

[@ironman4934]

Yes, very clever and best interview I ever listened to. This man is a genius! A perfect example of where passion and dedication can lead to! More useful advice in here than a 3 year guitar course... :-))

[@buddyrichrocks]

E is for “Enigma”（amongst other things）. Such a special person and he really is so generous in what he does.

[@southernstingray2743]

We saw Mr Tommy Emmanuel at the Matt Dann Center in South Headland Wild West Oz, back in the mid 90s,we were really close seating wise,Tommy's finger tips were glowing red playing his Matons,broke 1 of them ,started on the other,Supreme Masterclass of guitar n many different music genres!Country, blues,countryblues,country jazz,jazz,A ridgy didge, fair dinkum, larrikin Ozzy Legend!!

[@superchargedVR1]

Go Tommy!!

[@user-dw1rl7tx7h]

what a Person

[@HasanCihatOrterVideo]

This is nice work shop ...

[@RobertGilliesMusic]

I know! I had the hardest time not cracking up when he said that.

[@DC180]

Thanks for sharing, valuable Guitar Wisdom from the Master... and it was for free.. amazing

[@gent30x]

Thanks for uploading this. Great stuff Greetings to Berklee.

[@AkshatMehrotra07]

very imp video for every instrumentalists irrespective of the instrument. Thanks for the share.

[@anthonybardsley4985]

Can't do rythm. And bass at same time. Your a genius tommy.

[@macca63]

amazing guitar player and a very funny guy!

[@fragglejunk]

It just goes to show that it’s all in the left hand. And the right hand.

[@guysmalley]

I learn finger picking from watching Tommy one of the best