Learn how to perform and play the guitar in front of family members at home, solo or duet at an Open Mic night or a local Jam Session or even gig in a band to an audience (who might even be paying!). Gain the confidence to perform and the know-how covering preparation, delivery and handling those nerves. We cover:
Get ready for those seasonal sing-songs!
This course is always exhilarating, full of invaluable learning points and great fun in a relaxed environment.
Performance is on many levels:
The group is always a supportive audience. We look at both guitar and voice and how you choose a tune suitable for your playing/singing level and adapt it accordingly. In addition we delve into the often overlooked area of proper practice and then rehearsal, dealing with nerves, preparing your gear, discussing stage presence and taking away learning points and improving things by using dynamics.
The course is suitable for players of all playing levels (acoustic, electric) but you should have a tune or two under your belt that you can play relatively easily when you’re by yourself. There will be multiple opportunities for solo performances. We’ll also slot in some duet and band exercises for those interested, as well as structured jamming.
The course is focused on performing with the guitar as:
Taking the leap and getting up and performing can be a daunting prospect but it’s so rewarding if you give it a go! You may wish to bring a few song/piece options to work on or just perform the same song across the weekend. Either approach is fine. Our aim is to raise the level of all your performances and you learn not only from the individual master class approach with the tutor but also from watching the others.
FRIDAY EVENING
Our De Vere hotel location has changed its timings. We feel this also works well for us as a group as it will mean things are less rushed. We will have access to bedrooms from 4pm and access to set up in the teaching room from 5:30pm on the Friday evening. This first evening will be a relaxed time, with us getting know each other, jamming as group, working on performance techniques and playing together. After dinner the evening will open into an open mic event.
SATURDAY
We are aiming to begin performing/teaching at 10am (earlier if the group wish) working through until approximately 5pm. There will be two refreshment breaks, (although you are welcome to take a break at any point) plus a lunch break in the hotel restaurant. We will take an hours break at 5pm before heading for dinner. After dinner it will be group pieces and a chance to simply get up and perform without tutoring.
SUNDAY
We will start at 10am and work through till 4pm. This is an additional three hours tutoring plus a Sunday lunch. There will be a morning refreshment break plus Sunday lunch. Everyone will get the chance to perform solo pieces again as well as group performances from the work done on Saturday.
The room must be empty by 4:30pm. For those that may need to leave slightly earlier, you will get to perform first to ensure you get as much out of the time as possible.
The course is perfect for players of all levels. You’ll be bringing along the songs that you like to play and we’ll be looking at ways to build up that.
We’ll take photos of any flip charts used or video/audio recordings taken but essentially you’ll be bringing your own music. So just a pen and paper for taking notes should be sufficient.
There are a number of ways of attending our courses: residential, non-residential and sharing with a spouse/partner.
Our price for players is all-inclusive:
Our prices for:
Check out the venue by clicking on the name in the sidebar above. If you have any specific requirements about staying at the venue click ENQUIRE and we’ll see if we can help.
At this stage you may choose to pay the full fee or the deposit only. If you choose deposit only, we will contact nearer the course to pay the remaining fee.
Unlike our online courses these weekend mini-breaks have limited numbers. We have to keep numbers limited on this course or people don’t get adequate time to perform. This is a very popular course – don’t miss out, book in early.