Summer 2009
- July 4-10, 2010: Common
Ground on the Hill, Westminster , Maryland
I'll be teaching:
Guitar Techniques of Robert Johnson: This will be a week-long exploration of this Delta Blues legend's guitar parts, songs, and music. Some familiarity with playing slide guitar will allow us to move into that open tuning end of the swimming pool, but Johnsonís standard tuning songs will also be featured along with tunes in Dropped-D. Bring a recording device, a way to make notes. And a slide to fit snuggly on your little finger.
Basic Slide Techniques: There are four or five basic right and left hand techniques that, once mastered, will open the kingdom of slide guitar to any player, in any tuning. We will quickly introduce these techniques and begin using them to explore slide in open and standard tunings. Even if you currently play some slide guitar, this review of basics and exploration will be useful. This course is recommended for anyone considering Scottís other class, ìGuitar Techniques of Robert Johnson.î Bring a slide that fits snuggly on your little finger. For notes on choosing a slide see: http://cattailmusic.com/ForGuitarPlayers/choosing-a-slide.htm
- July 25 - 31, 2010: Swannanoa
Gathering, North Carolina
I'll be teaching:
Right Hand Blues Fingerpicking Techniques - While the fretting hand often monopolizes our attention, without a strong and sure grounding in right/picking hand techniques all those fancy runs and chord changes fall short. In this class, we’ll be examining and working through basic fingerpicking techniques from John Hurt to Robert Johnson that enliven and anchor acoustic blues grooves. Think of this as calisthenics for your right hand and wear your sweats. Your thumb, and your listeners will thank you.
Beginner / Intermediate Slide Guitar - This is an introduction to basic slide techniques in standard and open tunings. The idea is not to turn you into a solo blues slide player, but to allow you to open the door to being the slide guitar player in settings where you are not necessarily ‘leading the parade.’ We will focus on perfecting basic slide techniques, hand postures, muting with both right and left hands, while developing an understanding of how to begin using the slide as an accompanist in different keys in standard and in open tunings.
Intermediate Clawhammer Banjo A follow-up on last year’s clawhammer class (which focused heavily on the basic picking techniques), this class will focus more on tunes. The old-time world is full of better clawhammer banjo players than me, and if I have anything special to offer, that is directly due to the time I was blessed to have spent with the Hammons Family of Marlinton, WV. In this class, we’ll have a look at some common tunes in the three most common tunings for the banjo. And we’ll spend time on some of Lee and Sherman Hammons banjo tunes and tunings, which lay somewhat off the beaten path and have a singular beauty because of it.
See Lessons & TAB for other teaching events this spring and summer.