John Denver is remembered as one of the most beloved figures in the history of American popular music. He was an accomplished singer, songwriter and guitar player as well as a committed social activist, humanitarian and environmentalist. The spare, deceptively simple accompaniments he devised for his many hit songs gave each one a memorable sound that continues to ring in our ears to this day. Although John Denver’s voice was his primary instrument, he played such beautiful parts to accompany himself that he created a sound for an entire era.From 1994 until John Denver's tragic death in 1997, Pete Huttlinger was his lead guitarist, accompanying him on world tours, recordings, TV specials and performances with major symphony orchestras. Pete was a John Denver fan before becoming a member of his band, and after standing beside him on stage in innumerable performances he absorbed the nuances of John's style and learned all his accompaniments to perfection.
While the lesson is accessible to most novice players (and several of these songs can be played even by near-beginners) by the end of the tape you'll find yourself solidly in intermediate guitar territory. Throughout the lesson, Pete's clear explanations make it easy to completely understand what you need to do to achieve John Denver's trademark sound and use it as a springboard for your own songs and arrangements.
The techniques taught on this video range from very simple accompaniments using basic folk strums to Travis-style picking patterns and syncopated melody lines against a steady bass. You'll learn chord positions and harmonies that evoke a sound typical of John's music, along with songs such as "My Sweet Lady," "I'm Sorry," "Annie's Song," "Late Winter Early Spring" (instrumental), "Fly Away," "Boy from the Country," "Darcy Farrow" and "Rocky Mountain High."
Student Reviews:
"Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU! for this video. Of all the guitar teaching videos I have seen, this is by far the best."
"It is really good to see someone at last who appreciates the skill of John's guitar playing (e.g. My Sweet Lady, RM High, I'm Sorry, Fly Away, etc). It was good to hear that you hold his guitar playing in such high regard."
"For a JD guitar fan this video is perfect, the camera work and filming was just right and I do realise it is not easy to dissect and then explain clearly a finger-style guitar piece. (I have been trying to get that RM High intro/'riff' right for years, now I've got it exact - thank you!)." - P.H. Hampshire, UK
"I think the Huttlinger John Denver video is fantastic. I'vebeen playing JD songs for about 10 years but I could not figure out how toplay exactly like John. Now I will be able to and that makes me veryhappy. I will buy any video Pete makes! Please make more. Thanks again." - Dave Hiller (by email)