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Post by waffle on Oct 17, 2013 9:40:25 GMT
OK i have now booked,Thanks for that Michael.
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Post by Michael Messer on Nov 3, 2013 11:27:43 GMT
Hi Pocklingtonites, I apologise for such a late response to your questions, but I will do my best to answer those questions now.... Bod's questions are..... I'm tempted to just say that a deal of what I hope to get from the weekend at Pocklington is pretty much built in - or, at least, the opportunities are (up to me to make the most of those opportunities), but since you ask I can and will say a bit more (having spent much of my working life in teaching, I do appreciate that this kind of input from learners can be helpful) The opportunities are there for the taking. There is a whole group of people meeting for the same reasonsGaining experiences A major target for me is to have a go at something along the lines of the student floor spots and to find it fun (rather than - or perhaps as well as - terrifying). If I can do that and live to tell the tale I'm pretty sure I'll be able to (finally) take a guitar the the open mic at the perfectly nice pub about two minutes walk from where I live, which will be good Student floor spots (with no pressure) are a big part of the weekend. On Friday evening the whole event is exactly that, people get up and do floor spots in a very relaxed atmosphere to the most supportive audience you could wish for.Learning something about how to play nicely with others, so to speak, would / will be great. I sometimes try to play / jam with this old pal or that, but none of us have much idea about how to go on, 'the blind leading the blind' is a phrase that comes to mind. Playing with others is also a big part of the weekend. People make up duos and bands to do a song or two, and the after hours jamming also encourages everyone to play together. On Sunday morning Ed and I will be holding a 'duo class', which will focus on how to be an accompanist and how to make the whole thing work when there are two or more musicians playing together. Technique-type issues Don't know how plausible it is to teach / coach damping techniques - never seem to come across anything on that, so I speculate that it may be particular and personal to the point of idiosyncrasy, but if possible some pointers on the subject would be very welcome. Getting a good technique and receiving playing tips about improving technique, tone, touch, etc... are subjects that are present in all lessons all the time. I am persistent about good technique.I'm also very keen to understand better the aspects of bottleneck slide guitar beyond what the slide is doing - I've worked on my slide technique quite a bit, but the slide part is only a part of what a slide guitarist's contribution to a number (don't know how clearly this is coming across, but I guess you can see what I'm driving at) I think I understand your question - slide is only a part of playing acoustic country blues and I do always try to spend time teaching pieces that incorporate slide, rather than being just slide. This is usually part of a lesson about playing in open tunings; learning some chords and patterns."Repertoire" As above, I've worked on slide technique a fair bit, probably to the detriment of the rest of it. I can noodle away endlessly having self-indulgent fun with slide (and thumb) but am pretty much useless when it comes to playing whole songs. On a good day, I can play snatches of this and patchy versions of that, but am now trying to get to grips with some whole pieces. Anything that helps with this would be great - artists, pretty much 'the usual suspects' I guess, I'm mighty keen to get some sort of handle on some Muddy Waters, Son House and Fred McDowell (and, p'raps one day, some Charley Patton) - (subsequently added for clarity) so anything that helped along those lines would be right up my street Repertoire is also an important part of the whole thing and the names you have mentioned are among the key people that we focus on.
In addition to all of the above ..... You will have a great time and gets loads of stuff to take home and work with. If you have a machine for recording or filming parts of the lessons, please bring it along. These days with iPhones, iPads and various other tablets and gadgets, filming and recording is something that lots of people do. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pat, you have also asked me a question, which is pasted here.... "Personally, I would like to come away from Pocklington with a new song. I have become stuck in a rut of Can't Be Satisfied, Walking Blues, Rollin and Tumblin, etc, so something new and challenging would be good. However, I can see the obvious problem with this is chosing a tune that nobody in the class already plays and everybody wants to learn (because in my view, if you don't like it, it's really difficult to learn it). I guess everybody could come armed with a few suggestions and the class could settle on one through a process of elemination but that could be time consuming. Anyway, I have put the idea out there: let's see what other people think". You are actually right on the money there! That is kind of how the classes work. If a song is suggested by me or someone in the class, we all have to agree that we want to work on it, and usually everyone does. If you have a couple of songs you would like to learn, bring them along. In fact if you let me know in advance and they fit in to what I have planned, I will try and build them in to what we do. I look forward to seeing everyone in a couple of weeks... Shine On Michael.
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Post by bod on Nov 4, 2013 9:16:32 GMT
Personally, I would like to come away from Pocklington with a new song. I have become stuck in a rut of Can't Be Satisfied, Walking Blues, Rollin and Tumblin, etc, so something new and challenging would be good. However, I can see the obvious problem with this is chosing a tune that nobody in the class already plays and everybody wants to learn (because in my view, if you don't like it, it's really difficult to learn it). I guess everybody could come armed with a few suggestions and the class could settle on one through a process of elemination but that could be time consuming. Anyway, I have put the idea out there: let's see what other people think. Slide on, Pat Hi Pat (and anyone else doing Pocklington, come to that), did you have any particular numbers / artists in mind for this? No harm in kicking around some ideas...
