A student at this level knows a handful of chords and can move from one chord to another without pausing. Student may have trouble with, say, the B-flat chord shape. Student has learned a strum or two and/or a finger pattern for picking.

Adding Depth and Dimension to your Music

With his original Hawaiian love song Aloha Pumehana as a reference, Daniel will go over how to create interesting layers of arrangement using color tones, counterpoint, fingerstyle, and strumming. He’ll discuss:

  • How to make simple chords even simpler
  • How to sound better by adding open string color tones 
  • How to play and sing simultaneously (it’s not an easy thing to do) 
  • How to produce a beautiful fingerstyle tone
 
  • The application of enharmonics and countermelodies to add depth to a song

Finger Pickin’ Good

During this hour Marc will lay the foundations of fingerpicking, giving an insight into beginners fingerpicking technique in pop, blues and folk styles. We will incorporate musical ideas, motifs and syncopation complete with a couple of songs to take away. 

Songwriting Basics

Swap out the practice room for the writing room! I will share my 14 years of songwriting experience to teach everything you need to write your first song. From classic song structures like the Blues, we will go through Pop, Country and more looking at melody, structure, harmony and of course lyrics. 

Articulated Strumming; Harvest Moon

Ok, you can strum now but why doesn’t your strumming sound like the pros? 

In this class you will learn the kinetic movements necessary to manipulate the strings into a symphony of sound, along with a little strengthening of barre chords on the left hand for tight control. You’ll come away with a classy strum, honed listening skills and a beautiful song to show off your new skills. We’ll even cover Neil’s iconic riff to add that extra sparkle. 

Modern Murder Ballad Songbook

This workshop is a sequel to my first murder ballad workshop and focuses attention on how the murder ballad evolved through time as songwriting reflected more female voices. What separates this group of murder ballads from the first workshoip is that they were not always written to tell a news story, but are creative pieces playing on the knowledge of the genre.

Singing the Strings: Vocal Harmony at Your Fingertips

Ever wondered how to construct a harmony part? Ever run into a song that was easy to play in uke group, but completely out of your vocal range? If you're ready to go beyond the basics of "hum & strum", this class is for you! Using the simple technique presented in this class, you'll be able to create one, two, and three-part harmonies quickly and with confidence.

Attendees should be prepared to sing! You will need a uke to play and a pencil to take notes. A music stand is not required, but will be extremely helpful.