Learning to play a musical instrument requires a certain amount of dedication and hard work.
But often, the biggest obstacle facing budding musicians is not mastering one`s chosen instrument; it`s finding the right teacher.
Homespun Tapes has made the search easier. In the privacy of your living room, you can now learn from the pros. All you need is a tape player or videocassette recorder.
Founded 23 years ago in Woodstock, N.Y., by guitarist Happy Traum, Homespun Tapes is a mail-order company that produces audio and video music instruction tapes for students from beginner to advanced.
Homespun has produced more than 400 titles, including hundreds of audio cassettes and about 50 videos. The breadth of material and caliber of instructors is impressive.
New Orleans piano great Dr. John teaches his craft; John Sebastian, autoharp; Gatemouth Brown, blues guitar; Kevin Burke, Irish fiddle; Michael Doucet, Cajun fiddle; Chet Atkins, country guitar; Rick Danko, electric bass; John McCutcheon, hammer dulcimer; