| Instructional Video Review |
| Phil Keaggy - Acoustic Guitar Style |
Guitarist Phil Keaggy is truly a delight to watch. Although blessed with blinding speed, this isn't what makes Keaggy so astounding to witness. Rather, it is the remarkable assuredness of his left (fretting) hand, which navigates the fretboard without hesitation, constantly performing impossible stretches and tricky runs.The Music Source International release of Phil Keaggy - Acoustic Guitar Style video (a follow up to the guitarist's Electric Guitar Style) gives viewers a chance to see 60 minutes of Keaggy's playing up close, with ongoing commentary from the guitarist. For each song Keaggy plays, he details the tuning used (almost all songs found on the video use alternate tunings), the inspiration for the song, and other anecdotes.
As a strictly instructional video, Acoustic Guitar Style isn't on par with many of the excellent acoustic fingerstyle resources available. The accompanying tablature booklet contains only about 40 bars of music from the video, which amounts to only several minutes worth of transcription. Onscreen, Keaggy moves through 12 incredibly complex songs at a brisk pace, so all hope of fully learning any of these compositions is quickly lost. Realistically, learning a guitar style as complex as Keaggy's isn't possible in a one hour time frame, so it's hard to fault the video makers for glossing over specifics.
Where this video really shines is in it's portrayal of the warmth in Keaggy's guitar playing, and in his personality. Keaggy obviously has a great love for guitar playing, and it's truly a joy to watch him talk about his compositions, and the way he approaches the guitar. Definitely designed for the Phil Keaggy fan as well as for the guitar player, Acoustic Guitar Style, while not a terrific instructional video, will certainly leave you smiling. The live performances that bookend Acoustic Guitar Style are also sure to please all viewers.
Buy Phil Keaggy - Acoustic Guitar Style at PhilKeaggy.com
