"The Art of Arranging for Acoustic Guitar"--a Workshop by DAKOTA DAVE HULL

Saturday , May 06, 2006
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Location: Elderly Instruments
workshop ($40.00)

The teaser, above, lifted from acclaimed folk-music critic Scott Alarik's March 2004 article in the Boston Globe, reads in full: "Hull is something of a guitar god in his native midwest, where he's been dazzling audiences for over 30 years with his lush finger-picking and quicksilver flat-picking. He is also a sly raconteur with an encyclopedic knowledge of vintage American music."

That may explain why, among other things, Dakota Dave is comfortable welcoming both finger- and flat-pickers into his popular hands-on "arranging" workshop for acoustic guitar. He also explains that the workshop offers valuable material for every level of player from beginner to advanced.

Some things that will be discussed, Dave relates, are: melody; harmonization; transposition to other keys and registers; improvisation; backup; solo; playing nicely with others; and bringing it all together. "We'll also talk about right-hand technique, that singularly overlooked and incredibly important part of guitar playing, whether with a pick or fingers. Rhythm and syncopation are a big part of this," he explains.

Students are asked to have a tune that they can play--anything from a simple rendition of Row Row Row Your Boat to...whatever you want. He'll offer suggestions as to how to expand (or reduce)the piece into something that will hold the listener's interest.

Reading promotional material on Dakota Dave Hull is fascinating.
An Elderly CD buyer noted, in a HOT PLAATTER REVIEW of Dakota Dave's CD Reunion Rag, "...it's so darn good we just had to make sure you didn't miss it! Make no mistake--Dakota Dave can wield a flatpick with the best of 'em; but along with the flash, you'll find more humor, playfulness, taste, and all-around musicality than on any other dozen guitar records put together. Lots of swing tunes, some ragtime, waltzes, and the sound of a great player having a good time!"

You can also catch the sight of a great player having a good time in concert. Dakota Dave is performing Friday evening, May 5, at Magdalena's Tea House, 2006 Michigan Avenue, Lansing.

"Dakota Dave Hull wears many hats....Yet he's best as a purveyor of old-school Americana on acoutic guitar. Catholic in his tastes, he dips fruitfully into early jazz and blues, Tin Pan Alley, ragtime, country, Stephen Foster, Duke Ellington and even Harry Belafonte on the fine new CD The Loyalty Waltz." - Tom Surowicz, Twin Cities Star Tribune, December 2004

Jerome Clark has published an excellent article on Dakota Dave in the Winter 2006 Sing Out! [Vol. 49, No. 4]. Subtitled "Voodoo King of the Acoustic Guitar," the informative article begins with a description of Dakota Dave by his long-time friend Dave Ronk: "Dave is a glassy-eyed caffeine junkie out of the howling wilderness of North (or is it South?) Dakota who happens to be one of the best guitarists in the world." A couple Elderly employees, long-ago members of The Bosom Buddies, confirmed Dakota Dave's infatuation with coffee: they say he was a connoisseur long before it was "in." When they crashed at his place during a tour years ago, the coffees he ground, mixed, and served were the best they've ever had.

Check out recordings we carry featuring Dakota Dave Hull