Saturday, May 13 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
“Aha Moments and Special Ingredients” – Spicing up your Arrangements and Compositions
Bill Mize is renowned for his meticulously crafted fingerstyle arrangements and original compositions, as well as a recognizably sweet tone. This workshop will explore ways to find more to say with your arrangements:
• Producing a better tone
• Moving beyond musical clichés
• Creating interesting bass lines and
• Working on more “filled out” inner parts and lines
Bill will also share his " aha" moments that have shaped his style and guided his musical development. He will also share tips on composing in altered tunings, recording, amplification and pickups, and more.
The second half of the workshop will be a master class with Bill giving constructive advice and suggestions to anyone stuck with an arrangement, composition or just needing a little kickstart with their playing!
About Bill
Grammy-winning guitarist Bill Mize is a son of Tennessee, and a more fitting representative of his state’s rich musical heritage would be hard to find. His critically lauded fingerstyle compositions are fluid and intricate, and their delivery masterful. One suspects an influential teacher, and one would be right. “I received most of my musical education from a cheap Zenith radio,” says Mize, who as a child drifted off to sleep to the decidedly non-sleepy lullabyes emanating from Nashville’s WLAC and WSM and Knoxville’s WNOX.
Maybe that’s why critics speak of his ability to “transport” the listener; the music itself has been transported. The links to his Tennessee roots are unmistakable, but so are the elements of the far wider musical realm he inhabits, and the mixture is as intoxicating as Tennessee moonshine. With a twist.
Bill is a past winner of the Winfield National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition, and received a GRAMMY Award for his collaboration with musician and storyteller David Holt on the recording Stellaluna. Popular acoustic guitar compilations "Windham Hill Guitar Sampler" by Windham Hill Records and "Masters of the Acoustic Guitar" by Narada Records included works. 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.
"The Angel's Share ..Essential Acoustic CD of 2010" - Acoustic Guitar Magazine
“An amazing touch, killer tone and a sense of taste that can't be beat." - Vintage Guitar Magazine
“Guitars pine for the fingers of Bill Mize, who makes them weep, sing and roll around like a cat at his feet. Thumpin’ good acoustic majesty.” – WDVX Blue Plate Special
