WORKSHOPS

Coming Up!!  I have wanted to do a workshop in a pub for a while!!!  Here we go! 

Guitarists meeting up at Fixed Gear  to talk about guitars and USING A CAPO -  

– Sunday, March 3, at 2pm start at Fixed Gear Brewing Canteen in Guelph!

Let’s keep it relaxed and informal. Less of a workshop and more of a guitarists’ meet-up afternoon. 

Got a guitar?       Bring it. 

Got a question about capos?      Bring it. 

Guitar players hanging with guitar players. This just might be epic. 

Location - Fixed Gear Brewing Canteen. 5 Edinburgh Road N in Guelph

Let us know you are coming… Please register with me so Fixed Gear and I can plan accordingly.  

email - argyle@sympatico.ca.   

Bring your guitar, picks, & ALL your capos - if you have any…  You’ll need it all.  

BTW - If Guelph is too far to come, contact me to discuss holding this in your community.  I can do that

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CELTIC/TRADITIONAL GUITAR – Workshop   – 1.5 hrs

Offered as part of the Irish Real Life Festival in Kitchener/Waterloo

March 10,   11am – 12:30   Location and sign-up details TBA

A workshop for those who already know something about playing guitar. We’ll get you thinking about some ways to use the guitar to play Celtic/Traditional Guitar stylings.   We’ll touch on 

  • Role of the guitar to accompany tunes and songs
  • Drone effect in regular tuning 
  • Common Progressions
  • Walking bass lines 
  • Tune types and structures
  • Playing sets – what to know, watch and listen for
  • Common keys/modes/scales used in Irish folk music, 
  • Use of Drop D, Double Drop D and DADGAD tunings to bring out the “drone’ effect (if time)
  • Selected songs to support the above.

Bring your guitar. You're going to need it. 

Cost is “Pay What You Can.”    Sign up is at the link/URL below – 

https://www.irishreallifekw.com/event-details/celtic-music-school-irish-celtic-traditional-guitar-with-bob-maclean

Time & Location

Mar 10, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

TWH Social (Konig Room), 1 King St W, Kitchener, ON N2G 1A3, Canada

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I also offer guitar workshops on the following topics.

PICKING & STRUMMING Workshop - 1.5 - 2 hours x 3

Three Night Workshop on Right Hand Techniques for Acoustic Pickers

This is for guitar players who want to take their playing up a notch & do something new.   

We’ll cover:

  • A fresh look at using a guitar pick 
  • Strumming styles – review basics and move on
  • Travis/Piedmont picking & beyond 
  • Right hand techniques  
  • Palm mute
  • Hybrid picking/frailing
  • Back Beat strumming 
  • Intro to blue-grass crosspicking style

ALTERED STATES  Workshop – 1.5 - 2 hours x 3

If you are comfortable with standard chords and want to know more about altered tunings – this workshop is for you. Knowledge of music theory not needed.  Over 3 nights we’ll explore 

- Drop D, 

- Double Drop D, and 

- DADGAD 

ACCOMPANYING OTHERS -1.5 - 2 hours

We explore the guitar in new & different ways.  Many of us know what it is like to work out chords to songs to accompany ourselves. Accompanying others builds on this and pushes us to:

  • Move beyond traditional strumming and fingering chords & patterns 
  • Break song down into sections and review what to play in each section. 
  • Know when to play, when not to play
  • Develop arrangements beyond verse/chorus/campfire strumming

For the purposes of this workshop, we will explore 

  • Accompanying a solo singer, and 
  • Accompanying a singer/guitarist or singer/pianist

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BTW - If Guelph is too far to come, contact me to discuss holding any of these in your community.  

I'd really like to do that!