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    Workshops

    All Workshops will be held at the Civic Garden Club 622 S 2nd Street, La Conner, WA 98257

    NOTE: Workshops are NOT  included in General Admission and require separately purchased tickets.


      Tim Farrell

      Tim Farrell

      A Fingerstyle Celebration of The Weight

      Friday May 17th — 10:00am - 11:30am

      Civic Garden Club - 622 South Second St.  La Conner, WA
      $30 / Advance - Online
      $35 / at the Box Office (located in Maple Hall during exhibition hours)

      About Tim

      Tim Farrell has the rare ability to inspire listeners to experience music on a multitude of levels. Through his mastery of the intricacies and melodic grace of fingerstyle guitar, he has created a sound that evokes emotion, a sound that is to be felt as well as heard Tim has entertained audiences internationally. He maintains an active performing schedule, appearing in a variety of concert venues such as the Kimmel Center, Montreal Jazz Festival, Carnegie Center, Hard Rock Live, Metropolitan Museum of Art to name just a few... Tim performs as a solo artist and also has shared the stage with such notable artists as Les Paul, George Benson, Jean Luc Ponty, Rick Wakeman, Alex DeGrassi, Jake Shimabukuru, California Guitar Trio, John Sebastian and many more.

      About This Workshop

      Join us as we learn a fingerstyle guitar arrangement of a wonderful song that is an enduring staple of classic rock music, The Weight from The Band. This song has such a memorable melody, great feel and colorful imagery that it stays in your head forever. The infectious nature of the melody along with comfortable playability of this arrangement will make you want to take a load off and play it until judgment day.

      This fingerstyle guitar arrangement is designed for players of all skill levels. A transcription is included in both notation and tablature.

      Website: timfarrellmusic.comGet Tickets! 



      Janson - Davison

       

      Peter Janson

      Developing a Guitar Practice Routine That Gives
      Great Results

      Friday May 17th — 12:00pm - 1:30pm

      Civic Garden Club - 622 South Second St.  La Conner, WA

      $30 / Advance - Online
      $35 / at the Box Office (located in Maple Hall during exhibition hours)

      About Peter

      Peter Janson is an award-winning contemporary fingerstyle acoustic guitarist, composer, and music educator. For the last twenty-five years he has performed extensively throughout North America; most notably at Carnegie Hall and the Montreal Jazz Festival. His music has been placed in video games, commercials and news documentaries, charted on Billboard for 11 weeks in top 10 (as a session guitarist) and has a growing base of fans from 137 countries. His latest recording, Getting To Here, is in rotation on over 75 radio stations globally, as well as on streaming formats.

      About This Workshop

      Many guitarists invest significant time and effort in practicing yet they fail to achieve the desired progress. In this workshop, attendees will learn a range of basic and advanced techniques, as well as strategies, which are essential to achieve better results during practice sessions. During the workshop, a selected few attendees will be requested to play excerpts of songs that they perform well, as well as excerpts of the songs they are struggling with, to help demonstrate specific examples. The workshop accommodates all levels of fingerstyle and flat-pickers, and we encourage the participation of musicians with different skill levels. While tab reading or standard notation reading is helpful, it is not necessary.
      Website: peterjanson.comGet Tickets! 


      Bill Mize

      Bill Mize

      Adding Originality to Your Arrangements

      Friday May 17th — 2:00pm - 3:30pm

      Civic Garden Club - 622 South Second St.  La Conner, WA
      $30 / Advance - Online
      $35 / at the Box Office (located in Maple Hall during exhibition hours)

      About Bill

      Bill is a past winner of the National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition at The Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. Guitar Player Magazine has labeled this event the “U.S. Open of guitar competitions." Bill received a GRAMMY Award for his collaboration with musician and storyteller David Holt on the recording Stellaluna, and has been featured on the popular guitar compilations “Windham Hill Guitar Sampler” by Windham Hill Records and “Masters of the Acoustic Guitar” by Narada Records. In 2009, Bill’s music appeared in the Ken Burns documentary “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” Mel Bay Productions transcribed Mize's second CD, “Tender Explorations”, into a songbook, and his original compositions have been transcribed for Fingerstyle Guitar and Acoustic Guitar magazines.

