Richard Gilewitz

                         Guitar and Ukulele Workshops

Chops, Licks, Knuckles and Stuff! 

This workshop explores practical techniques to strengthen your fingerpicking, rhythm, memorization, creativity, and overall musicianship in a fun and approachable way. Participants will learn effective practice methods, strategies for playing with others, expressive strumming techniques, practical music theory concepts, and ways to build and maintain a strong repertoire. The session also covers creative inspiration, efficient learning tools, metronome use, and healthy playing habits to help reduce strain and improve long-term performance skills. 

Richard will cover the following topics:

1. Build Your Fingerpicking Engine
Learn a straightforward system for mastering essential fingerpicking patterns by organizing them into four simple  groups.

2. Smarter Song Memorization
Discover how to memorize music using “chunking” and musical puzzle pieces, gaining an understanding of gap learning techniques.

3. Make the Metronome Your Ally
Overcome fears and learn how to use a metronome effectively to improve timing, control, and confidence.

4. Playing with Others: A Strategic Approach
Develop awareness and adaptability in group settings by learning how to “move your mind around the room” while playing.

5. The ‘Sock Trick’ (and Why It Works)
Explore how, when and why muting the strings can help you build a piece of music more effectively and keep the peace at home.

6. Finding Inspiration Everywhere
Tap into creativity by learning how to draw musical ideas from unexpected sources, from airport soundtracks to everyday rhythms in your environment.

7. Decorating Your Sound
Add expression and personality to your playing with techniques like vibrato, grace notes, slides, staccato, harmonics, and dynamic attacks.

8. Strumming with Style
Learn how regional and punch strums can add character, dynamics, rhythm and emphasize your performance..

9. Practical Music Theory Basics
Understand the essential theory concepts that apply to your playing.

10. Researching Music and Beyond
Learn effective ways to find, study, and interpret your favorite tunes and then go one step further.

11. Building and Maintaining Your Repertoire
Create a system for growing, organizing, and keeping your songs performance-ready.

12. Body Mechanics & Injury Prevention
Understand the way we hold and move our bodies while playing in order to avoid injury, strain, and reduce fatigue.

Some experience with basic chords and strumming is recommended. Please bring a guitar; a tuner, capo, pencil, and paper are optional but helpful. Handout materials will be provided.

Be In The Band!

Are you a guitarist who's always wanted to be in a band but never had the chance or thought you could be? Or are you already in a band and want more strategies and techniques to take your musicianship to the next level? Whatever your musical background, this workshop is for you! As an experienced master class instructor, Richard knows how to bring folks of varying levels of experience together so newer players never feel left out or confused, and more advanced guitarists are never bored or restrained to slow down for the beginner. Under Richard’s direction, we will ‘create a band’ on the spot with a combination of rhythms, fingerpicking, and a touch of music theory. You’ll learn how to: join and exit the group, listen to yourself and each other, vary your dynamic attack, play with your eyes closed, follow your breath, and release body tension. He’ll also experiment with different instrumental voicings with the use of a capo to create a layered, symphonic sound. You’ll leave the workshop knowing you gained valuable new skills and contributed to making some beautiful noise with others who love the guitar too. 

Skills Needed:  Some experience with a few basic chords and strumming. Barre chords and fingerpicking are helpful but not required. 

What to Bring:  A guitar.  Optional but helpful: tuner, capo, pencil, and paper. Handout materials will be provided.