Songbook

This workshop is an introduction to the music genre known as the murder ballad. Derived from the British/Scottish Broadside Ballad tradition as a means to spread news, the tradition was carried over to America and continued most notably in Appalachia, sometimes as a cautionary tale, and sometimes as a means to reinforce social order. Some like to think of them as an “old time true crime podcast” before we had such things. 

Learn some of the secrets that made Pete Townshend a legendary guitar player. Part jam, part rhythm technique, we will focus on learning some of The Who’s most iconic songs as well as Pete Townshend’s unique rhythmic strum. We will decode some examples of how he made some of the most iconic rock songs of all time by using a few techniques which he employed again and again throughout his songwriting career.

Jawaiian music is a unique blend of reggae with pop sensibilities that comes from Hawaii. Mixing the culture of life in Hawaii with catchy reggae beats makes for great songs to jam on and even more fun to play with friends. We'll go through some of the basics of the genre by learning some of the classics with their foundational rhythms and licks.