Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey folks

I just thought I would share this with you.

I was in Rimouski (a small city in the lower St-Lawrence region of Quebec) this week, having been invited to give lutherie lectures at a local music school. I gave four 1 hour lectures to groups of about 25 people each, mainly students (and parents of the younger ones) and a few guitar affectionnados. I have given a few of these lectures before and I go over things like how sound is produced, how soundboards and rosettes are made and how I bend sides, I also show them different species of woods used, tips on how to select a guitar, etc. After a question period, guitarist Miodrag Zerdoner played a short piece of music on a Cedar then a Spruce guitar so that they could notice the differences in sound properties of each type (I always ask for a show of hands as to what people prefer, and Cedar normally gets about 2/3 of the votes). These lectures are always a lot of fun to give. I bring all sorts of props and samples of woods that I pass around, including a braced soundboard and a bunch of rosette tiles that are always popular. There are always lots of questions from the floor, often very interesting ones, even from the very young kids.

The real treat however was that I gave one lecture at a high school in the little town of Mont-Joli, about 20 km away from Rimouski. This is a very rural area with lots of farmland. The high school has a 22 member classical guitar ensemble and I was surprised to learn that they had just returned a couple of days before from a 26 hour bus trip to Norfolk VA for a music festival where they receive the highest grade from the jury for their performance. It turns out that the guitar ensemble from this little school out in the country is one of the very best in North America!

The kids were just great, listening with great interest and asking very astute questions throughout the lecture. The recess bell rang a couple of minutes before I was finished and not one kids flinched until I was done. The teacher/band director then stood up and said: "Listen guys, I know you are supposed to be on your lunch hour and that you have other commitments, but would you mind if we played a piece for Patrick to thank him for his presentation?" And without a moment's hesitation, they all stood up and went to grab their instruments hanging on the walls. They played a piece called "Rumba" (don't know who it is from) for me and for a few moments I was in guitar heaven...

Some of the kids stayed after the class to ask more questions, examine and try out the guitars I had brought. The interest and dedication of these youngsters and their teacher in their music is absolutely astounding. I feel privileged to have had the chance to talk to them about their instument and to have listen to them play. This experience was quite rejuvenating for the mind and 2 days later I still have a big grin on my face just thinking about it.

Have a good weekend,

Pat

Thanks for sharing that great story! It sounds like a critical mass of musical magic has pooled in and around Mont-Joli. How fun!

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Pat,

That is a great story. It's heartening to know that there are kids out there with that much respect.

Great story Pat, thanks for passing it along.

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

Really enjoyed the story Pat, must have been a very uplifting experiance for you.

Cheer

Kim

Great story! You obviously got a charge from the experience, and if your own enthusiasm is any measure, they must have gotten a lot from it too!

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I have never even heard of a guitar ensemble in North America...!
Don't let the government know about this...a school that functions at this level will not be allowed pretty soon.

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Here is what a Parlor Guitar is for!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEa8PkjO6_I

What a great story. It gives hope for the future! Thanks for sharing. Sounds like everyone was uplifted. You must be a great presenter.

Pat;
The children are our future !


Make some guitars for the school !

When kids get interested in anything and have a great time doing it -they do it for life.

Mike

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Mike Collins

Hey guys

The great thing about that high school is that 75% of all 800 students (the town must have a population of less than 5000, but the school caters to kids from a very wide area as there aren't many high schools in the vicinity) are part of one of the 4 special programs they have at the school: 2 music concentration programs (guitar and harmony) and 2 sports program (hockey, of course... and football).

It is always great to witness something that special in the public school system, where resources are often scarce. I just goes to show that with a dedicated staff and motivated teenagers, you can accomplish a lot. Many of the former students have become accomplished musicians of all styles.

There were about 50 old beater guitars on the wall which they use for normal classes. Every band member has his/her own guitar at home but they normally only bring them out for concerts and competitions. Nevertheless, the music they played on these $100 guitars sounded pretty darn good...

Cheers

Pat

Good on you Pat for the work yuo do with the younger generation. They're going to grow up to be us some day. Good training.

Dave

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God, Family, Carreer

Really enjoyed reading that! Makes me excited about building and playing guitars after a good story like that

Matt

Form Frei:


Well let's hope so, it makes all the other kids feel bad that they aren't talented.......<smile>

Great, uplifiting story! Thanks for sharing.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......