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Topic: Beg./Inter. E9 Workshop, Bay Area, CA, April 25, 2010 |
John McClung
From:
Olympia WA, USA
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Posted 1 Apr 2010 7:39 pm |
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E9 WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT
APRIL 23 UPDATE
Folks, the class is now a nice size, but we have room for a few more. It's hands on training, a great Keynote slide show (it even has funny stuff in it!), and explains exactly what you need to do to get to the next levels with your playing. In a pretty simple, understandable way, I try hard to make the knowledge easy to understand, but still truly revelatory.
Just show up and pay at the door, cash or check only, please.
I'll have a little bit of accessories at discount prices, too: strings, BJS bars, Hilton volume pedals, etc.
Class begins at 9:00, so arrive NLT 8:30 to get set up.
For anyone without a headphone amp setup, we will have several backup devices, and even a few clip on music racks. We're pretty dang deluxe!
See the copy in my first post about all the stuff to bring. If you have questions, you'll need to call me at 310-480-0717, I'm driving up to the Bay Area tomorrow.
CU there!
Professor Twang
APRIL 18 UPDATE
I'm happy to announce the quorum for this workshop has been met, it's inked in now, and there's still room for more eager-to-learn students. Space is very limited, so if you'd like to attend, fire off an email to me (not forum PM) to save your spot.
If you're on the border, but might show up at the last minute, please email me now, get my cell number, and right through the night before the workshop you can double check to make sure I can accommodate you.
I target this workshop towards beginners and intermediate...but no matter what level you feel you're at, if you sense you need a more systematic way to figure out songs, and a proven way way to better play melodies and fills, this is the workshop for you.
FOR OUT OF TOWNERS
If you're coming from so far away that getting there for the 8:30 a.m. set-up time means a ridiculously early morning drive...I have some information on local hotels and motels for your pre-workshop overnight stay, email me and I'll forward that to you.
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I'm spending some time in the Bay Area in late April, and while there will offer a full day E9 pedal steel workshop, on Sunday, April 25, in San Leandro (between Oakland and Hayward). The two workshops I taught in January at the SWSGA steel show in Phoenix were a big hit, so I'd like to keep helping players in other areas of the Western region.
Photos from the Phoenix seminars:
(My seminars and workshops are a full multi-media experience: slide show, white board, roll-up piano, and wacky prizes for correct answers to my questions!)
I'm a busy full-time steel player in Southern California. I've played professionally for 38 years, and have taught dozens of students in private lessons, classes and workshops for 28 years. I consider passing on what I've learned in my career to be my most important contribution to the steel guitar community.
"From the Bedroom to the Bandstand"
The workshop is all about how to make the leap from practicing at home, to playing and surviving on the bandstand.
If you mainly learn songs at home, from tablature, or by painstakingly learning licks from records, don't you sometimes wonder if that's really time well-spent? Do you wonder what secret skills and knowledge the pro's have that allow them to be so fluid and inventive, even on songs they don't know, right onstage?
It's really not all that hard or mysterious!
Using 2 simple songs, I'll show you exactly how a professional steel player typically approaches learning new material, and how to take basic chords and melodies and embellish them into beautiful intros, fills and solos.
You will learn how to:
• listen and identify a song's root, chords and melody, the most critical tasks we have
• find melodies on your E9 neck
• play harmonized scales and use them for fills and solos
• modify harmonized scales to better fit chord progressions
• create your own licks, not just depend on what others have recorded
• use the power and usefulness of the E9's top two strings
• "weave" all this together into your own personal coherent and dynamic style of playing
Throughout the class we will also touch on:
• the Nashville number system
• bandstand courtesy and protocol
• why you need to know palm blocking, pick blocking, and other less well-known ways of blocking and muting
By the workshop's end, you will have a clear understanding of the logical PROCESS all professional steelers use, and see how easy it is to use this process for your own musical growth.
Is this workshop for you?
This workshop is for advanced beginners, and intermediate players. You should already know your way around playing major chords, and maybe a few minor and 7th chords, and be reasonably proficient at palm blocking. Please call or email me if you're not sure if taking this course is appropriate for your current skill level.
You don't need to know much, or any, music theory, or be a hot shot player. You just need to be serious about improving your playing through improved listening skills, and a better understanding of how to create that "flow" that the pedal steel does better than any other instrument.
What to bring
This is a hands-on workshop, so bring your:
• steel
• seat
• music stand
• picks, bar, guitar cords
• tuner
• AC extension cord, at least 10 feet in length
• notepad and writing utensils
• some way to hear yourself playing under headphones (headphone amp, small amp with headphone output, etc.). No speaker output is allowed. Earbuds (not over-the-ear headphones) are strongly encouraged, so you can hear both your steel and my words of wisdom.
