Honestly, I think his method works. The down pick on that one note really puts the emphasis in the right place. Explains why nobody's cover ever sounds like the record :)
@@SamHarrisonMusic I suspect it's just the way he was taught to play, using alternate picking. Also I think it helps with the timing - if you play those three notes all upwards there's a temptation to play them too quickly as a mini-strum like the three downward notes before.
if you listen closer you'll hear him use a open G-string on the 'reverse part' of the patern to change chords as well. Something a lot of people miss out on.
@@boldwinbeanbaker3033 True he does, I think to make the chord switches smoothly. It is a great sounding technique. I think we all do it to some degree. I made a video about it some time ago th-cam.com/video/sZAQvSuNQdQ/w-d-xo.html
Funny thing... I'm terrible at playing guitar, but I try. When I attempted to learn this song, I naturally picked it the way you said Mr. Valentine does. I never thought about it and no one told me to do it that way, it just felt natural to me.
Interesting, I was never taught how to play it, I just leaned it from ear & I too play it the same as almost everyone does, but I do find it hard to keep going through the entire song, so I switch to strumming the chords part the way through, which adds to building the intensity of the song as it progresses and to my ear it adds some more variety & interest to the song as well. :)
If you listen closely to the Animals' recording, you will notice that Hilton Valentine always plays an open string "g" at the end of the arpeggio. By this means he finds time to change the position of the left hand for the following chord.
Good point, he is lifting his left hand off the chord early. It does make the transitions easier. I made a video about that technique some time ago: th-cam.com/video/sZAQvSuNQdQ/w-d-xo.html
I was just trying to play it and hit on the same idea to go from the Am to the C - you need to lift the third finger to get in position for the C. Then I listened to it and realised you can hear that's what he's doing on the record. The G note is in the C chord so it makes a good passing note for that chord change.
He actually plays all 6 strings in that E chord. It varies the rhythm pattern a bit, but it's there. That rhythm pattern pops up in the Am chord sometimes by doubling the E string picking. The E7 is in the organ :)
Hylton Valentine is from my home area in the North East of England. I once jammed with him in a pub in a blues band - long after he left the Animals. In the early days we were all self taught and he was known to play a new lick but would turn his back to you when he played it so you couldn't see how he did it. :) He does play an exceptionally good solo on the Animals track For Miss Caulker. This is from a promotional movie of current British rock hits which went on general release. None of it was live. You are dead right about relaxing your wrist that's the only way to play All My Lovin' by the Beatles.
Very cool story! Thanks for sharing that here. That's amazing you played at a pub with him once. I have heard about other guitar players turning their backs on stage. Eddie Van Halen used to do that in the early years of his career too.
Strange you should mention All My Lovein' The guitar solo is short but very catchy. I have my own approximation which might fool a fool. I'll bet there's a tutorial for that too on here somewhere.
For me, it was always easier to play like he plays, even though I never watched him play. But I never got guitar classes too, so I never was forced to play in a certain way just because "it's easier" or "it's the way to do"
I like how you so clearly articulate a musical conundrum, I wouldn't have the patience. But repeating the F# note on the e string during the D chord isn't what Hilton does on the record...perhaps that's not what you're putting forward (?) but still...if you slow it down in audacity there's no repeating on F sharp. I think there's a slight speed up on that D chord too, or it's played with more attack, whatever, the ear doesn't notice the missing 5th note in the arpeggio. Underrated guitarist is/was Hilton.
Hilton was a sweet man. I was even Myspace pals with him a decade back and bought a CD from him online. I'd sent way too much money in the form of a 20 dollar bill, but I told him to keep the change. He sent me the album with a guitar pick he signed. RIP, Hilton 🌌
I also bought an Animals CD from Hilton online, which he signed for me with a silver marker. Silver on black looks very cool. The cd sits prominently in my CD collection and I feel very fortunate to own it. Now that Hilton has passed away, he won't be able to do so for anybody down here on Earth. He was such an interesting guy. I absolutely adore The Animals.
@@MsPulpGirl Same. I discovered them as a teenager and spent hours on rainy weekends listening to their Best Of album. I'm hoping to get Hilton's CD back after a fallout with the family. I hope they didn't toss it. :/
I was given the 45rpm in 1978 by my Mum from her collection and at my age of 8, it blew my musical world. Love the guitar work and it's one of those you know what the song is within seconds. I could listen to it every day.
I saw the Animals at BB Kings in NYC a long time ago. I am grateful for your recognition of Alan Price and hope everyone remembers "Oh Lucky Man" My mother went to Julliard in the late 1930's. She taught my brother and I to read music but only one of us ever mastered it. It wasn't me
I'm guessing you are referring to the surreal and brilliant Lindsay Anderson film 'O Lucky Man!' that starred Malcolm McDowell and that Alan Price also appeared in and wrote the music for. There is not surprisingly a song on the soundtrack written by Price also called 'O Lucky Man!'. The music in 'O Lucky Man!' is performed by the musicians appearing within the story in a format often called a 'Greek chorus' and not as background music, unseen, or as the main focus of the film, as in a musical. I think the film is a bit overlooked because it is quite long and it contains a few scenes that are probably now considered unacceptable (particularly Arthur Lowe using blackface for his role as Dr. Munda).
I think it's worth pointing out that in the late 19650s and early 60s when Valentine was learning to play there was very little general public information in the UK about learning guitar at all. The Animals came from an impoverished background, probably even more so than The Beatles and so probably didn't pay for lessons - hardly any beat musicians did. McCartney tells the story of taking a bus across Liverpool to find the guy who could show him how to play B7. That's how hard it was for the average person to learn guitar. In this context Valentine could have developed this way of playing himself, learned it from a friend or, and I don't have a copy to hand to check, picked it up (even as a misunderstanding) from the only generally available source which appeared in the late 1950s, Bert Weeden's "Play in a Day" book. Weeden was a guitarist himself and his book with the slightly over-optimistic title was hugely influential. As the Amazon blurb says, "Play in a Day remains the world's most successful guitar tutor. It is as much a legend as the stars who've learnt from it - Eric Clapton, Mike Oldfield, Paul McCartney, Steve Hillage, George Harrison, John Lennon, Sting, Brian May, Pete Townshend and dozens more."
One thing I found out when trying to pick it the way the original guitarist does it, is that I ALSO don't play it the first way that you showed! I realized that the way I play it, I down-pick on the 3rd to last note, I only up-pick the last two notes in the chord. Very interesting differences! Then again I just learned it by ear from looking at the chord sheets, so It's cool to see how every individual finds their own most comfortable way to play!
Yeah, I think with this song in particular there are a few good ways to play it. As long as it sounds good and is somewhat efficient, I think go for it.
Well, what you have to always remember...he wrote the piece and he can play it the way he meant for it to be played. All and I do mean "All" others playing it are copying what he is doing. If it comes out sounding the same then all is good. But if it changes the sound or even the timing it throws it off and becomes a feeble attempt to follow the master. Because that's what he is because he wrote it to be played that way.
William Leavitt taught that style of picking arpeggios in some of his picking exercises in his Modern Method for Guitar Vol. 1-3. The series is a Berklee College of Music standard for every guitar student. The idea is to use Downstrokes when picking in the direction of higher strings which uses the weight of the arm falling, but alternate when picking towards lower strings because sweep style picking upwards towards lower strings is less efficient as you have to pull the arm against its own weight.
And of course, if it is written... One should be careful not to put too much stock into these kinds of arguments. It is self-evidently true that sweeping upward is less efficient than sweeping downwards, but it is also self-evidently true that alterating picking direction at the same time that the overall trajectory is upwards is less efficiently than continuously moving in the direction that the notes are moving. Either way, the hand must ultimately get back to the top, and moving in a continuously upward direction is a more direct way to do it than going out of your way on every second note. The shortest possible distance between two points is a straight line. The energy saved by allowing the weight of the arm to reinforce every second note is offset by having to reverse direction and avoid that string, then move twice as far to hit the next string. It is also unquestionably slower. Of course, where efficiency is concerned, any pick-based solution is less efficient than using ones fingers, where one does not even need to move the hand or the arm (large body structures), but only the (small) fingers, which can be set to their own strings (I don't necessarily mean to say that this is better, only that it is more efficient - this is not necessarily the same thing).
I taught myself this song from reading tab, and this is how I pick it. It helps with pacing and dynamics in that part, and when I played it that way it sounded more like the recording. I also often pick the base string of each arpeggio on the way back up and let it ring as I come back down again. I've been playing barre F all these years... I'll have to try cowboy F.
I learned this song long ago without the help of a teacher but the 4 down-picking then 3 up-picking (arpeggio) method was somehow uncomfortable for me too so I ended up learning it using the 4 downpicking then alternate-picking method that Valentine also did. First it seemed to be a more difficult method for this song but at the end for me it helped to keep a more steady pace.
