Who has taken lessons from buddy emmons?

[Paul Wade]

just wondering who has taken private lessons from buddy emmons or doug Jernigan
i think Ernie renn has ?? lets here from all

p.w

[Richard Alderson]

Ray Mangrum studied with Doug I think.

[John Swain]

I've been lucky enough to have lessons from Maurice Anderson, Buddy Charleton, Buck Reid and Doug Jernigan! Reach out to Buck or Doug, they're both a wealth of knowledge.

[Dean Holman]

I’ve heard it said before that Randy Reinhardt had spent a lot of time with Buddy. He might as someone who learned from Buddy, on a personal level.

[Marty Broussard]

3 days with Doug Jernigan at his house in 2006. Never forget it—-never learn all of it.
Respectfully,
MB

[Donny Hinson]

Dunno, maybe Terry Crisp or Tommy White, at some point. I do know that I got the wild idea, several times, to pay Buddy to come to my house for a weekend (3 days) and teach me a few things, or just play and talk. I'd have paid his airfare, hotel, and meals, and paid him well for his time. (I was thinking at the time, maybe $1,000 a day?)

It would have given me some great memories...if he'd done it. (I didn't know if he'd even consider it, with me being an unknown hacker.) But like so many things, I never acted on it. It seems that not only the road to hell, but also the road to obscurity, is paved with good intentions.

[J D Sauser]

Dunno, maybe Terry Crisp or Tommy White, at some point. I do know that I got the wild idea, several times, to pay Buddy to come to my house for a weekend (3 days) and teach me a few things, or just play and talk. I'd have paid his airfare, hotel, and meals, and paid him well for his time. (I was thinking at the time, maybe $1,000 a day?)

It would have given me some great memories...if he'd done it. (I didn't know if he'd even consider it, with me being an unknown hacker.) But like so many things, I never acted on it. It seems that not only the road to hell, but also the road to obscurity, is paved with good intentions.

I tried that twice. Both times he declined cery politely, the second time telling me he wouldn’t really know how to go about teaching.
The first time I got introduced to BE was by John Fabian. I knew I only had a few minutes of “attention” so I prepared what I thought may be a very alternative question to many I suspected about a lick or tuning or “who with whom”: “What are you thinking when you play?” Turns out he got asked that a LOT, and his answer is documented to consistantly having been someting like “I don’t know” to “I am not sure I am thinking at all”.
I think that that explains why he did not go in history as a teacher.

It’s difficult to learn from ARTISTS, because those who need or seek help, guidance or instruction think differently.


I must say, the most I have learned from him, I did just very recently, and it has readirmed my new approach to the instrument… by reading his Biography. Yes it’s full of stories about dates and locations and “who is who”, but it outlines his methodology to learning, and I wished he had felt confident to share that Decades ago.

I took lessons with Maurice in private at his homes, few only. Two aeminars with Jeff, and some Skype Leasons with Doug Jernigan.
Doug Jernigan is a very generouse person, not holding back ever. And I hope to be able to visit him next year for private lessons.
Maurice and Jeff both had methodical capabilities and were both great communicators.

… JD.

[Marty Broussard]

I strongly suspect that Mike Cass did, or “jammed” with him immensely. Listen to Mike’s playing and read his comments about some of Buddy’s stuff.

Mike, I hope you don’t mind my comments.

[Jack Stoner]

I attended a Buddy Emmons seminar at the ISGC. Does that count?

[Doug Beaumier]

I did a two-day C6 seminar with Buddy Emmons at Jeff Newman’s school in 1983. Not a personal lesson, but we got to hang out with Buddy quite a bit, chat with him, go out to lunch with him, etc.

[Paul Wade]

I attended a Buddy Emmons seminar at the ISGC. Does that count?

yes jack it does
p.w

[Paul Wade]

keep it coming folks great stores

p.w

[Frank Freniere]

Did a week-long C6 seminar at Jeffran College in August 1985 with Buddy - a treasured memory. I'm so glad-then and now-that I just said "what the heck" and went for it.

[Jack Hanson]

I strongly suspect that Mike Cass did, or “jammed” with him immensely. Listen to Mike’s playing and read his comments about some of Buddy’s stuff.

I will attest that Mike knew how to play virtually every piece from the Emmons Guitar Company album when he was still in the Twin Cities. He even attempted (with varying degrees of success) to show me how it was done. Not that one would notice from my playing nowadaze, but in fact, I took a handful of lessons from Mike -- specifically on the C6 neck -- and learned lots and lots and lots. Thanks, Mike!

[Roger Rettig]

JD:

I liked your post. I, too, found myself re-evaluating Buddy Emmons' attitude and approach to playing his instrument.

I tossed out the notion that it had all come so easily to him - easy to make that mistake; he really looked almost nonchalant whatever he played - and saw instead that that what we benefitted from were his years of dogged determination and application to his craft.

That book was an eye-opener.

I think I'd have been too intimidated to even suggest that he looked at my playing and make suggestions. It's tempting to think of what might have been: had he lived to a ripe old age, he may have been persuaded to create his own course of on-line lessons. Now THAT would have been something.....

