Classical and Jazz Guitar
Classical Guitar Sectionals: (open) The Classical Guitar Sectional course is designed to develop the future generation of classical guitar players. This workshop provides in-depth study of guitar technique, repertoire, and expression in music according to performance practice. Students will learn various instrumental techniques, efficient use of both left and right hand fingerings, to have a beautiful tone, phrasing, and solo repertoire performance. This course will put emphasis on developing strong sight- reading ability, which is an essential skill for any instrumentalist.
Classical Guitar Ensembles: (open) An essential part of being an instrumentalist is to learn the skills of communicating and playing alongside other musicians. The Classical Guitar Ensemble course is designed to train the players in all aspects of ensemble playing. The workshop will place emphasis on communication between the musicians, how to listen to each other, cueing, working on dynamics and phrasing as a group, and playing together as one living organism. This course will develop strong and efficient sight-reading abilities in an ensemble setting, which are essential skills for any instrumentalist pursuing a career in music. The goal of the Classical Guitar Ensemble course is to provide the students with strong chamber and ensemble skills needed to go on to a four year study at conservatories, colleges, and universities.
MS Jazz and Contemporary Guitar Sectional: (open) This class will explore the historic styles of jazz guitar in the U.S. Through transcriptions and listening, we will study and discuss the styles of legendary jazz guitarists such as Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino and George Benson. We will also cover basic musicianship and performance skills such as how to develop a good consistent tone, good rhythmic feel, and how to memorize music for performance. We will also cover basic improvisation such as how to improvise with chord-scales, motivic development, improvising by ear, and how to practice these skills in a coherent and practical way. The main idea is to explore our favorite instrument all the while having fun.
MS Guitar Styles and Performance Workshop (open)
In this class the students will be introduced to different guitar styles through listening and playing. We will discuss a variety of tools available to us from how to develop arrangements for performance, through how to provide solid accompaniment for other musicians. Students will play teacher created arrangements as well as music from their own repertoire. The course aims to further develop in student’s keen ears, creativity, and a solid and well rounded skill set on their instruments.
HS Jazz and Contemporary Guitar Sectional (open)
This class will explore the historic styles of jazz guitar in the US. Through transcriptions and listening we will study and discuss the styles of legendary jazz guitarists such as Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino, and George Benson how they do what they do and how their styles are related. In addition to this we will cover basic through advanced jazz and contemporary guitar techniques, and how to practice these techniques in a coherent and practical way. Topics will include but are not limited to developing a good tone, practical fingerings, good rhythmic feel, musical personality, memorization techniques, and accompaniment skills. In addition to this we will cover improvisation and composition techniques such as motivic development, chord-scale soloing, chord-tone soloing, and stylistically appropriate vocabulary lines. The main idea is to explore our favorite instrument all the while having fun.