Advance Flatpicking
In this class we will work on flatpicking techniques for fiddle melodies, bluegrass instrumentals, and breaks to vocals songs. Students often ask “what do I play for my break on a vocal tune? What scales do I use to improvise?” Let's talk about all that stuff and more.
We will learn beginner, intermediate, and advanced versions of a few vocal tunes and talk about playing them in different keys, and capo grips. Having a fundamental understanding of the relationship between melody and chords is very useful for transposing the melody to different keys and is essential for improvising. We will learn about the modes of the major scales and how they relate to the chords of a given key. Bluegrass tempos can be very fast and often hard to keep up, so we will work on tempo and techniques while playing fast. You’ll have the opportunity to practice to a metronome, improving your timing, tone, scales, and leads to different bluegrass and fiddle tunes. There will be some hand-outs (tab) but we will learn a lot by ear.
Darryl Poulson
Darryl Poulsen is a professional Canadian musician, born in Ontario, Canada. He was naturally drawn to music and began avidly playing guitar at the age of 10. He went on to study jazz at Humber College, during which time he was awarded for his outstanding achievements. Since then, Darryl has thoroughly immersed himself within Toronto’s music scene. He has made a name for himself as a guitarist, both acoustic and electric, who is highly sought after as a performer, teacher, and session artist.
Well versed in a large variety of genres, Darryl found his true passion in bluegrass and has garnered a great deal of success with the international touring band, the Slocan Ramblers. Darryl has performed at The Grand Ole Opry and at music festivals across Canada, USA, and the UK, from MerleFest to RockyGrass; has won an IBMA Momentum Award (Band of the Year), 2 Canadian Folk Music Awards (Traditional Album of the Year, Ensemble of the Year); and has been nominated for multiple Juno Awards.
