Bought the Elegant Gypsy record on a whim in high school back in the late 70's because of a sticker on it that said voted best guitar album...blew my 16 yr old mind away 🤯 how is this speed/clarity even possible! Absolute game changer! Race with the Devil and Mediterranean for me would be like most of you hearing Yngwie the first time...thanks Dave for the great flashback!
when I got married it was in my house and when my wife came down the steps they told me to play some music on the stereo so I put on an al dimeola record I think it was called elegant gypsy I was pretty wild back then but it worked
Wow great job ,, it takes balls to take on Al dimeola chords man , the guy is a monster , chord wise and rhythm wise . Happened upon this video by accident , so new fan
Great video. I heard about him after my Dad bought me Return to Forever's Romantic Warrior album for my 17th birthday about 2 years ago. First thing I thought was "holy shit this is crazy stuff". His picking is a marvel to watch
Romantic Warrior is outstanding! I fell into a big fusion spell a number of years ago and picked up a lot of RTF and Mahavishnu albums. There's just something magical about '70s fusion and prog rock music. From Return to Forever to Rush = I'm totally a fan! Thanks again and rock on\m/
Check out Al's Cielo e Terra album from which Vertigo Shadow comes. It's full of this kind of acoustic chordal beauty. I love it. Thanks very much Dave.
I came a little late to the Al party when he put out Kiss. Picked it up because it had an endorsement by Steve Vai saying "Every note explodes!". I just had to find out what music could possibly demand such a description. I was not disappointed. It's too bad his composition prowess is so overshadowed by the technique. You can take away the hot licks and the music WILL hold up.
This video really helps open up some of the mystery of AdMs playing, so thank you very much for this. I’m focusing closely and trying to replicate the chords but a tab would also help. To see exactly where the fingers are. Great videos!!
Hi David, Some of those less common extended arpeggios remind me of “Fates Warning” . Al’s picking hand and sense of rhythms are awesome. Really just incredible to see him change almost effortlessly.
Wow Dave! I didn’t see this coming! Awesome! Keeping me on my toes! I love it! I was the same way as a youngster wondering who this older dude with a beard was in GP magazine. I soon found out he was an absolute monster player!
I totally remember thinking the same thing. I figured if EVH was talking about Holdsworth and Di Meola then I needed to check them out. I did and had nearly the same reaction to both players. :-o YIKES :-o Legendary masters. Thanks again and take care buddy!
Incredible lesson! It is so rare to find a clear lesson about Al di Meola. I am a huge fan of his music, and now I am a huge fan of your lessons. Please do more lessons about Al di Meola, you are one of the few that actually can do it properly.
First time I heard al di was on a university radio station. His name was so strange and it was hard to find his album in a record shop, but the guy there guided me to his record bin despite my butchered rendering of his name. Huge influence on me, grateful I found his music.
Yes Al changed my approach to rock/metal music and guitar as well. Because of him I need my guitar to have actually sensitive pots for tone and volume that need to tell the difference between 10 and 7 in the mix. He made me want to play hard and clean at the same time and listen to every note separately clean. Now my music is pop/rock/metal/jazz/latin and folk. Just a legendary artist. Thank you so much.
What an awesome video Dave! Youre lessons feel like casual guitar talk and the way you demonstrate the concepts without trying to unnecessarily show off your playing skills makes them really invaluable. Thanks!
You're welcome and thanks for this comment and for watching too! : ) That's a big reason for this Chordplay series, to really just talk about chords and share some interesting chords, progressions, and ideas that I've learned/taught over the years. Sometimes my creative ear/mind is sparked with hearing/finding one chord. So I hope you get some new ideas with lessons like this one! Thanks again and take care!
At our wedding we had Elegant Gipsey as the background people wanted to know who & what it was. Al Di Meola is a monster. He had a monster band back in the day; Steve Gadd, Anthony Jackson, Jan Hammer, Chick Corea, Mingo Lewis, Lenny White. Each were & are to this day _absolute monsters_ of their respective instruments. Di Meola was _the pivotal guitarist_ that opened the door for me as a young boy wanting to learn guitar. I heard the Elegan Gypse Album & that was it, *_I wanted to be like Al_* Move forward 40 years & *I'm nothing like Al Di Meola LOL* but who is? My deepest respect & awe to you. Props to Al Di Meola who'll forever be _the_ guitar God for me.