      About This Workshop

      Bill will share his experiences in using musical influences and inspirations to place an original stamp on his own arrangements. He will demonstrate how he has drawn from his “music library” while arranging such songs as Come Together, Shenandoah, Cherokee Morning Song and many others. Some concepts covered:
        •   producing a better tone
        •   moving beyond musical clichés
        •   creating interesting basslines and
        •   working on more “filled out” inner parts and lines

      The second half, Bill will lend a helpful ear to those who are working on arrangements of their own and would like some positive feedback.

      Website: billmize.comGet Tickets! 


      Sean Hall

      Sean Hall

      Tricks, Riffs and Body Percussion

      Friday May 17th — 4:00pm - 5:30pm

      Civic Garden Club - 622 South Second St.  La Conner, WA
      $30 / Advance - Online
      $35 / at the Box Office (located in Maple Hall during exhibition hours)

      About Sean

      At 35, Award winning Candyrat Recording artist Sean Hall is a percussive fingerstyle guitarist from Bellingham, WA. Weaving beautiful melodies with lush harmonies and percussive elements, his performances invite listeners to experience the melodic landscapes he creates. Sean has toured extensively in 48 states and over 20 countries, winning the Epic Records national competition and being featured at The Gorge Amphitheater in Washington State. Sean is produced by the renowned Antoine Dufour and collaborates regularly with him as well as acclaimed guitarists such as Calum Graham and Trevor Gordon Hall. Inspired by trail blazers such as Michael Hedges, Alex de Grassi and Phil Keaggy, Sean strives to continue the legacy of smashing the boundaries of what can be done on the acoustic guitar.

      About This Workshop

      Rediscover the fun in guitar! Spice up your chops as award winning Candyrat recording artist Sean Hall walks you through how to incorporate fun elements like pinch harmonics, harmonic tapping, partial capos and body percussion. For the adventurous at heart! ***Not required, but extra credit for those who bring your cut capos, spider capo and 2 of the Shubb C7b partial capos!

      Website: seanhallmusic.comGet Tickets! 


      Tony McManus

      Tony McManus

      Taming Altered Tunings

      Saturday May 18th — 10:00am - 11:30am

      Civic Garden Club - 622 South Second St.  La Conner, WA
      $30 / Advance - Online
      $35 / at the Box Office (located in Maple Hall during exhibition hours)

      About Tony

      Tony McManus has come to be recognized throughout the world as the leading guitarist in Celtic Music. From early childhood his twin obsessions of traditional music and acoustic guitar have worked together to produce a startlingly original approach to this ancient art. In Tony’s hands the complex ornamentation normally associated with fiddles and pipes are accurately transferred to guitar in a way that preserves the integrity and emotional impact of the music.

      About This Workshop

      I’ll try to cover a few of the altered tunings I use and more importantly- why I use them. Dropped D is the most common and most easily related to standard but we’ll also look at DADGAD, well known from Celtic to Rock music: CGCGCD which finds uses from playing jigs and reels to accompanying songs and even DAAEAE which I use for playing bagpipe music- much quieter on guitar.
      One thing I’d love to convey is the links between tunings so that they become “tamed” so that rather than be confronted by lists of letters these can be seen as variants of one another. DADGAD and CGDGCD (sometimes called “Sawmill” tuning on banjo) look unrelated but one is just the other moved over a string. Come to the class and find out how!
      I’ll show some examples in each tuning and some ideas of playing across the strings to exploit these different tunings.

      Hopefully there will be time to look at some of the ideas of my favourite altered tuning practitioner: Joni Mitchell! Who has a bewildering variety of tunings and, thankfully, a condensed repertoire of chord shapes. Who doesn’t want to play Coyote or The Circle Game or Both Sides Now?

      Come along and explore this new world of guitar tunings.

      Website: tonymcmanus.comGet Tickets! 

