Dobro
Photo by Mike Melnyk
Dobro level 1—Come and join the fastest growing group of acoustic musicians...dobro players! We'll spend 3 days exploring what may be the most expressive instrument in bluegrass/acoustic music and learn some tools and techniques for making those beautiful and exciting sounds. We'll start with strong fundamentals, hand positions, how to make good tone, play in tune, and learn some exercises to help with that. We'll spend time learning rolls, picking patterns and easy ways to do hammer-ons and pull-offs. We'll look at scale patterns and chord positions, learn some cool licks, fills and a song or two. We'll look at some basic music theory that will help in the jam circle and beyond. Greg will find out what each student’s interests are and cover the ground that this particular class needs and wants.
Prerequisites: The "advanced beginner" should listen to a lot of dobro music, know how to tune their instrument, be comfortable playing with picks and bar and have some songs that they can play and/or are working on. Bring your dobro, tuner, picks and bar, and capo if you have one. Greg recommends a recording device (those little mp3 recorders are handy) so you can listen later at home and remember what was worked on. Most important, bring your enthusiasm and determination to play the dobro!
Greg Booth, a veteran musician of more than 40 yrs, plays dobro, 5 string banjo, and pedal steel. Some of Greg's dobro work can be seen on his YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/aksliderdobro which has been viewed over 100,000 times. He recently finished a new cd and five-country European tour playing dobro and banjo with the Kathy Kallick Band, who is playing the Father's Day Festival this year.
His innovative playing has gotten the attention of the biggest names in dobroland and he will be giving workshops at Rob Icke's ResoSummit again this year. Greg is a three-time dobro teacher at the world renowned Cordova Music Camp in the scenic Alaskan maritime rain forest where a whole new school of young dobro players are being spawned! This year Greg is also joining the faculty at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop in Bremerton, Wash. We’re happy to have him join us for his first year with the CBA Music Camp.
http://kathykallick.com/KKB/pages/kkb.html
Dobro, levels 2/3—This class will cover a wide range of topics relating to lap slide guitar. We’ll work on basic right and left hand technique with exercises to practice. We’ll cover bluegrass, playing in the style of Josh Graves, Mike Aldridge, Jerry Douglas, and Andy himself. There will be instruction on backing up a vocalist, chopping, as well as how to play leads. There will also be discussion of scales and chords. Andy will provide some handouts in tablature form with exercises, and some songs. There will be some group playing, but you will also receive individual attention. This class may also include a survey of some other styles such as blues, swing or jazz repertoire. Andy likes to cater to the group, and questions are highly encouraged. This will be a fun and relaxed class—come with some ideas of what you want to learn!
Bring: A lap style resonator guitar, finger picks, a bar, a recorder if you have one.
Prerequisites: This class is for people who can already get around on the instrument (or at least play some tunes) who want to expand their technique and musical sensibility. Students should be familiar with basic scale positions and roll patterns, though we will cover these topics in class, also.
Andy Hall plays and sings with excitement, passion, precision and a dynamic that is quickly establishing him as one of the top players in acoustic music today. A founding member of the acclaimed young bluegrass band, The Infamous Stringdusters, Hall won three IBMA awards with the group in 2007 (Best Album, Emerging Artist and Song of the Year) for their debut effort, Fork In The Road. Hall’s last solo effort, The Sound of the Slide Guitar, won the 2008 IBMA award for Instrumental Album Of the Year.
A graduate of The Berklee Collage Of Music, he has taught resonator guitar privately for nearly 15 years, as well as multiple academies including RockyGrass Academy, WinterGrass Academy, and workshops around the country. We welcome him to his first year as a CBA Music Camp instructor.
www.thestringdusters.com