I stumbled onto this after seeing Brian May talking about the same song, and I must say that I agree more with his interpretation of how the 'one string too few' is solved for the D and F. I don't actually hear the high note twice in the pattern for the D and F, but rather that he plays the bass note twice, also giving you a full four-note pattern.
@@DouglasB42 Yeah, I play it finger picking style myself as well, and then it's probably even more obvious that the 'double bass' approach is the way to go.
That upstroke open G string on beat 6 functions as a passing tone between the chord changes. It is not heard as a "mistake" because it is played on a weak beat immediately preceding a new chord on beat 1 (a strong beat). This device is used a lot in strumming technique and gives the music a more lifelike organic feel. It is like drawing breath before a new phrase or segment.
Wow, that's exactly how I play it ! Going down, sure it seems easier to do down, down etc. But up, reverting to alternate picking like on leads seems more natural.
Here is probably the oldest recording of the Animals playing House of the Rising Sun, before it was released. And you get really good look at the guitar in the beginning, and it's the same as later versions!... Then you can see how your grandmother was really crazy about rock starts back in the day! :) th-cam.com/video/zEDQQGDo-bE/w-d-xo.html
The Animals: Eric Burdon (vocals), Hilton Valentine (guitar), Chas Chandler (bass), Alan Price (keyboards) and John Steel (drums). A few years later Chas Chandler went on to be Jimi Hendrix's manager. Chas and Hilton are sadly no longer with us but the other three are still going in their 80s!
I've been playing guitar 60 years with some stage success . The youth of today will be glad they have you as a teacher and a mentor . In my day everybody played by ear and mostly and had to lift the record needle up over and over to learn a song and usually the results were in correct. Love your channel . I find myself playing House of the rising sun even better now. In My 60's tribute top ten hits band this will be a good add. cheers I will be following along with your channel .PS Iconic tune made simple and clear for the new generation to come. Great teacher mate cheers
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver err sorry...that would make you 60 years older... Great stuff, a good instructor (not teacher please note) is what is required these days to get ppl thinking for themselves. Teaching is merely a rote method to pass exams. Being instructed allows us to use skill acquired to another level, then pss that on to the next generation.
I've been stuck always trying to use downstrokes for everything, and I never could get the number of notes for the chord to line up quite well with the melody. So thank you very much for this reminder that I'm still stumbling over the SIMPLEST problems!
What I’ve admired is a bandmate’s ability to riff in service to the song rather than a limelight grand flourish. Price’s solo was inspired, fits right in !
I've always played it up down up. For me, it separates the first part being essentially a controlled strum and the return to be picking which stops you slacking and half strumming on the way back up. I always found it easier to stay tight that way. Edit to add that you can be a little slack on the down strum but getting those return notes properly timed is essential.
My first time watching one of your videos. Good lesson. House of the Rising Sun is a song I could never play because of the arpeggios. I never could get them right or be consistent in the picking pattern. Your video helped a lot. I will be watching more of your stuff. Thanks.
Hilton was a great musician, and nobody looked cooler doing it. He would respond to emails and answer questions when he was still with us - this would have been a great question. Interesting video - well done.
@@GuitarLessonsVancouverI play it the way valentine does. I didn't even think about it until I saw this video. It feels natural to me ( perhaps the only reason to do anything)
I went to same school as Hilton. he was 2 years older than me. he taught me 3 chords before I got my 1st guitar. he was only kid in the area with a guitar, but if he trusted you, he would help you to learn using his guitar. Sadly lost touch after leaving school and he was playing in a local band called the Wildcats,c.1960
Morris, I am so impressed with your clear communication and teaching on the 'Tube! Your graphic and sound drops are perfect to support and clarify each point. I wish every contributor could see and study this as a model to follow.
Great lesson. I learned that song in either 1964 or 1965 and I’ve always played it just as he plays it. It’s different but if you learned it that way and have played it that as long as I have it’s not that difficult. By the way I enjoy your lessons.
Cool! yeah if you are used to playing it that way, no reason to change now. It worked for Hilton Valentine I'm sure it can work for you :) Thanks for watching!
The first video image of The Animals wasn't from a TV show, it was from a movie/documentary called GO GO MANIA or POPGEAR depending on the US or UK release. It is currently available on blu ray from Kino Lorber (either direct from them but also through other retailers as well). A lot of popular UK and US groups are featured in it, and as I recall from watching it on TCM the producers relied on pre- recorded music, which seems odd to me as all the groups had to perform for the film anyways.
It was shot on 35mm color film. Now, this was a movie production which means one camera and multiple takes. So the sound will be a playback for each take. It could not be done live with one camera. @@GuitarLessonsVancouver
First time I came across your channel. This was an amazing tutorial! You are a very awesome instructor! I love the way you captivate the listener and make it very interesting! Loved the solo, by the way! Keep up the great work!
I guess us old guys are just tricky to follow on guitar hey :). I have been playing it the way he does since I first learned it. Probably 1970 something. A lot of us from that era of playing play folk or cowboy chords. I personally still favour a G chord that most people can't pick what it is by simply looking at it. :). Good video, and glad you finally do it right!.
I think he alternate picked it because it just sounds better. Without it it sounds almost like some excercise. With it gives the riff more interesting sound and life. Those 3 notes are better articulated and stand out much better in the riff.
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver When I was learning Holy Wars solo by Marty Friedman I sweep picked it all at first and it did not sound right. Then I alternate picked the descending part of the arpeggio and that was it. He did the same thing as Hilton Valentine here. These little details often make difference in our perception. You def have more control over the tone when with alternate picking and the notes feel more separated.
@@kkarx As a violin player, I was thinking "up bow" - "down bow" and how that affects the sound. Up pick, down pick, up pick creates a tad more separation and attack on the notes. A subtle but noticeable slight emphasis on on beat 5.
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver alternate picking helps add a bit of a swing feel which sounds better to me. but I tend to fingerpick it these days anyway to give it my own twist
I picked up guitar 6 years ago, and I am now in my 50’s. I came across your channel and you Blue are outstanding. You are now the second TH-camr I will use regularly and thanks for that. Now I must teach you something, LOL, and Yes you are teaching it wrong which I am surprised you or nobody picked up on this. I learned this song naturally with the alternate picking, for one, it was easier. And 2, picking with all ups sounds off, its Alternate picking with a little aggression that makes this sound sooo good! Just my opinion from a newbie. Thanks from the Kootenays!
As a POI, 6/8 (7:22) is a _compound_ time signature: two dotted crotchets (quarter notes) per bar; i.e., the product of two _simple_ time signatures, 2/2 * 3/4 . That 2/2 march time component is what gives 6/8 time its *_1_* , 2, 3, *_4_* , 5, 6 ( *_1_* & a, *_2_* & a) feel.
Very interesting! I suffer from all those weird things with this song too - ever since it came out. That's a little while now isn't it? I notice how difficult it is to keep it going and the business off picking one note twice. However, over the years I have sort of convinced myself that, although you need to start well, so long as you keep "the flavour" of the picking, a few fluffs probably won't matter in a live setting. It's when you come to record that such things can get a little bit wearing! When you can hear it over & over again! Great tutorial. Thanks. P.S. Love the organ solo of Alan Price and the tone of the voice. It still sounds terrific.
I think you're right. I bet if we listen closely to each measure of the song, probably no one plays it perfectly all the way through. As long as you keep it going and the mistakes a minimal 👍
Maybe it does make sense that he picks it that way. If you look in lute-tabs (or just have some background in folk-music in Ireland or Scotland.. like these guys?.. or folk music in most other places, probably), you might be given directions to alternate your plucking to keep a particular rythm going. I didn't think it made sense to do that on the guitar, and thought it was some sort of weird lute-quirk. But in the end, even if you don't ultimately play all the notes this way, having the alternating pattern as a basis (going to the g-string with the thumb to do an up-pick and picking on the e-string, etc.) is actually really helpful to keep the flow. I mean, I'm sure everyone have heard this played in limp and a half beat.
Interesting! I've never played the lute, but certainly different traditions of music have different trends in technique. As long asbit sounds good I'm all for it.
It also has make something to do rhythm feeling. I often find myself playing some (not that fast) passages not in the most efficient way, but it's more about feeling. In this example the last up-down-up... leads to downstroke on the first beat. Also while I play it sweeping I have a habit of 'reintroduscing' the second downstroke: that is I don't rest on the next string, making kinda shaking motion with my hand.
Another one like that is "Help!" where George has the riff on the 5th, 4th, 3rd,and 2nd strings. It is supposed to go down on the 5th, up on the 4th, down on the 3rd up on the 2nd. I believe he does it "right" in the movie. Many other times he just goes down, or hits the 5th string and then makes the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd a chord.
Another thing you may not have noticed is that Hilton Valentine plays an open G string at the end of each arpeggio before changing to a different chord. This makes it much easier to get the chord changes cleanly.
