Guitar camp -- a complete report

dennisg
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Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:39 am

This is going to be a long post -- a report on my experience at the week-long Puget Sound Guitar Workshop. So settle in, open a bag of Doritos, and put your feet up.

For starters, I had so many mixed feelings about even going to guitar camp: was I going to be the worst guitarist there? Would I have to play in front of good players? Would they sneer at me if I did?

Turns out, I didn't need to worry. The camp was absolutely fantastic, I was far from the worst player there, and even the best professional players there could not have been more supportive.

The camp was located on western Washington's Kitsap Peninsula (southwest of Seattle) and was situated next to a gorgeous lake. So whenever we didn't have guitar-related activities we were free to go swimming, paddle a canoe around, or just lie in a hammock. All in all, it was a beautiful setting.

As you might expect, the camp draws most of its participants from the west coast of America, although one of my roommates was an Aussie who was just beginning a 6-week tour of the States by going from one guitar camp to the next. Surprisingly, though, there were a lot of people there from California, despite the fact that there are competing guitar camps in that state.

PSGW offers a range of classes over three periods throughout the day. I didn't quite know what my level was going to be, relative to other people, so I took what was billed as a Level 2 (you're supposed to figure out your own skill level, 1 - 4) class called Guitar Bedrock that turned out to be way too easy for me. Of the 10 or so students in the class, I was probably the most advanced player. My second period class was perfect for me, though. It was called Intro to Flatpick, and the teacher taught us the bass runs to use between chord changes. I loved the class. For third period, I took a Harmony Singing class. The teacher of that last class (Barry Tashian) was a guy who used to be part of a band called The Remains that toured with The Beatles on their last Shea Stadium tour. I had a lot of fun asking him about the Beatles. He said all the lads were nice to him, although Paul generally kept him and his band at arm's length. George was the most welcoming, encouraging Barry to spend evenings in his hotel room. He said George took out a little device that had never been seen before -- a cassette player -- and played Ravi Shankar tapes. Barry, by the way, broke up the band shortly after that tour, then went on to become Emmylou Harris's guitarist for 10 years.

There were two experiences I had at the camp that absolutely blew my mind. The first one was the opportunity to sit and listen to a bunch of professional musicians just sort of come together after the classes were over with for the day, and just jam. It dazzled me to watch them make spontaneous musical decisions that almost always turned out to be pure genius. There'd be two or three guys on guitars, one on a fiddle, one on a dobro (more on that instrument later), one on a mandolin, one on a banjo -- and they'd play something like Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues, and they'd just keep handing off the lead parts to each other. The song would last for about 10 minutes of just pure, unadulterated brilliance and joy, and I wanted it to go on forever. As a student, I was free to join their jams by sitting in the circle (of course, they hand over the lead to you if you do), or you could stand up and just play rhythm guitar, which is what I did on a number of occasions. I can't tell you how exciting that was to play with these generous musicians.

The second experience that really moved me was the talent show. There were 110 people attending the camp, and 83 of us volunteered for the talent show. I decided to do Killing the Blues, mostly because it's an easy song for me to play, but primarily so that I wouldn't have to learn a new song in just a few days. Anyway, you can imagine how long a talent show (with 83 different acts, each doing a different song) would last. Our show started at 4 in the afternoon and went straight through to 2 in the morning, with only a one-hour break for dinner. And not one student or teacher left the show early. We all watched every single act. I was number 67 on the list, so I didn't perform until midnight.

I have to tell you guys, I don't normally get stage fright, but I was so petrified that I got sick to my stomach starting the day before the show. The idea of playing in front of these incredible professional musicians and students was really daunting. I had asked a woman to sing harmony on the song, and we'd rehearsed it a few times. So even though I was probably as ready as I'd ever be, my gut was still roiling -- until I sat down in the chair and looked at the audience. I made a joke about how terrified I was. Everybody laughed. I was at ease. And I played my intro to the song. It went just fine.

