I’m very excited to be teaching the class at Augusta Bluegrass Week this year. This class is for guitarists who can play some rhythm and know basic technique on their instrument.
It is my aim to inspire you both in class and when you’re jamming here – and hope that you’ll take your new-found enthusiasm for adventure home with you at the end of the week.
If you’d like, please feel free to send me a list (dudley436@gmail.com) of three topics that you would like to see covered in our week-long class and I’ll do my best to teach those skills. Be as specific as you can in your descriptions. I would like to have this list by July 4th.
I encourage you to bring a recording device to class. During the week, you’re welcome to record any of the class time instruction that you’d like, but I want everyone to be working on their listening skills too.
We will work primarily on rhythm playing, focusing on ideas to vary strumming patterns, bass runs, and chord voicings in ways that best support the song or soloist.
We will talk about different strumming patters and learn some rhythm styles of some of the great bluegrass rhythm guitar players such as Jimmy Martin, Red Smiley, and Del McCoury.
We will cover
- · G runs, D runs and runs going from one chord to another,
- · Playing in open keys such as E and A,
- · Playing in different time signatures (3/4, 4/4),
- · Different right-hand techniques, hand placement, and explore ways to improve your tone and timing.
What to bring:
- · Guitar
- · Capo
- · Picks
- · Tuner
- · Audio recorder (most smartphones and cell phones work).
I’m looking forward to meeting you at Augusta! In the meantime, keep listening to lots of recordings that feature the guitar players whose music you love to hear.
***IMPORTANT INFO: We’re doing something a little different with our Banjo, Guitar, and Mandolin classes this year. Because of the stature of several of our instructors, we decided to play to their strengths by offering two classes for each of those instruments that will each cover both the Intermediate and Advanced levels.
Ron Stewart is a master banjo player, but he also played fiddle for six years with the late legend J.D. Crowe. His experiences have made him the perfect person to take a deep dive into the fine points of Crowe’s influential banjo playing. For Intermediate/Advanced students who want a more wide-ranging look at modern and traditional banjo styles, Gabe Hirshfeld will be teaching the other Intermediate/Advanced Banjo class.
Dudley Connell, one of the great rhythm guitar players in bluegrass history, will focus his class on the rich variety of sounds and grooves that rhythm players can bring to a bluegrass band or jam. There is so much more to rhythm guitar than ‘boom-chick”! Students who want more emphasis on lead playing will get that in Chris Luquette’s class.
Mike Compton—no stranger to Bluegrass Week—is the leading living exponent of Bill Monroe’s mandolin style. Students who are looking for a full understanding of the classic roots of bluegrass mandolin will find that in Mike’s class, while Matt Flinner’s Intermediate/Advanced class will branch out into more modern approaches to the instrument.
Because the line between Intermediate and Advanced is seldom well defined, we believe grouping the levels together like this is the best way to enable all students who wish to take advantage of Ron’s, Dudley’s, and Mike’s unique perspectives to do so. Of course there will be Beginner-level classes for those instruments, too, so novice students can get the intensive attention they need to progress. (As in past years, the Fiddle classes will be divided into the usual Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced sections.)***
Instructor Bio
After growing up in Rockville, MD, as the son of bluegrass enthusiasts, Dudley Connell got his start in the mid-1970s fronting the Johnson Mountain Boys. Amongst a thriving “newgrass” scene in Washington, D.C., the group remained traditionally oriented. Early on, before the Johnson Mountain Boys, Connell had focused on banjo but soon noticed that his strongest attribute was his voice, so he switched to guitar and concentrated on his singing. Carter Stanley was a huge vocal influence for Connell early on. In 1988, after more than a decade together, the Johnson Mountain Boys disbanded due to the rigors of road life. After that, Connell began working as an audio archivist for the Smithsonian Folkways collection. In 1995, the staunchly traditional Connell surprised many people in the bluegrass world when he joined newgrass giants the Seldom Scene. He also undertook a series of duet recordings with Don Rigsby. Connell has contributed his distinct voice and guitar to the work of numerous artists, including Longview and Hazel Dickens.
Check out Connell at Augusta in 2017: