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After a distinguished career devoted to playing bluegrass
in several of the most popular and influential groups in
the music's history, Roland White has recently embarked
on another chapter of personal musical discovery, fronting
his own bluegrass group, The Roland White Band. Roland is
known as one of the few unique stylists on the mandolin,
with his own unmistakable sound and touch. His gifts as
a musician have delighted audiences everywhere: his vitality,
soul, and infectious rhythm enable him to speak and even
dance through his instrument. Add to this his mastery of
ensemble playing, harmonic sophistication, and warm voice
guided by a subtle and swinging sense of phrasing, and you
have the legend of bluegrass that Roland has become.
Springing from a large family of musicians, Roland, along
with brothers Eric and Clarence, first formed a band in
southern California, The Country Boys (later to become the
Kentucky Colonels). They won talent contests and appeared
on local television shows and even landed appearances on
The Andy Griffith Show. The Kentucky Colonels influence
has far exceeded the band's short tenure as an active band.
Their "Appalachian Swing" album remains one of
the most influential albums of that era, a landmark in the
history of bluegrass. Roland's tradition-based yet imaginative
mandolin playing alongside Clarence's breathtaking guitar
virtuosity make this an indispensable item in any true bluegrass
aficionado's collection. Among pickers, tapes of the band's
concerts are reverently passed from hand to hand to this
day. During the years the Kentucky Colonels were together,
they featured such great musicians as Roger Bush, Billy
Ray Lathum, Leroy Mack, Bobby Slone, and the legendary fiddler
Scott Stoneman. A short-lived reunion of The White Brothers
was brought to an untimely end due to Clarence White's tragic
death in the early '70s.
Moving from The Kentucky Colonels into a position as guitarist
for Bill Monroe in the late '60s, Roland absorbed the traditional
feel and repertoire from the acknowledged Father Of Bluegrass
that remains a strong element in his music today. He also
took part in several landmark recording sessions while a
Bluegrass Boy, among them The Gold Rush, Is The Blue Moon
Still Shining, Crossing The Cumberlands, Sally Goodin, Kentucky
Mandolin, and The Walls Of Time. From Monroe's band, Roland
moved on to that of another bluegrass pioneer, Lester Flatt,
playing mandolin and recording several albums as a member
of The Nashville Grass from 1969-1973. He then spent thirteen
years with the progressive west coast group Country Gazette,
with such bluegrass luminaries as Byron Berline, Alan Munde,
Joe Carr, and Roger Bush. Roland's most recent musical affiliation,
with the highly acclaimed and decorated Nashville Bluegrass
Band, began in 1989 and came to a close at the end of 2000,
when Roland formed The Roland White Band. The Nashville
Bluegrass Band distinguished themselves as the premier bluegrass
band of their generation, winning two Grammys and Grammy
nominations on all of their albums. Roland has received
many awards over the years, from a talent show prize won
as a teenager with his band comprised of brothers and sister,
to IBMA, SPGMA, and Grammy awards earned as a member of
the Nashville Bluegrass Band in recent years. The Roland
White Band's debut album Jelly On My Tofu was nominated
for the Best Bluegrass Album Grammy in 2003.
Roland has taught mandolin and guitar privately for the
past 12 years and teaches in many workshops and camps, including
Augusta Heritage Week, Camp Bluegrass, Rockygrass Academy,
Bluegrass Masters Camp, Bluegrass at the Beach, Nashcamp,
Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend, and Kaufman Camp. He has also
recently put out his own instruction book/CD sets, Roland
White's Approach To Bluegrass Mandolin and Roland White's
Mandolin Christmas. He has a reputation as a gentle and
patient teacher.
Who it's for: Rank beginners to intermediates. We will cover
all the basics:
relaxing, how to hold the mandolin , holding the pick, tuning,
pick direction,
how to practice, playing solos, playing chords, double stops,
bluegrass repertoire,
left and right hand technique and coordination, how to listen
and what to
listen for, playing together with others. Instructor will
address the class as
a whole at times and at other times divide class into groups
for more individual
instruction. The goal for each student will be different
according to his/her needs. For the rank beginner we hope
to teach basic coordination and technique, chords to accompany
a few songs, playing in time, and a simple song or two.
For the more advanced beginners and intermediates we hope
to improve on their technique, learn how to incorporate
double stops, increase chord knowledge and especially learn
how to use chords that economize on movement. For all students
we hope to advance their ability to hear better: what's
musical, how to touch the instrument to get a nice sound,
and how to listen to all instruments in a group and hear
how they work to complement each other. Tape recorders are
permitted. Videotaping is permitted, but I prefer that the
student be participating rather than fiddling with the camera.
I reserve the right to ask a student to stop taping if it
is interfering with the class. I will bring printed handouts,
no extra charge to students.
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