Sonic Junction is delighted to welcome Acoustic Guitar Master Chris Eldridge to our teaching team.

Here's Chris on what he will teach:

I'll be teaching many of the concepts and techniques, both large and small, that have helped me become a better musician and guitar player. For me to actually learn something, I have to understand why I should learn it. I'll discuss these concepts and techniques in the context of a song or arrangement, so that their relevance will be more clearly understood. In the first lessons I'll be starting out with basics, because I believe that every single musician will stand to benefit from stronger fundamentals. For instance, holding the pick is still something that me and my guitar buddies still talk about. You never master those things, but you should always be working on them. Eventually we'll get into more advanced topics like chord voicings, different approaches to improvising, building up technique, musicianship, etc.

Over the course of the year we'll learn about 10 new songs, but each week I'd like to illuminate different approaches that can be applied to these songs. I'll also share what I've learned about singing and delivering a song to an audience.

Chris "Critter" Eldridge

Chris' syllabus for the coming year:

The Pick

• Importance of stiff pick for bluegrass
• Different ways of making contact with the strings
• Rotation for smoother pick strokes

Right Hand Mechanics

• Tension, posture, etc.
• Pick direction
• Alternating picking
• Theory of when up and down strokes happen
• Even subdivisions vs. triplets
• Rest strokes - what they are and how and when to use them
• Groove and flow through large body movements

Left Hand Mechanics

• Left hand thumb position
• Why is that important?
• Fretting
• Finger independence
• Exercises to get out of old left hand habits
• Pinky as dominant LH finger

Developing Better Technique

• Practicing mindfulness and why it's so important
• Why sloppiness is sometimes encouraged to break through to another plateau
• Capo technique
• Tuning well by ear
• What overtones and "beats" are and how to hear them

Scale Basics

• Explain scale degrees
• Do, rae, mi, etc = 1, 2, 3, etc
• How can scales be used to help figure out melodies?

Chord Basics

• How chords are constructed
• Root, 3rd, 5th, etc
• Inversions
• Giving new colors to the same old chords

Basic Strumming

• Boom chuck
• Alternating root / 5th in bass with strum
• Importance of staying loose
• Wrist, arms, shoulder
• Only way to have good groove and groove is king

G-runs

• Core, super important part of bluegrass guitar
• Why G-runs must be played using rest strokes
• Different kinds of G runs
• Jimmy Martin, Lester Flatt, Tony Rice, Del McCoury ...
• Use for punctuation

Other bass runs

• Going from I to IV, I to V, IV to V, etc
• Chromatic
• Ascending and descending

Different Strumming patterns

• Review boom chuck as foundation
• Dudley Connell style chugging train
• Jimmy Martin style
• Rice-style "brushed" rhythm

Cross Picking

• Alternate picking vs. DDU
• 3 against 4
• How to use cross picking as accompaniment
• Imitating a banjo role, gives different texture
• How to use cross picking to play melodies
• A few simple examples

Rice-Style Rolling Rhythm Fills

• How they mimic alternating bass
• How using extra beats for the arpeggiation fills out the sound
• Different ways they can be used

Timing

• General concepts relating to timing
• Meditative strategies to improve timing
• Using other parts of your body to hold a groove
• The Metronome (IT IS THE GREATEST TOOL!)
• Tricks to change the metronome from dictator to coach

Improvising

• Finding a unique voice
• Your mind dictating to your hands, not vice versa
• Using the melody to keep improvisations coherent

Singing

• Improving pitch
• Delivering the intent of a song
• Accompanying yourself while singing

Examination of Flatpicking Greats

• Tony Rice
• Norman Blake
• Doc Watson
• David Grier
• etc.

Songs

• White Dove (Stanley Brothers)
• Honey You Don't Know My Mind (Jimmy Martin)
• Liberty (trad. fiddle tune)
• Nine Pound Hammer (we will explore the different approaches of Tony Rice, Norman Blake and Clarence White)
• Eighth of January (trad. fiddle tune)
• Church Street Blues (in the respective styles of Tony Rice and Norman Blake)
• Whiskey Before Breakfast (trad fiddle tune)
• Wildwood Flower (Carter Family)
• Banks of the Ohio (Trad., Doc Watson)
• Let Him Go On Mama (John Hartford)

These are all topics that I'm interested in and that I plan on teaching. I welcome suggestions for any other related topics that people want to explore as well. Let me know!

Chris "Critter" Eldridge

Chris is a 3-time winner at the International Bluegrass Music Awards and 3-time Grammy nominee whose mastery of bluegrass flatpicking has earned wide critical acclaim. Hailed as “one of the most important young guitarists performing today,” Chris has an “elegantly intelligent” sensibility which brings a vitality to the bluegrass and roots music tradition. Chris' skill affords him a fluency and inventiveness he uses to full effect with classic bluegrass and escapades into other genres. The breadth of Chris’ creativity can be seen in his success as a founding member of the The Punch Brothers, and in Chris’ work alongside musical luminaries including Paul Simon, Renee Fleming, T-Bone Burnett, John Paul Jones, Marcus Mumford, Elvis Costello, Jerry Douglas, Del McCoury among others. More recently, as a celebrated duo with renowned jazz guitarist Julian Lage, Chris continues to deliver thoughtful and inspired stylings which put him at the forefront of acoustic music.

Chris grew up in the rich heritage of bluegrass of his father, noted banjoist Ben Eldridge of the Seldom Scene, and under the guidance of incomparable Tony Rice. We are thrilled Chris is passing along his expertise by teaching vocal and acoustic guitar lessons here at Sonic Junction.

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See Chris' Free Sample Lesson

Church Street Blues

Mean Mother Blues

Through the Bottom of the Glass