#1
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Weissenborn teacher, Portland OR?
Anyone teaching Weissenborn-style in Portland, Oregon? I'd like some pointers making sure I'm using good technique to start. I plan to play in D and Hawaiian G tunings to begin with, and work on blues and folk-style music.
Thanks! |
#2
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Are you looking for a teacher for lap steel generally, or something specific with Weissenborns.
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#3
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Chuck, apologies for the tardy reply.
I urge you not to think that a Weissenborn should be confined to the noodling in Vastopol tuning that characterizes a majority of the clips on YouTube. A Weissenborn is a steel guitar, just like resonator and electric steels (with or without pedals). Any technique used and useful on any steel guitar will be relevant to you, whether or not it's a Weiss. I strongly and heartily support your desire to start off with good technique. It's far, far easier to develop good habits from the start than to try to overcome bad habits after they've become ingrained. Fortunately, the Portland area is something of a hotbed of steel guitarists. I don't know any of them personally (I left the Pacific Northwest more than half a century ago). But I know of them from posts on the Steel Guitar Forum. There are two long-running regular jam sessions in the area: - The Portland area Steel Guitar learning and Practice Jam is held in a private home every Tuesday night. - A larger Portland steel jam is held less frequently but with more players, in a public venue. The next one is scheduled for Sunday, November 8. I'm pretty confident that you could hook up with a teacher at one or the other of these jams. If no one present teaches privately, someone would surely be able to steer you to a steeler who does. Something I've learned in playing steel for 40+ years (and in doing a bit of teaching myself) is that private lessons are worth far more than the price you pay, just for the personalized feedback. But at a jam such as these, or even at a bar gig, I've never encountered a steel player who wasn't thrilled to answer questions and demonstrate anything s/he knows, free of charge. I've shamelessly taken advantage of that good will, and recommend that you do likewise.
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John Pictures of musical instruments are like sculptures of food. |
#4
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I don't know about Weissenborn in particular, but Mary Flower lives in the area and is a good teacher with lots of slide experience (plus Piedmont fingerpicking). www.maryflower.com I took her classes at Acoustic Alaska Guitar Camp in 2014.
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