Sunday, July 30 Saturday, August 5
Lisa Aschmann (Santa Cruz, CA)
Starting, Finishing, & Revisiting Your Songs I (1-2) Where do ideas for songs come from? What do you do once you get one? This class is for people who are writing their first song(s). Topics include: song forms, verbalizing a melody, marrying words and music, creativity games, and titles.
Starting, Finishing, & Revisiting Your Songs II (2-4) What do you do when you've written a song? This class, for people who have written more than a couple of songs, will include: staying on the track, collaboration, the shapes of melodies, the rewriting process, and lots of song sharing.
Cary Black (Olympia, WA)
String Bass (2) Special Section This class is for bassists who want to increase their command of the instrument accurate intonation, precise timing, increased range of notes, and appropriate playing in varied styles. Prerequisite: ability to play major scales and roots and fifths in several keys.
Walking Bass (3) Special Section We will learn the principles and techniques of creative improvised walking bass in blues, country, swing, and pop songs. Prerequisite: facility with major scales and arpeggios.
Flip Breskin (Bellingham, WA)
Real Beginners (2) One-on-one support will help you learn the basics: how to hold a guitar, three chords and a hundred songs, an introduction to playing by ear, making the most of practice time, and steady rhythm in twos and threes.
Folksinger's Bonanza (1-4) Give your fingers a break and learn a bunch of new songs about hope, unity, love, compassion, goofiness, and being obnoxious from the unique collection of a veteran song-catcher.
Bob Brozman (Ben Lomond, CA)
Chord Variations and Hot Guitar (3) Use black fingerpicking, ragtime, and early jazz styles to bridge the gap between "folk" and "swing." We will learn many new versions of chords and study syncopated picking techniques.
Hawaiian Guitar for Dobro Players (2-4) Special Section This class brings to life the unusual and nearly extinct techniques of traditional Hawaiian guitar from its beginnings in the 1890s to the end of acoustic steel by 1934.
Brian Butler (Seattle, WA)
Beginning the Blues (2) We will add some new licks and rhythms to some old familiar chords, bend a few notes, add some lyrics, and be singing and playing the blues.
Blues (3-4) Enhance your blues knowledge by learning new chord inversions, progressions, turnarounds, licks, and songs. We will learn, play, sing, and jam on songs from Robert Johnson to B. B. King.
Michael Dunn
African Guitar Explored (2-4) This is a fun class in which participants will play in a "layered" African style, open to a variety of instruments. Your individual part will be tailored to your skill level.
Django-Style Rhythm (3-4) Learn rhythm as the Hot Club of France played it with right-hand techniques to maximize smoothness and volume emphasis on accompaniment with Djangoesque "shots" and turnarounds.
Nina Gerber (Richmond, CA)
Guitar Improvisation for the Sideperson (4) Learn how to play fills and solos with feeling while understanding what you're playing (including how to be a strong and supportive musician without being overpowering).
Guitar Theory, Scales, and Chord Construction (3-4) Gain an understanding of the whole guitar neck! This class teaches the theoretical tools that can help you expand your chord vocabulary and find your way through solos.
Chris Grampp (Oakland, CA)
Party Guitar (2-4) You'd have to take classes from a dozen private teachers to match this collection of Beatles, Motown, Surf and Doo Wop hip enough to jump-start the squarest party! This offer not available in stores!
Introduction to Swing Guitar (2-3) Swing to the sounds of Basie, Django, Gershwin, and Bob Wills. Learn to play a "rocket rhythm" with your right hand. Explore the nether regions of the neck with your left. Only you need to know how simple it is!
Jack Hansen (Seattle, WA)
Beginning Flatpicking (1) Playing with a flatpick can be rhythmic, melodic, elegant, ornate (with or without bass lines), and just plain fun. We will start slowly, practice the three Ts (timing, taste, and tone), and finish with a flair.
Beyond I-IV-V (2-3) Explore the "circle of fifths" and go where many have gone before in order to be able to recognize and play these great chord changes in any key. Learn to spice up those three-chord chestnuts with cool substitutions!
John Knowles (Nashville, TN)
Nashville Fingerstyle (4) Explore fingerstyle with a Southern accent à la Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed and Lenny Breau. As a group we will learn a classic solo and some Nashville moves useful for original arrangements and compositions.
Playing by Ear (2-3) Develop your hand-ear coordination by focussing on specific techniques for playing what you hear as you hear it, or imagine it. We will put in a week of work to begin a year of progress.
Tony Marcus (Oakland, CA)
Camp Instrumentalist
Kristina Olsen (Venice, CA)
Instigator
Cliff Perry (Seattle, WA)
Simply Melody (3-4) Working by ear and at a deliberate pace, we will develop some single string melodies on the guitar. We will use both-hand and both-brain techniques that emphasize the tone, continuity, and pulse that will make your guitar sing.
Rhythm Country (2-4) We will explore the world of country music to solidify your rhythm guitar playing. We will find bass runs, backbeats, accents, and other country remedies that will enhance old-time songs, fiddle tunes, bluegrass breakdowns, gospel harmonies, lullabies, and modern country music in short, everything from hillbilly to honky-tonk.
Ron Peters (Seattle, WA)
Music Reading Basics (1-4) Starting from ground zero, we will learn the lines and spaces, time signatures, key signatures, note values, and bar designations. Later we will look at ledger lines, accidentals, and major scales. Open to all instrumentalists.
Harmonic Tools for Jazz Guitar (3-4) Learn creative and musical techniques to add color and interest to stock chord changes. We will discuss chord substitutions, embellishments, reharmonization, voice-leading, comping, and supporting a soloist.
Ray Piper
Improvisation (4) This class will look at the scales and arpeggios that fit the chords to standard tunes. We will also look at major and minor conversion and how to apply it to improvisation over these tunes.
Brazilian Guitar (3-4) Study the chordal and rhythmic patterns of bossa nova, samba, choro, baion, and frevo, and learn accompaniments and how to play arrangements of some popular Brazilian tunes.
Jennifer Scott
Beginning Vocal Techniques (1) Learn how to sing effortlessly, in a natural, healthy way. New vocal techniques will be demonstrated using a variety of song styles.
Intermediate Vocal Stylings (2-3) Repertoire and harmony will be the focus in this class. You can build your song lists and expand your style repertoire with some new vocal styles.
Laura Smith (Bellingham, WA)
Instigator
Marcia Taylor (Providence, RI)
Fingerpicking 101 (2) Now that you know some chords and a few strums, what next? In this class you will learn simple picking patterns that can make your accompaniments more interesting. We will have plenty of songs and handouts and you will get a chance to try sounding out chords to simple songs by ear.
Stagecraft - The Art of Performance (1-4) You set the agenda. This is a performance coaching class designed for you to explore your current performance challenge. Get individual attention and expert feedback in a respectful environment.
Sue Thompson (Seattle, WA)
Country Song Repertoire (1-4) Come learn, play, and sing some of the finest songs of the country tradition. We will learn several songs each day in a variety of styles including old-time, bluegrass, cowboy, and C & W, both classic and contemporary.
Secrets of Harmony Singing Revealed (2-4) Create your own harmonies. High parts, low parts, tricky chords you'll learn how to hear what to sing and get a solid foundation for improvising harmonies in any style. Prerequisite: some harmony singing experience.
(psl@acm.org )