Jerry Reed is weird...

[telecaster1234]

First off I of course play country Anything from 50's to early 90's. I've always known Jerry Reed was good but never payed much attention until now.

The dude is crazy. I can play all three solos to "I don't even know your name." I can improvise also over all kinds of stuff. For some dang reason I've been learning "The Claw" and I've been using these same kinds of licks for years but yet it seems like a new universe.

I also heard Jiffy Jam and to be honest I've never took the true time to learn this style but I've always wanted too and now I'm about to break down and learn it.

So
1. Jerry is awesome
2. Does anybody know how to play the ending section to The Claw?
3. Jiffy Jam style is hard yet I can play some very difficult stuff. I guess you never stop learning. Wish me luck.

 

[Larry F]

Ten bucks says there are one or two fingering combinations of his that will unlock the door to a ton of other songs and solos. You might have a reflex in your technique that steers you away from a particular note in a certain context. When I find this in my own playing, I can identify it by how awkward a certain note is to play. We gravitate toward actions that are familiar.

 

[freshchops]

I was just talking about Jerry reed on the phone before I pulled up the forum... nice! Agreed, he was ridiculously talented, entertaining and creative. Personally, I wouldn't even try to play his stuff... way over my head and I prefer to leave it out there on planet Reed.

 

[overlock]

1. Awesome is a grossly overused word
2. Jerry Reed is absolutely, balls-out freakin' awesome

The man breathed music. I mean, his guitar playing was astonishing, Albert Lee and even his own mentor, the mighty Chet, citing him as an influence. But as well as that he was one of a rare breed: a great singer who rarely bothered trying to hit notes. Standing there doing his sprechgesang on She got the Goldmine, with the guitar slung behind his back, his timing, rhythm and sense of melody were a joy to behold. I'm not a fan of country music, but Jerry Reed was the mutt's nuts. I don't think he could have been unmusical if he tried.

I wish you luck.

 

[HappyHwy1owner]

Search "Jerry Reed teaches the claw" on youtube. Lots of helpful stuff directly from the man.

 

[wmsimpson]

So
1. Jerry is awesome
2. Does anybody know how to play the ending section to The Claw?
3. Jiffy Jam style is hard yet I can play some very difficult stuff. I guess you never stop learning. Wish me luck.

1. Agreed!
2. I do!
3. Good Luck!

 

[Dan R]

Jerry Reed is one of those guys you think is sort of gimmicky until you find out he's a master guitar player. I think his rollicking personality might have led people to believe he was not a serious talent. It's sometimes easy to overlook diamonds in this World.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

One thing I've noticed of his is the underlying right hand first rhythmic fingering patterns. Like a good Banjo picker, he could separate the right hand so well from whatever his left hand and brain was doing. That ability can free you up to really focus on groove/time/syncopation to put some "stank" into the playing. For so many of us that deep right hand thing is just so foreign at first. You watch that "guitar man" vid on youtube and see he's picking/muting (with a deep groove) that boogie line while comping the chords...brilliant stuff. Oh, and singing well.

I've learned a few of those tunes but I don't feel like I know WHERE he's coming from yet and might have to actually study some banjo to get there.

 

[HappyHwy1owner]

2. Does anybody know how to play the ending section to The Claw?

I actually learned the ending first, then went on to learn the rest. I originally found tablature on the net that got me started on it, and by the time I could play it up to speed I recognized that some of the tab was wrong and changed it around to what sounded better.

Here's something a quick search foundlink removed)

 

[freshchops]

Can we just take a moment to admire how awesome of an actor he was, too. I grew up watching him in The Bandit films. Loved him as a kid. I've always heard that he was exactly as his character was portrayed... what you saw, is what you get. He was a natural. Even without his music abilities, he could have stood alone as an accomplished actor.

 

[johnny k]

got to love jerry !

 

[PaulieBoy]

EXCUSE ME!!!! The man had the title bestowed upon him by the best, so please use it!

Jerry Reed, C.G.P.

 

[pondcaster]

Mr Reed ruled!

Guitar man, indeed.

 

[McGlamRock]

If you don't have them yet you should get his two records with Chet Atkins:
"Me and Jerry" and "Me and Chet"



In that vid he's just picking with the thumb pick and his middle and ring fingers! Good lord what a player!

 

[ndcaster]

some guys make you want to play guitar, some make you want to give up

jerry reed, like django reinhardt, makes you want to do both

 

[BopT]

It would have been fun to go fishin with Jerry, bring some guitars with and hang.

 

[jackleg]

Son!!!!!

 

[jack_905]

there are one or two fingering combinations of his that will unlock the door to a ton of other songs and solos. You might have a reflex in your technique that steers you away from a particular note in a certain context.

Can not over emphasize how critical the finger placement is.. Because it has been for me also on many other songs. That said I still have not worked up the desire to even try the "Claw" 1) because the tabs I've seen don not look/sound right when played slowly .. 2) yes its very hard to play.

Another often over looked factoid is this: many times Mr. Reed is seen playing a classical guitar with the much flatter fret board, er well actually strictly speaking it is flat.... (10 Radius found on Nash Style Teles are for me more comfortable to play. )

Hence its no big leap to see that some players like Mr. Reed may use a classic style fret board - 8 out of ten times because he found over the years it suited his style of learning , his muscle memory and hand placement of the right hand....

it goes with saying that in the last 70 years there have been real masters of the guitar and in that pantheon one will see Andres Segovia, Chet, Django Reinhardt and Mr. Reed.... and now that I think about it even more Chet was the only one above who used a fret board with a radius almost all the time....

 

[codamedia]

Jerry did not consider himself a guitar player, he always called himself a "guitar thinker". He comes up with a melody, he comes up with a bass line, he puts those two together and fills the voids with the notes that are falling naturally under his fingertips at that time. HE NEVER THINKS IN CHORD SHAPES so forget anything you have ever learned about the CAGED system if you are working on a Jerry Reed song... it won't fit.

The great guitar player Paul Yandell (Chet Atkins right hand man) once described Jerry perfectly.
"Learning to play a Jerry Reed song is like trying to eat soup with a fork"

1. Jerry is awesome

Yes he is!

 

[rebelwoclue]

One of the best compliments I've ever received was a couple of weeks ago when some good ole boy came up to me and said 'Man, you sound just like Jerry Reed!"
"Thanks, I said -but not even close"