UPDATE: I’ve been researching headphone amps, and the only two I’ve found so far that I feel are worth owning are:
• Line 6 Pocket Pod Express (about $80 at web stores).
This unit is simple, has decent clean sounds, and best of all, has an auxiliary input jack, so you can practice with a CD player, MP3 player, iPod, etc. Can operate on AC if desired.
• Vox amPlug for Bass, about $50. All the guitar versions are for fuzzy lead players, this one has a pretty good clean sound. Does have aux in, but no AC option. Plugs right into your steel, so it’s handy; unless you have a steel with its jack underneath, like the Carter Starter, then it’s completely NOT handy.
There are other units that have more sounds and features, but they cost quite a bit more. These 2 are the best bang for the buck, and I've personally tried them both, and feel you'll get a lot of use out of them, not just for this workshop.
Buy them from a local music store, or the usual online sources: MusiciansFriend.com, SamAsh.com, etc.
Where and when
The workshop will be held at:
The Englander Sports Pub & Restaurant
101 Parrott St.
San Leandro, CA 94577
Easy ground-floor load in, and plenty of free parking onsite. Our room is very large, so I'm hoping for a big turnout.
• map: http://tinyurl.com/ylfkh2r
• Class date is Sunday, April 25th, 2010.
• It runs from 9:00 a.m. until noon, an hour off for onsite lunch, then continues from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.
• Workshop fee is $90, payable at the door, and includes a great book, "How to Play By Ear" by Jack Hatfield, which is a core "textbook" in all my lessons. The book retails for $20. All my students get a lot out of this book, learning to identify intervals, chord types, and much more. It comes with a CD of listening exercises and drills.
Extra goodies for you
You will be given a link a few days after the workshop so you can download an MP3 audio recording of the entire workshop, and a PDF of the course outline. You wind up having a complete archive of your day of learning without having to bring your own recording gear or take scads of notes.
Make your reservation now!
I must have at least 10 confirmed, pre-paid registrations by April 15 to make this happen. All students are expected to order lunch (not included in the workshop fee) from the restaurant, which is all the venue is asking from us for a facilities fee.
Future workshops
If this first "Professor Twang" Bay Area workshop is a success for both students and the venue, I plan to do more workshops on other topics, on a regular basis, at the same place. So please consider coming out, learning a lot, and encouraging future educational steel guitar events in the Bay Area!
I'll have more details shortly on my website and here on the Forum about how and when to send in registration fees. I'll also post some tips on a good headphone amp solution.
http://www.steelguitarlessons.com
To sign up, or ask me about any aspect of this, please click the email link (not the "pm" link) in this post.
Thanks, I truly look forward to showing you a very logical approach to understanding your pedal steel, and I hope to see you in class on April 25!
Sincerely,
John McClung / "Professor Twang"
(email me for my phone number)[/size]
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net
Last edited by John McClung on 24 Apr 2010 1:12 am; edited 7 times in total |
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John McClung
From:
Olympia WA, USA
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Posted 2 Apr 2010 9:23 pm
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^^^
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net |
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David Wren
From:
Placerville, California, USA
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Posted 3 Apr 2010 3:18 am
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Hey Hey Bay area.. and Sac/San Jauquin Valley beginning steelers.... this is a rare treat for NorCal. John is a certified "really fine!" steel player (by me, and the rest of his friends who admire the time he spends to explain the seemingly mysterious apects of the wonderful instrument you all are trying to wrap your heads around).
I've sat next to John at steel guitar gatherings... and listened to the way he intertwines the song's melody line into a wonderful faberic of crystal clear lead notes, wrapped up in a ever changing background of complimenting harmony notes... and then he moves to the steel guitar to his right and does the same thing.... until he's worked his way around the room. A truely great PSG picker to get some tips from at this seminar!!!
Thanks for being there John, we need more great teachers!
.... and don't forget Patty is still holding a room for you during this Oct. Western Swing Jamboree 
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Dave Wren
'96 Carter U12,7X7; 1936 7 string National; Line 6 HX Stomp; Quilter TT-15/TB202; Quilter "Steelaire"; DV Mark "GH 250"with 15" 1501 BW; Boss "Katana" 100 Head w/Line 6 Cab; Telonics VP. |
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Eric Jaeger
From:
Oakland, California, USA
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Posted 3 Apr 2010 9:14 pm
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Sign me up!
-eric |
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Jim Hussey
From:
Reno, Nevada - USA
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Posted 6 Apr 2010 7:22 pm
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Hey. If you are anywhere near the Bay Area and looking for a good instructor, don’t miss this chance to learn from John. He is among the best.
