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Currently the new band musicianship course is at the planning stage but the aims are already clear: to provide an opportunity for players to develop their band/ensemble skills and improvisational skills using the big band and combo formats. The course Read More …

It is good to hear that the big bands never went away – not since their heyday in the 30’s/40’s. Since then they have been less about dancing and more about ambitious compositions and arrangements. Stan Kenton was a leading Read More …

If is is stringed and plucked, then I most likely can teach it; but especially those instruments with fretboards. Of course I teach guitar in all of its forms and all kinds of techniques. But I also teach bass guitar, Read More …

bandskool has been around a while and as the founder of bandskool, I have been around longer still – teaching that is…in different contexts from schools to colleges to adult education and so forth. It is my hope that soon Read More …

Here’s an interesting article which I find very encouraging… concerning a revival of interest in Library Music; whose golden period was arguably the mid 60’s to late 70’s/early 80’s. A period during which a great deal of said music was Read More …

Three of my heroes on one stage. Really? Who are they then? Well, I will tell you: Keith Mansfield, Alan Hawkshaw and Brian Bennett. Er who? Well, you might know the last one: he was the drummer in The Shadows. Read More …

The techniques associated with playing an instrument are a vital ingredient in determining how far one progresses; although there are plenty of examples of players who work to their strengths within their technical limitations at any given point in their Read More …

So…the big band format has been around since the late 20’s…the early 30’s. at first, it was all about dancing; and then after the war, those big bands that stuck around or rose from the ashes began to think of Read More …

There is no doubt that a relationship exists between time and place and creativity, whatever form it takes. History provides the evidence to support this notion. As a creator, one can only hope that the time and place one finds Read More …

Strict tempo is often an important requirement for dancers; so if you’re a dance band you may need to sit up and take notice when choosing arrangements. Here’s an article written by George Pytlik on the Delta Dance website: ‘Music Read More …