Sore Fingers 08

[yellowbarber]

Hey gang
Sore fingers week is coming up in a few weeks. I hear that there's still spaces in the OT classes.
24-28 March,
Kingham Hill School,
Kingham,
Chipping Norton,
Oxfordshire
OX7 6TH
www.sorefingers.co.uk/


Folks probably don't know much of him, but allow me to blow my horn about our man doing the OT banjo classes.
Brett Ratliff,www.myspace.com/cornbrett, is an Honest-to-God Kentucky native banjo picker. He's been playing alot with Dirk Powell lately as well as his own group Clack Mountain. I highly recommend any aspiring banjo pickers to seize upon the chance to glean tidbits from him. He's also a genuinely beautiful guy.

I have to honor of heading up the OT fiddle classes. I'll be focusing on bowing vocabulary, alternate tunings, repertoire and staying up all night. We'll have a look at both sides of the Appalachian Mountains from my experience with North Carolina fiddler, David Bass, Midwestern fiddlers Rhys Jones & Christina Wheeler; plus my own firsthand experience as a Virginia native (and all the gobbltey-gook associated with it).

[yellowbarber]

Well, I meant to do this a while ago. I’m easily distracted (oooh! piece of candy!)... plus all the fun stuff with the Freight Hoppers signing on with Rounder and big changes around the Bailey household have kept me duly occupied.

So, if you’ve signed up for the old time fiddle course at Sore Fingers Week ’08, here’s some of what you can expect:

We’ll take a look at the bow all week long, it will be the primary focus as we investigate how to use it better to articulate phrasings in the left hand and how to get the most out of a few open tunings. I’ve cracked into my vault and hauled out some Kentucky/WVa stuff from Ed Haley, Eddn Hammons and WM Stepp in particular for AEAE examples. We’ll listen to Western North Carolina’s Marcus Martin, Virginia fiddlers Albert Hash and Greg Hooven, and the great Nebraska fiddler Bob Walters. Because the 21st century has washed away most isolations and there’s more source material readily available than ever before I’ll make every effort to take you on non-scholastic and disorganized forays into a sea of traditional American fiddle music.

Most importantly, our esteemed old time banjo instructor and all around gentelman, Brett Ratliff and I will confer upon a set of tunes so you fiddlers will have something to play with the banjo players. He’s an honest-to-God Kentucky boy, so our repertoires intersect in many places. It’s my hope to impart the enthusiasm to "be your own fiddler", to enjoy the time you spend with your music and share that joy among your friends and family.

So tune up the fiddle, rosin up the bow and I’ll see you in Oxfordshire, right after the Easter egg hunt.

[Ptarmigan]

Well, have you all got Sore Fingers now?

Any feedback guys, or are you all still recovering?

Go on, give us the low down & make the rest of us GREEN with envy?

Cheers
Dick