Devachan Music - Mark Simos

New Mark Simos course and workshop at the Club Passim School of Folk Music Oct-Nov '03

Check it out at http://www.clubpassim.org/musicschool/

The Net of Jewels: Exploring the Geography of the Guitar Fingerboard
Mark Simos

Friends! Are you stuck at the low end of the guitar neck, the 'shallow end of the swimming pool'? Do you long to swim freely along its full expanse, yet find yourself gritting your teeth over those clunky barre chords? This class turns the 'fret'-board back into the fingerboard! It's ideal for intermediate players who have learned their basic chords and some right hand strums, and who feel stuck getting to the next step.
Mark's "Net of Jewels" approach is an empowering way of visualizing the geography of the guitar: in terms of small chord forms that interlock, overlap, and transform in mysterious, wonderful (and playable!) ways. As we practice 'shape-shifting' using a core set of triads, with inversions and voicings on different sets of strings, we learn 'theory' through our fingers, ears and eyes and not just our heads. Then we'll combine forms into varied harmonic and modal progressions that move us fluidly across and along the entire fingerboard.

Mark refined his "Net of Jewels" approach over three decades as a premier accompanist for Celtic music, and has previously taught it primarily as part of accompaniment classes. In this session we'll focus on the basic elements, and apply them to a number of simple exercises, songs and tune accompaniments. The "Jewel" patterns and progressions show up in styles from Motown to Afro-Pop, and are a great foundation for accompanying yourself or other singers on folk and contemporary songs, playing simple and tasty leads, exploring alternate tunings, and expanding harmonic ideas in your songwriting. Extensive hand-outs provided. For more information on the "Net of Jewels" material, check Mark's website at http://www.devachan.com, or email him at simos@devachan.com.

6-week course: October 9, 16, *, 30, November 6, 13, 20
(* Note we will skip class Thursday, October 23, the night of Mark's CD release concert at Club Passim for his new album, Crazy Faith!)
Thursdays, 7:30 - 9PM
$102 (members) $120 (nonmembers)

Gathering at the Well (For a Day):
Seeking and Giving Creative Critique in Songwriting
Mark Simos

Ever asked a friend for feedback on a song, and wound up feeling they were being nice but not informative? Or asked a fellow songwriter, only to find them helpfully rewriting your song for you? Critiquing and evaluating our songs is a critical step in completing any song, and for our growth as writers. Critiquing songs, ours and others', is also a process involving creativity, spontaneity and awareness as do other aspects of songwriting. A very useful, but often neglected, form of critique gives the songwriter high quality information about a listener's experience, while leaving him or her free to work with those insights in their own way.

This one afternoon workshop presents, in condensed form, techniques supporting this approach to songwriting critique, which Mark has offered in several previous classes. We'll present a series of techniques/exercises, putting each into practice directly working with a participant's song in a short, intensive round. With just one afternoon, not everyone's song will get heard; nor will we get to see the results of rework based on our critique. But everyone will leave with some experience of a different style of critique, and a very specific toolset (handouts provided) to help us provide critique that is non-judgmental but specific, supportive but not sugar-coated. One past participant said: "I thought after having participated in half a dozen writing-critiques through college and running a songwriting critique for the last year, I had a pretty good handle on the critiquing process. Mark's class revolutionized my insight into providing feedback on a person's work."

Now, as some past Passim class participants are forming songwriter circles of their own, this single session will serve as a refresher, or as a way to quickly acquaint new folks with these techniques and the rationale behind them. Also useful for new writers getting started, experienced songwriters looking to further hone their craft, or just lovers of song who want deeper insight into how songs are formed. If you'd like one of your songs to be a candidate, bring @10 lyric sheets and either a tape of, or a readiness to play, the song.
1 Workshop, 1:00-4:00PM
Saturday, October 11th
$40 (members) $45 (nonmembers)
Limited to 16 participants

Note: For information on past classes offered, lookie here.