      Mark Hanson

      Mark Hanson

      The Essence of Smooth Fingerpicking

      Saturday May 18th — 12:00pm - 1:30pm

      Civic Garden Club - 622 South Second St.  La Conner, WA
      $30 / Advance - Online
      $35 / at the Box Office (located in Maple Hall during exhibition hours)

      About Mark

      Mark was a columnist at Frets magazine, has played onstage with Tommy Emmanuel, John Renbourn and Jerry Garcia, and played for President Obama in 2009.

      About This Workshop

      Grammy-winning fingerstyle guitarist Mark Hanson — friend of La Conner Guitar Festival and author of countless fingerstlye guitar books — will share his secrets of timing, sustain, balance and control in this guitar workshop.

      Mark’s playing is highlighted by incredible smoothness and beautiful tone. His insights into creating gorgeous fingerstyle guitar music are garnered from a career of study and experimentation. He will teach self-composed tunes and exercises, and share ideas from greats he has worked with, all designed to improve your playing! TAB included. All levels welcome. Bring your guitar in standard tuning and be prepared to play in ensemble mode, meaning: be in tune and keep a steady beat!
      Visit Mark at MarkHansonGuitar.comGet Tickets! 

      TracySpring

      Tracy Spring

      Unpacking Great Songs

      Saturday May 18th — 2:00pm - 3:30pm

      Civic Garden Club - 622 South Second St.  La Conner, WA
      $30 / Advance - Online
      $35 / at the Box Office (located in Maple Hall during exhibition hours)

      About Tracy

      For decades, Tracy Spring has taught guitar and songwriting in alternate tunings in private lessons and camps such as the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop. In addition to teaching, she's known for compelling performances with rich, emotive vocals, and versatile guitar playing. Her wide musical range is demonstrated by the women she's been compared to: Sarah McLachlan, Tracy Chapman, kd lang, and Yo Yo Ma's cello. Choral arrangements from her Songs of Hope and Humanity project have been performed by community choirs in the Northwest and beyond, and Peter, Paul and Mary recorded her co-written song, “Of This World” on their final album, In These Times.

      About This Workshop

      A great lyric. A lovely bridge. An unexpected melodic line or chord structure. What caught your ear or captured your heart? We'll bring our favorite songs to thisworkshop and learn about songwriting by exploring the great moves that someone else made. Bonus points if you bring a song you love, and then play a song you've written that incorporates one of those great moves! (No songwriting experience is required to participate; just bring a favorite song to share with the group.)

      Website: tracyspring.comGet Tickets! 

      Frog & Toad

      Frog and Toad

      Simple Compositional Techniques for
      Acoustic Guitar Duets

      Saturday May 18th — 4:00pm - 5:30pm

      Civic Garden Club - 622 South Second St.  La Conner, WA

      $30 / Advance - Online
      $35 / at the Box Office (located in Maple Hall during exhibition hours)

      About Frog and Toad

      Frog and Toad have delighting audiences every year at the La Conner Guitar Festival since 2018!
      Frog and Toad consists of Brad “Frog” Jones and Ben “Toad” Wilborn. Brad is an accomplished guitarist who has been playing guitar for over 25 years. Ben has been playing guitar and fiddle since shortly out of the womb. He is also a world class luthier specializing in custom acoustic guitars. Ben will be exhibiting his guitars at this year's festival.

      About This Workshop

      Frog and Toad show you their simple approaches to completing the composition of a guitar duet by adding melodic variation, harmony, textural interest and dynamic variation to transform a simple melody into a beautifully crafted statement. These techniques serve just as well for solo guitarists, so everyone is welcome.

      Website: frogandtoadmusic.comGet Tickets! 


      Jamie Findlay

      Melodic Harmony for Guitar

      Sunday May 19th — 10:00am - 11:30am

      Civic Garden Club - 622 South Second St.  La Conner, WA
      $30 / Advance - Online
      $35 / at the Box Office (located in Maple Hall during exhibition hours)

      About Jamie

      Originally from Seattle, Washington, Jamie is one of the masters of contemporary acoustic guitar. With three CD’s under his own name, “Wings of Light,” “Amigos del Corazón,’ and “Reflections” Jamie is a very busy performer and composer, both in the States and abroad. His music is flavored by many styles from jazz and blues to pop and funk. More recently, Jamie has helped form the Acoustic Jazz Quartet, an L.A. based jazz band that features Jamie’s compositions. Their first Naxos Jazz release was distributed worldwide in April, ’99, and a second Acoustic Jazz Quartet “Organic” released in 2001. In 2002 Jamie formed a guitar duo with Duck Baker, and the pair recorded an adventurous and critically acclaimed record of jazz guitar duos titled “Out of the Past”. Jamie continues to perform solo as well.

