Gordon Bok Workshops

Gordon offers two different workshops. Generally class sizes range from ten to twenty students and the class runs for about two hours, with a small break somewhere in the middle.

                 12-String Guitar:
        The Gordon Bok 12-String Workshop is geared for people who already play the 12-string guitar. The ultimate goal of this workshop is to give players a better understanding of what they can accomplish with 12-string guitars. Participants should have a basic understanding of chords and how to play them. They are encouraged to bring their instruments to the workshop, and may want to bring a notebook for taking notes.
        Gordon will discuss the different kinds of 12-string guitars, touching on their construction, general care, and maintenance. He will talk about the different kinds of strings and different methods of stringing to achieve different sounds. He will show different ways of tuning, and how to adjust capos to minimize tuning problems.
        Gordon will discuss and demonstrate various approaches to accompaniment and explore a variety of textures by showing different ways of playing to achieve different moods and effects. The 12-string guitar is far more versatile than people think.

                 Moving Poetry Toward Music:
        Gordon says "A poem on the page can be a lovely thing; a poem in the mind can be a wise and lifelong friend. But when you rattle a poem around in your body (either speaking or singing) in all those images and vibrations you have a nourishment better then food. One of my favorite musical adventures is trying to lift a poem from the page into singing, so I can have it in my body when I need it."

        In this workshop students listen to examples of poems that folks have successfully set to music, and look for some principles therein, then take some poems and look for ways to sing them. Students should come to class with a poem or short, personal story they've written. Often Gordon will choose one of them for the entire class to work on. The end result isn't a polished product, but the understanding of how to approach a poem and learn some tools to get them singing.