Learn to play Western Swing!
The Northwest Western Swing Music Society (NWSMS) is providing scholarships for an upcoming series of Western Swing workshops. This is a very cool thing that the NWWSMS has decided to do to help promote Western Swing music: Scholarship recipients will receive FREE lessons/workshops on playing Western Swing between now and a to-be-scheduled student/instructor dance in late March or early April. I’ll be teaching the electric mandolin workshops; there are other instructors teaching guitar, fiddle, steel, bass, keyboard/accordion.
• I’ll give a few one-on-one lessons to each electric mandolin player plus 2 one-hour group workshops if needed.
• As a condition of the scholarship you need to commit to playing for a western swing dance to be held in the Seattle area in late March or early April (exact date TBD). The band for that dance will be the combined instructors and students from the workshops.
• My goal is to help players who are interested in chording, soloing and filling (playing behind the vocalist) in the Western Swing style. I’ll have each person to pick at least one or more of the tunes that the dance band will play to solo/fill on. Those will be ‘your tunes’ at the dance and you’ll do all the electric mandolin work. If you want to sing a song, that will work as the tune.
• All the instruction will be at my house in north Seattle or at Hammond Ashley Violins in Issaquah
This plan is tentative and I’m willing to modify it as necessary.
To apply for the workshops/instruction send a copy of the completed attached form to the NWWSMS (address on the attached form above) or contact me and I'll help.
Feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns, suggestions, etc. You can also feel free to forward this to other electric players you think might be interested. Contact me through either web site listed in my signature.
If you don’t have an electric mandolin but still want to participate, you can use my Mann EM5 and amp for the dance.
This is not for beginning players, but any intermediate or above player who has a desire to learn Western Swing is welcome. No previous jazz experience required.
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