“Don’t You Let That Deal Go Down” . . . : Learn Jerry Garcia’s Solo From Deal (7/4/89 Buffalo)

I had lunch the other day with my old friend Errol. Errol is an excellent guitarist and we have been in bands together on and off for about forty years. Errol is currently in an excellent Jam band based in Rockaway, NY called Solshyne (check out their facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/solshyneband/app/2405167945/). He remarked that the band was adding some new Dead tunes to their repertoire and in doing so he once again appreciates just how amazing Garcia was. The talk then went on to YouTube instructional videos on Garcia’s playing and I mentioned the YouTube channel of Amarguitar as an excellent resource of Dead guitar information. I have previously written about Amarguitar videos which analyze several different Phish jams (see https://roymusicusa.com/2019/06/18/bouncing-round-the-room-videos-that-put-phish-jams-under-the-microscope/) but he has also created a whole series of videos dissecting Garcia’s guitar style. If you really want to dive deep than I suggest the video series he created that transcribe and analyze Jerry Garcia’s first guitar solo on Deal from the Grateful Dead’s performance on July 4th, 1989 in Buffalo, NY, Amaruitar literally goes over the entire solo bar by bar with the solo transcribed in guitar tablature (a form of musical notation that shows the guitar strings and frets to be played) so there are a load of Garcia lines to be learned. Good stuff.

Grateful Dead Guitar Lesson – Deal Jerry Garcia Solos with Tab (7/4/89 Buffalo)

For context, here is the whole performance of Deal from the show.

Grateful Dead Deal 7-4-89 Rich Stadium Orchard Park NY