A Bluegrass Banjo Workshop with Banjo Newsletter Columnist EDDIE COLLINS

Thursday , September 29, 2005
06:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Elderly Instruments
workshop ($35.00)

Here's a questions for bluegrass banjo players of all levels: Have you ever been frustrated with your progress as you learn to play bluegrass banjo? If so, here's a lift to help put you "on track."

Recording artist, Banjo Newsletter columnist, and author of numerous popular and successful bluegrass banjo instructional books, Eddie Collins has designed a workshop for all levels of bluegrass banjo players (except complete beginners) that will help them break out of their ruts and gain new momentum in their efforts to play like the pros.

A longtime professional player, banjo (and guitar) instructor and workshop presenter, Austin resident Eddie Collins will share insights gained from his nearly 25 years of teaching private lessons and offering workshops.

Students in Collins' two-hour hands-on workshop will learn to overcome the most common impediments to good technique, in addition to learning new ways to approach common rolls and licks and how to build simple to complex solos from the ground up, without relying on tablature. Emphasis is placed on providing all participants with new ideas that they will immediately be able to incorporate into their playing. Recording devices are welcome in Eddie's workshop.

"Bring your banjo and join the fun!" adds Eddie, who was selected to serve on the June, 2005 professional staff of Steve Kaufman's long-successful seven-day Acoustic Kamp held annually at Maryville College in southern Tennessee.

Eddie Collins founded the 5-String Quarterly banjo magazine and has authored numerous popular instruction books for bluegrass banjo (and other instruments). He has been a longtime contributor and columnist for Banjo Newsletter, which highlighted his career as the cover story in its May, 2002 issue. His performing career--both with his band The High Stakes Rollers and as a soloist--was documented on the syndicated TV show Texas Music Cafe.

Eddie has taught for nearly 25 years, specializing in 3-finger style banjo, flatpick and country blues guitar, and bluegrass mandolin. His instructional books include Basics of bluegrass Banjo...and a Whole Lot More!; Beyond the Basics of Bluegrass Banjo; The Key of "C" for 5-String Banjo (without using a capo or retuning), and The Key of "D" for 5-String Banjo, available at Elderly.

Eddie contributes to several magazines. We greatly enjoyed an article he wrote for the June 1998 issue of Bluegrass Now. Titled "Elderly Instruments - They Don't Make 'Em Like That Any More!" the article refers to Elderly as "perhaps the world's most well known music store for acoustic instruments" and "...large in scope, but with the down home feel of a mom-and-pop music store." He concludes by referring to Elderly's success with what is "perhaps the most user-friendly music store in America."

Thanks, Eddie! We're looking forward to Thursday, September 29.

Check out recordings we carry featuring Eddie Collins