Fiddling with Darol Anger: How to Hold the Bow
Wed, 10/02/2013 - 12:01pm
"It's important to be able to play in tune and play all the notes, but if you don't have that nice groove on the bow, then it really is not fiddling." - Darol Anger
Darol Anger knows everything there is to know about how to play the fiddle, so trust him when he says that this is important. Learning how to hold the bow is a perfect thing to learn once you've mastered how to rosin the bow (which is also a fundamental fiddle lesson, so be sure to check out Darol's lesson on that at the link).
Doc Watson Tribute feat. Bryan Sutton, David Holt, T. Michael Coleman
Wed, 10/02/2013 - 5:43pm
A while back we took a trip out to Freight and Salvage in Berkeley and filmed Bryan Sutton playing guitar with David Holt and T. Michael Coleman as the acoustic supergroup "Sutton, Holt and Coleman". The tour was in honor of the late great flatpicker Doc Watson, who's always been a hero and inspiration to Bryan. We're excited to announce that the videos are edited and first set has been uploaded to the Music+ Area, along with an exclusive backstage interview we did with the fellas. Find it all here or click on the picture to watch the first song.
Darol Anger Concerts in New England Nov 21th - 30th
Wed, 10/09/2013 - 9:52am
Darol Anger will be doing shows in New England in November, and in the Pacific Northwest in December.
- Nov. 21 -Dec 1: various shows in New England with Mr. Sun [Joe Walsh, Grant Gordy]
- Dec 19-22: Seattle, Olympia, Portland, Eugene with the Keep-it-in-the Fam Xmas Show [Hargreaves, Phelps, Corbett, Jolliff]
Missy Raines & The New Hip Tour Dates
Thu, 10/10/2013 - 11:26am
Missy has some upcoming shows with The New Hip - who recently released a new album on Compass Records titled New Frontier. Check out more dates and find all the latest info on her website here!
- 10/11: Sutter Creek Theatre, Sutter Creek
- 10/12: Sebastopol Community Theatre, Sebastopol
- 10/13: Santa Cruz House Concert, Santa Cruz
- 10/15: Freight & Salvage, Berkeley
- 10/17: Rio Grand Theatre, Las Cruces
- 10/18: PAC3 @Carbondale, Carbondale
- 10/25: Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs
Announcing ArtistWorks Gift Cards are now on Amazon!
Tue, 10/15/2013 - 4:31pm
Topics: Music Education, online learning
Help us Spread the Magic of ArtistWorks!
If you like us, this is the time to let the world know about it!
Feeling comfortable when performing
Tue, 10/22/2013 - 8:47pm
Howdy folks. This blog entry is actually an answer to a question that I received in the forums. It relates to a home page video I posted a while back about how to bring that relaxed feeling of playing at home to the stage. Hopefully there is some helpful info here for you.
Hey Bill,
How to Tune a Mandolin with an Electric Tuner: Beginner Lesson
Wed, 10/23/2013 - 5:44pm
"It's never perfect, but we do the best we can." - Mike Marshall
Mandolin tuning is so incredibly important, and something you'll definitely want to master before you even think about playing with anyone else. If your mandolin is not in tune, it doesn't matter how good you are - it's just not going to sound good. If you're new to learning mandolin, tuning a mandolin is not exactly an intuitive process… As Mike mentions, there's a saying that goes: if you've been playing mandolin for 30 years, you spend 15 of those years mandolin tuning and the other 15 years playing out of tune.
The truth is, it takes a lot to tune a mandolin and get it right, but the good news is that there's many who have come before you. So pay attention to this tutorial all about mandolin tuning from Mike Marshall and learn how to tune a mandolin from a master.
More Banjo Lessons Added
Fri, 10/25/2013 - 1:53pm
There are a few new banjo lessons that just went up, here's what we have:
In Beginner Banjo - Shortnin' Bread
In Intermediate Banjo - Bill Cheatham
And Also: Tony and Mike Marshall perform and discuss "Billy in the Lowground"
Click on the images to jump right to the new stuff!
Casey Driessen's Banjo Joke Pictorials
Wed, 10/30/2013 - 10:18am
The following piece was written by the great fiddle player Casey Driessen on his website, who recently went on tour with the NY Banjo Summit. Be sure to click on the 'Read More' to get to the banjo jokes!
In the fall of 2013, I went on tour with the NY Banjo Summit. It was an unprecedented collection of banjo lineage—the catch being that the players had to have some association with New York State. The tour began with 12 people on a 12 bunk bus, plus our driver. There were 6 on banjo: Béla Fleck, Tony Trischka, Bill Keith, Eric Weissberg, Richie Stearns, and Noam Pikelny; 4 in the band: Russ Barenberg, Jesse Cobb, Corey Dimario, and myself; and 2 crew: Richard Battaglia on sound and Peter Lesser as tour manager. But wait! there’s more! We were joined by banjoist and wife of Béla, Abigail Washburn, their 4mos. baby boy Juno, Béla’s mother and a nanny. By the end of the tour we were 17 (incl. driver) on the same bus. I know, it kind of sounds like a joke, but I’m not joking.
BUT! Going into this, I smelled all the ingredients for the perpetuation of a long standing tradition of banjo jokes. As one that enjoys being in the kitchen, I decided to bake up a batch, but with my own style—in picture. To prepare for this endeavor, I studied all 271 represented at the Canonical List of Banjo Jokes in addition to taking suggestions from my tour pals. The goal was to illustrate a banjo joke in picture, post it, and see if folks could figure it out. We had a fun time making these.
Thanks to all for being great sports and for making fabulous music!
- Casey (@caseydriessen)
Ger Mandolin Orchestra Concert Toronto Canada Nov 7th
Thu, 10/31/2013 - 10:15am
Topics: mandolin, mike marshall
Presented in association with Holocaust Education Week and the Yellow Rose Project, Mike Marshall will be leading the Ger Mandolin Orchestra on November 7 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Also playing in the orchestra with Mike will be an all-star cast of mandolinists that include: Chris Acquavella, Tom Cohen, Tim Connell, Brian Oberlin, Dana Rath, Adam Roskiewicz, Eric Stein, Jeff Warschauer, Don Stiernberg, and Radim Zenkl.
Watch the video below for a look into the group's culturally rich history and footage from their 2011 Concert in Góra Kalwaria. Click on the picture for more information about the show.
