Carol Walker Clinic
June 16, 2023
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