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[boisterous budgie]

Hello
I was wondering what level this dvd was aimed at.  The explanation http://www.themusicroom-online.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=3864 says it is a filmed masterclass. Would you recommend it? I like the way John Spiers plays and would be quite interested in learning tips and tricks. But as I play a GC I'm not that interested in slow motion showing where to find the right note kind of thing. And as it is quite a lot of money I'm hesitating. Has anyone seen it?
Thx!!
BB

[Chris Ryall]

If you want videos I trust you have picked up on the recent (free) Pignol/Milleret vidéos pédagogiques  They won't help you play like Spiers, and are in French* ..  but they are G/C based

*Budgie's posts suggest (s)he lives in Belgium, may not matter?

[boisterous budgie]

If you want videos I trust you have picked up on the recent (free) Pignol/Milleret vidéos pédagogiques  They won't help you play like Spiers, and are in French* ..  but they are G/C based

*Budgie's posts suggest (s)he lives in Belgium, may not matter?

Thx! You're totally right. Actually those P/M videos should be quite enough to keep me happy for quite a while. But...there's something I really like about Spiers-style playing. And I don't know what it is.

**Yes, I'm Belgian, my French is dodgy but functional (I'm from the Flemish part) and a she (unlike the budgie in my avatar).

[Rob2Hook]

No, I haven't seen it (yet).  John is an all round nice guy though, and while working in The Music Room he would pick up a box and join in with anyone without any showing off - he just enjoys playing.  I can't imagine anything he offered would be a waste of time or money.

Rob.

[Bobtheboat]

Hi BB, I've got a copy. It's definitely a tips and tricks kind of thing. I'm a G/C player too and found it worthwhile. Mr Spiers has aclear and relaxed teaching style and in the video has a 'student' he teaches which helps to make the ideas easier to understand.  I can imagine going back to it time and again as my playing improves and I understand more.  Bob.

[Lester]

I have a copy, somewhere, that I will part with for £10 + p&p

Sold

[boisterous budgie]

I have a copy, somewhere, that I will part with for £10 + p&p

Sold

Haha, "life is for the fast", we say in Flanders. I'll need to wake up more quickly on an Easter Sunday. Happy Easter to everyone 

Hi BB, I've got a copy. It's definitely a tips and tricks kind of thing. I'm a G/C player too and found it worthwhile. Mr Spiers has aclear and relaxed teaching style and in the video has a 'student' he teaches which helps to make the ideas easier to understand.  I can imagine going back to it time and again as my playing improves and I understand more.  Bob.

Thanks for the info! I feel very tempted to buy it :)

[Davy R]

Mr Spiers has aclear and relaxed teaching style and in the video has a 'student' he teaches which helps to make the ideas easier to understand.

Who, I think I'm correct in saying, is Val Huzzard of Boggarts Breakfast Border Morris!

[Tyker]

The student is , I believe , Val's daughter , Lucy.

[Davy R]

Yes, quite right - getting mothers and daughters mixed up! 

[squeezy]

Hello - it's me!

Basically the DVD is exactly that - a filmed masterclass.  It isn't a step-by-step instruction guide on how to play the instrument (or any particular tune for that matter).  Instead it uses some simple melodies that hopefully are easy for people to get a handle on to explain more complex techniques.

I knew full well that Lucy was able to handle most of what I am teaching on the DVD with ease having taught her before - she is a magnificent player!  Thankfully that allows me to cram in far more ideas and techniques than I ever would be able to in a straightforward workshop that was the duration of the DVD.  I also expected anyone using it as a teaching aid to pause and rewind many times to allow them to practice a single technique without wasting too much space on the DVD itself.

It's not aimed at absolute beginners - it's more aimed towards someone who has got the basics and has a repertoire of something like 15-20 tunes under their belt and would like to have a go at expanding the possibilities of the instrument.

I hope it can be of some help to people - it's by no means definitive!  When I was learning I had to experiment and guess (which I still think is a very healthy way to approach an instrument) or listen repeatedly to CDs, watch players intently in sessions and ask lots of very irritating questions in sessions for many years.  I hope some of that might be distilled in to an easier resource in this recording for people that might be interested enough to buy it.

Cheers

Squeezy

[boisterous budgie]

Hello - it's me!  I hope some of that might be distilled in to an easier resource in this recording for people that might be interested enough to buy it.
Squeezy

:) I have the feeling God just popped down from the rafters to answer my questions!!  Thank you so much for your reply, I really feel curious and interested now and have just ordered it and am looking forward to watching it as I'm as eager for tips and tricks as a border collie!

[nfldbox]

I don't have much to do with English music--my old recordings basically limited to John Kirkpatrick--but I have a number of recordings of Spiers and Boden and Bellowhead. Squeezy's seems to me that kind of playing that takes a listener beyond any prejudices about the style or instrument. His participation on this forum just adds to my appreciation of all he has done for the instrument.

[boisterous budgie]

I love the video  thx soooo much!!!! The added challenge of course is to listen to it until I have memorized it and then try it on my GC :))) I certainly need to watch this twenty more times :))

[The Oul' Boy]

It's not aimed at absolute beginners - it's more aimed towards someone who has got the basics and has a repertoire of something like 15-20 tunes under their belt and would like to have a go at expanding the possibilities of the instrument.

I know this is an ancient thread, but I got a copy of this DVD for Xmas and it's great, just what I needed at this stage. I've been playing for almost a year and this DVD has some challenging stuff, but I can now see myself tackling these techniques whereas if I'd seen it even a few months ago it would have freaked me out I think.

[Tone Dumb Greg]

... I can now see myself tackling these techniques whereas if I'd seen it even a few months ago it would have freaked me out I think.

I was you not that long ago. It's a great DVD.