I did hear that when listening to it slowed down. He is lifting his left hand off the chord early. It does make the transition easy. I made a video about that technique some time ago: th-cam.com/video/sZAQvSuNQdQ/w-d-xo.html
I watched your video and I, too, have cheated at strumming for a long time but I guess I was too concrete in my thinking to think that it was acceptable while playing individual notes. However, another video recently pointed out this cheat and it definitely works in this case.
Seen loads of lessons on House Of The Rising Sun over the years, most of them are wrong. This is by far the most accurate to how Hilton Valentine originally played the tune. Absolutely brilliant tutorial with excellent analysis.
Strange, I have never picked up when playing, it just felt way more natural picking down on all the notes. I also play all the strings of the E chord by just sweeping the 4 strings slightly faster
I'm not a guitar player at all, but I am a huge fan of this song (from the first time I heard it way back in the day). Not sure why this video was served to me but I'm very glad it was. I enjoyed learning something I"ll never use, and certtainly enjoyed the song. Love the organ too.
Ever hear the Dylan version? Totally different voicings of the chords. Interesting... Also he sings it from a female perspective, which makes more sense to me when you consider the lyrical content. His version, there lyrics vary from The Animals version.
Hey I found the title of your video intriguing because like you I've taught hundreds of people the wrong way. It's the first song I learned when i was 12. I learned it by ear from the 45, and got it as close as I could. But where my method was different was, when I got to the D and F chords, instead of playing the high E string twice, I played the 4th string twice. And then when I tried to hip my students to that I just ended not being able to play the song any more! I did it for 50 years one way and now having two conflicting ways in my brain has just kind of ruined that song. If I ever really sit down to it again I'm sure I'll get past that. But one other difference for me is, I pick ALL of the notes downward. The return trip isn't so hard because they're all 1/8th notes. This was my favorite song in the world when I learned it in 67, and so yea, thanks for a great conversation about it. Oh one other thing is, I had not learned the F chord once I started figuring out the song off the record, so my first exposure to an F chord was hearing the notes he played. I had seen friends in my neighborhood playing the chords and I thought they were just going to C in that spot.
I think it may be that he wasn't thinking of it as all an arpeggio. Try to think of it as; pick the root note, slow down strum then three arpeggiated notes. Now the alternate picking helps tie into the rhythm. I know it's in 6/8 but I find myself counting it as five with a long beat one...
Interesting stuff. Of course I went off to listen to the original to check the quick G between chords which was there. Then I noticed that on the E chords he is fact playing all 6 strings! After he picks the root low E he plays the A and D strings in double time before the G and B strings. So AD-G-B not D-G-B as you suggest in the video. Have a listen. Thanks for an informative, well-presented video.
Well broken down good explanation. I saw this video some time ago and noticed his picking pattern was unusual.... I immediately looked away. What ever he was doing, I'm not changing the way I've been doing it for 50 years!
Glad to have stumbled upon this vid... House of the Rising Sun was one of the first songs I learnt, apparently I have been playing it very wrong... for 25 years. haha. Gonna take some doing to undo that, but as soon as I heard the correct picking pattern it made sense that that is the way. I've taken a deep dive on many songs, finding faults in tabs, just not this simple masterpiece. Thanks for that.
If you're playing a different picking pattern but the correct notes and rhythm, it might not matter. Certainly there are multiple ways to play it, so long as it sounds good 😎
I was lucky enough to see The Animals play this in Southampton England on the very day they'd recorded it in the small hours in London. Never to be forgotten! I hadn't been playing guitar long, and what most impressed me was that Hilton Valentine could play it all the way through with hardly any cockups! I didn't notice the picking pattern particularly, but I'm pretty sure he played the E chord on all six strings and just kinda skated over the extra string, or played the bottom string twice.
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver It was! Chuck Berry was top of the bill, but the Animals were an utter revelation. There was something a bit menacing about them, especially Eric Burdon, who was about five feet tall, with terrible acne, and he really worked hard. Someone said he was like an “apoplectic beetroot on a pogo-stick” 😄 Alas, once they were famous, they didn’t last long. Internal dissent and boozing got the better of them, which was a great pity, because at that time they were at least as good as the Stones, and their stage act was much more intense. Mind you, no one ever screamed at Chas Chandler 😳
The tune that The Animals used for The House of the Rising Sun is nothing like earlier tunes used. For example listen to Leadbelly or Nina Simone. Also listen to the Bob Dylan version which the Animals used to create their version, particularly the chord progression.
I used to play this song like Hilton and after watching other people playing it I thought *I* was playing it wrong, lol. Honestly I don't know why I played it like that (like him) it came to me naturally and I felt it sounded right.
Once past the first verse, our man Hilton frequently plays an F7 (I'm fairly sure) before descending to the E/E7 at the end of line 2 of the verses, giving a feeling of even greater urgency to get going on line 3, keyboard and drummer also powering in to make that point.
I've been teaching guitar for a long time, maybe I can throw my two cents in.. So the picking you're suggesting initially in the video, I call it "unidirectional picking". It works fine at slower or moderate tempos. But at faster tempos only a very practiced alternating (or down/up) picking technique can hold together and stay controlled. Down/Up picking would work great on a typical arpeggio pattern in 6/8 time, because the direction of the pick strokes would match in the direction you happen to be wanting to go.
I've played this song since aboui 1968 and at 74 I play it on an accoustic guitar with 3 string cross picking and I was un aware that I played like the recording , you're stuff is pretty cool thanks
I learn the pick pattern from my dad who does it like Valentin. They are several blues and only country songs where you have to do this and its an older technique that most people don't practice any more. T This is the forearm rest to keep the pick at the right spot for sound and why he keeps the neck more vertical; this also is at his reach limit he wants and why he keeps the pick between strings. This can allow you to play the pattern with less arm movements and you can play longer without fatigue. Most people now days play with the neck too far down for this technique to work well and makes it much more difficult.
Valentine probably plays it like that because he naturally slants his pick downward. Basically the position you have your hand in when going up the arpeggio in the first half of the pattern. And he's uncomfortable slanting upward, so he just alternate picks. He also probably was thinking in an alternate picking mindset, but the sixteenths where to fast, so he swept those, and alternate picked everything else
First song I learned on guitar, my uncle taught it to me when I was about 12. Made me a big Animals fan, especially Eric Burdon.I was taught the right way and always did. I can see how ppl play it wrong. Never saw the real Animals but have seen Eric do this as an encore more times then I can remember.
I think Hilton Valentine's picking pattern is strange, but I also think your pattern is strange. I think its interesting I've never seen anyone play it the way you do, up-picking the last 3 notes. I've only seen it played up-picking the last 2 notes. I think it follows your idea of always picking towards the next place you are going, but maximizes the efficiency, as you don't have to move the pick down past the 5th note without playing it and then pick upward, which is two picking motions. It also makes accenting the 5th easier. Cool video, keep them coming!
BTW; *Loved* the "it's rainin" part at 0:03 where you said, "...because it's Vancouver"! I could have just as easily said (here) "...because it's Florida!" It's becoming more tropical here every year. Have to keep the dehumidifier on in the guitar room. Cheers!
I hit the chord root note then rake off the G string through the high E (GBE), down stroke on the high E returning and up stroke on the B and G on the way back. It's not difficult to play it this way, keeps every chord pattern the same and it sounds very much like the way it's played in the song. The up-stroke retuning on the high E never sounded right to my ear.
Great video, I find the alternate picking in the upper 3 notes easier then sweeping. I could never accurately figure that out so thanks for sleuthing it out from the original videos> Great job!
When I played guitar, back in the 60's/70's, pretty much self-taught, made up my own picking patterns---I never used a pick b/c I was playing a folk guitar w/ nylon (and wound, of course) strings. I luckily have fingernails with almost the consistency of a pick, & using 4 fingers sure gave me a lot more options & flexibility---I tried a pick & I felt like it was playing the guitar, not me. Naturally, with an electric guitar & those nasty little steel strings digging into your fingertips---you gotta use the pick! fun to hear it from a real professional.
Yes, the Gretch really DOES sound great! But, I've been playing long enough to know that a lot is determined by who is playing it! So, Blue, you think "Hilton Valentine" is a cool name? What about "Blue Morris?" Who, BTW, teaches blues guitar...in Vanciuver?! Now, THAT'S a cool name! Thanks again, for a GREAT lesson! 👍👌
Hello. I am not a guitar player, and never have been. I actually have no musical talent at all. I just saw a screen shot for this video in the right-hand panel, and since I liked the song, I decided to see what you had to say. All I can say is that you come across as an accomplished teacher. If I were about 50 years younger and wanted to learn guitar, I might actually have a chance. If other of your videos are like this, then you have a gift not only of playing, but of teaching. Keep doing what you are doing; I subscribed just to support you. even though I know almost nothing about music.