Awesome! I picked up a lesson book at one of Al's shows. "Al Di Meola: Solos" by Dan Towey. It's a great tool for learning how to solo over those crazy chords. Which Al does seamlessly. I've been lucky enough to see him up close a few times. Mind blowing for sure. Great lesson, Dave!
That's awesome! I need to check out that book. I do remember spending some time with his old REH instructional video and it was great! Thank you again for watching and for this comment too. Take care and stick around for more lessons and videos. : )
@@LateNightLessons It's a Hal Leonard book. Not sure if it's still in print, but check Music Dispatch. They may have it. It's not for the weak our timid though. Lol. What I find amazing is how similar Yngwie's style is to Al's. Technically speaking, not musically. Lots of diminished and harmonic minor, but they're using them in totally different ways. Plus the speed aspect of the scales and arpeggios. On paper they're quite similar, but the audio tells another tale.
Very cool and I'll look around for it! : ) The funny thing about Yngwie is the fact he studied (and heavily borrowed) from classical violinists, so while he also tapped into Hendrix, Blackmore, and a little EVH too, for the most part - 80-90% of his licks, runs, arpeggios, and melodies are borrowed directly from the violin and not the guitar. I dated a violinist for a while and she revealed some of that world to me. She also mentioned that some of her instructors in school happened to respect Yngwie and were fans of his music. I thought that was a little odd (non-guitarists that were Yngwie fans), but cool at the same time. : )
@@LateNightLessons Yeah, Michael Rabin's rendition of the 24 Caprices is on permanent loop in the back of my brain. Perlman's is great too, but Rabin was on fire when he recorded his Paganini. Then you listen to someone like Oscar Peterson on piano, and it's just as amazing. If we were only limited to guitar we'd miss out on a that glory. However, I would say I prefer the timbre of strings to brass or wood, but there are equally talented cats on each. I mean who could blow better than Bird, Coltrane, or Gillespie?
ADM is my JAM!!!! Saw his World Symphonia live (1996) and believe it or not by some whim of fortuitous events he signed my only Vantage Acoustic and then allowed a photo after....been chasing his Sunrise since. His jab into Return to Forever really is a study for any serious student of the Ax. You had my sub at Eddies Scales but you most def grabbed my attention with ADM...well done sir! Very Well Done! 😎👍
Remember I said I studied Flamenco under a teacher who taught Robbie Krieger? Yeah, his picking hand was like a “machine,” too. I think that is standard for skilled Flamenco players. 😂
Aww, fantastic stuff David. Love the weird stuff! About 2/3 of the way through I realised I’d unconsciously included a version of one of those chords in a sequence of my own. I’ve got lots of five- or six-chord sequences that sound nice when I put them together, but I never manage to turn them into proper compositions :(
Wow I’m a little late to this party!! Glad you called FNISF “historic” -cuz that’s precisely what it is. Still remember listening to it on vinyl back in the day and hearing those notes just POP and wondering how they did it. Great lesson-got some fun voicings (and picking) to do!!
Have to play a little more with the Acoustic ...ibut two months ago i had a bad e-bike accident .. right hand broken 3 times .. had an operation and it's okay again .. so i can play carefully ... i'm glad that my left hand is not affected
I first heard Dimeola with Chick Corea....on "Romantic Warrior".....sheese...I was hooked...speed...precision....phrasing on a Les Paul no less....and his solo albums are killer....Thanks David for playing tribute to a monster!
Do you have courses available to buy where you teach whole songs? Your lessons are so good but I would like to learn it as a whole song. It puts things in context and I find that I remember and get other ideas when I can relate it back to a song I know. Thanks 😊
Ah,what stunning atmospheric chords , love them . Excellent lesson David , love the cool story of meeting the man himself. Have you considered a chord lesson based on Steve Stevens flamenco playing , such as his track Run across Desert Sands?.
I've been thinking about Steve lately and I think I might have to include him in a lesson somewhere - good call! Thanks for watching and for the comment buddy! Take care! : )
@@LateNightLessons Thanks David - just ordered your Dirty Water album too - look forward to it - I was going to order the Cd - though costs etc... getting to the UK -nearly did order the Serreal Killer on CD as I was wanting the spooky extras that come with it :) - maybe I will start getting your albums on disc as still love that medium - I having grown up on albums doh!! Enjoy your day buddy.
