| |
Old-Time Banjo & Guitar Instruction by Tom
Tom has more than 35 years of guitar and banjo instruction experience.
Tom has studied with Old-Time Banjo masters Dwight Diller and Riley Baugus. He specializes
in a rhythmic style that propels the fiddle and other instruments in an Old-Time band or
jam setting. His instruction includes ear training and teaching in the traditional
way — face to face with the student hearing and seeing what is being taught.
Tablature is never used, rather through the use of tape recordings and ear training the
student is encouraged to blaze their own path and develop their own style of Old-Time Banjo.
Tom has studied with guitar masters Norman Blake, George Shuffler and Roy Book Binder. He
has taught back-up Old-Time Guitar at the Augusta Heritage Workshops in Elkins, West
Virginia. His teaching style varies dependant on the needs and desires of the student. If
interest lies in Old-Time back-up, face to face instruction using tape recordings to learn
runs, chord progressions and picking patterns is employed with an emphasis on ear training.
If a more traditional guitar instruction is desired Tom teaches musical notation, theory
and sight reading from a number of appropriate instruction methods.
Old-Time Fiddle Instruction by Betty
Beginning-Intermediate Levels
Betty offers personalized teaching for students who'd like to learn old-time music in a
relaxed yet productive traditional way, without written music. She has experience with
students ranging from absolute beginners — no fiddle or other musical training —
to intermediate fiddle students and those with some experience in other styles of music
who'd like to learn old-time tunes.
Betty and her students together develop methods to help them learn to play and remember
tunes, working from a selection of old-time music including commonly-played tunes and
less well-known tunes with unique characteristics. She is comfortable with several
alternate tunings of the fiddle, usually called cross tunings. Through repetition,
imitation and listening experience her students not only learn the music and its
characteristic sounds, but also the stories and context that first attracted Betty to
old-time music and the fiddle itself.
Betty has studied with respected old-time fiddlers, including Dave Bing, Bill Hicks, Mike
Bryant, Bruce Molsky and Jimmy Triplett. Her experience as an adult learner allows her to
teach with understanding and support (and give a few useful stretching exercises, too!)
She encourages digital or tape recording of lessons.
|
|
|
