Group Lessons

The standard group lesson is about 3 hours, limited to 10 students and
costs $50 each. A private 1 hour lesson is $100. I created the group lesson

concept in a time when people were holding Workshops which as
far as I could see were just mini concerts in which the teacher would
mostly talk about their instruments or life as a musician.

Remembering how I had learned so much when I had the opportunity
hang out with Kenny Baker all those years at his farm, I thought that it
was important for me to create a situation where mandolin players
could get some serious time with the master Frank Wakefield and since

I managed him, I could do something about this.

I thought it really important for anyone serious about learning to play
to have a chance to learn from a master musician because they would
get right to the meat and leave out the fat. I went to Kenny Baker
because I liked his sound and I didn't want to learn it from someone
second hand. For me, learning from Baker and at times Monroe, was
an incredible experience which was on a par with shifting to hyper space
in the movie Star Wars I. Workshops were not getting to that experience
as far as I could see, but if I limited the attendance to 10 students, Frank
could teach some important and sometimes complex concepts to
students of almost any level. My intention was to have the lessons
"engage the students" in concepts that they would then work on
perfecting for years to come, just like my experiences with Baker.
These were not to be about documenting how someone plays,
the DVDs can do that, group lessons were to be about engaging the
student in the actual execution of the techniques to a point where they
could go perfect it at home.

I started with Frank Wakefield's group lessons, but received so many
requests for fiddle lessons I decided to add the option for
Fiddle and Guitar lessons. We advance book the lessons to be sure
that a student wanting to attend will be able to secure a seat.
Advance booking also lets us know if there is any interest in attending a
group lesson in a particular town.

Frank Wakefield's typical 3 hour lessons try to cover the following:
* How to use your right hand to get a big Monroe type tone.
* Cross Picking
* Split String Playing
* Special Tunings
* Other Frank Wakefield Picking Styles

For the fiddle, I cover technique issues that can be applied to the students playing:
* How to hold and use your bow (things that Kenny Baker taught me over the years at his farm)
* How to get a big tone by using your right hand and wrist.
* How to finger rich notes and vibrato
* Fiddle Setup (strings, bow hair, bridges, tailpieces, rosin)
* The Human Body as it contributes to effective fiddle playing

If there is time or if I am asked, I can also cover:
* Thoughts on backup and lead fiddling
* Exorcises for developing fiddle technique.

Jim Lewin teaches flat picking technique.
Again, how to use the right hand to get tone and speed.
I am not sure what Jim would teach at a given lesson, but I shot his lesson DVD
and from that I would say that he is a great teacher who can effectively
break down all aspects of lead bluegrass guitar playing.

NOTE:

Although not necessary to attend a group lesson, for a student who might want to get

a jump on the subject matter it is not a bad idea to get one of the Ultra Clear Lesson DVDs

that either Frank for mandolin or Jim Lewin for guitar have out.

http://www.candlewater.com/BlueberryRecords/FWDVDSeries/

Jim Moss
FWB