      About This Workshop

      Understanding and Integrating Melody and Harmony.

      Get Tickets!

      TracyMoore

      Tracy Moore

      Beyond the Roar and the Thunder – The Art of the 12-String Guitar

      Sunday May 19th — 12:00pm - 1:30pm

      Civic Garden Club - 622 South Second St.  La Conner, WA
      $30 / Advance - Online
      $35 / at the Box Office (located in Maple Hall during exhibition hours)

      About Tracy

      Guitar music that is delicate, dynamic, serious and often whimsical flows from composer/performer Tracy Moore and his 12-String Guitar. Trained in Classical Guitar and Renaissance Lute, Moore's reputation as a premiere 12-String Guitarist has attracted the attention of the national press, including Guitar Player and Acoustic Guitar Magazine. Rave reviews and feature articles have placed Moore in the ranks of the top solo, steel string guitarists. Moore has shared the stage with Leo Kottke, John Fahey, Eric Tingstad, Michael Manring, Peter Janson, Steve Davison, and Chris Proctor. Whether in performance or at a workshop, Tracy Moore’s passion for the 12-String Guitar is clearly evident.

      About This Workshop

      12-String guitar music is often an expression of drive and power. The 12-String can also be an instrument of great beauty, delicacy and resonance. The 12-String gives guitarists another opportunity for creative musical expression. 12-String players tune the lowest four courses in octaves and the upper two courses in unison. We will explore typical tunings, as well as other creative approaches to tunings that open the 12-String to amazing creativity.
      Topics we’ll explore at the workshop:
      • What to look for when purchasing a 12-String guitar
      • Considerations about tuning, string tension and string gauges
      • Fingerpicks or fingernails?
      • Nail care tips (especially important for 12-String players)
      • Open and altered tunings for the 12-String
      • Using the upper octave strings for melodic development, my specialty
      Tab, audio examples, links and resources will be provided.

      Website: tracymoore.comGet Tickets!

      John Stowell

      John Stowell

      Building Solo Vocabulary

      Sunday May 19th — 2:00pm - 3:30pm

      Civic Garden Club - 622 South Second St.  La Conner, WA

      $30 / Advance - Online
      $35 / at the Box Office (located in Maple Hall during exhibition hours)

      About John Stowell

      John Stowell began his successful career in the early 1970's with private study with guitarist Linc Chamberland and pianist John Mehegan. Both men were valuable mentors to John, allowing him to play with them as he progressed in his development. Several years later he met bassist David Friesen in New York City, and they formed a duo that recorded and toured prolifically for seven years, with performances in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.
      In 1983, John and David joined flutist Paul Horn and Paul's son Robin Horn (on drums) for a historic tour of the Soviet Union. This was the first time in forty years that an American jazz group had been invited to play public performances in Russia. In 1993, 1995, 1998 and 2012 John returned to Russia, playing in numerous cities. His two sold-out performances in Kursk may have been the first appearances there by an American jazz musician.
      John continues to tour, record and teach internationally. He has been Artist-In-Residence at schools in Germany, Indonesia, Argentina, and in the United States and Canada. He served as assistant director and performer in Oregon Public Broadcasting's PDX Jazz Summit in 1991, and since 1995 has been a contributing columnist for a number of magazines, including "Downbeat", "Guitar Player", "Canadian Musician", "Soundcheck" (Germany), and "Guitar Club" (Italy).

      About This Workshop

      Building Solo Vocabulary and finding new tonalities using modes of the melodic minor scale in the context of any song.
      Attendees will receive a 50 page pdf with some articles that John has written and links for three of his recent Origin CDs

      Website: www.johnstowell.comGet Tickets!

 

Special Thanks To:
Printing Center USA
For a beautiful job printing the Festival Program!