[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Classical Gas (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 2/19/2005 8:01:45 PM EDT
| by Mason Williams. Can anyone here play it? Any tips on learning it? |
gives ya gas. I fed some to my dog and she farted so bad she yelped and ran under the table. |
poor puppy! Well I learn something new everyday off of ARFCOM. If I ever want gas, I'll know how to achieve it. Patty |
It's difficult to imagine there not being more than one guitar but the way the song is written and his legend sure seems to point as if he's solo! |
I'm shocked, not one ARFCOMer with any practical advice? Looks like I'll just have to keep practicing!
 You're slow but you still have it! 
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I saw an afternoon talk show interview with Mason Williams. He said he wrote "Classical Gas" to play at parties and the like. I'm doubting he was using trickery. |
| I played classical guitar for many years until I suffered a couple of hand overuse injuries. Classical Gas is a silly little thing that's very easy to play. The secret is to study the instrument and study some real music first. After which you probably will no longer want to learn Classical Gas. Find a good teacher with some real credentials, and enjoy. |
Josie, I believe it was Mark Twain who said, "it is better to remain silent and appear a fool than open one's mouth and remove all doubt." Think about it. 
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ah come on. You can't be serious? |
Clapton did a real good version. |
I'm completely serious. Which part of my post do you find incredible? As for my background, I studied guitar with Oscar Ghiglia, Eliot Fisk, and others. I taught guitar at the University of Tampa and the University of Colorado in the late 1970s. I quit performing when my hands starting going out on me. I assure you, Classical Gas is a trifle that anyone with some basic technique can play. |
Just an FYI, as a classical guitarist, Clapton is a total hack (Just like Mason Williams). He should have stuck to the electric and rock music. If you want to experience the real McCoy, go over to Amazon and pick up a few CDs by Christopher Parkening, David Russell, Eliot Fisk, Manuel Barrueco, John Williams, or Julian Bream. |
I know. It's probably stupid to try to play it but it is such a cool song. It's the one fingering that has me stumped. pattymcn |
ok ok we get it you are awesome. |
We all bow to your guitar greatness, really. Having never heard you, and only your chest-beating that before you "injured" yourself you were quite the Segovia, we must therefore trust that you indeed are the master of the 22 frets. I can play Classical Gas, but it is far from a pedestrian tune. It's easy to play, like "Purple Haze" is easy to play, but making it come alive is where all great guitar pieces are difficult. If your only measuring stick is technical complexity, then you are the kind of guitarist that bores most people to tears.....like Parkening I suppose. Yes, he plays well, but he plays like a robot. Cold, mechanical, lifeless. Good for restaurant background music, and little else. You scoff at Clapton, but he's entertained millions for 30 years. What have you done? |
| My old guitar teacher played it well enough that his rendition was used by one of the TV stations in Baltimore as their evening news theme song. He knew Mason Williams personally and had a hand written transcription. I don't think the song is technically all that difficult for a classically trained guitarist though. I still have a cassette of him playing it at my wedding. |
IIRC classical guitars usually have 19 frets ... and this tune is stupid easy for any moderately trained classical guitar player you missed the part of his post that said "as a classical guitarist" he's right ... Clapton ain't a classical guitarist. |
I am not worthy of basking in your shadow. Eliot Fisk is mighty impressive. I am merely a hack at classical guitar (I can play a few easy Bach pieces). Classical Gas is pretty easy. |Geoff |
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Calssical Gas sounds pretty good.... Coolest thing I ever heard was Roy Clark doing Malaguena |
I always thought that sound had to be played on a 12 string guitar - yes/no? |
Actually GunWares is right -- it's not that tough. Learned to play it in college when I took a couple 100 level classical guitar classes. I had a great transcription at one time, but I no longer have the sheet music and the brain cells that memorized it have long since died or been recycled. You may want to try this tab as a starting point. And if you want to hear something impressive, get a copy of Segovia playing the Chaconne. Damn that old man was good. As for Clapton, saw him in 1990 before he started playing way too much acoustic. Went home, placed my Strat in its case, and stowed it in the back of a closet for two years... |
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Well I'm not the worlds best after all, admittedly but I am having trouble getting through it. Where I have to go from the top fret down to the bottom and back so quickly is what I have trouble with. If I had a way to hold the keys down while I picked/plucked I would have less trouble. I'm self taught so that could be most of my trouble there. It is a nice tune and as I am sure there are more difficult tunes, this one isn't tip toeing through the daiseies either! pattymcn |
Hey if singer can lip sync, maybe you can just finger sync  
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 well the music I bought to play it came with a CD and after the kids get tired of just listening to it cord by cord I will put on the music and play along and it's amazing how well I do on the tricky parts. My kids think I'm awesome. +1 for Kids!
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What kind of sick bastard feeds boiled cabbage to a dog!
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I love Classic Gas....I wish I could help you with it... |