Course Descriptions

All Classes will take place at:

Bruce Arnold's Fundamentals Course

Time: 12 noon to 1pm

Bruce will demystify many things that keep a musician from reaching their full potential. In particular, your practice time is valuable. Bruce will show you how to get the most out of it, and will guide you through:

Proper Guitar Technique for both right and left hand.

• Ear Training and it's relationship to improvisation and composition.
• Chord Scale Relationships and Ear Training (Think they way you hear.)
• Ear Training and it's relationship to scales and chord progressions.
  
• Modal Sequencing the secret weapon to developing better fretboard
  knowledge.
• Articulation and Embellishment and their relationship to expressive playing.
• Two methods used to understand chord progression movement.
• Fingering Pattern considerations to build a more musical way of playing.

How to integrate the above concepts into Blues, Rock, Jazz and Metal.

Bruce Arnold's Advanced Course

Time: 1:00 pm to 2pm

This course will cover Chromatic playing and Pitch Class Sets as an improvisational and compositional tool to modernize your sound. Bruce makes it a point to clarify complex subjects and make them easy to understand, so although things like:

• Chromatic Playing
• Reharmonization with Approach Note Lines
• Superimposition with Approach Note Lines
• Application to scales

Advanced Approach Note Concepts may be foreign to you, rest assured that Bruce will give you straightforward ways to understand them. The ideas that Bruce presents can be used by any musician regardless of style or instrument.

He will also discuss the use of Pitch Class Set Theory and how you can relate this to contemporary improvisation and composition. Topics will include:

• Pitch Class Set Theory for Improvisation, the use of Pitch Class set combinations for soloing, comping or composition.
• Integer Notation
• Prime Sets

Many of these concepts are related directly to how you hear music and how that relates to becoming a master musician. If you would like to get a jump start on some of this material, please contact Bruce.

Lunch

Time: 2 Noon to 3pm

Many fine restaurants in the area. Lunch is not included in the fee for the workshop.

Jerry DeVore's Bassics

Time: 3pm to 4pm

Want to play solid bass lines that bring a powerful foundation to your music? Interested in soloing and taking full advantage of your practice time? Jerry DeVore's Bassics Masterclass will help you to improve what youre doing now, and open you up to new possibilities.

The Bass and You - Avoid long term physical trouble and allow the hands to get the best access to the instrument, by proper bass placement.

• Practice Strategies - How to plan your improvement, time, and obtain your goals.
• Finger Technique - Make what youre play now easier and clearer, with left and right hand technique.
• Sound - Creating that full sound. From fingers, to bass, to equipment.
• Bass Lines - Function in your band as foundation of harmony and create a grooves that are infectious.

Styles and Theory - A look at Rock, Funk, and Jazz. The role of the bass within each style, how to create lines, and use music theory as a helpful tool.

Soloing - Concepts for soloing (scale and their use, rhythmic ideas, and special techniques), and how to create a solo.

Jane Getter's Rockin' Beyond

Time: 3pm to 4pm

Tired of playing only the minor pentatonic or blues scales when you solo? Want new ideas and concepts to use for soloing? This class will dive into different scales, modes, arpeggios, and melodic ideas used for soloing. Students will study some of the great players that incorporate different soloing concepts in their playing, such as Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, Derek Trucks, Trey Anastasio, and Allan Holdsworth.

Alex Skolnick's Inclusive Metal World

Time: 4pm to 5pm

Alex will show you tips and tricks of metal playing BUT will also show you how you can expand your ability to play the Blues, Rock, Jazz or Metal by shifting the way you think about music and showing the path to being a world class guitarist. Alex will also show you how to start practicing so that you will have the ability to play in almost any style by just altering the way you think about music and practicing.

Ensembles with Alex Skolnick, Jane Getter and Jerry DeVore

Time: 5pm to 6pm

Ensembles and performances.