Interestingly, many of the students took advantage of the skills of the teachers and had them play on their songs, and many of the teachers were up there 10 or more times during the evening. The amazing thing about how good these guys are is that they barely know the songs on which they're performing, but that doesn't seem to bother them. They just get up there, do their brilliant thing, and that's that. This being my first camp, I didn't know I could draw upon the talents of the teachers until a couple days before the show, and by then I didn't want to introduce any more elements of uncertainty into the performance.

I started to understand how supportive this audience was going to be almost from the moment the show started. The very first guy to perform -- number 1 of 83 -- was so terrified that his hands were shaking and it took him four attempts to get through the first couple of measures. You might think that the really experienced guitarists in the crowd, as well as the pros, might laugh or sneer at people who struggled, but it was just the opposite. There was so much love and support coming from the crowd that it helped push the people who struggled through the songs. Really, watching that was such a profound experience for me that I got teary several times that night.

Aside from becoming familiar with some amazing musicians I'd never heard of, I also got to watch people play instruments I know nothing about -- like the mandolin and the dobro. A dobro, by the way, is a guitar with extremely high action that you play by laying it across your lap. It's tuned to GBDGBD, so playing an open chord would give you a G. It's played by using your fretting hand to run a steel slidy thing across the strings. You use fingerpicks to pluck the strings. Here's a short video of the dobro teacher at the camp playing a very abbreviated version of Folsom Prison Blues.



If you've read this far, you deserve a summary: a guitar camp has the potential to be very valuable, because you surround yourself with bright, eager students who want nothing more than to learn more about the guitar. You also get to watch and play with some fantastic professional musicians. Our third-period class would end at about 2:30, and the various jams would start at 4, then go on until midnight. (My fingers are so sore, it hurts to type this post.) There is a wide variety of classes to choose from, geared toward every skill level and musical interest. Even though it was a guitar camp, attendees had the opportunity to learn fiddle, uke, mandolin, autoharp, dulcimer, and dobro -- and a lot of the campers took the opportunity to take a beginner's class in another instrument. My one regret is that I didn't take a dobro class.

The bottom line is that I can definitely see going back there next year, and maybe several times after that. It was a tremendously fun, thrilling, and educational week.


dekotaj
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Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:52 am

Bravo!!Dennis,

Sound like a lot of fun.I thought about a camp last year but chicken out.Maybe next year after reading this.Thanks

Kevin


Lavallee
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Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:58 am

Dennis, thanks for sharing this great experience. Sounds like you had a great camp. Did you choose this one because it was closed to you or because you specifically heard good comments about it (versus other camps)?

Marc


jim56
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Sat Aug 14, 2010 10:05 am

Wow, that was a great read. Thanks for that review Dennis. A week long camp, did you live at the camp or travel home for the night?


BobR
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Sat Aug 14, 2010 10:18 am

Dennis,

Thanks for sharing your wonderful adventure. It sounds like there is a lot of support and everyone is there to help each other become better. I think I am a bit jealous. :laugh:

Bob


abiliog
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Sat Aug 14, 2010 10:37 am

Dennis,
What an unforgetable week.
Thanks for sharing,
Abilio


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neverfoundthetime
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Sat Aug 14, 2010 11:12 am

Thought it was a bit quiet here last week! Sounds like a great experience Dennis, thanks for the entertaining report.


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jcrocket
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Sat Aug 14, 2010 11:15 am

Dennis -

Fascinating review, thanks for sharing your experience. Besides the obvious benefits in terms of skills development, sounds like your whole outlook on playing in front of others is likely changed forever as well.

I found the discussion of the dobro to be especially intriguing (and that video of course was amazing). Is that a path you may follow in the future? A couple on months back, I fooled around a bit with a Regal resonator in a guitar shop, and almost bought it on impulse right then - I'm thinking a resonator may be my next guitar purchase, once I do some more research.

Jeff


tovo
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Sat Aug 14, 2010 11:28 am

A wonderful experience and thanks for sharing with us Dennis.


ffsooo3
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Sat Aug 14, 2010 12:40 pm

Very interesting report. Sounds like you (and everyone?) had a GREAT experience. Did you happen to video your performance (or any of the other 83 performers) or any of the classes?


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