Andrew Winton
Lap Slide guitar

Award winning musician Andrew is an independent solo artist based in Perth, Western Australia.

"The first thing you should know about Andrew Winton is that he's a seriously good guitarist... In company with some of Australia's finest singer - songwriters, most notably Jeff Lang, Winton uses a blues base for many of his creations, slipping into jazz grooves, even gospel mode, here and there." - Rhythms Magazine

Tim combines acoustic guitar, lap slide, dobro and seven-string lap guitar/bass (the Wintonbeast), with hollers and stomps to provide an engaging and authentic performance. He plays original music with blues, roots, folk, gospel & jazz influences. Andrew's sound has been likened to a cross between Ben Harper, Sting, Kelly-Joe Phelps and Harry Manx. His performances are driven by infectious rhythms, stunning slide, bluesy vocals, quirky lyrics and storytelling.

Andrew will take you through the complete lap slide guitar class, making allowances for beginners and more experienced players. A genius in the room, other than Andrew, will have to be shown the door. With a class size limited to fifteen Andrew will provide much one to one tuition.

Phil Emmanuel
Acoustic/electric guitar
After 40 years of hard work, Phil Emmanuel is finally receiving Australian and worldwide recognition as one of our finest musical talents. His versatility is well known and acknowledged obvious from the shows, and the musicians he has performed alongside, from Jazz James Morrison, Don Burrows to big-band Ed Wilosn, the Royal Military College Band, to Country Slim Dusty, Lee Kernaghan, Dolly Parton, to rock and blues Jimmy Barnes, Roy Buchanan, Don Walker and John Farnham.

Phil's musical prowess is so astonishing that there are times when the man becomes the guitar and the guitar becomes the man. His passion is illuminating, his ability is breathtaking "If brother Tommy plays it sweet Phil plays it from the street. Phil's playing has so much fire and his chops on the electric are pretty well as good as you'll get." Australian Musician.

"His phenomenonal technical skills thrilled the audience. His fingers looked like tarantulas' legs running down an electric/acoustic web of intricate frets and passages." Courier Mail.

Phil will take you through the acoustic/electric guitar:
Basics, how to maximise your practise, fast picking, volume swells, tapping, scales, double stop and triple stop bends, improvisation and development.

Ronan Martin (Scotland)
Western Highland fiddle style
Ronan is better known as ‘The Skye Fiddler’ and when he last toured Australia he astounded audiences with his exquisite knowledge of the highland fiddle technique and repertoire. Ronan will teach a small proportion of the hundreds of tunes he has learned using the traditional method of teaching by ear and then hand out music at the end of the class so you won't forget them.

Participants level of playing would have to be based on how fast you can pick up tunes ie be quite comfortable with it and have been playing at least two years (and you need to bring their own instrument!)

The course will also cover how to play a lot of pipe music on the fiddle and demonstrate how to make the fiddle sound more  'pipey' - gracenotes and double stopping etc. Marches, reels and particularly strathspeys will also be taught.

Sunas
Song selection and arrangement for bands

Sunas (pronounced 'Soo-nass') are a highly regarded celtic band. They came together with no specific ideas in mind. The general consensus was to just play and see what happened. They play traditional acoustic Celtic (Irish, Scottish, British, European, Breton etc) music, both songs and tunes, in the styles of such bands and artists as Altan, Lúnasa, The Waterboys, Solas, Loreena McKennit, Luka Bloom and The Bothy Band and an ever-increasing number of our own songs and tunes, and also contemporary material that we’ve twiddled to fit our own style.
Instruments played by the band include guitars, fiddle, bouzouki, mandolin, flutes, whistles and bodhrán, and they have the luxury of four vocalists.”

The day will cover practical issues for bands such as:
Matching tunes with songs, how they actually find tunes and songs with instruments and examples.

Arrangement (instrumental) the SUNAS way: SUNAS augment and arrange everything they do in a particularly 'loose but tight' way. This section would mainly deal with traditional tunes, and would also cover how to decide on which instruments to use. Arrangement (vocal) is the song equivalent. Sarah and Bridget will discuss vocal harmony arrangements and the sometimes bizarre paths they travel to make something work.

Pete Hawkes
Acoustic guitar
“How often does one come across a composer with the ability to transcend several musical genres and yet stay firmly focussed within his own perceived sound? Almost never! Pete manages to turn many genres into his own, making the listener feel they are witnessing something innovative and fresh, but still familiar to the feels and traditions of the genre.

"... he is certainly one of Australia's most creative and interesting composers for acoustic music to emerge in the last decade.” Tony Bates ..Musicologist/Reviewer' Station Librarian/Presenter 3WBC 94.1FM,

Pete's workshop will cover dropped D tuning, slide guitar, rag time playing, playing over the fretboard from above bottom E, early blues guitar, jazz guitar, playing celtic melodies , arranging for fiddle and guitar, solo acoustic guitar playing

Sandy Brechin (Scotland)
Scottish Accordion
Sandy Brechin grew up in Kirkliston, West Lothian and has been playing the accordion for twenty years. In fact, he has been playing the same accordion (albeit with a few minor repairs) for the last twenty years! He was taught by the late Chrissie Leatham, in Edinburgh, and also by her son, Owen Murray, who is now Professor of Accordion at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He has developed his own unique approach to the art of accordion playing and his innovative style is instantly recognisable.

Sandy Brechin is one of the greatest exponents of the Scottish accordion. He is well known throughout the world having toured and recorded extensively with "Burach", "Seelyhoo", "The Sandy Brechin Band" and his incredibly popular ceilidh band, "The Sensational Jimi Shandrix Experience".

"Whose accordion bellows boldly blow where no box has blown before."  Archie Fisher
The day will cover How to improve your fingering on the right hand and making the most of your bass accompaniment and how to play for Ceilidh dancing - choosing the right tunes, putting them together in sets, and playing the correct tempo.