News
Upcoming workshops at the Podunk Bluegrass Festival
For those of you planning to come to the always-fun Podunk Bluegrass Festival in East Hartford, CT, in August, I'll be doing two workshops for all instruments and leading a slow jam. These workshops, and all the others at the festival, are free with a festival ticket. If you have any questions feel free to email me at petekelly22@gmail.com.
Thursday, August 5, 6:15 pm -- Guided slow jam
If you can play a couple of chords on your instrument and want to learn how to play with others, this no-stress jam is for you. All instruments are welcome. We may spend the first few minutes talking about how jam sessions work but we'll use most of the session to pick some simple tunes at slow speeds. Singing is not required, nor is playing lead on your instrument. If you just want to come to watch, that's ok, too.
Friday, August 6, 12:45 pm -- Making the most of practice time
The fastest way to get better at playing or singing is to add a little bit of organization to your practice time and use proven techniques for making the most of that limited time. We'll cover those topics and also steal a few secrets from some of the best practicers -- classical musicians -- and adapt them to our needs. This workshop is for all instruments and all levels.
Friday, August 6, 4:45 pm -- Beginning to improvise
How do you start to improvise? It can seem like a mystical process but it isn't. We'll go over in concrete detail how to start with the melody of a song and improvise around it to begin to bring out your voice on your instrument. This workshop is open to all levels, but you'll probably get the most out of it if you're at the stage where you can play the melodies to a few songs on your instrument. All instruments welcome.
Workshop at Joe Val -- "How to Figure Out New Songs"
I'll be doing a workshop on figuring out songs from recordings on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at next week's Joe Val Bluegrass Festival near Boston. We'll learn to identify a song's key, figure out what chords are being played and make a simple chord chart, and if there's enough time work on figuring out melodies. All of these skills will help you develop your ears. Geared for people who want to learn how to hear chord changes or are having trouble doing so. You don't need to bring an instrument unless you want to. This workshop and all the Saturday and Sunday workshops are free with a festival ticket.
Lessons. I'll also be available for private lessons at the festival on bass or banjo on Friday and Saturday. If you're interested email me at petekelly22@gmail.com or give me a call at 860-550-5084.
Barry Bales DVD due out in February
Acutab is coming out with an instructional DVD from Barry Bales, Alison Krauss' great bass player. It's due out in February. It's Acutab's first bass DVD, and if it's like their stuff for other instruments it'll be good. For more on Barry Bales visit his web site, barrybales.net. See especially the gallery of his basses.
Joe Val
Feb. 12-14, 2010: It's the ginormous Joe Val Memorial Bluegrass Festival at the Sheraton in Framingham, Mass. Three days of bluegrass insanity. Top bands, workshops, instrument vendors, endless jamming by the elevators, but without the troublesome outdoor porta-potties. This is hands down my favorite indoor festival. Tickets were still available in mid-January. Check their site here.
Robert Black recital
Uncategorizable double bassist Robert Black gives a free recital at the University of Hartford, where he is professor of double bass. He's also a member of the Bang on a Can All Stars. Sunday, February 14, 2010 at 3 pm. Info at the Hartt School calendar.
860-550-5084
Welcome!
Howdy, folks! I play bass and teach "roots" music in southern New England. I especially love bluegrass, jazz, and old country. I'm a banjo alumnus of The Dale Ann Bradley Band and Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, and have taught privately and led workshops on bass, banjo, and other music-related topics throughout the United States and in the U.K. and Caribbean. For more info visit the About Pete page.