In A Gadda Da Vida

Mike Pachelli takes a look at the 1968 rock song, “In A Gadda Da Vida,” recorded by Iron Butterfly. In 2009, VH1 rated “In A Gadda Da Vida” as the 24th greatest hard rock song of all time. This song was groundbreaking on many levels. It was the beginning of psychedelic music turning into heavy metal, and it filled up the entire 2nd side of an album at 17 minutes long!

The album version was actually a sound check recorded by engineer, Don Cassale, while waiting for producer, Jim Hilton, to arrive. When Hilton turned up, he said there was no need for another take. Hilton edited the 17 minute version down to 2:53 to release as a single. That’s the version Mike teaches in this lesson, but he'll talk a bit about the soloing approach used by 17-year-old guitarist, Erik Brann.

Mike plays a Gibson USA Les Paul Classic in this lesson.

Lesson Details

Skill Level: Intermediate

Genres: Rock

Tab: View

Mike Pachelli started playing guitar as a youngster in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. His earliest influence was Wes Montgomery who Mike says, "first opened my ears to the possibilities on guitar." Pachelli studied classical guitar at YSU and then moved to New York City to study bebop with guitar luminaries Joe Pass and Pat Martino. Mike's guitar style is an amalgamation of blues, jazz, rock, and neo-classical. He has a wealth of musical experience gained thru years of night clubs, concert halls, and recording studios. He's performed all over the U.S. and Europe with some of the most eclectic jazz, blues, pop and rock musicians including Brother Jack McDuff, Albert King, Les & Larry Elgart, Michael Sembello, Crystal Gayle, Barbara Mandrell, Jeanne Mas, Phil Keaggy, Frank Stallone (to name a few) and has done classical symphony concerts touring with Ferrante and Teicher.

This Skills House Foundation Lesson was brought to you by the makers of Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar with Steve Krenz. Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar, the world's most in-depth home study course for guitar. Developed in partnership with Legacy Learning Systems, this 20-DVD course takes beginning players from the ultra-basics of guitar all the way through advanced skills training. It is truly years' worth of training in a single box, all presented in a simple step-by-step progression that anyone can follow on their path toward mastering the guitar. The Learn & Master Guitar course received the 2011 Acoustic Guitar Magazine Player’s Choice GOLD Award for outstanding guitar instructional materials. Steve is also the author of the Learn & Master Blues Guitar DVD course with Legacy Learning Systems. For more information, go here!

"IN A GADDA DA VIDDA"

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