Watercolour 2018

Sept 29th - Oct 2nd

Residential guitar workshop weekend

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Congratulations to all of the attendees and tutors who have made Watercolour Music's previous guitar workshops such a success.

Once again Watercolour Music will open its doors to this unique event which appeals to guitar students and emerging professionals alike. An intensive but relaxed weekend in the stunning surroundings of Scotland’s West Highlands with the undivided attention of two stellar guitar tutors – John Goldie and Peter Kroll-Ploeger.

We can offer either a course only rate or include Hotel accommadation on a B+B basis.

 

To ensure a fruitful individual learning experience, there were limited places on this special weekend – two classes of eight maximum brings the setting close to the mentoring process pioneered in the US. Students arrived on Saturday evening for a relaxed meet-and-greet, followed by intensive tutored sessions throughout Sunday and Monday.

 

The weekend is designed to give attendees the time and space needed to invest in their musical passion, unhampered by the usual interruptions and distractions of home and work. The workshops are tailored to the abilities of participants, aimed at all levels of musician who want to learn new skills and increase their confidence in a group situation.

 

Watercolour Music specialises in creating a relaxed, supportive and inspiring environment, and the course provides the perfect retreat for guests wanting to concentrate on improving various aspects of their music and performance in the beautiful, peaceful location of Ardgour. The informal atmosphere allows structured activity in a supportive learning environment.

Facetime with the tutors includes at least 8 hours of tutor-led group teaching sessions designed to bring out the best abilities There are also opportunities for sessions with the other players, and quality time ‘alone’ with one's instrument!

We wil also be hosting a Tutor's concert on Sunday night.

 

Ruth CD

 

John Goldie is without doubt a world class acoustic guitarist, incorporating a wide range of influences including jazz, blues, Celtic and funk. The press quote One man acid jazz band goes a little way to describe this remarkable musicians ability to combine bass, chords, melody and groove together with apparent ease, thrilling audiences worldwide.

 

ohn started playing at the tender age of 6 when he asked his parents for a guitar, which was a surprise to them as they are not musical!. He started learning chords from books and found a fascination in electric guitars as well as a love of rock music. By the age of 13 he was playing in several local bands as he was able to play all the rock classics, including the solos, perfectly. It was also around this time that John found it frustrating that he was unable to read music, so he decided to find a guitar teacher. In Frank Henry, John not only found a teacher but a mentor that would have an immense impact on his musical future. Frank taught him how to read music and understand harmony which was to prove crucial in later years

 

By the time John had left school he was already earning a living from music by playing guitar in local function bands, and it was during one of these gigs that he was spotted by an agent who booked shows for Motown acts from the USA touring in Europe. This led to John touring with several of the labels artists over the next few years.

 

John’s musical career was about to take a radical change of direction after a chance meeting with Jazz guitarist Martin Taylor. After seeing Martin playing with legendary violinist Stephane Grappelli on TV, he decided to see the pair perform in Glasgow and was invited, much to his surprise, to Martin’s house. This led to John touring with Martin as a duo and eventually as part of the band Spirit of Django. He also worked for Andrew Lloyd Webber around this time touring with his show Jesus Christ Superstar. During that period on the road, John starting playing and writing on the acoustic guitar. The resulting demos found their way to Germany and into the hands of record label owner Peter Finger who invited John over to Germany to record a cd at his studio, which turned out to be ‘The View from Here’, his first solo cd.

 

John subsequently signed to Scottish label Watercolour Music and has released 4 albums for the label, ‘This Time and Place’, ‘Open 4 Closure’, ‘Picked In the Past’ and his new album ‘Chocolate Maze’. Both ‘Chocolate Maze’ and ‘Open 4 Closure’ features John with his band, showing a different side to his playing while ‘A Little Of What You Fancy’ and ‘Picked In The Past’ features reworkings of classic rock ad pop songs, arranged for acoustic guitar by John. The albums have received a string of 5 star reviews and even won praise from Ronnie Woods, Brian May and Andy Fairweather Low.

 

John is now recognised as one of the most revered players on the acoustic circuit undertaking worldwide tours, taking in USA, Asia and Europe as well as collaborating with some of the world’s greatest players, including Tommy Emmanuel, Ike Isaacs and George Benson. In fact George asked John to play a private concert for him and his band after one of their concerts in Scotland. John was also asked recently to play with The Faces at the Royal Albert Hall which he described as ‘a surreal but amazing experience!’

 

John also has a long working relationship with AER amps, Martin guitars and Picato strings. He regularly plays at trade shows across the world as an endorser for these companies

 

For the guitar geeks, John plays a Martin 0M28V and use an AER colouriser D.I box and T Rex Reverb pedal in a live situation. He also uses Wegen picks.

 

Peter

 

After the 2006 Release of Peter Kroll Ploeger's CD "Eat at Own Risk" - 14 duets with well-known collaborators as Tony McManus, Beppe Gambetta, Peter Finger and Don Ross, German steel string specialist Peter Kroll Ploeger has toured Europe extensively. This was followed with the "Wonderland Guitar Night” tour which saw Peter play a series of double header concerts in the USA, Canada and India with the likes of Ian Melrose, Joscho Stefan, Woody Mann, Tim Sparks and Stephen Bennet.

 

For the last nine years Peter has also taught at the Mediterranean Music School as well as organising the highly successful “ Kohlenpott” guitar weekend in Germany.
In spring 2008 the live recording “Live on a Dog’s Day” was released (again on Peter Finger’s Label – Wonderland Records), including mostly Peter’s own songs and tunes, and featuring Stevie Lamberty on piano.

 

Since 2010 he’s also working in a duo with Kasachstan singer, Alexa Wichner, doing Russian songs and rearranging classics and standards of popular music in new ways. The cd “Guitar meets Vocal “was released in the spring 2011. So far their shows brought this duo all over Germany and France.

 

In 2013 the Christmas album “Der Weihnachtsverstärker “was released together with German singer Michi Baum. Also the album “Press to Play “came out in January 2015, And featured guest appearances from Don Ross, Calum Graham, Eric Lugosch and more.

 

After learning to play the classical piano for 10 years, he started to play Fingerstyle Guitar at the age of 15. Over the years he has played mainly in Europe, often as a sideman to people like Ian Melrose or Eric Lugosch. He also plays Electric Bass, mainly in the German bands “Tuberculucas” and “The Sinus Blues Band”.

 

For Full Details and Booking please contact

:Nick Turner. Watercolour Music, Ardgour.Fort William PH33 7AH

nick@watercolourmusic.co.uk 01855841320 0791 8618375