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Post new topic Beg./Inter. E9 Workshop, Bay Area, CA, April 25, 2010
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Author Topic:  Beg./Inter. E9 Workshop, Bay Area, CA, April 25, 2010
John McClung


From:
Olympia WA, USA
Post  Posted 1 Apr 2010 8:05 pm    
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E9 WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT

NOTE: Info on this workshop is posted here, and also in Events and Announcements. That thread is more active, for some reason, so check it out, too:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=181090

IMPORTANT NOTICE & REMINDER
As mentioned further down, for this workshop to happen I need at least 10 confirmed registrations by April 15. That target hasn't been reached yet. If you're thinking about attending, don't be a silent waffler, please get in touch to sign up and help make this a reality. If you have any questions about course content, just email me. It's going to be a great course, and a lot of fun. Thanks!

––––––––––––––––––––

I'm spending some time in the Bay Area in late April, and while there will offer a full day E9 pedal steel workshop, on Sunday, April 25, in San Leandro (between Oakland and Hayward). The two workshops I taught in January at the SWSGA steel show in Phoenix were a big hit, so I'd like to keep helping players in other areas of the Western region.

Photos from the Phoenix seminars:




(My seminars and workshops are a full multi-media experience: slide show, white board, roll-up piano, and wacky prizes for correct answers to my questions!)


I'm a busy full-time steel player in Southern California. I've played professionally for 38 years, and have taught dozens of students in private lessons, classes and workshops for 28 years. I consider passing on what I've learned in my career to be my most important contribution to the steel guitar community.


"From the Bedroom to the Bandstand"
The workshop is all about how to make the leap from practicing at home, to playing and surviving on the bandstand.

If you mainly learn songs at home, from tablature, or by painstakingly learning licks from records, don't you sometimes wonder if that's really time well-spent? Do you wonder what secret skills and knowledge the pro's have that allow them to be so fluid and inventive, even on songs they don't know, right onstage?

It's really not all that hard or mysterious!

Using 2 simple songs, I'll show you exactly how a professional steel player typically approaches learning new material, and how to take basic chords and melodies and embellish them into beautiful intros, fills and solos.


You will learn how to:
• listen and identify a song's root, chords and melody, the most critical tasks we have
• find melodies on your E9 neck
• play harmonized scales and use them for fills and solos
• modify harmonized scales to better fit chord progressions
• create your own licks, not just depend on what others have recorded
• use the power and usefulness of the E9's top two strings
• "weave" all this together into your own personal coherent and dynamic style of playing

Throughout the class we will also touch on:
• the Nashville number system
• bandstand courtesy and protocol
• why you need to know palm blocking, pick blocking, and other less well-known ways of blocking and muting

By the workshop's end, you will have a clear understanding of the logical PROCESS all professional steelers use, and see how easy it is to use this process for your own musical growth.


Is this workshop for you?
This workshop is for advanced beginners, and intermediate players. You should already know your way around playing major chords, and maybe a few minor and 7th chords, and be reasonably proficient at palm blocking. Please call or email me if you're not sure if taking this course is appropriate for your current skill level.

You don't need to know much, or any, music theory, or be a hot shot player. You just need to be serious about improving your playing through improved listening skills, and a better understanding of how to create that "flow" that the pedal steel does better than any other instrument.


What to bring
This is a hands-on workshop, so bring your:
• steel
• seat
• music stand
• picks, bar, guitar cords
• tuner
• AC extension cord, at least 10 feet in length
• notepad and writing utensils
• some way to hear yourself playing under headphones (headphone amp, small amp with headphone output, etc.). No speaker output is allowed. Earbuds (not over-the-ear headphones) are strongly encouraged, so you can hear both your steel and my words of wisdom.

UPDATE: I’ve been researching headphone amps, and the only two I’ve found so far that I feel are worth owning are:

Line 6 Pocket Pod Express (about $80 at web stores).
This unit is simple, has decent clean sounds, and best of all, has an auxiliary input jack, so you can practice with a CD player, MP3 player, iPod, etc. Can operate on AC if desired.

Vox amPlug for Bass, about $50. All the guitar versions are for fuzzy lead players, this one has a pretty good clean sound. Does have aux in, but no AC option. Plugs right into your steel, so it’s handy; unless you have a steel with its jack underneath, like the Carter Starter, then it’s completely NOT handy.

There are other units that have more sounds and features, but they cost quite a bit more. These 2 are the best bang for the buck, and I've personally tried them both, and feel you'll get a lot of use out of them, not just for this workshop.

Buy them from a local music store, or the usual online sources: MusiciansFriend.com, SamAsh.com, etc.



Where and when
The workshop will be held at:

The Englander Sports Pub & Restaurant
101 Parrott St.
San Leandro, CA 94577

Easy ground-floor load in, and plenty of free parking onsite. Our room is very large, so I'm hoping for a big turnout.

• map: http://tinyurl.com/ylfkh2r

• Class date is Sunday, April 25th, 2010.

• It runs from 9:00 a.m. until noon, an hour off for onsite lunch, then continues from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.

