James McKinney Workshop Redlands 2006 |
Redlands Bluegrass Festival – 2006
Written by Wendy Holman of ‘Fingerstyle’ James McKinney has a long and dedicated history on the 5 string banjo. He describes it as the coolest instrument of all. All his family are musical. In addition to bluegrass James also plays the style known to Fingerstyle students as Mountain banjo. He enjoys mixing techniques from both styles. James is a superb technician achieving awesome speeds, lightning scale runs and dazzling, single-string triplets. His foundation is technical and mathmatical, as one can hear from the precision of his playing. He is a student of the Schillinger method – the basis for the original curriculum of the Berkeley School of Music. He practices 3 hours per day, one hour of which is rolls and hand exercises – and that’s despite working a day job – he’s a computer programmer for NASA. James is currently beginning a new musical adventure in jazz. James had appreciative audiences at two Redlands 2006 banjo workshops. Here is a summary of some of the good oil he’s invited us to share with one and all.
Handouts: Although the Saturday workshop was advertised as a beginners slow jam, instead, James took the ‘teach a man how to fish and he feeds himself for life’ approach. He gave us valuable insights into correct hand positioning, pick shaping and finger-picking economy. Comments from participants from both workshops were very positive. We all look forward to the publication of his new book on technical proficiency! This summary can’t begin to describe how warm, informative, and charming James McKinney is in the flesh. Everyone I spoke to later commented on his generosity – sharing information and answering questions. Despite being at the apex of technical and musical achievement James has that wonderful attitude of always learning - asking other banjo players to repeat certain licks he liked. James loves bluegrass and everything banjo-related. He seemed to be very impressed with Aussie pickers – and we were certainly impressed with him, not only as a picker but as a person. We hope to see James and Angela McKinney in Queensland again – oh, and Missy too! (Missy 2? – you had to be there!) Highly recommended album: ‘Mind Over Banjo’ - James McKinney with Vassar Clements, the fiddle players fiddle player. Visit James and Angela McKinney’s website at: www.jamesandangelamckinney.com
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Fingerstyle Productions, Nambour, Queensland, Australia.
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