Country Blues > Port Townsend Country Blues Workshop
Can anyone compare PT with blues week at Augusta?
funkapus:
Hi. I gather that for the folks on this forum, the Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Workshop is the big event of the year. I'm wondering if anyone's been to both PT and blues week (as opposed to guitar week) at the Augusta Heritage Heritage Center (Davis & Elkins College, WV), and can talk about how they're similar/different? I've never been to either, and I'd very much like to do one or the other this year. Augusta's instructor list and class list is out. The class list for PT isn't out yet; but from the instructor list, there's some overlap in who's teaching at each. But the instructor list for PT is much larger, so I would guess there's more going on at Port Townsend. That would make PT more appealing to me: I figure that more instructors means it's more likely that there'll be stuff pitched to my level (someone who's really just starting to sort out fingerpicking). But the other big factor is that I'm on the East Coast: I'm a cross-country plane flight from PT, but a four-hour drive from Augusta; and that's a big cost difference, especially when it looks strongly like Congress is going to be giving me a 20% pay cut very soon.
Anyway, any compare/contrast thoughts would be much appreciated.
Rivers:
Have never attended but the Augusta instructor lineup looks good. Given your goals you would get a lot from some of the instructors including Steve James, Eleanor Ellis, Paul Rishell.
However, as you say, the Port T lineup is longer and has more depth, what with Terry Bean, Lightnin' Wells, Del Rey, Dom Flemons, Jerron Paxton, Orville Johnson, Mary Flower & Eleanor, others.
The social side of camp is also important, jamming, skills transferral etc. I don't know how well Augusta works on that level but Port T has always been strong.
What a cruel dilemma!
robdee:
Funny should post your question. I've been to Augusta several times but never to PT and I've been thinking about making it out the west coast. I am in Toronto so Augusta is about 11 hours drive. I think getting to PT will be a lot harder!
Yes the faculty overlaps a lot. Many of the faculty are either at Augusta or have been. In fact, Daryl Davis is the coordinator for both Augusta and PT. Paul Rishell, Steve James, Robert Jones (sounds interesting!) and Eleanor Ellis among others are instructing guitar at Augusta. I took a class from Paul a few years ago and he really covers a lot of songs. More than enough choice for a guitar student (you can really only cover two classes IMHO). Guess it depends on what style(s) and interests you have too There are porch jams, slow jams, ice house jams, student band performances and of course, informal jamming. For me, it's about price and convenience of getting there. I could fly into Seattle but doubt if I'd make the 2 pm shuttle.
Not sure what's going on with Augusta. It does seem a bit smaller and they have combined it with Swing Week again so maybe enrollment has been declining (? total conjecture). Swing Week at Augusta adds another dimension which may help in a decision. A couple of swing guitar teachers to sweeten the pot. Anyway, there is lots of jamming at Augusta. You need 3 lives to do the whole thing. The site is Davis and Elkins college. The dorms used to be a bit scruffy but they have been renovating (last there in 2011) so maybe there all upgraded now. I sure would like to get to PT some day. Anyway, the only bad choice is not to go to one of them!! As usual, YMMW
funkapus:
--- Quote from: Rivers on February 25, 2013, 05:00:59 AM ---Have never attended but the Augusta instructor lineup looks good. Given your goals you would get a lot from some of the instructors including Steve James, Eleanor Ellis, Paul Rishell.
However, as you say, the Port T lineup is longer and has more depth, what with Terry Bean, Lightnin' Wells, Del Rey, Dom Flemons, Jerron Paxton, Orville Johnson, Mary Flower & Eleanor, others.
The social side of camp is also important, jamming, skills transferral etc. I don't know how well Augusta works on that level but Port T has always been strong.
What a cruel dilemma!
--- End quote ---
Well, I don't know if I'd call it a *cruel* dilemma, since I'm sure both are good options; a cruel dilemma would be if I had to pick a hand to lose or something like that. :)
funkapus:
--- Quote from: robdee on February 26, 2013, 05:13:45 PM ---Yes the faculty overlaps a lot. Many of the faculty are either at Augusta or have been. In fact, Daryl Davis is the coordinator for both Augusta and PT. Paul Rishell, Steve James, Robert Jones (sounds interesting!) and Eleanor Ellis among others are instructing guitar at Augusta. I took a class from Paul a few years ago and he really covers a lot of songs. More than enough choice for a guitar student (you can really only cover two classes IMHO). Guess it depends on what style(s) and interests you have too There are porch jams, slow jams, ice house jams, student band performances and of course, informal jamming.
--- End quote ---
They both sound a lot alike. I worry a little re: both places about the extent to which I'll fit in, at my skill level/competency/whatever.
Like I said in the "Introductions" thread, I think I'd call myself an advanced beginner. With regard to blues, with flatpick, I'm comfortable playing basic rhythm in 12-bar and 8-bar forms, know moveable 7th chords (and if the tempo's not too fast, can throw in a 9th or a 13th for some color); and for soloing, I know the pentatonic/blues scales in different patterns. But I only have one turnaround, in E; bass runs have to be practiced (I can't do them spontaneously so well). And my solos using the pentatonic/blues scales tend to be really simple, diddling around spots in the scale and then going up or down to some other note I diddle around. Fingerpicking, well, I've been working fairly hard on an independent alternating bass. I can do the alternating bass fairly well; it's the independent part that I struggle with. As a result, when I learn a tune, I'm still really learning *patterns*, rather than learning to play melodies independent of what my thumb is doing. I want to change that, but I'm not sure how to get there.
Anyway, I wonder in both Port Townsend and Augusta whether there'll be many other folks at a comparable level, or whether there'll be lots of people playing brilliantly and I'll be standing there in awe going "uh . . ."
--- Quote ---For me, it's about price and convenience of getting there.
--- End quote ---
Well, yeah, that's a big factor, and much bigger for me this year than it was last year.
--- Quote ---I could fly into Seattle but doubt if I'd make the 2 pm shuttle.
--- End quote ---
I went to a different guitar workshop not too far from Seattle last summer; I flew into Seattle the night before, stayed one night at a hotel very close to SeaTac, went back to the airport in the morning to catch a shuttle.
--- Quote ---Not sure what's going on with Augusta. It does seem a bit smaller and they have combined it with Swing Week again so maybe enrollment has been declining (? total conjecture).
--- End quote ---
Well, I looked at Augusta last summer when I was trying to figure out where to go, but I didn't look at blues week because I hadn't started playing much of any blues yet. I looked at the separate guitar week, and it seemed to be dying -- they had only two instructors, and it was obviously pitched for a small group of strong players. This year, guitar week isn't even on the schedule. But as far as blues week is concerned . . .I sometimes go to jams and fingerstyle practice at the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation, and it seems like a fair number of folks from there go or plan to go.
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