GW 938 and 939 reviewed in Dirty Linen!

If you want to learn how to play the guitar, you might as well learn from the best. Pierre Bensusan, one of the key promoters of DADGAD tuning, takes you on a gentle instructional excursion through his unique sound and playing style in Volumes One and Two. You'll learn about Pierre's unique approach to playing the instrument (if he can hum it, he can play it) and how he manages to make his fingers fly over the fret-board (practice, practice). Of interest is his disclosure of how he spent years studying classical piano and how that has influenced his
guitar playing.

The teaching instruction is top-quality with lots of close-ups of the necessary finger and chord positions. Bensusan is a fascinating storyteller who quickly charms and relaxes the viewer with stories of his early days as a struggling young guitarist. He spends time discussing his own philosophy of music appreciation, and shares insights on how he listens to other instruments and then tries to incorporate their "colors" into his own special sound. Bensusan is a lively performer and teacher, and these videos will certainly be of interest to any guitarist wishing to work in DADGAD tuning. Both volumes come with study booklets that contain all of the music in tablature format. Some of the songs taught in these volumes are "Suite Flamed," "Nice Feeling," "Flamorgan Aire," "La Femme Cambree," "Shi Bhig Shi Mhor,"
"Voyage for Ireland," "Merrily Kissed the Quaker," "Hekimoglu," "The Rakish Paddy," "Heman Dubh," and "Maurice in Wonderland."

Also of interest is Bensusan's performance at the Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse in 1995, videotaped by Vestapol (Pierre Bensusan in Concert). Seventy-five minutes of Bensusan's glorious and evocative music is presented in front of a hushed audience of fans. Tunes include "Wu Wei," "The Last Pint," "Four A.M.," "Montsegur and Around the Day in 80 Worlds," "La Femme Cambree," "Bamboule," "Agadiramadan," "Cordilliere," and "Slow Air."