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Post by obrienp on Nov 4, 2013 14:20:39 GMT
Hi Michael and Bod,
Hmm, now I am on the spot! I have always wanted to be able to play all of the following but I suspect that many in the class will have got all of these under their belts already: Robert Johnson's versions of Crossroad Blues, Terraplane Blues, Stones in My Passway (all very similar), so maybe not the best choice for a mixed ability class. A few more ideas: Tampa Red's "Somebody's Been Using That Thing" (similar to She Got the best in Town); Robert Johnson again "Travelling Riverside Blues" & "Come on In My Kitchen"; Sylvester Weaver's version of "St Louis Blues"; Sony House "Empire State Express".
Is that enough to start the ball rolling?
Slide on, Pat
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Post by Michael Messer on Nov 4, 2013 15:21:52 GMT
Hi Pat,
I am sure I can work in a Robert Johnson section where we look at a group of his songs. The RJ songs that you have mentioned, apart from Come On In My Kitchen, do kind of fit together. Sylvester Weaver & Walter Beasley's St Louis Blues is a great piece. Ed and I used to play it, but not for many years. I am sure there will be five minutes to sketch that one out for you. It is a simplified version of the real St Louis Blues and it is very cool. Son House's Empire State Express is an amazing piece of music, but there is no slide in it, so maybe we can look at that when we talk about playing in open tunings without a slide, which I do like to do. Tampa Red is not an artist that I have that much knowledge about. I can play a few of his pieces and I have always enjoyed his slide playing, but I don't have a big repertoire of his stuff in my head. Tampa Red is probably my least researched of the masters of slide guitar. Having said that, his style of blues playing in for example 'The Voice of the Blues' 'Black Hearted Woman' is a style that I know very well. I can play Boogie Woogie Dance and Seminole Blues (but it needs two guitars), and a few others if I think about it.
I have some good songs planned for the weekend, but I will hold onto those until we are all together. I always find it interesting to get input from everyone in the class about which songs/artists they want to cover.
Keep 'em coming...
Shine On Michael
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Post by obrienp on Nov 4, 2013 18:56:00 GMT
Thanks Michael. Anything would be great.
WRT Empire State Express: explains why I have been having trouble trying to learn it: could have sworn he was using a slide in parts of it but maybe I have been confusing it with somebody else' version.Embarrassing!
Slide on, Pat
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Post by bod on Nov 4, 2013 19:39:39 GMT
That sounds interesting and potentially very helpful...
Also, I've been listening to Bukka White a lot this afternoon, which makes me whether something (anything!) of his would go down well...
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Post by Michael Messer on Nov 5, 2013 9:53:15 GMT
Hi Bod & Pat,
Bod, you're in luck because Bukka White is one of the artists that I have planned to cover during the weekend.
There are two songs in Son House's repertoire with that same guitar accompaniment, Empire State Express & The Jinx Blues. We can certainly look at that accompaniment as one of the open-tuning-no-slide pieces.
Shine On Michael
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Post by Michael Messer on Nov 5, 2013 12:57:00 GMT
Hi everyone,
I just found this on Youtube from last year's Blues Weekend ......thanks Ken!
From left to right - Michael Roach - Duncan Moules - Michael Messer
Shine On Michael
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Post by RichardK on Nov 12, 2013 1:14:38 GMT
After some uncertainty as to whether I would be able to make it, I've finally got round to booking for Pocklington.
If anyone is thinking of acquiring a nice new resonator to inspire their playing further, I've just advertised my NRP Triolian (with Highlander) for sale in Tin Can Alley, and will probably bring it along on Friday.
Looking forward to a great weekend!
Richard
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Post by waffle on Nov 13, 2013 20:24:56 GMT
Hiya Everyone, I am looking forward to the Saturday night concert with Michael and Ed, along with the rest of you fellow players also.I won't be there for tuition, But for me as a player, MM and ED..i can't wait.It's a long time for me since i last saw them together.It took me a few years to get my head around MM's albums, as i thought they would be solo acoustic with resonator guitars as a young naive fella back then, my favorite album now by Michael Messer is Lucky Charms.
See you there.
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Post by robbie on Nov 17, 2013 8:12:46 GMT
hiya guys, hope, and expect sat night was great, for my part....due to circumstances beyond my control I did not pre book a ticket. the journey for me was 120 miles round trip.....only to find out from the lady on the recepton desk the concert was a sell out...no surprise tere..guess there is always next year hopefully
robbie
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Post by waffle on Nov 17, 2013 10:27:02 GMT
Hi Robbie, So frustrating,i too was going to just turn up thinking they would have spare tickets!For me the night was great and i can see why it sold out.Venue was nice and relaxed with candle light too.Speaking with Michael last night he said Pocklington should be happening next year.I will be going again for sure.
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Post by Bob Stockton on Nov 17, 2013 18:20:36 GMT
I'd like to say thanks to Michael and Ed for running s fun and educational weekend. It's good to know that you'll be running it next year - I'll certainly be signing up , I might even have got my head round some of this years tunes by then. It's always nice to put some names to faces too.
Thanks, Bob
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Post by BigBadDom on Nov 17, 2013 19:50:24 GMT
Yup, thanks Mike & Ed. Good to see all the sliders and meet some new folks. Roll on Pockers 2014.
Now I'm home, thinking about work next week, I really have the blues!
Dom
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