For years I looked for an instructor who had a logical and organized approach to teaching steel that made sense. I tried learning scales, I tried learning licks, I tried learning songs. I ended up memorizing tab, but I never understood what I was playing or why.
Then I ran across John. I’ve been taking lessons in person and on line (skype) and finally I’m learning how to “think” pedal steel. Yes he covers all the basics: scales, theory, progressions, positions, but he does it in a well thought out, step by step process that will have you playing, rather than mimicking, steel in no time.
I cant say enough. If you can make this event, do it. You won’t regret it.
Oh, yah - - It'll be fun too! |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 6 Apr 2010 7:35 pm
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I'm going to be there. I need to learn more about pedal steel and this seems like a good way to do so.
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Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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John McClung
From:
Olympia WA, USA
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Posted 12 Apr 2010 1:22 am
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Bump for some updated info.
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net |
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Josh Cho
From:
New York, NY (orig. Honolulu, HI)
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Posted 12 Apr 2010 7:54 am Good luck with the seminar
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This program looks great, if you ever think about bringing it out East let me know.
Chuck Lettes E9 seminar at the PSGA Show in Norwalk last November was fantastic, perfect for a non-pedaler to get his feet wet with E9 and all its wonders.
Your class looks just as informative and interesting, wish I could be there.
Best of luck with the seminar!
Josh
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Lap-n-Console Steel Guitar Lessons |
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John McClung
From:
Olympia WA, USA
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Posted 12 Apr 2010 8:43 am
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I might be touring the East someday, Josh, you never know! Thanks for the well wishes.
I do teach via Skype, let me know if that's a learning method that might work for you.
Chuck Lettes is an amazing player, and I'll bet his seminars are wonderful, he teaches for a living. Heck, I'd take a seminar from Chuck, I'm sure I'd learn something cool.
He's about the nicest guy you'll ever meet, too. We always enjoy chatting at the Phoenix steel show.
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net |
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Eric Jaeger
From:
Oakland, California, USA
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Posted 12 Apr 2010 10:26 am
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C'mon, y'all. A great way to jaw with fellow steelers too...
-eric |
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David Wren
From:
Placerville, California, USA
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Posted 12 Apr 2010 5:19 pm
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Brad, this be de "Man" for learning more about pedals (E9th). Then you can give him dobro lessons
Hey, I want to be there for that
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Dave Wren
'96 Carter U12,7X7; 1936 7 string National; Line 6 HX Stomp; Quilter TT-15/TB202; Quilter "Steelaire"; DV Mark "GH 250"with 15" 1501 BW; Boss "Katana" 100 Head w/Line 6 Cab; Telonics VP. |
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John McClung
From:
Olympia WA, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2010 12:49 am
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Thanks, Dave.
Upperoo...
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net |
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Stephen Silver
From:
Asheville, NC
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Posted 13 Apr 2010 6:52 am
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I give more props to John and what he is going to be doing while he is here in the SF Bay Area. All you steelies out there looking for yet more info on how to manuever your way through the perils of playing steel guitar would be well served by joining John and learning a bit about how to play the melody.
John and I have known one another for over 30 years and I can say that he is not only an excellent player but a fine teacher of the instrument.
Get out there and do something good for your playing and join John on the 24th.
SS
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Life is mostly Attitude and Timing |
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Bill Stafford
From:
Gulfport,Ms. USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2010 7:20 am Bill Stafford
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Sure wish I was there to attend John's clinic. This guy is one of the best-both in his musical talent and ability and professionalism on stage performances. I was most impressed with John when I saw and heard him at the Phoenix show earlier this year. Highly recommend John to all.
Bill Stafford |
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John Floyd
From:
R.I.P.
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Posted 13 Apr 2010 7:29 am
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Pretty high Endorsement coming from Mr Smooth  |
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Jon Steel
From:
Bay Area, California
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Posted 13 Apr 2010 10:00 am
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I'm signing up.
Hope we get ten folks so this is a GO!
_________________
1940 Kay bass
1939 Rickenbacher Model B 6-string lap steel tuned C6
Jackson Steel Slideking LS 6-string with pitch change hand pedal, tuned Open E
Jackson Steel Sho-Bro 7-string dobro with EDGE hand pedal pitch changer, built by Buddy Emmons and Shot Jackson himself in early 70's, tuned Open E
Hand pedals above take you from the I to the IV. |
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John McClung
From:
Olympia WA, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2010 11:53 am
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Just wanted to thank the generous endorsements from my friends and fellow players: David Wren, Jim Hussey, Steve Silver and Bill Stafford. Thanks, gentlemen!
