In the world of fingerstyle guitar, there are a few notable names that are on everyone’s mind. One of those names is invariably Tommy Emmanuel’s.
In his TrueFire course, It’s Never Too Late Songbook, Tommy Emmanuel himself shows you how he plays 6 of the masterful songs from his solo studio album, “It’s Never Too Late.”
Here are 3 Tommy Emmanuel song lessons from the course. For the full course, check out the It’s Never Too Late Songbook on TrueFire!
It’s Never Too Late: Overview
Download the tab & notation for this Tommy Emmanuel song lesson
OK, here’s “It’s Never Too Late”. I wrote this song in December of 2014 on tour in Poland. My third daughter, Rachel, was coming very soon – born January 6th, 2015. I wrote this song for her arrival, and I had my friend Adam on the road with me. I played it for him and said, “Tell me the first thing you think of when you hear this.” After I played it for him he said, “It’s really interesting. It’s a minor song with optimism.” Which is a nice thing.
In my household, we call it “Rachel’s Song”, but its title comes from me turning 60 and about to have a baby. My friends also gave us a sign to hang in our house that says “It’s Never Too Late to Live Happily Ever After”, and that’s what this song is about. Let’s check it out.
It’s Never Too Late: Performance
Download the tab & notation for this Tommy Emmanuel song lesson
Now we’ll take a look at the title track from the album, “It’s Never Too Late”. Watch me play through the song, and in the next segment we’ll break down the performance.
It’s Never Too Late: Breakdown
Download the tab & notation for this Tommy Emmanuel song lesson
Let’s break down “It’s Never Too Late”. The feeling of the song is gentle, yet it’s really in the pocket when you’re playing it. I consider this song a product of all the songwriters who inspire me. As Paul McCartney says, “You can’t put out unless you take in.” And he’s absolutely right, he being one of several people who’ve influenced me (all of the Beatles in fact). If it weren’t for composers like Neil Diamond, James Taylor, Carole King, Alison Krauss & Union Station, etc. to draw on, I couldn’t have written a song like this. I also attribute some of what I’ve written here to the Irish music that I’ve heard over the years, as you’ll hear in the tune.
Enjoying these free Tommy Emmanuel song lessons? Check out Tommy’s full course, It’s Never Too Late Songbook.