Thank you so much Richard! You've been a HUGE supporter of my work and with Late Night Lessons too. That's amazing and I can't thank you enough! Have a great one!
Everytime I hear an Al Di Meola song there is always something that I find that I say "this sounds like it could be Opeth". The entire Vertigo Shadow song sounds like one of Opeths clean sections.
Interesting thought experiment: al di Meola standing in for Eddie Van Helen one night in concert. He is such a flamboyant player, he could pull it off with his own style. Few others could.
I haven't really dealt with Al di Meola at all ... I know the album "Friday night in San Francisco" and I have already seen a few videos of him. Great guitarist A virtuoso
Bought the Elegant Gypsy record on a whim in high school back in the late 70's because of a sticker on it that said voted best guitar album...blew my 16 yr old mind away 🤯 how is this speed/clarity even possible! Absolute game changer! Race with the Devil and Mediterranean for me would be like most of you hearing Yngwie the first time...thanks Dave for the great flashback!
The last 5 records are absolutely astonishing, very high level musicianship but still heart felt melodies/harmonies
when I got married it was in my house and when my wife came down the steps they told me to play some music on the stereo so I put on an al dimeola record I think it was called elegant gypsy I was pretty wild back then but it worked
I sat next to Al Dimeola on a flight to Tel Aviv in the 80s -was playing with Peter Green ...Am from Ghana
Wow great job ,, it takes balls to take on Al dimeola chords man , the guy is a monster , chord wise and rhythm wise . Happened upon this video by accident , so new fan
Great video. I heard about him after my Dad bought me Return to Forever's Romantic Warrior album for my 17th birthday about 2 years ago. First thing I thought was "holy shit this is crazy stuff". His picking is a marvel to watch
Romantic Warrior is outstanding!
I fell into a big fusion spell a number of years ago and picked up a lot of RTF and Mahavishnu albums.
There's just something magical about '70s fusion and prog rock music.
From Return to Forever to Rush = I'm totally a fan!
Thanks again and rock on\m/
Check out Al's Cielo e Terra album from which Vertigo Shadow comes. It's full of this kind of acoustic chordal beauty. I love it. Thanks very much Dave.
I came a little late to the Al party when he put out Kiss. Picked it up because it had an endorsement by Steve Vai saying "Every note explodes!". I just had to find out what music could possibly demand such a description. I was not disappointed. It's too bad his composition prowess is so overshadowed by the technique. You can take away the hot licks and the music WILL hold up.
Great video! I love Al and discovered him for his soloing. But like Eddie, he’s an amazing rhythm player too.
This video really helps open up some of the mystery of AdMs playing, so thank you very much for this. I’m focusing closely and trying to replicate the chords but a tab would also help. To see exactly where the fingers are. Great videos!!
Hi David,
Some of those less common extended arpeggios remind me of “Fates Warning” .
Al’s picking hand and sense of rhythms are awesome. Really just incredible to see him change almost effortlessly.
Wow Dave! I didn’t see this coming! Awesome! Keeping me on my toes! I love it!
I was the same way as a youngster wondering who this older dude with a beard was in GP magazine. I soon found out he was an absolute monster player!
I totally remember thinking the same thing.
I figured if EVH was talking about Holdsworth and Di Meola then I needed to check them out.
I did and had nearly the same reaction to both players.
:-o YIKES :-o
Legendary masters.
Thanks again and take care buddy!
For a moment I thought I was actually watching Al himself. A ringer for him!
Great lesson - Al is a legend. His rhythmic work is is another league. Speaking of chords - what about The Chords of Jonathan Kreisberg?
Thank you again so much!
Jonathan is a monster player - good call!
: )
Incredible lesson! It is so rare to find a clear lesson about Al di Meola. I am a huge fan of his music, and now I am a huge fan of your lessons. Please do more lessons about Al di Meola, you are one of the few that actually can do it properly.
Best chord ever , even better than E minor with the f# in it. Love that B7 with the A&B in the bass
First time I heard al di was on a university radio station. His name was so strange and it was hard to find his album in a record shop, but the guy there guided me to his record bin despite my butchered rendering of his name. Huge influence on me, grateful I found his music.
