Folk club guitar lessons

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 08 Feb 12 - 08:42 AM

This sounds like a really truly excellent idea, particularly if the club wishes to gain greater interest from 'youngsters' by which I mean older teens/young adults rather than little children - the odd kid at an event is fine, but (what with me being a prematurely curmudgeonly nearly forty year old and childless myself) unfortunately I simply can't stand being surrounded by kids!

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Feb 12 - 08:07 AM

here is a useful tip, draw out the fretboard of the guitar, with the notes up to 12 fret on it, find out what makes up a chord[eg 135 of a major scale or do me so in tonic solfa] then you can see where you have all the different inversions of chords all over the fret board , right in front of your eyes,
then explain that the difference between a major or minor chord is the flattened [me third note of major scale], then show power dyads[2note chords doh soh] and explain that these are suitable for certain modal tunes.
reading music is not as essential as understanding what you are doing, if the instrumentalist understands what he is doing he can make quicker progress.
for example Banjoman, some appalachian tunes are in sawmill tuning dgcd, the way to accompany a lot of these tunes on the guitar, such as lady marget.. if it is in g modal, is to use E sus 4 EAB and d major, CAPOED ON THIRD FRET.
THE E SUS 4 or is neither major or minor, or to play an e power chord all e and b
now it is possible to stumble across this accidentally, but if a person is taught this he will probably discover it more quickly.
so understanding how to harmonise modes and knowing what you are doing is im portant for accompanying guitarists.

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: banjoman
Date: 08 Feb 12 - 06:13 AM

I once attended a workshop hosted by a well known and much venerated member of the "Folk Aristocracy" who informed us that anybody who could not read music could not possibly play an instrument. He was a very well repected banjo player among other things and when I showed him that I could play anything that he could on banjo he said it was just a fluke. I wont mention his name in case he reads mudcat threads. Just keep on collecting J*** W@@@@
I have never mastered the art of reading music but at times am envious of those who can. I have a similar problem reading Tab - I just play

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: Will Fly
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 09:52 AM

Bad boy, Tim! Dirty boy! In your bed!

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: Tim Leaning
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 08:47 AM

yup the dots mean nothing without the lines...:)

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: Will Fly
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 07:39 AM

I agree about sheet music. I feel that it is more often than not a hindrance to learning to play.

I think you're probably right about sheet music in relation to learning to play for folk music (which is what this thread is about) - but it's not easy to learn to play piano properly, or classical guitar for that matter, without knowing the dots.

Fort-five years after starting to play the guitar, then knowing very little music, I now find dots invaluable for all sorts of reasons. For traditional tunes, they provide a solid basis on which to build the variations you might hear at sessions (though I would never bring dots to a session) and, for more jazzy stuff, the intricacies of some chord progressions, bass lines, etc., they can be a godsend.

It's where to draw the line - that's the question...

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: banjoman
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 05:58 AM

Flora -I agree about sheet music. I feel that it is more often than not a hindrance to learning to play. Recently we have had several people ask for banjo lessons (Ha Ha I hear some say). They all turn up with books on how to play the banjo (Guitar etc). I tell tham to throw the book away and then teach a couple of very easy bits that lets them see that they can produce something that sounds good on the instrument. I use this as a basis for the rest.
Its always good to send them away feeling they can play something.

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: GUEST,FloraG
Date: 06 Feb 12 - 10:50 AM

I think all of these were adults. You right, banjoman. Anything that encourages is good.
I am thinking that the slow tunes advocated by some contributors would be a good follow up, but I worry about the use of music. Folk music needs to be creative, and although sheet music helps the memory, some people use it instead of memory. Dilema that.
FloraG

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: MikeL2
Date: 06 Feb 12 - 06:39 AM

hi

I tried this some years ago. My problem was that most of the people that came for the tuition were young children. ( Their parents had cleared it with me) but the premises where we held the club objected after a while to children. So I continued at a local school where we operated for a good few years.

It was entirely free and to this day I still have a couple or so young beginners whose parents know me and ask me to start the children off.

Cheers

Mikel2

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 06 Feb 12 - 06:09 AM

Quite apart from my naturally timid and self-effacing personality, banjoman, I'm sure that you can figure it out if you think.

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: banjoman
Date: 06 Feb 12 - 05:28 AM

Anything that encourages involvement in keeping music live is very welcome.
Richard - why not volunteer yourself - I am sure you could be very inspirational

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 06 Feb 12 - 05:11 AM

IMHO a great deal would depend on the teacher.

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: GUEST,FloraG
Date: 06 Feb 12 - 04:08 AM

I think this was free.

When you have a superstar running the show I think its more for inspiration than learning. If you also learn something thats a bonus.

This was bread and butter stuff. I was surprised at how many aspiring guitar players there were. What I'm not sure of is how they will keep the momentum going.
FloraG

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: Will Fly
Date: 05 Feb 12 - 02:32 PM

I used to do this - back in the '60s - for a couple of clubs that I used to go to.

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 05 Feb 12 - 02:26 PM

That's a good idea. At the Lewes Saturday Folk Club we put on all-day workshops with a performance by the tutor at the club in the evening.

For guitarists we have one with Denny Bartley (Irish song accompaniment) on 20th. October and for harmonica players we have one with Brendan Power on 14th. July. The full list for this year is:

LEWES SATURDAY FOLK CLUB MUSIC WORKSHOPS 2012
Workshops last a full day. The tutor performs at the club on the Saturday evening.
Booking forms can be printed from the website about four months before the event.

3 Mar FAY HIELD               English song
3 Mar ROB HARBRON             Concertina
3 Mar SAM SWEENEY             English fiddle music
28 Apr CLOUDSTREET            Vocal harmony
26 May JIGJAW                Song for dancing
30 Jun ANNE NEILSON/GORDEANNA McCULLOCH    Ballads
14 Jul BRENDAN POWER          Irish harmonica
21 Jul WILSON FAMILY          Mining & Graeme Miles songs
15 Sep CRAIG MORGAN ROBSON    Vocal harmony
16 Sep CRAIG MORGAN ROBSON    Ballads
20 Oct CHRIS SHERBURN         Irish concertina
20 Oct DENNY BARTLEY          Irish song/guitar
17 Nov ANDY CUTTING          Melodeon
24 Nov JEZ LOWE               Songwriting in the tradition
1 Dec KATIE & JOHN HOWSON    East Anglian tunes for any instrument

Valmai (Lewes)

Subject: RE: Folk club guitar lessons
From: The Sandman
Date: 05 Feb 12 - 01:23 PM

great idea

Subject: Folk club guitar lessons
From: GUEST,FloraG
Date: 05 Feb 12 - 03:44 AM

A member of the Rainham folk club in kent offered a series of beginner guitar lessons just prior to the start of the club session, and these have proved remarkably popular. Some on the course were existing members, but others new, and of those some have staid for the folk club afterwards. I hear they plan to follow it up with beginner harmonica.

I thought other folk clubs might be interested in this idea.
FloraG