Carol Walker Clinic
Good Morning, Y'all!
I'm writing this on Tuesday, June 13, for you to read on Friday, June 16. Getting ahead of my usual writing schedule, since I have customers scheduled to visit the showroom every day for the rest of this week, and this job needs to be marked off of my "to-do" list sooner rather than later.
Three days ago we hosted one of our best Second Saturday Clinics ever! We had 20 guests, one instructor, and Aly (my wife) and I keeping things running smoothly. Guests came from a handful of states: Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. The instructor, Carol Walker, came from New Jersey, and it was a total blast!
By the way, if you haven't met Aly, here's a photo. (She's the one without a beard.)
Richard & Aly Ash
Back to the Second Saturday Clinic. Carol played in the 10 AM jam, then led a clinic from Noon til 4 PM, and followed it all up with a concert from 4-4:30 PM. If you've not heard Carol play, let me tell you this... She's utterly amazing!
Carol opened her concert with a Bach piece, played on a diatonic DAD-tuned bass dulcimer. But the piece was highly chromatic, and every third or fourth note had a string bend to pull the "missing" note from the dulcimer. I've never heard anyone do chromatic classical works, with a slew of pitch bends, so smoothly.
Carol Walker and students at her April 10, 2023, Second Saturday Clinic.
The students received 31 pages of handouts - with something useful on each page. There were some highly-skilled players in the class, as well as several with a lot less experience. And they all learned something, so it was a good day!
I really enjoy the Saturday clinics. We have a few left for this year: Bing Futch, Larry Conger, Lil' Rev, and Aaron O'Rourke. Not a shabby roster, not at all!
Thanks for reading - Have a great Friday!
Richard Ash - luthier-who-enjoys-organizing-instructional-events
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