[Ian Rae]

Some great players (of all instruments) have no idea how to teach. You have to analyse your own playing in order to pass your method on, but the truly gifted have never had to think about it.

[Roger Rettig]

I should add that I was, for all too brief a period, in a position to ask him questions about this-and-that as regards playing.

On the handful of gigs I was lucky enough to do with him, I found he'd willingly impart knowledge. Half of me, though, didn't want to take advantage of the situation in case he was weary of such enquiries.

I can't help wondering about Ernie who had a special bond with Emmons. Did he press him for help or did he, too, not want to take advantage of the informality of their relationship?

In the end, it wouldn't matter what he did or didn't tell you. The magic was in his hands and his brain. Nobody hit a string quite like Buddy Emmons did. I doubt that that is teachable.

[Ray Mangrum]

Yes sir, I was very fortunate to get to study with Doug. I can't say enough about his knowledge and a GREAT person. Anyone would do well to seek him out.

[Roger Crawford]

Not studying in person with Buddy doesn't mean we haven't learned from him. He left a wealth of lessons in tab, and learning (or trying to) his licks from his songs makes you totally aware of the genius that he was.

[J D Sauser]

I did a two-day C6 seminar with Buddy Emmons at Jeff Newman’s school in 1983. Not a personal lesson, but we got to hang out with Buddy quite a bit, chat with him, go out to lunch with him, etc.

I have heard from several people of that time period when Jeff Newman had BE as part of his seminars. The time period is briefly described in his Biography, but without much detail. I have also never been able to find much testimony on WHAT and how he taught. I would love to hear about your experience.

Thanks!…. JD.

[Paul Wade]

I did a two-day C6 seminar with Buddy Emmons at Jeff Newman’s school in 1983. Not a personal lesson, but we got to hang out with Buddy quite a bit, chat with him, go out to lunch with him, etc.

I have heard from several people of that time period when Jeff Newman had BE as part of his seminars. The time period is briefly described in his Biography, but without much detail. I have also never been able to find much testimony on WHAT and how he taught. I would love to hear about your experience.

Thanks!…. JD.

Me to J.D

[Doug Beaumier]

I have heard from several people of that time period when Jeff Newman had BE as part of his seminars. The time period is briefly described in his Biography, but without much detail. I have also never been able to find much testimony on WHAT and how he taught. I would love to hear about your experience.

Thanks!…. JD.

It's been 40 years so my memories are a little hazy... but it was a 2-day C6 seminar at Jeffran College with Buddy & Jeff doing the teaching. Jeff took the lead and did most of the talking/teaching. Buddy did most of the playing and he added a few comments about what he was doing.

Jeff handed out some booklets that he had prepared showing basic chord motion on C6: using the pedals to play standard chord patterns, I, IV, V... also II chord and augmented and diminished chords... and more importantly: how & where to use aug & dim chords in standard swing progressions. To me, that was the most useful part of the weekend. I played mostly E9 at the time, and a little bit of C6. So Jeff's stuff was very helpful to me. He taught us patterns that would work in most western swing tunes. And he included a few simple swing/blues licks that were based on the various chord/pedal positions.

Then Jeff handed out tablature of some of Buddy's classic C6 intros and endings: Night Life, Four-Wheel Drive, Raisin' the Dickens, etc. Then Buddy played those classic parts for us and he talked about how he came up with them, etc. They also gave us charts of Buddy's C6 "pockets" (scale positions) for soloing. Buddy played some improv (to a track) using the pockets and he talked a little bit about how he would move between the pockets. His explanations were very brief... not much detail, and not much theory about what he was doing. So, in short, I learned more everyday stuff that I could use in my band from Jeff, and it was a great experience watching Buddy play up close and being able to ask him questions throughout the two days.

[J D Sauser]

JD:

I liked your post. I, too, found myself re-evaluating Buddy Emmons' attitude and approach to playing his instrument.

I tossed out the notion that it had all come so easily to him - easy to make that mistake; he really looked almost nonchalant whatever he played - and saw instead that that what we benefitted from were his years of dogged determination and application to his craft.

That book was an eye-opener.

I think I'd have been too intimidated to even suggest that he looked at my playing and make suggestions. It's tempting to think of what might have been: had he lived to a ripe old age, he may have been persuaded to create his own course of on-line lessons. Now THAT would have been something.....

Thanks Roger.
BE’s Biography sheds a LOT of light on his early learning period.
Besides finding him playing nights and days thru in a dark room, one of the most striking discoveries is that a 13 year old white kid, sorrounded by country music and destined to that gengre by his Dad’s support, went out and bought a Bebop and Jazz Blues record… his FIRST record purchase… and played off it until it must have become nealry unplayable.
Before the Bio, we had heard here on the Forum how he could “disappear” in binge-practicing for days and nights, even in later years.

Was he “different” than most of us? Yes, I believe that all who become not “just” good at what they do, are “Artists”… and a few thingsall Artists have in common is that they seem to learn and retain what they practice more effectively and with less theory than most, but also that they have practiced more than what their apparent ease at playing would suggest.
One may call it “inclination”, others “talent”.
I see “Talent” like having a puece of land which has very fertile soil for a part type of crops. If one WORKS that land correctly and seeds the appropriate crop for the region and climate, he will likely reap a lot. If he DOESN’t work it or tries the wrong crop, he might just grow more and stronger weeds than the one who works his less fertile plot correctly. NOTE: PARENTS of young children READ and understand this BEFORE giving a game station, tablet or smart ohone to your “very interested” 3 year old!