• Workshop fee is $90, and includes a great book, "How to Play By Ear" by Jack Hatfield, which is a core "textbook" in all my lessons. The book retails for $20. All my students get a lot out of this book, learning to identify intervals, chord types, and much more. It comes with a CD of listening exercises and drills.


Extra goodies for you
You will be given a link a few days after the workshop so you can download an MP3 audio recording of the entire workshop, and a PDF of the course outline. You wind up having a complete archive of your day of learning without having to bring your own recording gear or take scads of notes.


Make your reservation now!
I must have at least 10 confirmed, pre-paid registrations by April 15 to make this happen. All students are expected to order lunch (not included in the workshop fee) from the restaurant, which is all the venue is asking from us for a facilities fee.


Future workshops
If this first "Professor Twang" Bay Area workshop is a success for both students and the venue, I plan to do more workshops on other topics, on a regular basis, at the same place. So please consider coming out, learning a lot, and encouraging future educational steel guitar events in the Bay Area!

I'll have more details shortly on my website and here on the Forum about how and when to send in registration fees. I'll also post some tips on a good headphone amp solution.

http://www.steelguitarlessons.com

To sign up, or ask me about any aspect of this, please click the email link (not the "pm" link) in this post.

Thanks, I truly look forward to showing you a very logical approach to understanding your pedal steel, and I hope to see you in class on April 25!

Sincerely,
John McClung / "Professor Twang"
(email me for my phone number)
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net


Last edited by John McClung on 14 Apr 2010 10:59 am; edited 4 times in total
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Steve Raulston


From:
U.S.A. (deceased)
Post  Posted 2 Apr 2010 5:23 pm    
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Any intermediate beginner to even the best intermediate pickers looking to get caliber instruction from an outstanding pro player/instructor can honestly do no better than to get into one of these seminars offered by John. I wish he was offering this instruction when I was cutting my teeth. Simply said; he knows how to deliver and has raised the bar with his methods. Several years back and to my delight, John sat in with my band for an entire evening and a GREAT evening it was! Lilly's White Lies never sounded so good. Very Happy John teaches in such a way you will retain what you learn and go home with new found aspirations. If you are looking to get out of that rut and you need a transfusion of theory and a solid understanding of the PSG, this is for you.
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John McClung


From:
Olympia WA, USA
Post  Posted 2 Apr 2010 11:55 pm    
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Steve, thanks for your very kind words!

(Steve, btw, is one heck of a steel and guitar picker).

I'll be updating my website soon with a few student testimonials, I've seen a lot of light bulbs going on above their heads over the years. I love those "aha" moments! Smile
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net
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Jim Hussey

 

From:
Reno, Nevada - USA
Post  Posted 6 Apr 2010 7:25 pm    
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Hey. If you are anywhere near the Bay Area and looking for a great instructor, don’t miss this chance to learn from John. He is among the best.

For years I looked for an instructor who had a logical and organized approach to teaching steel that made sense. I tried learning scales, I tried learning licks, I tried learning songs. I ended up memorizing tab, but I never understood what I was playing or why.

Then I ran across John. I’ve been taking lessons in person and on line (skype) and finally I’m learning how to “think” pedal steel. Yes he covers all the basics: scales, theory, progressions, positions, but he does it in a well thought out, step by step process that will have you playing, rather than mimicking, steel in no time.

I cant say enough. If you can make this event, do it. You won’t regret it.

Oh, yah - - It'll be fun too!
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John McClung


From:
Olympia WA, USA
Post  Posted 12 Apr 2010 1:18 am    
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Bump for some updated info.
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net
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John McClung


From:
Olympia WA, USA
Post  Posted 13 Apr 2010 12:46 am    
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^^^
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net
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John McClung


From:
Olympia WA, USA
Post  Posted 23 Apr 2010 1:48 am    
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^^^

Still a few spots available.
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net
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Brad Bechtel


From:
San Francisco, CA
Post  Posted 23 Apr 2010 7:28 pm    
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I'm looking forward to being there on Sunday!
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John McClung


From:
Olympia WA, USA
Post  Posted 23 Apr 2010 11:58 pm    
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Folks the class is now a nice size, but we have room for a few more. It's hands on training, a great Keynote slide show (it even has funny stuff in it!), and explains exactly what you need to do to get to the next levels with your playing.

Just show up and pay at the door, cash or check only, please.

I'll have a little bit of accessories at discount prices, too: strings, BJS bars, Hilton volume pedals, etc.

Class begins at 9:00, so arrive NLT 8:30 to get set up.

For anyone without a headphone amp setup, we will have several backup devices, and even a few clip on music racks. We're pretty dang deluxe!

See the copy in my first post about all the stuff to bring. If you have questions, you'll need to call me at 310-480-0717, I'm driving up to the Bay Area tomorrow.

CU there!

Professor Twang
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net
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Bob Snelgrove


From:
san jose, ca
Post  Posted 11 May 2010 4:00 pm    
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john

Check your email!


bob
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