The British BMG Federation Summer School 4th – 6th July at Burwell House,  Cambridgeshire

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From the moment of arrival there was a good feeling about the BMG Federation Summer School at Burwell House as staff were so friendly and helpful which makes a big difference to an event. We had three tutors: Nigel Gatherer’s mixed instrument group playing American Rural Music, Elias Sibley’s 5-string classic banjo course on post war music and Dave Griffiths on the art of playing blues on the mandolin.

 Early Saturday evening, those who chose to take part in the Mass Orchestra played Laughing Eyes and Federation March which were sent out prior to the weekend so people could become familiar with them. Once classes were over, informal playing took place in the bar. The end-of-course concert gave the opportunity for students to show what they had learned during the weekend.

 Nigel’s students said:

Nigel Gatherer is a gifted and genial tutor, who not only galvanised the group, but inspired me by communicating his passion for the instrument and  its music

 We learnt tunes, lots of tunes – and listened to recordings (who could forget the immortal lyrics of Old Molly Hare – “… Sittin’ on a butter dish, pickin' out a hair”?), picked up tips, wrinkles and fascinating facts – oh, had a lot of fun on the way and came home buzzing with renewed enthusiasm and already looking forward to next year’s event

 Most of all, I enjoyed the music itself, Nigel's relaxed approach and his consideration to each of us as individuals. A great opportunity to meet other players

 It was a revelation for me as after years of messing around with the mandolin it gave me confidence to do the job properly. A great opportunity to meet other players

 There’s always energy and humour with Nigel

 Once Nigel's insistence sunk home, that feel for the music was more important than consistent accuracy in hitting 100% correct notes, you were able to relax and the music improved  

Dave primed his group with chords, scales & arpeggios for blues improvisation. This was then incorporated into tunes Dave brought with him, starting with a generic blues, very inventively named Blues in G-1, to engender basic structure of blues before working on actual blues tunes Cow Cow Blues (Charles Davenport) and Vol Stephens Blues (Vol Stephens). He then moved on to learning the art of improvising against rhythm played to a chord structure. Dave’s students said:

I would come again and would love to have the same tutor

 Excellent – well prepared and thought out and beautifully taught

 It’s such a great opportunity to have a good teacher teach, and now we have time to practice

 Dave is a great teacher

 Very happy, the course was well prepared

According to the banjoists:

Elias teaches how to analyse a piece of music in respect of best fingering for right hand, he encourages individuals to play both first and second parts of a piece, it was so enjoyable we’ll be going again next year

I learnt a lot and feel a step improvement in my playing

Elias has excellent skills & attributes for teaching a mixed ability group

All in all it was very productive, and I can say I learned a lot in a short time

Overall I’d say the course exceeded my expectations

The people who attended also made the event a good one, we all got on with each other, the “crack” was brilliant! Very enjoyable – and I will be going next year!