I rarely use a plectrum for rhythm guitar, but for this song Hilton's technique is what would come naturally to me too. This keeps the up/down flow of the hand consistent, making it far easier to sustain the timing of the arpeggio throughout the song. Playing all 3 as upstrokes entails either just running the plectrum up them and losing the distinction between them (as with the preceeding 3 notes played as a single downstroke), or doubling the timing of the hand stroke to get back in place for the next upstroke if you want to keep them seperate. The first loses the 'feel' of the arpeggio, the second (which I think most people are doing) makes it very difficult to keep the timing accurate for prolonged periods - not least because the wrist works that bit harder and inevitably tightens while doing it. Having said all that, the 'best' solution is probably what feels most natural to each of us individually.
Thank you! :-) For contrast: I have never learned to play guitar properly. However, "House of the Rising Sun" and the 12-bar blues scheme (not as in jazz) were the two first chord sequences I learned, with maybe "Proud Mary" as number three. (Some 50 years ago.) Yes, that D-chord has always intrigued me, and several of my own songs use this opening sequence (in whatever key). As much as I like the Animals' rendition of "House of the Rising Sun", I have felt for a long time that the 6/8-measure might be a snare-instrument adaptation of something 4/4 on wind instruments. So that's how I have been playing it for some 20 years on the wind controller (with a Muted Trumpet sound): as some 8-bar funeral march like "St. James Infirmary" (that I love playing), or like Chopin's famous funeral march (that I can't play). In /my/ opinion, that approach matches the lyrics. (I occasionally improvise on guitar on these "marches". With maybe some blue 5th note (in Am: Eb) inserted. (Yes, MY Mileage Varies!) :-)
I don’t think of a song in terms of being in a major or minor key, but in terms of the tonic note only. It’s in A, but has a minor tonality due to the flat third. You can borrow from the parallel major or minor scales. In this song the IV and V are both from the A major scale. The V7 is crucial for the cadence.
Loved this video! I have always loved the song House of the Rising Sun, even the Bob Dylan version. In fact, it's my understanding that the Animals version was what inspired Bob Dylan to electrify his music in the first place. The Animals version made him realize that folk songs can be converted into rock songs after the Animals turned the song he put on his first album into a rock classic. Have you ever heard the Venture version, played by Gerry McGee, of House of the Rising Sun?
Nice guitar lesson and catchy caption. I learned this song using the original animals picking technique. As it was the first song I learned on guitar I still find it easier.😁🙃 BTW, as a beginner I find that F bar chord shape very hard, so I do the easier F chord shape by skipping the high 'E' first fret, and pressing down on the 'A' string on the 3 fret.
Stop playing with both pickups engaged, use the bridge, hook up some spring or plate reverb, and keep it otherwise clean, then play with the sound and tonally you'll understand why it makes sense. The way those Gretsch humbuckers respond can be very expressive and if you try playing it alone, you'll notice that a harder down pick for emphasis on the upper strings can sound better when isolated. But then, I'm more of a sound man than a guitarist and a Gretsch guy for years. Stop worrying so much about technical perfection and try to make the sounds in an Ennio Morricone soundtrack and you'll start to understand.
I do the D like a C shape with my index finger over the second fret. That way the picking pattern is the same and no need to pick the E string twice in a row. And I like like the sound of it. It's nice that it doesn't sound like ”the original”. It makes it more personal, if you like.
It's A Harmonic Minor. The great thing is because it is such a broad song regarding notes , you can play every note , an A Blues/Major/ with bent notes and Minor Scale slides everywhere !
In a way yeah, though A Harmonic Minor or does not have a D major chord, but your point taken there are so many ways to stretch the harmony of a song. Thanks for watching and commenting 😀
I've always played it as one eighth note, an eighth note triplet, followed by three eighth notes. For the Am and C chords, down strokes on the first eighth and the triplet, alternate on the last three eighths coming up. On the D and F, down on the first eighth, double pick the third string, up then down for the first two notes of the triplet and down on the second string for the third note of the triplet, then alternate up as before for the last three eighths in the bar. For the E, I pick string 6 thru 3, all down for the first eighth and the triplet, skip the second string and alternate back up from the first string. The last three notes played in any bar are the first three strings, alternating up on first, down on second up on the third string..
And I just realized I was taught this song wrong 40 years ago. Not the picking direction, we were fingerpicking it, but the instructor had simplified it by making it all quarter notes. Each measure was Root, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, 2nd then 3rd string. I knew something was off with the rhythm but honestly never looked into it. The good side of that was to make an E7 we played the D on the 2nd string instead of the 4th because the pattern never hit the 4th string. Not only is it a much better sounding way to play E7 it was my introduction to learning to play chords in nonstandard ways.
Yea, I tried to play it the way Hilton played it. I think I'll stick to the way you teach it to your students. I've been playing it that way for years. Great video.
Not a keyboard player, but Alan Price’s ‘solo’ on the Hammond organ is the highlight of the song for me.
It is a good one for sure.
Vox continental-------------------------- not a Hammond---------
Yeah, it’s a Vox. Such a great solo.
@@crazypainter56 well, he did say he wasn't an fxxxxxg keyboard player...
I believe he now owns the rights to the song after it entered public domain
Honestly, I think his method works. The down pick on that one note really puts the emphasis in the right place. Explains why nobody's cover ever sounds like the record :)
It works for sure, just different. But if it sounds good, why not?
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver I think he must have done it for a reason :)
@@SamHarrisonMusic I suspect it's just the way he was taught to play, using alternate picking. Also I think it helps with the timing - if you play those three notes all upwards there's a temptation to play them too quickly as a mini-strum like the three downward notes before.
if you listen closer you'll hear him use a open G-string on the 'reverse part' of the patern to change chords as well. Something a lot of people miss out on.
@@boldwinbeanbaker3033 True he does, I think to make the chord switches smoothly. It is a great sounding technique. I think we all do it to some degree. I made a video about it some time ago th-cam.com/video/sZAQvSuNQdQ/w-d-xo.html
Funny thing... I'm terrible at playing guitar, but I try. When I attempted to learn this song, I naturally picked it the way you said Mr. Valentine does. I never thought about it and no one told me to do it that way, it just felt natural to me.
It worked for him, so if it works for you, I think that's just fine :)
That's the way I naturally played it too.
Me to it must be a self taught thing
Interesting, I was never taught how to play it, I just leaned it from ear & I too play it the same as almost everyone does, but I do find it hard to keep going through the entire song, so I switch to strumming the chords part the way through, which adds to building the intensity of the song as it progresses and to my ear it adds some more variety & interest to the song as well. :)
I think that means you have a good ear. 🎸
If you listen closely to the Animals' recording, you will notice that Hilton Valentine always plays an open string "g" at the end of the arpeggio. By this means he finds time to change the position of the left hand for the following chord.
Good point, he is lifting his left hand off the chord early. It does make the transitions easier. I made a video about that technique some time ago: th-cam.com/video/sZAQvSuNQdQ/w-d-xo.html
I was just trying to play it and hit on the same idea to go from the Am to the C - you need to lift the third finger to get in position for the C. Then I listened to it and realised you can hear that's what he's doing on the record. The G note is in the C chord so it makes a good passing note for that chord change.
Precisely. It's the WHOLE POINT of the guitar part.
I KNEW I HEARD THIS WHILE PLAYING IT
@jacobcollectscards7964 Nice, good ear 👍
He actually plays all 6 strings in that E chord. It varies the rhythm pattern a bit, but it's there. That rhythm pattern pops up in the Am chord sometimes by doubling the E string picking. The E7 is in the organ :)
I noticed this too!
Yup. I noticed that when I first started playing guitar. This teacher is clueless
Hylton Valentine is from my home area in the North East of England. I once jammed with him in a pub in a blues band - long after he left the Animals. In the early days we were all self taught and he was known to play a new lick but would turn his back to you when he played it so you couldn't see how he did it. :) He does play an exceptionally good solo on the Animals track For Miss Caulker. This is from a promotional movie of current British rock hits which went on general release. None of it was live. You are dead right about relaxing your wrist that's the only way to play All My Lovin' by the Beatles.
Very cool story! Thanks for sharing that here. That's amazing you played at a pub with him once. I have heard about other guitar players turning their backs on stage. Eddie Van Halen used to do that in the early years of his career too.
Excellent point and he was turning his back for a different reason than I was ... Mine was Bad technique ...
@@davidcarpenter5274 So you were the Stu Sutcliffe of your band. :)
Loud and obnoxious ,,,
Is what I do best ...
Perfect for the mic check ...
If you can fix my sound ,,,
you've got a perfect mix ...
Strange you should mention All My Lovein' The guitar solo is short but very catchy. I have my own approximation which might fool a fool. I'll bet there's a tutorial for that too on here somewhere.
