Some guitar riffs are instantly recognisable from the very first few notes. Layla, Sweet Child O’ Mine, Life in the Fast Lane, Sweet Home Alabama, Pinball Wizard, Mr Brightside, Smoke on the Water, Back in Black and countless others have become part of guitar history – and they’re fantastic fun to play.
But great riffs are also brilliant practice exercises. In this lesson the focus is Pinball Wizard.
Join the Gary Dunn live online for an interactive lesson where you can play along, ask questions and learn in real time. Includes detailed course materials and access to the lesson recording afterwards, so you can revisit everything at your own pace.
ZOOM (1 hour)
Nov 9th at 7:30pm – Pinball Wizard
Can’t attend one of the sessions? Don’t worry – just book in and you’ll receive the relevant materials.
Run by:
Gary Dunn
Venue:
ONLINE,
“Pinball Wizard” by The Who is one of rock music’s great rhythm guitar performances – and a fantastic study for anyone wanting to improve their acoustic or electric rhythm playing.
In this interactive online Guitar Weekends lesson, Gary Dunn will break down Pete Townshend’s distinctive guitar approach, from the extended acoustic introduction through to the powerful rhythm parts that drive the song.
You’ll explore how pedal notes, changing chord shapes, strumming patterns, dynamics and rhythmic accuracy combine to create a guitar part that sounds far bigger than a simple sequence of chords.
Rather than simply learning the song, you’ll look at the techniques that make this style of rhythm guitar work and how you can apply them elsewhere in your playing.
During the session you’ll work on:
You’ll receive:
This lesson is ideal for guitarists who want to develop stronger, more confident rhythm guitar playing.
You should be comfortable with basic chords and chord changes. Some of the material will provide a challenge, but everything will be broken down during the session so you can continue developing it afterwards.
Acoustic or electric guitar welcome.
This is a standalone lesson from our Riff Mastery Online Series.
You can book this lesson individually or join us for the complete three-lesson series featuring:
Layla – Derek and the Dominos
Pinball Wizard – The Who
AC/DC – Riff Mastery
Each lesson focuses on a different aspect of great guitar playing, from layered lead and rhythm parts to acoustic rhythm and classic rock riffing.
Each session is a one-hour live and interactive online lesson with Gary Dunn.
Gary will teach the parts, break down difficult sections and explain the techniques involved. Because the sessions are live, you’ll also be able to ask questions and get help as the lesson progresses.
And there’s no pressure to master everything during the hour.
Afterwards, you’ll receive a recording link of the complete lesson, together with any further accompanying course materials, allowing you to pause, rewind and continue working through everything at your own pace.
Riff Mastery is aimed at guitarists who already know the basics and want to build their repertoire while improving their technique through real music.
The difficulty varies between songs, so check the Difficulty Badge on each individual session for guidance. But in general lessons 1 & 2 are intermediate, but lesson 3 is Beginner plus to Intermediate.
As a general guide, you’ll benefit from being reasonably comfortable with:
You don’t need to be able to play everything before joining us – that’s why we’re teaching it!
Some parts will be challenging, but Gary will break them down and show you how to practise them effectively. And because you receive the complete lesson recording, you can continue working at your own pace afterwards.
Both electric and acoustic guitarists can benefit from the series, although the most appropriate guitar will depend on the particular session.
You can still book the course.
Every student receives the complete recording of the live lesson and all accompanying materials, so if you can’t attend on the night – or simply want to go through something again – you can work through the session afterwards at your own pace.
This also means there’s no need to worry if Gary covers more material than you can absorb during the live hour.
Pause. Rewind. Practise. Come back to it whenever you need to.
BUT this shouldn’t put you off booking in as you’ll receive the full materials including the video of the complete live session.
Start slowly – if you decide to book just one session but then become interested in other sessions just buy them on the website.