Grateful Dead Music Forum

Ed's at it again, this time he's given us the Instructional Video for China Cat Sunflower! This Set includes four videos for Jerry's Intro, Bob's Intro, the Bridge and Verse Ending.

As usual, the video can be found on the "Video Instruction" link at the top of the main page, or right here:

http://bickslicks.rukind.org/ChinaCat/index.html

Thanks Ed!

truly a great song . . . and hopefully I can master it now and make my relentless riffing in I Know You Rider a little more tolerable and interesting to my neighbors

man this video this really is impresive.

Great!

Except, that looks like a Giants jersey. And I'm guessing the '2' is part of '92' Strahan? Disgusting. :)

jck_strw wrote:Great!

Except, that looks like a Giants jersey. And I'm guessing the '2' is part of '92' Strahan? Disgusting.

YEAH BABY!!!!!!!!!!

He's great (like this video [to stay on topic]), no question there.

But I'll always consider his sack "record" with an asterik. Totally bogus. ;)

What? The Farve thing?

Yeah the Favre lay-down.

ed's videos are whack! that's the stuff you see in the parking lot. his take on weir's riff in china cat is completely lost. weir plays that line strictly out of arpeggios, NOT single lines.

hate to be a moodkill, but it's a shame with so much footage out there of the boys that all someone has to do is watch what there doing, not guess.

I think Ed made it perfectly clear that there is more than one way to play the riff, that this was his interpritation, that alternate version are often discussed, and Bobby has played it differently throughout the years.

If you know of another way to play it, feel free to post it on the boards. People here do watch the DVD and do provide tabs based on them, I am sure they would appreciate your input. If you have a camera, record your interpritation, send me a PM, and we'll get it posted on the site.

and I miss the parking lot.

jonnarob
its a shame you have chosen your post to be an insult and offer nothing as to a better way.
Not to get into a flame war with you, but take phbb's challenge and offer something up.
Everyone is here to learn off of everyone else.
Ed has taken the time to add how HE plays that riff. What difference does it make if he does the lines liniearly or off of a chord shape? The notes are still the same.
I hapoen to approach it more based off of the 2nd position G bar chord, but I certainly am not going to bash Ed for putting his way up here or try to sound all superior by saying "its based on arpeggios".
Do your self a favor and read through the think tank threads and you find that most here have a firm grasp of music theory and can smell bullshit a mile away.
All this to say I hope to have some constructive conversations with you about arpegios, scales and modes and whatnot...Not "whack" insults.
Again, Ed,
THANKS!!!!

Jonarob, as I'm sure you know, one of the really cool ( and often frustrating ) things about our beloved guit-boxes is that there is ALWAYS more than one way to play anything. Which was made very clear at the beginning of the video. I'm sure that Bobby himself does not play that riff the same way every time; he'd probably go crazy. Can you imagine playing something exactly the same way for 35 years or so?

Not to be pissy, but Ed and all the others making these videos and putting their time into running this site are doing everybody a great favor in a very selfless way. And, the notes Ed is playing are correct. And what is an arpeggio but chord tones played as a series of single notes, right? So, go ahead and post your video, or at east have some consrtuctive, positive criticisms, but don't insult someone, especially when they aren't wrong.

I hate to back up the guy everyones hating on in this thread (ok, not hating..but wishing he'd offered more than a bitch). But I have to totally disagree with the points you guys are making...there are not too many ways to play bobs part in chinacat ...he certainly doesn't (nor I'm sure ever has) play it the way ed has portrayed in the "instructional" video. I think it's obvious by how easily ed plays his version in the video that he has been playing it incorrectly like that for a very long time and may be unwilling to rethink his beloved version simply for that reason....he's attached to it. You can tell ed (and ed I love this site and you all do a frigging kick ass job..I'm not trying to get down on you) has missed hearing some notes and completely leaves them out. He has the beginning of the lick sort of down...but the end is a travesty and completely incorrect (even for "different ways to play it"). I will make a video of how I hear it played..which will be much closer to Bobby's way. For now u can see a crappy video version at my site in the video section. http://frazer.eddyizm.com

Here's my video of a closer version of bobby's part in the intro to Chinacat.

http://frazer.eddyizm.com/chinacatsunflower.avi

I know it may differ, and some in the forums say they know how bobby played it "for a fact" (not sure how they know such things)...but whatever, it's closer than eds version and will be of more use to beginners who want to learn this great song.

jonarobb,

I don't think anyone would mind if you pointed out what you feel the correct way to play a song is, or even to point out how someone may be playing it incorrectly, as in, "weir plays that line strictly out of arpeggios, NOT single lines."

What I had a problem with were the three personal attacks you began your post with.

1. ed's videos are whack!

2. that's the stuff you see in the parking lot.

3. his take on weir's riff in china cat is completely lost.