If you want to emulate someone, you couldn't pick a better idol than Bill Stafford. His nickname of "Mr. Smooth" is well deserved, he plays beautifully, melodically, with exquisite taste and touch, exactly how I try to play.
Bill paid me high compliments after my show in Phoenix this January, I was floored! Just before that, Norm Hamlet shook my hand and said, "Just wanted you to know I really enjoyed your playing."
If I'd been struck dead at that moment, I'd have died one very fulfilled steeler!
Btw, the quorum of 10 is almost reached, so things are looking good.
The room we have is huge, space for probably 25+ players, so don't be bashful or think your attending would crowd things.
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net |
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Brick Spieth
From:
San Jose, California, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2010 5:23 pm
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John-
I just sent you an e mail. Sure looks like something I'd like to do. Nice venue too. |
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David Wren
From:
Placerville, California, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2010 8:03 pm
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Ok, this is starting to look up! I'll tell you what.... if the class falls one student short of making it happen... I'll sponsor a slot for my friend Dave Zirble
Hee hee, now I've done it watch me go down in flames...
Hey Dave, "lov ya man!"
Seriously, my young pedaling Norcal friends.. get yourselves signed up for this once in a ... ahhh 6 moon cycle, chance to have some really excellent instruction from one who knows.. and does!
The only reason I care.. is I'm just too damn old.... and would like to see a vibrant population of gutsy, know-what-they-are-doing steelers out there for the next 50 years!!!!
_________________
Dave Wren
'96 Carter U12,7X7; 1936 7 string National; Line 6 HX Stomp; Quilter TT-15/TB202; Quilter "Steelaire"; DV Mark "GH 250"with 15" 1501 BW; Boss "Katana" 100 Head w/Line 6 Cab; Telonics VP. |
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John McClung
From:
Olympia WA, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2010 9:17 pm
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^^^
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net |
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John McClung
From:
Olympia WA, USA
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Posted 16 Apr 2010 10:10 pm
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Wanted to share Tom Bradshaw's kind words from another thread:
Posted 16 Apr 2010 5:44 pm
John McClung's Instructional Classes/Seminars
"I don't know how many have had the occasion to either audit or be a student of John McClung. He is on his way to being the second coming of Jeff Newman. OK, he isn't yet, but that's his goal and he couldn't strive for a higher role model to emulate. For whatever my word is worth, I strongly recommend that all budding steel players (novices, moderate, advanced and professionals) give him the opportunity by taking just one of his classes. I predict that you will be back for more, since this fellow is quite a talent.
"If you disagree with my prediction after just one of his instructional seminars, let me know and I'll send you a new set of rubber feet for your steel (since it will be apparent that your steel was atilt and your pedals were hitting to floor as he was trying to teach you!).
...Tom"
Thanks, Tom! You're too funny, as always.
If I can become even half the instructor that Jeff Newman was, I'll be a happy teacher. Those are very big shoes (er, picks) to fill.
_________________
E9 INSTRUCTION
▪️ If you want to have an ongoing discussion, please email me, don't use the Forum messaging which I detest! steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net |
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Jeff Porter
From:
Stumptown, OR, USA
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Posted 19 Apr 2010 9:48 am
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I've been taking lessons via Skype for a while now from John and I'd like to echo what others have said on this thread.
His thoughtful and thorough approach to teaching has helped me a lot. If I was anywhere near the bay area I’d jump at the chance to attend this session.
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"I make dozens of dollars a year playing music." |
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Bryan Daste
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 20 Apr 2010 6:48 pm
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| I'll second Jeff's comments - John has a very meticulously thought out curriculum, and he's been teaching for a long time! Go get it! |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 26 Apr 2010 7:53 am
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I'm really glad I went to this workshop. Besides the huge amount of information provided, I got to meet Tom Bradshaw again, get restocked on my George L's cables, and finally figure out some key information I've been missing about pedal steel playing.
We had 12 people attend this workshop, with everything from a Carter Starter to a Lamar custom-built pedal steel represented.
Thanks to John McClung for taking the time to do this. I hope we can have a repeat performance sometime later this year to go over ideas that were glossed over this time due to time constraints and to reinforce the ideas presented this time.
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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David Wren
From:
Placerville, California, USA
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Posted 26 Apr 2010 10:26 am
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Anyone with pix to share?
_________________
Dave Wren
'96 Carter U12,7X7; 1936 7 string National; Line 6 HX Stomp; Quilter TT-15/TB202; Quilter "Steelaire"; DV Mark "GH 250"with 15" 1501 BW; Boss "Katana" 100 Head w/Line 6 Cab; Telonics VP. |
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