For me, it was always easier to play like he plays, even though I never watched him play. But I never got guitar classes too, so I never was forced to play in a certain way just because "it's easier" or "it's the way to do"
I like how you so clearly articulate a musical conundrum, I wouldn't have the patience. But repeating the F# note on the e string during the D chord isn't what Hilton does on the record...perhaps that's not what you're putting forward (?) but still...if you slow it down in audacity there's no repeating on F sharp. I think there's a slight speed up on that D chord too, or it's played with more attack, whatever, the ear doesn't notice the missing 5th note in the arpeggio. Underrated guitarist is/was Hilton.
Hilton was a sweet man. I was even Myspace pals with him a decade back and bought a CD from him online. I'd sent way too much money in the form of a 20 dollar bill, but I told him to keep the change. He sent me the album with a guitar pick he signed. RIP, Hilton 🌌
Great story! I've heard some wonderful stories about him from doing this video. Thanks for sharing 😀
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver You're very welcome. That CD is still at my grandmother's house- it was my most prized possession as a teenager.
I also bought an Animals CD from Hilton online, which he signed for me with a silver marker. Silver on black looks very cool. The cd sits prominently in my CD collection and I feel very fortunate to own it. Now that Hilton has passed away, he won't be able to do so for anybody down here on Earth. He was such an interesting guy. I absolutely adore The Animals.
@@MsPulpGirl Same. I discovered them as a teenager and spent hours on rainy weekends listening to their Best Of album. I'm hoping to get Hilton's CD back after a fallout with the family. I hope they didn't toss it. :/
@@maurine2524 I hope you get it back and I wish for you and your family the best. 🙂
I was given the 45rpm in 1978 by my Mum from her collection and at my age of 8, it blew my musical world. Love the guitar work and it's one of those you know what the song is within seconds. I could listen to it every day.
Cool. Do you still have the 45rpm? 😀
I saw the Animals at BB Kings in NYC a long time ago. I am grateful for your recognition of Alan Price and hope everyone remembers "Oh Lucky Man" My mother went to Julliard in the late 1930's. She taught my brother and I to read music but only one of us ever mastered it. It wasn't me
Cool! Would have been great to see them live
I'm guessing you are referring to the surreal and brilliant Lindsay Anderson film 'O Lucky Man!' that starred Malcolm McDowell and that Alan Price also appeared in and wrote the music for. There is not surprisingly a song on the soundtrack written by Price also called 'O Lucky Man!'.
The music in 'O Lucky Man!' is performed by the musicians appearing within the story in a format often called a 'Greek chorus' and not as background music, unseen, or as the main focus of the film, as in a musical.
I think the film is a bit overlooked because it is quite long and it contains a few scenes that are probably now considered unacceptable (particularly Arthur Lowe using blackface for his role as Dr. Munda).
I think it's worth pointing out that in the late 19650s and early 60s when Valentine was learning to play there was very little general public information in the UK about learning guitar at all. The Animals came from an impoverished background, probably even more so than The Beatles and so probably didn't pay for lessons - hardly any beat musicians did. McCartney tells the story of taking a bus across Liverpool to find the guy who could show him how to play B7. That's how hard it was for the average person to learn guitar.
In this context Valentine could have developed this way of playing himself, learned it from a friend or, and I don't have a copy to hand to check, picked it up (even as a misunderstanding) from the only generally available source which appeared in the late 1950s, Bert Weeden's "Play in a Day" book.
Weeden was a guitarist himself and his book with the slightly over-optimistic title was hugely influential.
As the Amazon blurb says, "Play in a Day remains the world's most successful guitar tutor. It is as much a legend as the stars who've learnt from it - Eric Clapton, Mike Oldfield, Paul McCartney, Steve Hillage, George Harrison, John Lennon, Sting, Brian May, Pete Townshend and dozens more."
Thanks for posting. Good point. I love that story about taking a bus to learn B7.
One thing I found out when trying to pick it the way the original guitarist does it, is that I ALSO don't play it the first way that you showed! I realized that the way I play it, I down-pick on the 3rd to last note, I only up-pick the last two notes in the chord. Very interesting differences! Then again I just learned it by ear from looking at the chord sheets, so It's cool to see how every individual finds their own most comfortable way to play!
Yeah, I think with this song in particular there are a few good ways to play it. As long as it sounds good and is somewhat efficient, I think go for it.
Well, what you have to always remember...he wrote the piece and he can play it the way he meant for it to be played. All and I do mean "All" others playing it are copying what he is doing. If it comes out sounding the same then all is good. But if it changes the sound or even the timing it throws it off and becomes a feeble attempt to follow the master. Because that's what he is because he wrote it to be played that way.
William Leavitt taught that style of picking arpeggios in some of his picking exercises in his Modern Method for Guitar Vol. 1-3. The series is a Berklee College of Music standard for every guitar student. The idea is to use Downstrokes when picking in the direction of higher strings which uses the weight of the arm falling, but alternate when picking towards lower strings because sweep style picking upwards towards lower strings is less efficient as you have to pull the arm against its own weight.
Interesting, I have played through those books, though a long time ago.
Yea, what a memory those books without tabs and hours spent to figure out the notes!
@@Cyberglad haha yeah I've been there 😅
And of course, if it is written...
One should be careful not to put too much stock into these kinds of arguments. It is self-evidently true that sweeping upward is less efficient than sweeping downwards, but it is also self-evidently true that alterating picking direction at the same time that the overall trajectory is upwards is less efficiently than continuously moving in the direction that the notes are moving. Either way, the hand must ultimately get back to the top, and moving in a continuously upward direction is a more direct way to do it than going out of your way on every second note. The shortest possible distance between two points is a straight line. The energy saved by allowing the weight of the arm to reinforce every second note is offset by having to reverse direction and avoid that string, then move twice as far to hit the next string. It is also unquestionably slower. Of course, where efficiency is concerned, any pick-based solution is less efficient than using ones fingers, where one does not even need to move the hand or the arm (large body structures), but only the (small) fingers, which can be set to their own strings (I don't necessarily mean to say that this is better, only that it is more efficient - this is not necessarily the same thing).
I taught myself this song from reading tab, and this is how I pick it. It helps with pacing and dynamics in that part, and when I played it that way it sounded more like the recording. I also often pick the base string of each arpeggio on the way back up and let it ring as I come back down again. I've been playing barre F all these years... I'll have to try cowboy F.
Makes sense definitely more than one way to play it 😀
I learned this song long ago without the help of a teacher but the 4 down-picking then 3 up-picking (arpeggio) method was somehow uncomfortable for me too so I ended up learning it using the 4 downpicking then alternate-picking method that Valentine also did. First it seemed to be a more difficult method for this song but at the end for me it helped to keep a more steady pace.
All good, if it worked for Hilton Valentine...😎
I stumbled onto this after seeing Brian May talking about the same song, and I must say that I agree more with his interpretation of how the 'one string too few' is solved for the D and F. I don't actually hear the high note twice in the pattern for the D and F, but rather that he plays the bass note twice, also giving you a full four-note pattern.
Me too... doubling the bass note sounds more natural. As a finger picker, i also play the third string two times often (like 4-3-2-3-1-2-3)
@@DouglasB42 Yeah, I play it finger picking style myself as well, and then it's probably even more obvious that the 'double bass' approach is the way to go.
You sir, are a great teacher! I was with you all the way through this lesson. Thanks!!
Glad to hear it! Thanks for watching!
That upstroke open G string on beat 6 functions as a passing tone between the chord changes. It is not heard as a "mistake" because it is played on a weak beat immediately preceding a new chord on beat 1 (a strong beat). This device is used a lot in strumming technique and gives the music a more lifelike organic feel. It is like drawing breath before a new phrase or segment.
It is a great sounding technique. I think we all do it to some degree. I made s video about it some time ago th-cam.com/video/sZAQvSuNQdQ/w-d-xo.html
Wow, that's exactly how I play it ! Going down, sure it seems easier to do down, down etc. But up, reverting to alternate picking like on leads seems more natural.
That's cool, if it works for you, go for it.
Here is probably the oldest recording of the Animals playing House of the Rising Sun, before it was released. And you get really good look at the guitar in the beginning, and it's the same as later versions!... Then you can see how your grandmother was really crazy about rock starts back in the day! :)
th-cam.com/video/zEDQQGDo-bE/w-d-xo.html
That's the first proper song I taught myself and I never bothered to learn his name. Thank you, and Hilton Valentine.
Thanks for watching! Yeah his name is not that well known unfortunately.
The Animals: Eric Burdon (vocals), Hilton Valentine (guitar), Chas Chandler (bass), Alan Price (keyboards) and John Steel (drums).
A few years later Chas Chandler went on to be Jimi Hendrix's manager. Chas and Hilton are sadly no longer with us but the other three are still going in their 80s!
