I haven't been before and was just interested to know if anyone from the forum has been before and if they thought it was worth the money.
I think it is Joe Filisko, Eddie Martin & Grant Dermody will be taking the harmoncia lessons this year. Reading through the website it seems like each instructor only takes a couple of lessons so £600 for the week is looking a little bit expensive considering that there might only be 6 lessons that might interest me.
I taught at BluesWeek 2008. I taught two intermediate and one beginner class each day. They were each 75-90 minutes long. I can't remember which. The same bunch of intermediate students generally attended both of my daily classes, but some only came to one. Annie Raines was also giving intermediate classes, as was Giles.....dang, what's his name? Giles King.
You'd have the option, as I remember, of taking a total of four 75-90 minute harmonica classes a day. That's a heck of a lot. There's homework--or there was with me--and not much time to do it.
I enjoyed my time there. Feedback on my sessions was good but mixed. The five or six best players in my class did fine, but I think there were some players who thought of themselves as more advanced than they were. I'm a nice guy, but I teach in a fairly intense and focused way, and I can even be demanding at points, the way Buddha might. I try to create breakthroughs. Sometimes this involves pushing people past their comfort zone. I've been teaching for a long time and have a pretty good sense of how to do this, but each group of students is a different challenge.
I think it's worth the money.
Last Edited by on Jan 25, 2010 1:16 PM
Thanks for the reply Adam, from what you said I think I am going to book to go.
From looking at the website again it seems that there are 4 slots for lessons each day, and each instructor will be taking a couple of classes a day.
When I first looked at the website I thought that there was only going to be 7 or 8 harmonica lessons through out the week, but there seems to be 7 or 8 lessons a day, and that makes a big difference to the question on wether the week is value for money.
Hi BH. I'd say that luton airport is your best bet. Then northampton is 1hour up the M1. Plenty of Easyjet flights from Belfast to Northampton to.
Last Edited by on Jan 26, 2010 5:56 AM
Looks pretty good. Unfortunately I can't afford to go. The chance to learn from Joe Filisko is a great one in my opinion.
The biggest shame though is that Tom Ball isn't there teaching harmonica. Kenny Sultan is teaching guitar, but if Tom was there as well it would be incredible. He is great on Piedmont harmonica styles and anything by Big Walter, Little Walter.
I don't really know much about the harmonica playing of Grant Dermody or Eddie Martin. I'll have to check them out.
