Been a rather frantic time for gig-booking, trying to fill in extra dates on the European trip for March, and getting dates booked in for the UK in April when i get back… Been chasing some more masterclasses, and have been invited back to my old college in Perth, Scotland – just need to sort out the date. I love going back up there – it was a great place to study, and as I’ve said before, the head of bass there, Pete Honeyman, not only taught me how to play, but taught me how to teach – he was very ‘hands off’ in that it wasn’t about just giving us some piece to learn and ticking it off, but more about pointing us in a creative direction and letting us run with it. It’s an approach that definitely favours players like me, and can be uncomfortable for players that want to be spoon-fed, but it definitely produces more creative thinking musicians than doing graded exams does…
So thanks, Pete – there’s your blog mention – see you soon! ;o)
and the rest of you, email me if there’s somewhere near you that you think i should play, or a festival you’ve got a contact at that might be cool for me this summer…