Playing in a band is an invaluable way to develop your timing, ear, and taste as a musician, but not everyone has the time or resources to put a band together or to commit to it for the long term. PickUp Bands offer the chance to be a part of a group that will work together in a supportive and organized band environment to prepare a 20-25 minute set of music. And the best part is that after eight band sessions, you get to perform your set as an opener on a Bluegrass Monday at Amnesia.

PickUp Bands are groups of 3-6 people with an interest in getting more experience playing in an ensemble. Groups will be formed to have similar skill levels and interests as well as a good instrumental makeup. Members will work together with a band coach on harmonies, arrangements, band dynamics, and material selection to develop a show that highlights the strengths of the members and challenges them to develop their potential. Meetings will be held in a comfortable and well equiped studio space in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco.

Requirements: Members should have the ability to follow chord changes at moderate tempos with reasonably consistent timing (8 weeks of playing in a band and it'll be solid!). Note that groups are formed at all skill levels. More experienced players are welcome.

Cost: An eight session workshop is $210 per person. Fill out a PickUp Band Questionnaire to get started...

Harmony singing is a key element to bluegrass. There's just nothing like powerful tenor over a confident lead with a smooth baritone filling out the sound.

Learning to sing harmony is both a study in the technical structure of a harmony stack and experience in the "feel" of a well-blended duo or trio. In private or small group sessions, we'll look at how bluegrass harmonies are formed and talk about tricks and clues to finding them, then focus on a selection of songs with close attention to tone, breathing, and timing to fine tune the blend. In addition to singing together during sessions, we'll use multitrack recording software to enable you to analyze progress and work on parts between sessions.

Individual students are welcome. We can work as a duo as well as with multi-track recording software to fill in trios when desired. Individual students interested in working with a group should contact me and I'll try to hook you up.

Requirements: Students interested in small groups should have some experience singing lead parts. If you are unsure, let's set up a private session to see where we are.

Cost: Private Sessions are $50/hr or $250 for 6 meetings. Small Group Sessions are $35 per person/hr or $180 per person for a six week session. Drop me an email to get started...