I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the kind words on this lesson! Alvin was my guitar hero when I was in high school and he is probably responsible for some of the lower test scores that I racked up because I was too busy trying to learn this song note for note. If I had to do it again, the grades would probably be even worse!! ;-)

It took me a long time when I was a teenager. Probably between 6 months to a year. When I first saw Woodstock, I went home both exhilarated and depressed. I thought I was pretty good at the time but this guy made me feel like a real beginner. If you are already used to playing fast, and you have an hour or two a day, you might be able to play it at a gig in a month. I had to dedicate a lot of time to "owning" it. Learning the notes is just the beginning.

RIP Alvin !! He is home now...Thanks for the music!

Great lesson. Thanks. It’s all about Alvin’s impeccable timing (then speed) . This lesson was so helpful.

Thanks for posting this Tony!!! I can not imagine how tough it was for musicians growing up without technology to reveal secrets of their musical heroes.

Thank you !!!........you have just inspired me to pick it up again and go out and kick some ass !!! Im 54, played over 300 gigs in 7 years, and have been on vacatio nfrom gigging for 2 years now, its not easy singing playing, running sound and running lights..... all the same time ....in a 3 piece power house doing JImi, cream, 60's and 70's. setting up taring down, etc. But have honestly just gave me the shot i needed to get back on my feet again !!! Thanks Jesse Petas

Wow. When I was a kid and heard this song for the first time I would never have guessed 45 years later I'd be seriously consider learning how to play it - with your help - Sire! Thanks.

Excellent tutorial. You nailed Alvin's technique and play the licks much better than most people I have heard on YT. Great job.

This tune is epic incredible speed and invocation it paved highways for moderne's guitar gods any body satriani mentions is super

Fantastic touch, true Alvin style!

WOW! First off, great job! . i play guitar and have always loved his style. watching this slowed down for us made me realize why the average person and even some musicians cant even realize what all is going on. they dont realize how good he is. watching this video made me realize why Alvin Lee is one of the most under rated guitar players. in my opinion he was one of the best for that time era. you just showed us everything that the untrained ear missed, lol. thank you for this video.

One of the greatest pioneers of lead guitar

Espectacular, así si me animo a aprenderla :D Gran profesor, y gran guitarrista!

What a great lesson. This song was way easier to learn then I thought it was going to be. Good job, Thanks bro.

Great job showing us what Alvin was up to. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Alvin Lee for visiting with us!

Nice job with this. Did the tune with my high school band in the early 70's. Brings back fond memories.

I signed in just to tell you great job. I have watched a few other tutorials on this song, and you have it nailed best. Thanks for taking the time to do it.

Thanks for taking the time, I first came to this around a year ago, There was no way I could touch it, But im back, I've got the first three licks down, I can hear them while im playing them this time, I'm pretty excited, This is a bad ass song, Thanks god I didn't quit playing guitar, there were many times I could have thrown this guitar against the wall, Lol Don't quit it'll come sooner or later, For me later but its hear!! Thanks again. Subscribed.

thank you for taking the time to teach it right! and at a speed where you can actually learn.

Great Tony.

Can't think or speak at the moment . You've hit me right between the eyes with this lesson . Thanks so much ! I know now what i have to do the next couple of weeks / month . Again , thank you so much , Sir . Peace

Wow....nice. You are an excellent guitar teacher & player. Thank you!

Brilliant! Thank u

I think of you often my friend. Rest in Peace prayers for for your family.

Tony, thank you,

Love it thanks so much appreachiate the lesson love alvin lee.

Thanks for this. I've been after this for ages and only just got around to looking for it seriously. I'm off to have a try ... Cheers.

Great Lesson, Tutorial, Very clear and easy to understand, Thanks

Many thanks for the lesson outstanding. Just need to get up to speed with many hours of practice to come.

Few tutorials would have the guts to take this on... take my hat off to you..wow impressed!

Thank you so much for this, Excellent work 👍

Love the tutorial helped me figure out some problems I was having with the song.

Thanks man. I have been sooo intimidated by this lick but now after all these year, I think I'll give it another shot....

Thats pretty awesome, love to get more of these

You are very welcome! Thank you for watching.

I want to hear the original by Helicopter

TYA lo mejor del rock'n roll!!!

you do it slow and right . very good teaching!

Steve, Watch this vid on the lick that I say is 'Pure Alvin." The pattern is essentially the same thing over and over except for one note. Instead of starting on the 4th fret of the G string and sliding up, he starts on the fifth fret. So the lick is 5th fret G string with middle finger slide to 6th fret G then 5th fret B string with first finger hammer to 7th fret on B then 5th fret E string then repeat. Sweep pick the whole lick down and push every other pattern just a hair. Go for it Bro!

@mymailtube thanks for sharing this intro, i have been dreaming to play this since i was a kid

Love this video !!!! Thanks Tony !

You know your subject and well presented - Thank You!

Nice lesson - half through. For the second riff I find it easier to slide up two with the middle finger rather than up one with the index and adding the middle.

Amazing lesson ! 👍

Dude...you're pretty dang fast! My eyes can't even keep up with that...and by the time my brain deciphers it all...the video's over! Not fair!!! I've never admitted this, but, while I would LOVE to play like this, I just don't feel that my fingers genetically have what it takes. Hope that makes sense to other guitarists.

Thank you Thank you Thank you

Nice lesson says this guitar player. A suggestion for ya and other folks doing similar lessons, how about showing the fret board from just a slightly more above angle, so that a better vw of finger placement in relation to fret is visible.

Thanks. It always drove me nuts that the Woodstock footage of this was a tight close-up of Alvin's face.

