Is the Lachy Doley online course worth $500?

[nursers]

Dave,really good interview. I listened to it last night in its entirety. The mark of a good interviewer is the ability to let the interviewee answer questions at length if they so desire. Too many interviewers don"t really seem as interested in hearing answers as they are in hearing the sound of their own voices. Your ability to step back and let the subject speak is admirable.

 

Lachy comes across as a good guy. Several folks here who have met him have testified to this. I haven"t had the pleasure of hearing him live but in his recordings and performance videos I see and hear a performer whose work really speaks to me. His primarily blues/rock informed vocabulary works fIne for me. If I want to hear great jazz I"ll listen to Bill Evans,McCoy Tyner,Oscar Peterson,et al. If I want some ballsy,aggressive rockin" stuff with keys up front,Lachy delivers. He gets great organ and clav sounds and has a very cool singing voice too.

 

While some seem to see his performances as ego driven, I see genuine enthusiasm,energy,and a love for his vocation. He even admits that a little of his style comes from not being able to cop some things exactly and coming up with his own alternatives. Keyboard players often bemoan the keys player being undermixed and relegated to the back of the stage yet when somebody puts the keys front and center some folks accuse him of being a hammy egotist. Any public performance worth its salt demands a certain amount of ego and confidence and I feel that Lachy has it right. Again,I just see a guy who loves his work.

 

That said,I 'd be unlikely to spend the dough on his instructional course since I"ve been playing in a similar bag for almost 50 years and learned a large amount by figuring stuff out from recordings in the dark ages before internet. Oh,and I love the fact that he gives Jon Lord big props. I wonder if he"s familiar with Lee Michaels.

 

Thanks again for a great interview Dave.

 

No - thank YOU for taking the time for the lovely feedback, it really means a lot whether positive or negative. I'm definitely a fan of stepping back for two reasons - the first you've alluded to and the second is the less I say the less I will make a fool of myself Some great points you've made there on Lachy's approach as well

[Baldwin Funster]

Speaking of online lessons, where can I get lessons on Keith Emerson's dagger technique? Nobody seems to have a course teaching this. Maybe Berklee? Dick Grove? Not even old mrs Beaumont who advertises on craigslist.

[video:youtube]

[nursers]

My guess is nowhere

[Chris Towns]

Can I just expand on a Post Outkaster made previously.

If you are not at a desired level of playing ability and dexterity, then you are not going to benefit from courses like this. As much as I love organ playing (30 years+) and currently own a Legend Live,

I just don't have the talent and ability these great organists have. I guess there are other Forum members like me.

You wouldn't expect to take a kid, give him private soccer coaching lessons with Lionel Messi and then expect the kid to be able to play as well.

[dsteinschneider]

Lachy is offering the course for $350 temporarily. I'm guessing OP didn't sign up. This thread was helpful. I should probably finish working my way through Brian Charette's book but I know from my past progress in guitar and bass that learning Hammond licks and tricks would be helpful now.

[kwyn]

Lachy is offering the course for $350 temporarily. I'm guessing OP didn't sign up. This thread was helpful. I should probably finish working my way through Brian Charette's book but I know from my past progress in guitar and bass that learning Hammond licks and tricks would be helpful now.

 

I didn"t buy the course. Can"t afford it. I"m not sure that I would be able to get a whole lot out of it, because it"s my rhythm that I struggle with more than what notes someone is playing. I struggle with that creative percussive style. I"d really like to get better at that but not sure where to start

[ElmerJFudd]

Hmmm.

Probably not, only because - lessons are most value to you when they assess where you are at and take you incrementally to where you want to be. How much of the course would be useful and how much would you get little from?

 

Couldn"t you just work on transcribing what he does? Paired with watching YouTube"s of his performances? Or get your hands on transcriptions from him or fans who"ve done the work already.

[Baldwin Funster]

You'd learn more spending the money on tickets to see him or some other maybe better or at least more local player. Or spend the money buying a great local player lunch and earn the priviledge of watching him practice or soundcheck. I learn waaaaay more from watching than from some guy who thinks because hes got some tricky riffs that you can learn em according to his method.

[miden]

Hmmm.

Probably not, only because - lessons are most value to you when they assess where you are at and take you incrementally to where you want to be. How much of the course would be useful and how much would you get little from?

 

Couldn"t you just work on transcribing what he does? Paired with watching YouTube"s of his performances? Or get your hands on transcriptions from him or fans who"ve done the work already.

 

I'd add to this, that in reality, learning actual physical technique like that requires "face-to-face" instruction in my view. You can learn notes and tunes and settings by video, but you really NEED the teacher next to you to guide your hands and instill the "feel" and technique of how you do it.

[niacin]

I signed up in part as a response to spare time I had during Covid lockdown and as a way of supporting an incredibly talented musician caught in really tough times. I already knew a lot of techniques specific to Hammond playing but I picked up a few tricks/ideas. I wasn't interested in learning his solos.

 

I have seen Lachy play live and watched a few of his live videos.

 

I had previously played with a band at a blues festival where I had a back stage pass and watched Lachy's set from about 5 metres behind him looking straight over his shoulder. That experience had already taught me a few things from his bag of Hammond techniques and tricks.

 

I think there are 2 reasons to sign up for this course: 1. You want to learn Lachy's licks and you don't have the ear to transcribe them yourself from a recording. 2. You're a pianist who wants to learn Hammond technique: smears, squabbling, use a lower drawbar to simulate wah, etc. You can listen to recordings all you like, but that isn't going to get you there. The course lays those things out in front of your eyes. I disagree that a non-virtual lesson with a real person physically present would provide any great advantage. The free Youtube videos with titles like 'Top 3 Hammond techniques' are rubbish by comparison.

 

As usual ymmv.

[dsteinschneider]

I didn't jump on the $350 offer but might next time he offers it. I see recorded courses (usually 1-2 times the cost of a private lesson) as worth it because I usually pick up a few things. Lachy's course is substantially more. I haven't found a teacher yet here in southwestern CT.

[jazzpiano88]

Not a fan. It'd be like taking guitar lessons from Eddie Van Halen.

Only useful if you want to play like Eddie Van Halen .

 

Much better spending money on online lessons /classes from people like Tony Monaco or Larry Goldings who are world class in terms of overall mastery of the instrument.

[obxa]

+100 for Tony Monaco.

 

Something worth noting that I learned from drummer friends: it's always possible to take a master class from many of the big guns. You just have to ask.

 

I was amazed first hearing a bud of mine would pay for an hour with Dave Weckl, Vinny C, and others. These guys need to fill space on their calendar like everyone else. As someone above mentioned spending an hour with Tony Monaco, you'll work on most of that stuff for a long while.

 

Great players are not always great teachers, but I've done this over the years and there's always been at least some takeaway that always made it worth the cost. Many have also gotten me some great gig connections too. With Zoom/Teams/Skype, most of these guys are more accessible than ever.

[drohm]

Is the Lachy Doley online course worth $500?

 

No

 

How much can you really learn from someone who's giant ego is always out in front of his playing. Watch some Mike Finnegan videos on youtube for free and see how Hammond Blues should be played.

 

 

Spot on. But I thought it might just be a touch of hyperactivity. Regardless, I just can't enjoy the playing with so many exaggerated distractions. I guess I prefer a more stoic player However, I suppose do dig the style of John Medeski. I would pay $500 for his course...if it existed.