I've been playing guitar 60 years with some stage success . The youth of today will be glad they have you as a teacher and a mentor . In my day everybody played by ear and mostly and had to lift the record needle up over and over to learn a song and usually the results were in correct. Love your channel . I find myself playing House of the rising sun even better now. In My 60's tribute top ten hits band this will be a good add. cheers I will be following along with your channel .PS Iconic tune made simple and clear for the new generation to come. Great teacher mate cheers
Thank you! Lots more coming to this channel
Couldn't agree more. Self taught, wish we had you around 60 yrs ago! From Manchester.
@@taipo101 Thank you Howard!!
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver err sorry...that would make you 60 years older... Great stuff, a good instructor (not teacher please note) is what is required these days to get ppl thinking for themselves. Teaching is merely a rote method to pass exams. Being instructed allows us to use skill acquired to another level, then pss that on to the next generation.
I've been stuck always trying to use downstrokes for everything, and I never could get the number of notes for the chord to line up quite well with the melody.
So thank you very much for this reminder that I'm still stumbling over the SIMPLEST problems!
Cool glad it helped!
What I’ve admired is a bandmate’s ability to riff in service to the song rather than a limelight grand flourish. Price’s solo was inspired, fits right in !
And I still can't play keyboards - of any sort!
If you like it, fair enough. I reckon the Vox spoils it, but the other 4 parts make it still worth listening to.
I've always played it up down up. For me, it separates the first part being essentially a controlled strum and the return to be picking which stops you slacking and half strumming on the way back up. I always found it easier to stay tight that way.
Edit to add that you can be a little slack on the down strum but getting those return notes properly timed is essential.
Good point. It could feel more controlled by doing alternate picking on that part. Thanks for watching!
My first time watching one of your videos. Good lesson. House of the Rising Sun is a song I could never play because of the arpeggios. I never could get them right or be consistent in the picking pattern. Your video helped a lot. I will be watching more of your stuff. Thanks.
Glad to hear it helped thanks! Lots more coming to this channel and our Patreon 😎
Hilton was a great musician, and nobody looked cooler doing it. He would respond to emails and answer questions when he was still with us - this would have been a great question. Interesting video - well done.
That's cool! I didn't know that about him.
@@GuitarLessonsVancouverI play it the way valentine does. I didn't even think about it until I saw this video. It feels natural to me ( perhaps the only reason to do anything)
@@toddapplegate3988 That's cool. It certainly worked well for him too :)
@@toddapplegate3988 It's natural for me also. When I watched this video I paid attention on how I'm playing. And was Valentine's style.
I went to same school as Hilton. he was 2 years older than me. he taught me 3 chords before I got my 1st guitar. he was only kid in the area with a guitar, but if he trusted you, he would help you to learn using his guitar. Sadly lost touch after leaving school and he was playing in a local band called the Wildcats,c.1960
Morris, I am so impressed with your clear communication and teaching on the 'Tube! Your graphic and sound drops are perfect to support and clarify each point. I wish every contributor could see and study this as a model to follow.
Thank you very much! Glad you're enjoying the videos. And thanks for commenting.
Great lesson. I learned that song in either 1964 or 1965 and I’ve always played it just as he plays it. It’s different but if you learned it that way and have played it that as long as I have it’s not that difficult. By the way I enjoy your lessons.
Cool! yeah if you are used to playing it that way, no reason to change now. It worked for Hilton Valentine I'm sure it can work for you :) Thanks for watching!
This is pretty cool and very educational.
Thank you!!
The first video image of The Animals wasn't from a TV show, it was from a movie/documentary called GO GO MANIA or POPGEAR depending on the US or UK release. It is currently available on blu ray from Kino Lorber (either direct from them but also through other retailers as well). A lot of popular UK and US groups are featured in it, and as I recall from watching it on TCM the producers relied on pre- recorded music, which seems odd to me as all the groups had to perform for the film anyways.
Cool thanks that's good to know!
It was shot on 35mm color film. Now, this was a movie production which means one camera and multiple takes. So the sound will be a playback for each take. It could not be done live with one camera. @@GuitarLessonsVancouver
First time I came across your channel. This was an amazing tutorial! You are a very awesome instructor! I love the way you captivate the listener and make it very interesting! Loved the solo, by the way! Keep up the great work!
Thank you! Lots more on the channel and our Patreon group www.patreon.com/guitarlessonsvancouver 😀
That was cool. Absolutely one of my favorite songs. You're a great teacher. I don't even play guitar, but that was super interesting to watch!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
I guess us old guys are just tricky to follow on guitar hey :). I have been playing it the way he does since I first learned it. Probably 1970 something. A lot of us from that era of playing play folk or cowboy chords. I personally still favour a G chord that most people can't pick what it is by simply looking at it. :). Good video, and glad you finally do it right!.
Thanks! That's interesting to hear you play it the same way he did. Whatever works in this case I say.
I think he alternate picked it because it just sounds better. Without it it sounds almost like some excercise. With it gives the riff more interesting sound and life. Those 3 notes are better articulated and stand out much better in the riff.
Interesting thought. Not sure it's that different in sound, but there is a subtle difference here.
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver When I was learning Holy Wars solo by Marty Friedman I sweep picked it all at first and it did not sound right. Then I alternate picked the descending part of the arpeggio and that was it. He did the same thing as Hilton Valentine here. These little details often make difference in our perception. You def have more control over the tone when with alternate picking and the notes feel more separated.
@@kkarx As a violin player, I was thinking "up bow" - "down bow" and how that affects the sound. Up pick, down pick, up pick creates a tad more separation and attack on the notes. A subtle but noticeable slight emphasis on on beat 5.
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver alternate picking helps add a bit of a swing feel which sounds better to me. but I tend to fingerpick it these days anyway to give it my own twist
@@chrisc9755 yeah fingerpicking works too 😀
I picked up guitar 6 years ago, and I am now in my 50’s. I came across your channel and you Blue are outstanding. You are now the second TH-camr I will use regularly and thanks for that.
Now I must teach you something, LOL, and Yes you are teaching it wrong which I am surprised you or nobody picked up on this. I learned this song naturally with the alternate picking, for one, it was easier. And 2, picking with all ups sounds off, its Alternate picking
with a little aggression that makes this sound sooo good! Just my opinion from a newbie.
Thanks from the Kootenays!
Thank you! Welcome to the channel. Lots more lessons on here and more coming in the New Year
Props for that solo... Was on point and really followed the vocal lines.
Thank you!!
Yeah man ! , love that solo ! :)))))))))))
It really followed the solo in my opinion
As a POI, 6/8 (7:22) is a _compound_ time signature: two dotted crotchets (quarter notes) per bar; i.e., the product of two _simple_ time signatures, 2/2 * 3/4 . That 2/2 march time component is what gives 6/8 time its *_1_* , 2, 3, *_4_* , 5, 6 ( *_1_* & a, *_2_* & a) feel.
Very interesting! I suffer from all those weird things with this song too - ever since it came out. That's a little while now isn't it? I notice how difficult it is to keep it going and the business off picking one note twice. However, over the years I have sort of convinced myself that, although you need to start well, so long as you keep "the flavour" of the picking, a few fluffs probably won't matter in a live setting. It's when you come to record that such things can get a little bit wearing! When you can hear it over & over again! Great tutorial. Thanks. P.S. Love the organ solo of Alan Price and the tone of the voice. It still sounds terrific.
I think you're right. I bet if we listen closely to each measure of the song, probably no one plays it perfectly all the way through. As long as you keep it going and the mistakes a minimal 👍
Maybe it does make sense that he picks it that way. If you look in lute-tabs (or just have some background in folk-music in Ireland or Scotland.. like these guys?.. or folk music in most other places, probably), you might be given directions to alternate your plucking to keep a particular rythm going. I didn't think it made sense to do that on the guitar, and thought it was some sort of weird lute-quirk. But in the end, even if you don't ultimately play all the notes this way, having the alternating pattern as a basis (going to the g-string with the thumb to do an up-pick and picking on the e-string, etc.) is actually really helpful to keep the flow. I mean, I'm sure everyone have heard this played in limp and a half beat.
Interesting! I've never played the lute, but certainly different traditions of music have different trends in technique. As long asbit sounds good I'm all for it.
It also has make something to do rhythm feeling. I often find myself playing some (not that fast) passages not in the most efficient way, but it's more about feeling. In this example the last up-down-up... leads to downstroke on the first beat.
Also while I play it sweeping I have a habit of 'reintroduscing' the second downstroke: that is I don't rest on the next string, making kinda shaking motion with my hand.
I agree it will have a slightly different sound or "feel" with different directions. Down strokes tend to be louder.
Another one like that is "Help!" where George has the riff on the 5th, 4th, 3rd,and 2nd strings. It is supposed to go down on the 5th, up on the 4th, down on the 3rd up on the 2nd. I believe he does it "right" in the movie. Many other times he just goes down, or hits the 5th string and then makes the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd a chord.
