How to Play the Music of STEVIE WONDER
Adam Rafferty
Want to improve your playing and have fun doing it? Want to add songs to your repertoire that your audience will love? Adam Rafferty can show you how.
Adam Rafferty already has quite a track record, with 5 CD's and a rack of instructional materials under his belt. You may recall that I loved his most recent CD, the masterful fingerstyle release Gratitude. Many people learned of Adam from YouTube, where his amazing performances both thrilled and humbled guitarists across the globe. One of his standout pieces has been his truly incredible performance of Superstition. Now thanks to his new DVD, you can learn how he does it and learn his arrangement for yourself!
I have to admit to some anxious moments as I awaited the arrival of the DVD. After all, Adam takes on three of my all-time favourite songs here - Superstition, Sir Duke, and I Wish (and I like Overjoyed just fine too). I have great faith in Adam Rafferty's abilities to play and to arrange, but these are some of the finest arrangements in pop history he is dealing with, and Stevie Wonder really outdid himself with the sonic brilliance of Superstition and the whole Songs in the Key of Life album. So I had two concerns: 1) would the arrangements do justice to the originals, and 2) would they be playable by a normal human?
I thought of Edgar Cruz's incredible arrangements of songs by Queen. While I think that his arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody is nothing short of brilliant, I also know that there is little if any chance that I will ever be able to play it in this lifetime! Sometimes we have to be content to marvel at what others can do.
But in Adam Rafferty's case, I need not have worried. These are not easy arrangements by any stretch of the imagination, but they can all be played by someone with good fingerstyle technique and a good helping of both patience and perseverance. You have to commit to these songs, but if you do you will find these arrangements within your reach, and the results will be extremely rewarding.
Adam is a clear and precise teacher. He tells you where to put your fingers and why - whether for a specific musical effect he is trying to achieve, to set up an subsequent passage, or just to be able to fit all the parts in. There is always a logical reason for the fingering, and I find that this makes it easier to learn the arrangements.
There are several other features of this set that help with learning as well. Starting with Overjoyed is a great choice because it is probably the easiest one to play, although you may have to work on your timing. As with all of these songs, a good knowledge of the original really helps and these are songs that you want in your collection in any case.
Superstition is next, probably not because it is the next easiest to play but because most of us are waiting for it anyway. This arrangement is trickier than Overjoyed but with careful attention to the DVD and some practice you can master the beginning riff. That should give you the confidence to finish off this great arrangement. Remember that speed will come with time so take it slow to start with.
Sir Duke follows. Here Adam comes up with a very cool variation of the opening riff that sits extremely well on the guitar fretboard, basically popping octaves instead of playing 16th-note neighbour note figures. However, he does include the original line in case you would prefer to play that one, or to mix them up. This is indicative of the subtle touches that make this a valuable learning resource. There are all sorts of interesting techniques to learn in this song, including hinge barres and cross-picking. All techniques are explained clearly and demonstrated slowly on the DVD.
Things ease up a bit with I WIsh, although you will use several of the techniques from Superstition and Sir Duke in this one. Again the score is clearly laid out. I found the rehearsal letters to be especially valuable in learning these arrangements. They are placed at just the right spots, with entire sections that are just the right size to learn in one practice segment.
At this point I will mention the booklet that comes with the DVD. It is bigger than most DVD booklets, slightly larger than the DVD case. It is still smallish but fine for learning the tunes, especially given the level of detail shown onscreen. I found it unusual that there was not a PDF version on the DVD to enable a full-size printout, but I suppose that piracy is always an issue with PDF scores.
The score itself is very good. Besides the typical markings there are indications of when characteristic instruments enter (e.g. the horns in Superstition, perhaps not obvious as they sound an octave lower) and even tricky fingering spots (marked "Tricky"). These markings really do help in learning the songs by pointing out sections that require extra work and concentration. Of course, notation can only ever tell part of the story, so certain special effects such as the beginning to Superstition are explained and demonstrated in depth on the DVD, with basic memory aids in the score.
In summary, this is a terrific DVD with four very fine arrangements of great songs. The arrangements are explained and demonstrated slowly and clearly at length, with special attention given to new techniques and tricky passages. In addition to the tutorial sections, the DVD also provides great performances of all four songs by Adam, and these will help keep you on track and motivated.
This is a DVD that any fingerstyle player will want. The songs are great fun to play and your audience will love them. You can support Adam Rafferty directly by buying the DVD from his web site (http://adamrafferty.com/store/). While you are there, check out his other learning materials too.