Workshop Title: Arranging for an Ensemble
Band Association: Stillhouse Junkies
Workshop Instructors: Alissa Wolf, Cody Tinnin, Fred Kosak
Date: Sunday, September 4th, 2022
Time: 9:30 – 10:45
Location: Arena
Workshop Description: From the first note of each to the last, learn how to take your arrangements to the next level, regardless of ensemble size or instrumentation. Add the sort of clarity, purpose, and narrative depth to your material that will expand your musical horizons and keep listeners coming back for more.
Intended Audience: Anyone looking to tighten up existing song arrangements or arrange new material for performance, jam, and even hobby settings.
Curriculum: Stillhouse Junkies will take attendees through the challenging and often frustrating process of arranging original material and covers for an ensemble, including the nuances that help songs stand out and keep audiences engaged. Using examples from the band’s own repertoire, workshop participants will learn how to put together a bigger picture road map for a song and dive into the particulars of unison/harmonized melody, stops, holds, solos and written instrumental parts, group dynamics, intros, and endings. We’ll look at classic formulas from the bluegrass and folk world including two-bar Nashville-style bridges, verse repetition, tagged endings, and a few common twists. Attendees will also develop their musicianship through discussion and demonstration of tasteful comping, fills, solo support, interlocked grooves, and perhaps most importantly, when to just lay out and let the rest of the band play.
What your attendees need to bring: Pen/paper or a recording device, according to preference!
Bio: Born in a distillery in Durango, CO, 2021 IBMA Momentum Band of the Year and two-time Telluride Bluegrass band contest finalists Stillhouse Junkies play a delirious, head-spinning mixture of original roots, blues, funk, swing, and bluegrass music. With all three band members sharing lead vocal and songwriting duties, the Junkies conjure a wide range of tonal landscapes that pay tribute to the iconic sounds of Gillian Welch, the Allman Brothers, Tim O’Brien, the Wood Brothers, John Hiatt, and countless others while breaking new musical ground with their genre-bending original material. Stillhouse Junkies are proud to be Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival showcase artists and 2020 & 2021 IBMA World of Bluegrass showcase artists.
