"Arranging Methods for the Guitar"--a Workshop by GEOFF MULDAUR

Wednesday, September 28, 2005
05:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: Elderly Instruments
workshop ($35.00)

Geoff Muldaur is one of those special artists who become much more than "performers" or "musicians" by spreading their wings and immersing themselves in varied aspects of the profession. His carefully-crafted interpretations of classic American material and his own unique arrangements and compositions have become trademarks of his talent. In addition to tours and recording sessions, Geoff continues to apply his exceptional arranging skills to various projects for albums and film--and to teaching other players how to craft and develop their own original arrangements.

Muldaur is one of the great musical forces to emerge from the folk, blues, and folk-rock scenes. He made a series of highly-influential recordings as a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and Paul Butterfield's Better Days group, while collaborating with his then-wife Maria and other notables like Bonnie Raitt, Eric Von Schmidt, and Jerry Garcia. He has composed scores for film and television, garnering an Emmy in the process.

Now he's again touring the world (returning recently from Alaska, he writes in late June), performing, recording, and teaching. He sheds light on how you can create exquisite guitar arrangements for your own favorite tunes with just small, easy changes.

Remaining true to his long-time devotion to developing evocative arrangements of traditional pieces, this two-hour guitar workshop, intended for intermediate- and advanced-level players, covers such subjects as re-harmonizing and personalizing traditional materia; applying "non-quitar" techniques to arrangements; finding unique licks--"noodling" and "voice leading;" new ways to look at guitar tunings; and a discussion of guitar specs and setups. Sign up early, as workshop space is limited.

Geoff's recent performances have included the Lincoln Center in New York City, the Getty Art Center in Los Angeles, the Royal Festival Hall in London, and folk and blues festivals in Newport, San Francisco, Dublin, and Edmonton, to name a few. He is also a regular guest on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion and has been featured on a variety of NPR shows including Weekend Edition and All Things Considered.

Here's a sample of the type of material Geoff teaches in his workshops and instructional recordings, taken from his popular instructional DVD Innovative Arrangements for American Blues/Roots Guitar: "Using ingredients of fingerstyle playing combined with rich chord voicings, he adds a jazz sensibility to traditional music."

The London Times commented that Muldaur's "[i]mmaculate guitar picking was matched by vocals that were rich..." and then cited Richard Thompson's praise for the innovative arranger: "There are only three white blues singers--Geoff Muldaur is at least two of them."

"Geoff Muldaur was and is one of my musical heroes. When I listen to him sing and play, I can hear the coal mine, the cotton field...." - Loudon Wainwright III

"The Lovin' Spoonful's favorite singer went and got better." - John Sebastian

"[Muldaur] has a way with a song that makes you wish it would never end." - Tom Rush

"Mole is always great, but in the last few years he's really come into his own." - Dave Von Ronk

"...one of the living masters of American home-grown music..." - Peter Coyote

"This is what I do," says Geoff; "I explore American music." In the process he comes up with "evocative arrangements," according to Peter Keepnews in a December 2003 rave review of Muldaur's album Private Astronomy, which celebrates the music of Bix Beiderbecke, the cornet player who in the 1920s brought a new degree of delicacy and lyricism to jazz music.

Check out recordings we carry featuring Geoff Muldaur