Cool good example. I'll take a closer look at it. Been a while since I've played that song.
Another thing you may not have noticed is that Hilton Valentine plays an open G string at the end of each arpeggio before changing to a different chord. This makes it much easier to get the chord changes cleanly.
I did hear that when listening to it slowed down. He is lifting his left hand off the chord early. It does make the transition easy. I made a video about that technique some time ago: th-cam.com/video/sZAQvSuNQdQ/w-d-xo.html
I watched your video and I, too, have cheated at strumming for a long time but I guess I was too concrete in my thinking to think that it was acceptable while playing individual notes. However, another video recently pointed out this cheat and it definitely works in this case.
Ive heard that called that an ‘escape’ note.
Enjoyed this video.
Seen loads of lessons on House Of The Rising Sun over the years, most of them are wrong. This is by far the most accurate to how Hilton Valentine originally played the tune. Absolutely brilliant tutorial with excellent analysis.
Thank you!!
I love your soloing on this song. Sounds perfect.
Thank you! You can get the tabs for that solo on our Patreon group www.patreon.com/guitarlessonsvancouver
Reminds me of what The Ventures did with the song
@@garysutherland8327 Oh yeah, I hadn't thought of that. I'll have a listen to that version again. Been a while
I have play this rip and watched the video a hundred times and never realized this. Thanks. Up Voted and Subscribed.
Cool, welcome to the channel!
That Gretch sounds great
Thanks I love that guitar. Made in Japan Power Jet.
Ever since I was a little kid I loved and was mesmerized by this version of the song.
Strange, I have never picked up when playing, it just felt way more natural picking down on all the notes. I also play all the strings of the E chord by just sweeping the 4 strings slightly faster
Lots of ways to do it. As long as it sounds good 😀
I'm not a guitar player at all, but I am a huge fan of this song (from the first time I heard it way back in the day). Not sure why this video was served to me but I'm very glad it was. I enjoyed learning something I"ll never use, and certtainly enjoyed the song. Love the organ too.
Cool thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I've been teaching a lot and MAN are you good! I just love to see you work. Love from Holland ❤
Thank you! Much appreciated 👍
Ever hear the Dylan version? Totally different voicings of the chords. Interesting... Also he sings it from a female perspective, which makes more sense to me when you consider the lyrical content. His version, there lyrics vary from The Animals version.
I have, yeah it's a good one too 😀
Hey I found the title of your video intriguing because like you I've taught hundreds of people the wrong way. It's the first song I learned when i was 12. I learned it by ear from the 45, and got it as close as I could. But where my method was different was, when I got to the D and F chords, instead of playing the high E string twice, I played the 4th string twice. And then when I tried to hip my students to that I just ended not being able to play the song any more! I did it for 50 years one way and now having two conflicting ways in my brain has just kind of ruined that song. If I ever really sit down to it again I'm sure I'll get past that. But one other difference for me is, I pick ALL of the notes downward. The return trip isn't so hard because they're all 1/8th notes. This was my favorite song in the world when I learned it in 67, and so yea, thanks for a great conversation about it. Oh one other thing is, I had not learned the F chord once I started figuring out the song off the record, so my first exposure to an F chord was hearing the notes he played. I had seen friends in my neighborhood playing the chords and I thought they were just going to C in that spot.
I think it may be that he wasn't thinking of it as all an arpeggio. Try to think of it as; pick the root note, slow down strum then three arpeggiated notes. Now the alternate picking helps tie into the rhythm. I know it's in 6/8 but I find myself counting it as five with a long beat one...
That makes sense. That's a good way to think of it.
Interesting stuff. Of course I went off to listen to the original to check the quick G between chords which was there. Then I noticed that on the E chords he is fact playing all 6 strings! After he picks the root low E he plays the A and D strings in double time before the G and B strings. So AD-G-B not D-G-B as you suggest in the video. Have a listen. Thanks for an informative, well-presented video.
Could be he is sort up strumming through the E chord to get through all six. Thanks for posting, I'll have a listen 😎
Another great lesson! All of your points are understood easily, I think. Real happy to have found your channel recently.
Awesome, thank you! Lots more coming
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver Your Welcome!
Well broken down good explanation. I saw this video some time ago and noticed his picking pattern was unusual.... I immediately looked away. What ever he was doing, I'm not changing the way I've been doing it for 50 years!
No need to change it. It worked for him 😀
Also check out the lesson from Brian May for this tune, for some, who thinks plays it right, he will tell a small secret!!!)))
This is a really good video. There’s a lot of great stuff in addition to the picking technique. Thanks!
Thank you! Lots more on this channel 👍
I've never seen one of your videos before, but that quick solo lesson immediately made me want to sub to your channel
Great! Welcome to the channel 😀
Glad to have stumbled upon this vid... House of the Rising Sun was one of the first songs I learnt, apparently I have been playing it very wrong... for 25 years. haha. Gonna take some doing to undo that, but as soon as I heard the correct picking pattern it made sense that that is the way. I've taken a deep dive on many songs, finding faults in tabs, just not this simple masterpiece. Thanks for that.
If you're playing a different picking pattern but the correct notes and rhythm, it might not matter. Certainly there are multiple ways to play it, so long as it sounds good 😎
I was lucky enough to see The Animals play this in Southampton England on the very day they'd recorded it in the small hours in London. Never to be forgotten! I hadn't been playing guitar long, and what most impressed me was that Hilton Valentine could play it all the way through with hardly any cockups! I didn't notice the picking pattern particularly, but I'm pretty sure he played the E chord on all six strings and just kinda skated over the extra string, or played the bottom string twice.
Wow very cool! What a great experience that must have been!
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver It was! Chuck Berry was top of the bill, but the Animals were an utter revelation. There was something a bit menacing about them, especially Eric Burdon, who was about five feet tall, with terrible acne, and he really worked hard. Someone said he was like an “apoplectic beetroot on a pogo-stick” 😄 Alas, once they were famous, they didn’t last long. Internal dissent and boozing got the better of them, which was a great pity, because at that time they were at least as good as the Stones, and their stage act was much more intense. Mind you, no one ever screamed at Chas Chandler 😳
The tune that The Animals used for The House of the Rising Sun is nothing like earlier tunes used. For example listen to Leadbelly or Nina Simone. Also listen to the Bob Dylan version which the Animals used to create their version, particularly the chord progression.
Indeed it's been played many different ways
I used to play this song like Hilton and after watching other people playing it I thought *I* was playing it wrong, lol.
Honestly I don't know why I played it like that (like him) it came to me naturally and I felt it sounded right.
Seems like lots of people do based on the comments here. Well if it worked for him... why not? He was sure good at it 😀
Once past the first verse, our man Hilton frequently plays an F7 (I'm fairly sure) before descending to the E/E7 at the end of line 2 of the verses, giving a feeling of even greater urgency to get going on line 3, keyboard and drummer also powering in to make that point.
I checked the comments just to see if anyone else had noticed that. I have been playing it that way since I sat down to learn it for a band in 1989.
I've been teaching guitar for a long time, maybe I can throw my two cents in..
So the picking you're suggesting initially in the video, I call it "unidirectional picking". It works fine at slower or moderate tempos. But at faster tempos only a very practiced alternating (or down/up) picking technique can hold together and stay controlled.
Down/Up picking would work great on a typical arpeggio pattern in 6/8 time, because the direction of the pick strokes would match in the direction you happen to be wanting to go.
I've played this song since aboui 1968 and at 74 I play it on an accoustic guitar with 3 string cross picking and I was un aware that I played like the recording , you're stuff is pretty cool thanks
Thanks for watching! Lots more coming :)
I learn the pick pattern from my dad who does it like Valentin. They are several blues and only country songs where you have to do this and its an older technique that most people don't practice any more. T This is the forearm rest to keep the pick at the right spot for sound and why he keeps the neck more vertical; this also is at his reach limit he wants and why he keeps the pick between strings. This can allow you to play the pattern with less arm movements and you can play longer without fatigue. Most people now days play with the neck too far down for this technique to work well and makes it much more difficult.
Interesting. For sure we all tend to play neck horizontal these days.
Valentine probably plays it like that because he naturally slants his pick downward. Basically the position you have your hand in when going up the arpeggio in the first half of the pattern. And he's uncomfortable slanting upward, so he just alternate picks. He also probably was thinking in an alternate picking mindset, but the sixteenths where to fast, so he swept those, and alternate picked everything else
That's a good point. That could be. Thanks for watching
First song I learned on guitar, my uncle taught it to me when I was about 12. Made me a big Animals fan, especially Eric Burdon.I was taught the right way and always did. I can see how ppl play it wrong. Never saw the real Animals but have seen Eric do this as an encore more times then I can remember.
Nice! Thanks for commenting 🙂
😊
Bryan May has an instructional on this piece as played by Valentine and he emphasizes the difference and explains why he did this as a guitar player.