@tony11122 Outstanding!!! There is some great stuff on youtube, but this is truly exceptional. You have done a great job, and this is one of my all time favorite guitar jams

Thanks for demystifying it for me !

Wow, never noticed before. There's different footage. The raw footage from the event its in A, but from the woodstock movie they sped it up which puts it in B flat!

wow! excellent

A bit confused, the woodstock version seems to be in B flat not A. Must have sped up the footage cause his hand position is in A but to play along its B flat.

I'll try to figure that pattern out when I get a chance and tell you what it is. I can see that he is sweep picking it and it sounds like a variation of one of the licks that I explained in the first part of this lesson. Since it is a repeating pattern, I might just be able to give you the fret numbers and strings.

@dogheartch Many hours in front of an old record player at half speed. Picked up some from another guitar player in high school, and finally tweaked it when I got a computer program called TRANSCRIBE. Slowed some of it way down on that program to pick out the little parts that I had been playing wrong for years. It helps to watch videos of guitar players too. There are so many places on the neck of a guitar to do the same lick so it helps if you know where the lick was played originally. Thanks

Excellent

Awesome tutorial, the best here on YT!!?

grazie mille, ottimo insegnamento.. :-)

Thanks, Tony. I've got the rest of the song pretty much down and plan to cover a shortened version of it in my live set; just need that one pattern to make it feel right!

great job bro . really help me out thanks .

Great lesson, thanks a lot !

let me back up so you can see where the nut is lmfao....Great lesson man. I know what the nut is on the guitar, but it sure sounded funny to hear you say that. thanks again. Alvin Lee is an awesome guitar player. you gave us a great lesson thanks.

you rock tony!!! thankssss

Hey Guitargonzo! Good to hear from you. I used a JVC Everio HDD. I thought it was a high definition camcorder but that actually stands for hard disk drive which I think is a little misleading. The vid seems to work OK for me on my computer, but there is an HQ function on YT that provides a little extra clarity and might work better for you. Also, you could try the vanderbilly site as all of my lessons are posted there too. tony11122

good lesson master !!

You are very welcome! Thanks for watching. Alvin was a great inspiration to me. The rest of the lesson is at vanderbilly. com all for free.

Hi Tony. Thanks for the Intro. I can't find the other two parts anywhere. Could you post a link if they're still available? Thanks, Bruce.

Great job

RIP Alvin!

THANK YOU FOR THIS, SO SO SO SO VERY MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! The missing link for me was the slide hammer on sweep picking part, that I could never actually figure out, and have been playing it wrong, lo, all these years!!!!!!!!!!!! .. just wondering... Do You have perfect pitch, or just some magical, mystical deal, with someone... My first influence was Johnny Winter, with the roadwork version of rock and roll hoochie Koo, and my second was from my sister's borrowed Woodstock album; I got my guitar teacher to teach me how to play that, but he missed that totally Alvin part, that you have! It shows up in so very many songs! I started playing in 1973, and I saw Alvin at the Philadelphia spectrum in 1974; spectacular! I had bought every album that I could find from 10 years after, and tried to learn everything that he did! But ... I was completely missing that MAGICAL PART that you supplied on this video!!!!!!!!;! NOT ABSOLUTELY CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!

There are some parts at different speeds mixed in. I know what you are saying though. I also have trouble learning when it is too slow. The best thing to do is learn the individual licks and then turn off the lesson and try to piece them together on your own. When I was learning it I had to do it hundreds of times before I could get it up to speed. Good luck!

your guitar has great fret action

Thank you man!

Thanks again, Tony. If I get 'er figured all the way out,I'll post something.

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH........

Tony, could you make a tutorial on TYA I'd Love to Change the World please?

Great lesson. I'm trying to learn it. But I have a question: The lick from 3:20-3:43 differs from when you play it from 3:54-4:00 and 4:09 - 4:15 Which is the correct one? Thanks.

No1

Merci!

Rock on!

Hi Tony can you post the other parts too? Thank you

Oso ondo, e vuelto a mis principios. Eskerrik asko.

is it possible for you to put the othere two parts uo as vanderbilly is bye bye? please?????

Where can we find the other two lessons?

See above comment by mymailtube. I got messed up in the editing somehow but the right one is the second one. Sorry.

Cool!

You played the second part differently for some readon, that what you said and showed?

Ohhhh, that's what he's doing.. Ah well, awesome lesson. Although if one canT' figure out what key the song is on, then they probably won't be able to follow this.

Hello Tony...how can I find the other prts of the lesson in that site? I can't find them there...

Does anyone have the other videos to this song???

@VanDalgyonTheDark Bien!

Ya gonna study Alvin Mate? Yer in fer a long wild wild ride,,,,,,press on Mate,,,en Gud Luck!!!!!

What kind of pedal are you using?

i just took a fat dump and i was listeing to this

BUENO . BUENO , BUENO !!!!!!!!!!!

@mymailtube Sorry!!! Man, I didn't even see that. The second one is right.

Sorry, Tony, I meant in the youtube video I included the last part of the link for in my first comment. I tried to put the entire link in but KZfaq doesn't allow the addition of complete links in their comments or emails. If you stick youtube.com in front of the piece in brackets in my first comment /watch?v=bW5M5xljdCI it will take you to the Woodstock video I'm referring to and the 6:37 will make a lot more sense. Thanks, man.

Fucking A man! Great lesson, great gritty amp. Keep on rocking

Oh sorry i should have seen that. Im trying like hell to get this. Every day for two weeks. Can you just play it sort of fast but not like lightning? I cant get it when its so slow. Something wrong with my comprehension at the slow speeds. Im sorry i know you did it very well, i just need help. Been playing this wrong since i was a kid and trying to learn it right.

Toca rápido como o cara.