THE BLUES WEEKEND

What we’ll be covering?

The Blues is the bedrock of most genres. Having a good understanding of what makes it work is invaluable for most of music.

We’ll look at a multitude of things:

• the 12 bar format and its variations (possibly 8 bar as well)
• explore the shuffle and straight rhythm strumming and picking patterns
• delve into basic to intermediate chord progressions and chord substitutions and inversions
• Look at utilising triads to play sparse and varied parts to layer group playing
• explore which scales to use when improvising and how to phrase things
• learn riffs and licks and examine techniques such as muting, legato, bending and vibrato
• check out your gear set-up in order to get ‘that Blues sound’
• learn the approach to playing the Blues in any key
• learn how to Jam and improvise in a blues environment

Who’s this course suitable for?

This course is aimed at the Late Beginner to Intermediate levels of acoustic and electric  guitarists. The course isn’t for raw beginners! The basic guideline you’ll be absolutely fine if you can play a Blues in Bb! You should ideally be able to:

• Play some basic barre chords with either a plectrum or fingers
• Read TAB, basic rhythm notation and chord diagrams
• Play a song or two, start to finish (using a Lead Sheet, if needed)

What to bring?

We advise bringing as little as possible. An acoustic or electric guitar with a small amp and basic pedals is perfect. You don’t need multiple guitars, large amps or lots of pedals. The more you bring, the more time you need to set up and pack down. The weekend is all about playing.

If you have a music stand and device to read materials on that would be useful.

Materials

Full lesson PDFs will be provided via an online group folder the week of the course starting. In addition we’ll take photos of any flip charts as well as snippet videos of the tutor demonstrating /exercises/songs/etc.

• Prep sheets are available before the course on request but we don’t expect you to need anything.
• Extra course sheets will be handed out over the weekend if they are required. We advise bringing a device from which materials can be read.
• Revision and practice materials will be made available to you after the course e.g. audio/video recordings, any supplementary PDFs and photos of flip charts.

What’s included in the price?

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:

• tuition and materials
• accommodation and breakfasts (double en suite room whether single or sharing)
• dinners, lunch and morning/afternoon refreshment breaks)

Our prices for:

• Non-residential players excludes B&B.
• Non-playing sharing spouse/partners excludes: lunch and refreshments.

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.

And finally

Our weekend courses are teaching/playing guitar-fests but they’re paced to suit the group so they’re as much about having fun and enjoying a sociable time with fellow hobby players.

Playing together as a group is the best, and most enjoyable, way of learning and experiencing music. The courses have limited numbers to ensure the correct tutor-to-group ratio – book early to avoid disappointment.

Make a weekend of it!

A Deposit is only required at this stage. See below.