Bluegrass is Alive in McHenry Co.

Do you want to play like Yonder Mountain String Band?

“Hi!  I’m David, and I am addicted to Bluegrass.”

You’ve heard those songs on your XM Bluegrass station, you listen to Bluegrass OnDemand at home.  You’ve been thinking about taking up an instrument for years, don’t you think it’s about time you gave it an honest attempt?  30 minutes every day is all it takes, and you’ll be playing your favorite songs before you know it!

BANJO

You might be surprised at how quickly a beginner can start to learn the Banjo – an absolute beginner, I mean.  With just a few lessons (and some practice in-between!), I can have you playing Bluegrass songs, or even playing AND singing if that is your goal!

When a Guitarist picks up the Banjo, the transition is often extremely quick from one instrument to the other. I can show you how to quickly convert the Guitar chords that you know into Banjo chords, and with just a handful of finger-picking patterns, you’ll be pickin’ in no time at all.

MANDOLIN

You’ve heard it before, but maybe you didn’t know what it was called? 

This little instrument has been around for centuries, and has been used for everything from Vivaldi to R.E.M.  In my opinion, the mandolin is one of the more difficult instruments to start with, but well worth the effort.

Though I started on the Mandolin fairly late (18), I was around the instrument since I was a boy – my older brother Dug took lessons from the late, great Jethro Burns.

DOBRO

“What’s that guitar with the hubcap on the front of it?” 

The Dobro, or Lap-Style Resonator Guitar, can be heard on countless Bluegrass, Country, Blues, and Pop songs.  With many differences to regular Slide Guitar, the Dobro has a few important advantages, musically.  The use of a Bar, instead of a Slide, for one, allows you to play Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs with great ease, as well as allowing more Chord playing than reg. Slide Guitar normally allows.

GUITAR

Let’s not forget about the Acoustic Guitar, the glue that holds together the Bass and Mandolin parts. 

Of course, the Guitar means more to Bluegrass than just the BOOM-CHICK strum, it also means a very specific brand of hot lead playing that can frustrate even old pros.  I would love to help you de-mystify those Tony Rice albums you’ve been listening to.

UPRIGHT BASS

Bluegrass is undoubtedly one of the simpler styles you can learn on the Upright Bass, I have found that most people can pick it up with just a handful of lessons.

In addition to Bluegrass Bass, I also love to play Rockabilly Slap Bass, and I would love to show you how it’s done!  Slap style is often employed in high-energy Bluegrass playing.

UKULELE

While the UKE is NOT a traditional Bluegrass instrument, these days you’re likely to hear it alongside Mandolins, Fiddles, Banjos, Dulcimers, Harmonicas, etc. - and it happens to be a personal favorite of mine!

This little instrument is capable of so much more than we’ve heard from it!  Whether you want to learn traditional Royal Hawaiian music, Jazz, or Classical, this one does it all. From Tiny Tim to Jake Shimabukuro, to YOU!