Jerry Byrd has been documented to often take exceotion to the term “Talent” thrown at him, because he felt that it did not give credit to his yars of day and night thru practicing. Yet, he acknowledged too that even early on, while listening to Hawaiian steel guitarist like Joseph Hekuku (spelling?), he could “see” what they were doing listening with closed eyes! So, lets say that JB too had a clear inclunation and applied enormous practice time to it.

Yet, Jerry Byrd, while having had a good number of one-on-one students, his teaching “method” was limited mostly to teaching his tunes like he had played them throughout his Decades over career, which didn’t really earn him a spot in the “Teacher’s Hall Of Fame”. He too, clearly an Artist, making it not only LOOK very “easy”, but known for sometimes loosing his patience with students which struggled.

Jeff as well as Maurice, were Artists too, but had a particulr “Talent” for understanding those who sought help, advice, guidance and instruction and to develop “approaches” for them. Both developed METHODS. Jeffs C6th video series (“C6th Workshop” and “C6th & Swinging I & II”) and Maurice’s “now, lets organize this neck”-approach documented in his E9th course “The Missing Link” are only few of the legacies they left.
But the fact still remains that we understandibly would love to get into the heads, hearts and minds of our heroes.

… JD

[J D Sauser]

I have heard from several people of that time period when Jeff Newman had BE as part of his seminars. The time period is briefly described in his Biography, but without much detail. I have also never been able to find much testimony on WHAT and how he taught. I would love to hear about your experience.

Thanks!…. JD.

It's been 40 years so my memories are a little hazy... but it was a 2-day C6 seminar at Jeffran College with Buddy & Jeff doing the teaching. Jeff took the lead and did most of the talking/teaching. Buddy did most of the playing and he added a few comments about what he was doing.

Jeff handed out some booklets that he had prepared showing basic chord motion on C6: using the pedals to play standard chord patterns, I, IV, V... also II chord and augmented and diminished chords... and more importantly: how & where to use aug & dim chords in standard swing progressions. To me, that was the most useful part of the weekend. I played mostly E9 at the time, and a little bit of C6. So Jeff's stuff was very helpful to me. He taught us patterns that would work in most western swing tunes. And he included a few simple swing/blues licks that were based on the various chord/pedal positions.

Then Jeff handed out tablature of some of Buddy's classic C6 intros and endings: Night Life, Four-Wheel Drive, Raisin' the Dickens, etc. Then Buddy played those classic parts for us and he talked about how he came up with them, etc. They also gave us charts of Buddy's C6 "pockets" (scale positions) for soloing. Buddy played some improv (to a track) using the pockets and he talked a little bit about how he would move between the pockets. His explanations were very brief... not much detail, and not much theory about what he was doing. So, in short, I learned more everyday stuff that I could use in my band from Jeff, and it was a great experience watching Buddy play up close and being able to ask him questions throughout the two days.

Thanks a LOT Doug, for taking the time to share this!… JD.

[Roger Rettig]

JD:

I imagine that losing patience with slow learners would have been a major disincentive to some who attempted to 'teach'. There have been stand-out teachers of steel guitar in the modern era: Reece is one and, from what I've heard or read, Buddy Charleton was another.

I don't know about Jeff. He certainly had his successes but I must have caught him on a bad day. He was short, almost acerbic, with me and I certainly wasn't less-than-polite when I approached him. That was enough for me. I wasn't prepared to drive from NC to Nashville for a few days of belligerence (and pay the requisite $1200 for it).

Others have spoken highly of him so my experience may have been an isolated one.

I taught fingerstyle electric guitar at London's Guitar Institute - for just three Sunday mornings in succession. It was clear to me immediately that none of the 12/13 'pupils' had even opened their guitar cases in the intervening seven days, much less worked on the materials that I'd painstakingly prepared. I learned quickly that A), most of them thought that just writing a check would make them guitar-players and B), that my temperament wasn't suited to it.

Perhaps the fault was mine, but I found myself thinking: 'I worked all this out myself!! The least they can do is look at what I'd given them!.

Nobody had to persuade ME to practice when I was starting out (1957); my guitar was never far from my side. I handed in my notice at the Guitar Institute.
===================
As for Buddy, his excitement at landing the Little Jimmy Dickens job was clearly as much for his father as for himself. He was drawn to bebop and jazz, so LJD's simplistic music couldn't have fired Our Hero's imagination up to any degree. Getting from South Bend to Nashville, though, and landing a paying job was its own reward.

His contributions to recordings in later years bore testimony to his musical ambitions: 'Gentle On My Mind' and Nancy Sinatra's 'Oh, Lonesome Me' are perfect examples of how he 'pushed the envelope'. Perhaps he was 'going rogue', to some extent.

No: I can't imagine him putting up with my steel playing for even three weeks!