Widely regarded as one of the best acoustic guitarists in the world, Tommy Emmanuel’s high-level playing skills are there for all to see. But, like many virtuosos, he can’t read music.
Discussing this gap in his knowledge while appearing on The Project in his home country of Australia, Emmanuel acknowledged the irony of the fact that he can be teaching in a room full of students yet not know what they’re talking about.
“I can’t read notes,” he says. “I can read a chord chart and follow the chords, but I can’t read notes. It’s really weird, being a teacher in a place like Berklee College of Music: 400 students asking questions, and I’m the only person there - and I’m the instructor - I’m the only one there who can’t read. It’s bizarre.”
Asked how this impacts his ability to compose music, Emmanuel says: “I don’t write it down. I can write you a song and play it, but I can’t write it on paper. I have to hire people to do that.”
Emmanuel goes on to explain that, when he has an idea, he simply records it as a Voice Note on his iPhone, leaving others to do the transcribing. In fact, during lockdown, this method enabled him to create the soundtrack for an entire movie.
“I wrote the whole film - all the themes - on my iPhone and texted it to the guy in LA and he put orchestra and stuff on it. And then I redid the guitar in a proper studio when we were able to move around.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Emmanuel treats us to snippets of his versions of The Beatles’ Lady Madonna and Wonderwall, by Oasis.
Emmanuel is currently on tour in Australia. The final date is in Adelaide on 31 May, which also happens to be his 70th birthday.
