GUITAR CLASS, EXTENDED WORKSHOP "BEYOND KEYS AND CHORD CHARTS" with Iris Nevins You can have the right keys, you can have the right chords....yet is it still a struggle to accompany Irish and Celtic music? That's what this extended class of four 1 1/2 hour workshops over the weekend, called "Beyond Keys & Chord Charts" is all about. What you will learn is "all the other tricks", how to fit into the music, how to stop struggling, how to learn to hear fast key changes, how to mimic flute or fiddle, performance and stage fright issues, how to make your playing more interesting and create suspense and mood....and even how to save a melody player when they lose the tune on stage! This class is about technique, yet is easy to learn for all from beginner to advanced, because we are eliminating parts of what most guitar players do that makes them lose speed and timing rather than difficult fancy new techniques. We will cover some very different, yet easy techniques, that will increase your speed, fluidity and agility, many say within the first half hour. It is about simplifying your movements yet getting a richer fuller sound in the process. We will be teaching in dropped D, but this also works for DADGAD, and it suits both fingerstyle playing and strumming. It is a method for getting around in the tunes with speed, yet with good timing, "the one finger slide" I call it, which is very simple and easy. It can also be used with two or three fingers, but they all slide along the same fret, so no memorization of contorted chord positions is necessary. I usually just use on finger in most of my own playing! Though it looks very complex, it is a lot easier than using standard chords. Tom Dunne will supply the melody playing in this class, so you can even request tunes or types of tunes that are giving you trouble. We'll go around the room and spend time on things you want to work on. You don't end up playing "Iris Style" but will learn tweaks to your own style to make you work more efficiently, smoothly and speedily. This is about the guitar and all the wonderful things you can do with it, and learn why simplifying your moves will give a richer sound. The real problem is most guitar players are just working too hard. It does not have to be so difficult. We will also go into a brief history of chording. For example, did you know there were no chords used in this (and other) music prior to the 1500s? How did chords come to be, and how to get back to a more ancient and powerful Celtic sound, that is dramatic, rich and full and makes use of the drone effect that gives this music much of its power. I have played fingerstlye guitar, both for tunes and accompaniment for over 48 years and am 100% self taught. You will get little music theory here, that you can find in a book. All the "other stuff" that you can't convey with charts, books or words is what is covered. The basic moves are charted out in the handouts though, alternate chord shapes showing fingerings used, and open drones, for future reference. Surprisingly and amazingly easy. It's sort of a play by number, if you can count up to 12 or 14 (frets on guitar!) you can do this method. What it is based upon, is learning to make use of the diatonic seven note scale, of which most of the Celtic music is comprised. If you do this, in whatever key, the beauty of it is, you will often, and accidently, run into melody line! Where you do not, you are by default playing a harmony line. You barely need to think about it at all! For some tunes, there will sometimes be a note or two that should not be played... and you will likely rapidly hear it and avoid it next go around. For the most part...it's fly and forget it. You can hear our trio, Hearts Content (Tom Dunne, Linda Hickman and Iris), at: http://c1.ezfolk.com/bands/448/index.php if you would like a preview as to our way of playing and the guitar backing style and some tunes on guitar too. Iris' solo CD can be previewed at: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/irisnevins  And a youtube of accompaniment style: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UYUtQMtVAs To sign up for Banjo Burke Weekend, go to www.joebanjoburke.org .