'Sarah McQuaid's DADGAD guitar workshop was excellent. [She] is an engaging instructor with a clear, lucid teaching style. I came away with lots of practical ideas that I can use right away. More please!'
– M. Donovan
'I liked the range of abilities catered for and resources provided. Worth travelling down from Belfast!'
– C. Daliat
'Fabulous...totally excited again about my guitar!'
– A.-M. McKendry
Taught by Sarah McQuaid, acclaimed singer-songwriter and author of The Irish DADGAD Guitar Book, this workshop is a brief but comprehensive introduction to DADGAD tuning and technique for guitar players at all levels. The workshop will cover the following elements:
- The DADGAD tuning
- The modes
- A few general guitar playing tips
- Basic chord shapes in DADGAD
- The capo and its uses
- Chord patterns for backing tunes in DADGAD
- Backing guitar styles for Irish music
- Ornamentation
- Backing songs in DADGAD
- Playing melody in DADGAD
Sarah has taught this workshop at numerous festivals, music schools and other venues in Ireland, the UK and the US, including Strandhill Guitar Festival and Ennis International Music Festival (Ireland); Sidmouth Folk Week, Trowbridge Village Pump Festival, Alcester Folk Festival, Wadebridge Folk Festival, Bordergrass Festival and Lafrowda Festival (UK); and Passim School of Music, Cambridge, MA and Elysium Arts, Rollinsford, NH (USA).
‘I really enjoyed your workshop and I liked the way you made sure there was something for everyone. Each one of us had come along with widely different expectations and experience but you overcame this by adapting to the way the flow was going.
As someone who has dabbled in open tunings, including DADGAD, for 35 years without really knowing what I was doing, I certainly got a lot out of the session!
For me it was useful to have read your Irish DADGAD Guitar Book beforehand, but this was by no means a necessary requirement for a participant to benefit from the workshop. I liked too the impromptu illustrations using guitar parts taken from songs and instrumentals on your CDs.
Your insight into chord structures and scales cast a new light on the reason why an open tuning like DADGAD works, in contrast to my previous hit-and-miss, limited attempts at picking out chords that sound nice. I’m sure I speak for other participants when I give a big thank you for an excellent workshop, which I would recommend to any guitarist.’
– A. Vranch
Workshop Schedule & Fee
Next workshop to be scheduled.
Tuition Fee: €20
Sarah McQuaid, Teacher
Born in Spain, raised in Chicago and now living near Penzance, Cornwall (after 14 years in Ireland), Sarah is a singer, guitarist, songwriter and author of The Irish DADGAD Guitar Book (‘a godsend to aspiring traditional guitarists’ – The Irish Times). She has recorded two critically acclaimed solo albums, When Two Lovers Meet and I Won’t Go Home ’Til Morning, in addition to Crow Coyote Buffalo, an album of songs co-written with Zoë Pollock under the band name Mama. Sarah has toured extensively in the UK, Ireland, continental Europe and the US. Her third solo album, The Plum Tree and The Rose, is due for release in February 2012 on the US-based Waterbug label.
Go to sarahmcquaid.com for more information.
Enrolment
Enrolment for this workshop requires a completed enrolment form and full payment of tuition fees. (Go to Enrolment & Booking Form Downloads for a 2011-2012 General Enrolment Form.) Places are available on a first-come, first-served basis, based on the date of enrolment. Early enrolment is recommended, as places are limited to twelve.
Purchasing this workshop as a gift? Go to Enrolment & Booking Form Downloads for a Gift Certificate Booking Form.
Back to top