2009 Joe Val Festival

We are happy to announce some very exciting master classes for this year!

Adam Steffey, mandolin
Bobby Hicks, fiddle
Jens Kruger, banjo, with Mike Kropp
Uwe Kruger, guitar
Joel Landsberg, stand-up bass
Rich Stillman, beginning banjo

This is a great opportunity to study for a day with topnotch musicians, and then join us for the start of the festival.
All classes will meet on Friday, Feburary 13 from 11am-4pm, with a one hour break for lunch, at the Sheraton Framingham, lower level.

Registration and Cost: $65. Please send an email to the instructor to make sure there is still room in the class, and then bring the fee to the master class on Friday, February 13. Pre-registration required.

Master Class Descriptions:

Adam Steffey on Mandolin

 I will cover topics such as: developing solos, backing up a vocalist, techniques that I work on to play cleaner, rhythmic exercises and the importance of a good solid sense of timing, and various solo ideas and how I go about constructing a solo for both a vocal tune and an instrumental.

 The class will be more geared to the intermediate to advanced player, but I will be covering ideas and issues that will be easily picked up by beginning mandolinists as well. In addition to all the above mentioned topics, there will be a question and answer section as well where students can ask what they'd like about anything mandolin.

To register, contact Adam at adamsteffey@mac.com

Bobby Hicks on Fiddle

Our class goals are to expose you to three types of fiddling – bluegrass backup and fill (i.e. playing behind a singer or singers), twin fiddling and maybe a standard tune or two if there’s time. We will also cover some intro’s and outro’s that will work with many tunes. I want you to learn to play your fiddle tastefully with the rest of the band. 

I tend to play close to the melody, restating it during my breaks, and only after the melody has been solidly established with the audience do I use improvisation to any degree. It’s the way Bill Monroe wanted me to play and it makes sense to me to do it that way.

You can also download my “Elements of Good Fiddle Playing” free from my website – www.bobbyhicks.com . This will give you some detail as to what my philosophy of bluegrass fiddling is and how it should be learned.

To register: contact Bobby at email:  tarheelfiddler@aol.com

Jens Kruger on Banjo with Mike Kropp
Open to all players, but with the focus for intermediate to advanced students, Jens will delight all with his exceptional grasp of the banjo and his prodigious skills. He looks forward to sharing his knowledge with all aspiring players in this unique hands on master class. Jens will inspire you to new levels of playing and how you think about the banjo. In this four hour class, he will cover the following topics:

Composing for the Banjo
A discussion of strategies for composing tunes.  If you’ve always wanted to write a tune and haven’t been able to get the creative juices flowing, or if you’ve wanted to find new ways to express your musicality, this class is for you.

Playing Outside of Bluegrass (New Sounds on the Banjo: Expand Your Tonal Palette)
Bluegrass banjo players tend to think in terms of a few optimal sounds.  Jens will demystify and present another approach available to the modern player as he teaches a variety of useful sounds, borrowing techniques from other instruments and coming up with some new variations.  Effects will be described and demonstrated including damping, tapping styles, and wah-wah, phaser and chorus without the aid of electronics.

A Visual Approach to Music Theory and Chords on the Banjo
Here’s a unique and practical method for utilizing the fingerboard  for chords through basic music theory.  Jens will show participants how to find and use visual guideposts and pathways on the fingerboard to enhance their playing.  Jens describes this process as a “relaxed idea” that will change the way you think about playing the banjo.

Melody Development
Jens will guide you through the process of finding melody on the fingerboard and teach you how to apply the melody to style and embellishment. He will demonstrate the key tools to help you make the right choices to get the melody to forefront in your bluegrass playing. An essential primer for getting you out of the rut of playing the same sounding melody breaks for your repertoire.

Mike Kropp will host this master class for Jens. Please contact Mike for registration details; he will be pleased to answer your questions. banjokropp@cox.net    401-539-8818

Uwe Kruger on Guitar
The workshop is open for beginning and intermediate students of the
American Steel String Guitar. It will not be absolutely necessary to
bring an instrument, but it would probably make some things easier to
demonstrate if you had a guitar on your lap. There will be no written
material handed out, but recording the class is welcome, either sound or
video is ok.

In my classes I usually cover a pretty wide range of topics like Chord
Formations, Rhythmical Structures, Left and Right hand technique, Cross-
Picking, or Warm-up exercises and Lead Guitar. Questions from the
participants are welcome and encouraged. The information I can and will
provide is based on my experience as a Professional Musician and Teacher
and will reflect a point of view that is very personal and direct.

To register: contact Joel at  joel@krugerbrothers.com

Joel Landsberg on Bass

Bass Playing methods in Acoustic Music.

Level:  Advanced Beginner - Intermediate - Advanced

The Bass is the foundation on which all other instruments build upon for creating music. We will discuss various aspects of bass playing including, my philosophy on playing the bass in a band setting, techniques for good tone reproduction, paying attention to backing up soloists and singers, being comfortable with your instrument, "walking" bass lines, questions and answers... I am here to help you with your approach so please be ready to participate!
To register: contact Joel at Joel@krugerbrothers.com

Bluegrass Banjo for Beginners - Fast Track! (with Rich Stillman)

Indulge your dreams of being a bluegrass banjo player with this one-day course. The fast track is designed for total beginners or people who have struggled to learn from a book. The course will include four 45-minute group lessons and supervised practices. By the end you should have enough of a foundation in the bluegrass banjo style to play a simple tune or two and to continue learning on your own or with an instructor.

If you don't have a banjo, let us know when you preregister at least a week in advance, and we'll try to get you a loaner for the day. Sorry, we can't do the same if you register later than that.

Rich Stillman is a long-time Boston-area banjo teacher, player and contest winner. He currently plays with Southern Rail.

To register: contact Rich at stillman@waystation.net