Yes Al changed my approach to rock/metal music and guitar as well. Because of him I need my guitar to have actually sensitive pots for tone and volume that need to tell the difference between 10 and 7 in the mix. He made me want to play hard and clean at the same time and listen to every note separately clean. Now my music is pop/rock/metal/jazz/latin and folk. Just a legendary artist. Thank you so much.
What an awesome video Dave! Youre lessons feel like casual guitar talk and the way you demonstrate the concepts without trying to unnecessarily show off your playing skills makes them really invaluable. Thanks!
Thank you so much for your content!
From a songwriter always looking for more chords
You're welcome and thanks for this comment and for watching too!
: )
That's a big reason for this Chordplay series, to really just talk about chords and share some interesting chords, progressions, and ideas that I've learned/taught over the years.
Sometimes my creative ear/mind is sparked with hearing/finding one chord.
So I hope you get some new ideas with lessons like this one!
Thanks again and take care!
At our wedding we had Elegant Gipsey as the background people wanted to know who & what it was. Al Di Meola is a monster. He had a monster band back in the day; Steve Gadd, Anthony Jackson, Jan Hammer, Chick Corea, Mingo Lewis, Lenny White. Each were & are to this day _absolute monsters_ of their respective instruments. Di Meola was _the pivotal guitarist_ that opened the door for me as a young boy wanting to learn guitar. I heard the Elegan Gypse Album & that was it, *_I wanted to be like Al_* Move forward 40 years & *I'm nothing like Al Di Meola LOL* but who is? My deepest respect & awe to you. Props to Al Di Meola who'll forever be _the_ guitar God for me.
Awesome! I picked up a lesson book at one of Al's shows. "Al Di Meola: Solos" by Dan Towey. It's a great tool for learning how to solo over those crazy chords. Which Al does seamlessly. I've been lucky enough to see him up close a few times. Mind blowing for sure. Great lesson, Dave!
That's awesome! I need to check out that book.
I do remember spending some time with his old REH instructional video and it was great!
Thank you again for watching and for this comment too.
Take care and stick around for more lessons and videos.
: )
@@LateNightLessons It's a Hal Leonard book. Not sure if it's still in print, but check Music Dispatch. They may have it. It's not for the weak our timid though. Lol. What I find amazing is how similar Yngwie's style is to Al's. Technically speaking, not musically. Lots of diminished and harmonic minor, but they're using them in totally different ways. Plus the speed aspect of the scales and arpeggios. On paper they're quite similar, but the audio tells another tale.
Very cool and I'll look around for it!
: )
The funny thing about Yngwie is the fact he studied (and heavily borrowed) from classical violinists, so while he also tapped into Hendrix, Blackmore, and a little EVH too, for the most part - 80-90% of his licks, runs, arpeggios, and melodies are borrowed directly from the violin and not the guitar.
I dated a violinist for a while and she revealed some of that world to me. She also mentioned that some of her instructors in school happened to respect Yngwie and were fans of his music.
I thought that was a little odd (non-guitarists that were Yngwie fans), but cool at the same time.
: )
@@LateNightLessons Yeah, Michael Rabin's rendition of the 24 Caprices is on permanent loop in the back of my brain. Perlman's is great too, but Rabin was on fire when he recorded his Paganini. Then you listen to someone like Oscar Peterson on piano, and it's just as amazing. If we were only limited to guitar we'd miss out on a that glory. However, I would say I prefer the timbre of strings to brass or wood, but there are equally talented cats on each. I mean who could blow better than Bird, Coltrane, or Gillespie?
I love your dimeola lessons man. I wish I knew the theory to be able to know which chords worked in different situations.
7:06 the technique of crossbarring just blew my mind! I came for the chords and got a new technique! Thanks
cool episode, lovely reminder to check the great Al once again
Elegant Gypsy is by far the best album.
That was really cool man, thanks so much for taking the time. Just now trying to get into Al, great intro
Traces of A Tear is a great one by Al. Heart Of The Immigrants is a great album. Check it out
Fantastic video! I love this condensed coverage of Al's playing.
Thank you!!!
:-)
ADM is my JAM!!!! Saw his World Symphonia live (1996) and believe it or not by some whim of fortuitous events he signed my only Vantage Acoustic and then allowed a photo after....been chasing his Sunrise since. His jab into Return to Forever really is a study for any serious student of the Ax. You had my sub at Eddies Scales but you most def grabbed my attention with ADM...well done sir! Very Well Done! 😎👍
Thank you... very helpful. Had the honor of seeing him live a couple of days ago. Fantastic show of musicianship!🤟
You’re a cool knowledgeable guitar player .THANK YOU
Remember I said I studied Flamenco under a teacher who taught Robbie Krieger?