I have always had trouble playing this song, and I was around when it first came out
Thank you
Thanks for watching! Glad I could help :)
I think Hilton Valentine's picking pattern is strange, but I also think your pattern is strange. I think its interesting I've never seen anyone play it the way you do, up-picking the last 3 notes. I've only seen it played up-picking the last 2 notes. I think it follows your idea of always picking towards the next place you are going, but maximizes the efficiency, as you don't have to move the pick down past the 5th note without playing it and then pick upward, which is two picking motions. It also makes accenting the 5th easier. Cool video, keep them coming!
Cool, thanks. Yeah there are certainly a few good ways to do it :)
BTW; *Loved* the "it's rainin" part at 0:03 where you said, "...because it's Vancouver"!
I could have just as easily said (here) "...because it's Florida!"
It's becoming more tropical here every year. Have to keep the dehumidifier on in the guitar room. Cheers!
Haha oh yeah its a temperate rainforest here. Except summer. Summers are wonderful here.
I hit the chord root note then rake off the G string through the high E (GBE), down stroke on the high E returning and up stroke on the B and G on the way back. It's not difficult to play it this way, keeps every chord pattern the same and it sounds very much like the way it's played in the song. The up-stroke retuning on the high E never sounded right to my ear.
I could not live without it. Cheers!
Thanks for watching 🎸
Great video, I find the alternate picking in the upper 3 notes easier then sweeping. I could never accurately figure that out so thanks for sleuthing it out from the original videos> Great job!
Cool thank for watching
When I played guitar, back in the 60's/70's, pretty much self-taught, made up my own picking patterns---I never used a pick b/c I was playing a folk guitar w/ nylon (and wound, of course) strings. I luckily have fingernails with almost the consistency of a pick, & using 4 fingers sure gave me a lot more options & flexibility---I tried a pick & I felt like it was playing the guitar, not me. Naturally, with an electric guitar & those nasty little steel strings digging into your fingertips---you gotta use the pick! fun to hear it from a real professional.
Yes, the Gretch really DOES sound great! But, I've been playing long enough to know that a lot is determined by who is playing it!
So, Blue, you think "Hilton Valentine" is a cool name?
What about "Blue Morris?"
Who, BTW, teaches blues guitar...in Vanciuver?!
Now, THAT'S a cool name!
Thanks again, for a GREAT lesson! 👍👌
Thank you! 😊
Really great class on this amazing song! thanks a bunch!
Thank you! Lots more lessons like this on the channel and our Patreon group www.patreon.com/guitarlessonsvancouver
Hello. I am not a guitar player, and never have been. I actually have no musical talent at all. I just saw a screen shot for this video in the right-hand panel, and since I liked the song, I decided to see what you had to say. All I can say is that you come across as an accomplished teacher. If I were about 50 years younger and wanted to learn guitar, I might actually have a chance. If other of your videos are like this, then you have a gift not only of playing, but of teaching. Keep doing what you are doing; I subscribed just to support you. even though I know almost nothing about music.
Thanks for the great feedback. I really appreciate that 😀
I rarely use a plectrum for rhythm guitar, but for this song Hilton's technique is what would come naturally to me too. This keeps the up/down flow of the hand consistent, making it far easier to sustain the timing of the arpeggio throughout the song. Playing all 3 as upstrokes entails either just running the plectrum up them and losing the distinction between them (as with the preceeding 3 notes played as a single downstroke), or doubling the timing of the hand stroke to get back in place for the next upstroke if you want to keep them seperate. The first loses the 'feel' of the arpeggio, the second (which I think most people are doing) makes it very difficult to keep the timing accurate for prolonged periods - not least because the wrist works that bit harder and inevitably tightens while doing it.
Having said all that, the 'best' solution is probably what feels most natural to each of us individually.
Lots of people here agree. If it worked for him, why not?
Thank you! :-)
For contrast:
I have never learned to play guitar properly. However, "House of the Rising Sun" and the 12-bar blues scheme (not as in jazz) were the two first chord sequences I learned, with maybe "Proud Mary" as number three. (Some 50 years ago.)
Yes, that D-chord has always intrigued me, and several of my own songs use this opening sequence (in whatever key).
As much as I like the Animals' rendition of "House of the Rising Sun", I have felt for a long time that the 6/8-measure might be a snare-instrument adaptation of something 4/4 on wind instruments. So that's how I have been playing it for some 20 years on the wind controller (with a Muted Trumpet sound): as some 8-bar funeral march like "St. James Infirmary" (that I love playing), or like Chopin's famous funeral march (that I can't play). In /my/ opinion, that approach matches the lyrics. (I occasionally improvise on guitar on these "marches". With maybe some blue 5th note (in Am: Eb) inserted.
(Yes, MY Mileage Varies!) :-)
Cool thanks for watching and commenting!
I don’t think of a song in terms of being in a major or minor key, but in terms of the tonic note only.
It’s in A, but has a minor tonality due to the flat third.
You can borrow from the parallel major or minor scales. In this song the IV and V are both from the A major scale.
The V7 is crucial for the cadence.
Cool lesson. I love unique takes like this.
Thank you!!!
Loved this video! I have always loved the song House of the Rising Sun, even the Bob Dylan version. In fact, it's my understanding that the Animals version was what inspired Bob Dylan to electrify his music in the first place. The Animals version made him realize that folk songs can be converted into rock songs after the Animals turned the song he put on his first album into a rock classic. Have you ever heard the Venture version, played by Gerry McGee, of House of the Rising Sun?
I have! That's interesting about inspiring Dylan to play electric. I didn't know that. Thanks!
Nice guitar lesson and catchy caption. I learned this song using the original animals picking technique. As it was the first song I learned on guitar I still find it easier.😁🙃 BTW, as a beginner I find that F bar chord shape very hard, so I do the easier F chord shape by skipping the high 'E' first fret, and pressing down on the 'A' string on the 3 fret.
Cool! Seems like this was a first song for a bunch of us 😀
Stop playing with both pickups engaged, use the bridge, hook up some spring or plate reverb, and keep it otherwise clean, then play with the sound and tonally you'll understand why it makes sense. The way those Gretsch humbuckers respond can be very expressive and if you try playing it alone, you'll notice that a harder down pick for emphasis on the upper strings can sound better when isolated. But then, I'm more of a sound man than a guitarist and a Gretsch guy for years. Stop worrying so much about technical perfection and try to make the sounds in an Ennio Morricone soundtrack and you'll start to understand.
I like your guitar's tone, friggin' beautiful
Thank you! Gretsch Jet through the UA Dream 65.
Useful Blue! Excellent the explanation of the picking technique…Thanks!!!!
Thanks for your support José!
I do the D like a C shape with my index finger over the second fret. That way the picking pattern is the same and no need to pick the E string twice in a row. And I like like the sound of it. It's nice that it doesn't sound like ”the original”. It makes it more personal, if you like.
Sure that works. Good idea
Sweeeeeet, have been playing this song for ages, and this will help me improve a lot :-)
Glad to hear it thanks! Lots more on our channel here @GuitarLessonsVancouver
I think I read somewhere that The Animals recorded that in an 8:00AM studio session and nailed it in 2 takes.
I can believe that. Eric Burdon one said he was born to sing that song.
It's A Harmonic Minor.
The great thing is because it is such a broad song regarding notes , you can play every note , an A Blues/Major/ with bent notes and Minor Scale slides everywhere !
In a way yeah, though A Harmonic Minor or does not have a D major chord, but your point taken there are so many ways to stretch the harmony of a song. Thanks for watching and commenting 😀
I've always played it as one eighth note, an eighth note triplet, followed by three eighth notes. For the Am and C chords, down strokes on the first eighth and the triplet, alternate on the last three eighths coming up. On the D and F, down on the first eighth, double pick the third string, up then down for the first two notes of the triplet and down on the second string for the third note of the triplet, then alternate up as before for the last three eighths in the bar. For the E, I pick string 6 thru 3, all down for the first eighth and the triplet, skip the second string and alternate back up from the first string. The last three notes played in any bar are the first three strings, alternating up on first, down on second up on the third string..
Cool, thanks. Yeah there are certainly a few good ways to do it :)
11:30 ... and the bored dog left the building. "He gives me the food at least"
;)
And I just realized I was taught this song wrong 40 years ago. Not the picking direction, we were fingerpicking it, but the instructor had simplified it by making it all quarter notes. Each measure was Root, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, 2nd then 3rd string. I knew something was off with the rhythm but honestly never looked into it.
The good side of that was to make an E7 we played the D on the 2nd string instead of the 4th because the pattern never hit the 4th string. Not only is it a much better sounding way to play E7 it was my introduction to learning to play chords in nonstandard ways.
Yea, I tried to play it the way Hilton played it. I think I'll stick to the way you teach it to your students. I've been playing it that way for years. Great video.
Thanks! I agree 👍