TapRoot Sessions presents guitarist Richard Smith Workshop and Concert

• Workshop: 6:00pm-7:15pm
• Concert: 8:00pm-9:30pm
• REFRESHMENTS available (pizza by the slice)

TapRoot Sessions produces concerts featuring traditional music. Join us for the workshop, concert, or both!

Workshop

Guitar workshop with Richard Smith:

Thumb Independence:

Making sure your thumb and fingers are independent of each other and that you are building co-ordination.

Ear training:

How to develop your ear and match your fingers on the fretboard to what you hear to help learn from recordings and create your own arrangements.

Techniques:

We’ll go over various useful techniques such as flatpicking development, alternating harmonics, banjo style rolls.

Concert

Nashville based, English, award winning guitarist, Richard Smith has been touring internationally for over 30 years. Predominantly playing solo shows, he has toured extensively with Tommy Emmanuel among others. His repertoire is varied and consists of old standards, swing, Joplin rags, virtuoso fingerpicking barnburners to the classics, pop, and even Sousa marches to make for a fun night of musical entertainment.

Bio

Born in 1971 in Beckenham, England, award winning guitarist Richard Smith started early and first picked up the guitar at the age of 5 with his father teaching him his first chords and songs.

After some early solo performances and six years of working as a trio with two of his brothers, Rob and Sam in the 90’s, Richard moved to Nashville, TN. in January 2000,

In 2001 he won the national finger picking championship and has since forged a career as a solo artist, performing all over the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and Brazil, releasing solo records, duet and ensemble records.

Constantly touring with a repertoire of fingerpicking classics, originals, fiddle tunes, blues, Joplin rags, jazz standards, classical repertoire and everything from pop to Sousa marches, Richard has also performed or recorded along the way with Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Tommy Emmanuel, Suzy Bogguss, Steve Wariner, Jimmy Fortune, Earl Klugh, Martin Taylor, Joscho Stephan, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, John Schneider, Lee Roy Parnell, Brent Mason, Rory Hoffman and a host of others.

Awards

• 1999 AFG Golden Thumbpick Award
• 2001 National Finger­style Guitar Champion
• 2008 Thumbpicker of the Year
• 2009 National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame Induction

Thanks to

This concert is sponsored by Berkshire Strings. In addition TapRoot concerts, workshops, and dances are sponsored by Big Elm Brewery and supported in part by grants from the Alford-Egremont, Great Barrington, Lee, Monterey, Mt. Washington, New Marlborough, Otis, and Sheffield Local Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.