Yeah, his picking hand was like a “machine,” too. I think that is standard for skilled Flamenco players.
😂
Oh yeah, that's right and yep - those flamenco players are MONSTERS.
: )
Amazing story of watching Al play drums!!
Aww, fantastic stuff David. Love the weird stuff! About 2/3 of the way through I realised I’d unconsciously included a version of one of those chords in a sequence of my own. I’ve got lots of five- or six-chord sequences that sound nice when I put them together, but I never manage to turn them into proper compositions :(
Wow I’m a little late to this party!! Glad you called FNISF “historic” -cuz that’s precisely what it is. Still remember listening to it on vinyl back in the day and hearing those notes just POP and wondering how they did it.
Great lesson-got some fun voicings (and picking) to do!!
Have to play a little more with the Acoustic ...ibut two months ago i had a bad e-bike accident .. right hand broken 3 times .. had an operation and it's okay again .. so i can play carefully ... i'm glad that my left hand is not affected
I first heard Dimeola with Chick Corea....on "Romantic Warrior".....sheese...I was hooked...speed...precision....phrasing on a Les Paul no less....and his solo albums are killer....Thanks David for playing tribute to a monster!
Nice 👍 I ACCIDENTALLY hit the "subscribe" button, so no C.C. no., Thanks
Can you do a video on the flamenco-with-pick strumming patterns of Al Di Meola please? Please, please please?
How did I miss this? Great job man.
really great stuff. ty
Very interesting. Beautiful chords!
Do you have courses available to buy where you teach whole songs? Your lessons are so good but I would like to learn it as a whole song. It puts things in context and I find that I remember and get other ideas when I can relate it back to a song I know. Thanks 😊
Ah,what stunning atmospheric chords , love them . Excellent lesson David , love the cool story of meeting the man himself. Have you considered a chord lesson based on Steve Stevens flamenco playing , such as his track Run across Desert Sands?.
I've been thinking about Steve lately and I think I might have to include him in a lesson somewhere - good call!
Thanks for watching and for the comment buddy!
Take care!
: )
@@LateNightLessons Thanks David - just ordered your Dirty Water album too - look forward to it - I was going to order the Cd - though costs etc... getting to the UK -nearly did order the Serreal Killer on CD as I was wanting the spooky extras that come with it :) - maybe I will start getting your albums on disc as still love that medium - I having grown up on albums doh!! Enjoy your day buddy.
Thank you so much Richard!
You've been a HUGE supporter of my work and with Late Night Lessons too.
That's amazing and I can't thank you enough!
Have a great one!
Oh YES ..this is damm Great Acoustic stuff
Impressive thanks
Impressive!
Excellent
Nice Work! WooF!!
Everytime I hear an Al Di Meola song there is always something that I find that I say "this sounds like it could be Opeth". The entire Vertigo Shadow song sounds like one of Opeths clean sections.
Good information, I learned some cool chord voicing. Like your sound, what make and model is your guitar?
Interesting thought experiment: al di Meola standing in for Eddie Van Helen one night in concert. He is such a flamboyant player, he could pull it off with his own style. Few others could.
Great flat picking
You’re a good dude.
This is a recording with Al Di Meola and Yngwie Malmsteem with Billy Sheehan and Derek Sherinian.
I haven't really dealt with Al di Meola at all ...
I know the album "Friday night in San Francisco" and I have already seen a few videos of him.
Great guitarist
A virtuoso
Click here --> ruclips.net/video/vjCOwMRRwr4/видео.html for music sheet and tabs to Al Di Meola's Song : One Night Last June
Wow
Please do ''NO MYSTERY''
por favor tablaturas Arpegios y acordes de Al Di Mella gracias ❤
Why dont you do a john mclaughlin chordplay or 34all video ???
I think I better grab a beer before watching this video.
👍
DiMeola is the baddest set of fingers above all these bad azzs EVERY modern guitarst thats about anything looks up to Al just sayin
Chordplay: The Who
So called 'Mediterenaen Sundance" is actually a Paco de Lucia composition called "Rio Ancho". Just saying.