how to play 'Ventura Highway' on guitar by America | acoustic guitar lesson tutorial | LESSON

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An acoustic guitar lesson on how to play "Ventura Highway" by America from their 1972 album Homecoming.

Thanks for watching. Cheers

[mikereynolds]

you’re so correct there were some great musicians putting out fabulous music in the 70s think it was the best music era ever.

[TheDylan]

Im just mystified by people who can sing beautifully but I'm equally blown away by people who have such command over playing a guitar like you have. Just great. And what a great song to showcase. Im 72, was 19 when this song was released and its still in my top 5.

[magnusfox]

This song is so optimistic it makes you wanna cry tears of Joy.

Never understood that as a kid but I do now.

[sunroy]

I graduated from high school in 1973. I remember when my friends and I first heard America, we thought it was Neil Young (huge fan of Neil Young) but then figured out this was not Young, but a brand new group. This was such a great time to grow up! You kinda had to be there to understand!!!

[dragonjo]

"The trick is in the strumming...it's easy to do badly" Ain't that the truth!!! I laughed for a good minute on that one.

Bro...as everyone has said many times before, your tutorials are the best on YouTube. You're thorough, succinct, and funny as hell (although I'm not sure you intend to be). I also love the histories of the recording/writing of the songs. I've watched a lot of "YouTube" guitarists. The guys that are, shall we say, "accomplished" tend to be quite arrogant and have sort of a condescending tone as they attempt to "teach" a song. Your easy going attitude (not to mention the fact you play the songs CORRECTLY) makes learning from you a true joy. Thank you!!!!

Oh...and BRAVO on this one. Been playing it for years and missed the fact it was a G6 and not a G (I just always played the 'E' string muted).  Made the same mistake (for a number of years) on The Beatles' "I'll Be Back". Always played F and G instead of Fmaj7 and G6

[wubzofspooony]

I went to a friend’s funeral for his dad, and he played this song alone with the harmony. It wasn’t perfect, but pretty close. Takes some skill to do that. Thank you for another beautiful tutorial!!

[atulcanhandle]

I have been learning guitar for more than a year now and every song that I have learned so far is from you, Andy.
I got terminated from my work the other day so it’s a rough time for me. I have many responsibilities on my shoulders but everything just fades away when I play my guitar with your video on my phone. Thank you, Andy. You are a wonderful human being. I promise I will donate once I get another job.

[jimdefazio]

FIRST song I ever heard thru headphones, in 1972, blew me away with those twin acoustic leads, one in each ear! As others have noted, awesome tutorial, breaking this down. One thing though, as a (mostly) bass player, you're right, Osborne's lines really drive it. That said, if you're playing this solo, IMO you should play the low open E on that Em7, and then a thumb over F# on that next chord, making it an F#m of course. (Or a barre F#m.) That's what Joe plays in the bass so it defines those chords as Em7 and F#m. But overall, again an awesome breakdown of this iconic acoustic guitar tune.

[robertjohnson]

Andy is by far the best "teacher" as well as one of the best musicians/teachers on the web. He is meticulous to make sure he gets the parts of each song he teaches correct. He breaks each part down and the best thing is, he plays the song first before he begins the instruction phase so students can see how the song should be played. If you need/want to learn a song correctly he is your man. If it's not in his repertoire, ask him about it. You can tell he loves his craft. He can instruct the beginner to the professional. His equipment is top notch and, sounds great. He always has includes some anecdotal information about each artist to make the songs he teaches interesting.

[tefenstrat]

Your so right about having great musicians helping during the recording of these wonderful songs. Joe Osborne was a member of the Wrecking crew and played on many a hit record back in those days. I remember members of the Wrecking crew talking about how they helped make these records what they became- great music / great recordings.

My son FINALLY got himself an acoustic guitar. Now we can finally learn this one.

[teejerman]

I'm not sure you realize how much your tutorials are appreciated here on YouTube. Most of us are here searching for insight on how to play our favorite songs and, while there are many 'tutorials' to choose from, so many are poor renditions and not worth the time it takes to view them. Your lessons are not only insightful, but reflect the strumming, tonal, and detailed attention that results in a virtual duplicate of the musical creativity that the original artist(s) put into their work. Very few others put such focus into tutoring the accurate recreation of popular songs, and it's incredibly motivating to those of us that are grateful for your efforts. Thank you and please don't stop; you have a very large following of loyal (amateur thru advanced) guitar players that strive to be better. You teach us things that sharpen our skills and enable us to apply those skills to our overall playing abilities. Just thought that you should know...!

[bradprather]

gentlemen, this man does it right. it costs a lot for good production, equipment, and pay up. have a great day guitar slingers.

[OverlandOne]

"There is a reason these songs last..." Yes sir. You are so right. These were real musicians writing and playing real songs using real music. I was lucky enough to be in college 4 years after this was released and it was still being played daily on local radio stations. Thanks for the lesson.

[pdive]

Dude, thanks a million for the lesson showing ALL the guitar parts including the lead harmonizations...I've loved this song since I was a kid in the 70's...Thanks again!

[joetahoe]

Wow! Finally a great lesson on one of the greatest songs ever. Your extreme detail is greatly appreciated! I wish this video was available 40 years ago when all I had was a brand new guitar and an America song book. I got so frustrated trying to play this song I had to quit. But here we are, and because of people like you I can play it just like Dewey himself. You can't imagine the joy. Thank you so much!

[nicholasgonzalez]

I have never heard someone more passionate and genuinely excited to learn and teach a song! I love it so much. Thank you 😊

[petuniaazulflor]

This song has one of the BEST guitar riffs. It's so FUNKY man! This song brings back such beautiful memories 😊

[anitasmith]

Your dissection of the song really brings forth the mechanics of its emotion. You're making my heart ache with this lesson. That is why, after all of these years, this song is still so loved. It is immortal beloved.

[borinightmare]

My music teacher has an America 1975 poster in her studio. She was telling us that trick the same way you did it. We were wrong at the time. I learned only the rhythm part of the song and I asked my band director if we could perform it at a talent show. I had Ozem do the harmonic lead and I did the rhythm part on my electric guitar. It absolutely worked.