Video Review: Jimmy Wyble’s Etude #5 by Sid Jacobs

I’ve been fascinated with contrapuntal playing for years. I started out playing classical guitar working on Bach pieces (butchering them really!). Later on, when I discovered contrapuntal style jazz guitar playing – I was hooked!

Jimmy Wyble’s music was fascinating to me. I found out about Jimmy via John Stowell. It was actually through John that I managed to take a one-off lesson with Jimmy in Los Angeles years ago. It was the only time I met Jimmy but it was both inspiring and life changing. I remember Jimmy telling me to look up Sid Jacobs but alas I didn’t get a chance.

Now, via Sid’s videos dissecting Jimmy’s music – we get to learn more about this amazing style of playing. The art of two line improvisation is difficult but, we have a guide! We’re lucky enough to have this new series of videos from Sid Jacobs.

Etude #5 is interesting because of how musical the piece is. It’s classical, country and jazz all mixed up. I love watching Sid explain the piece. The video seems like a short one at just over 10 minutes but the sheer density of information in it warrants repeated viewing. I recommend probably slowing some parts to get those beautiful details down.

The Soundslice version of the Etude will also be helpful to those who want to work on the piece bar by bar (which is probably all of us mortals!)

Pros: Great material, lots of ideas to digest.
Cons: Sid explains some sections of the piece but not every single bar.
TLDR: If you like Sid’s playing or have any the previous videos in this series, definitely get this video. Recommended for intermediate and advanced guitarists.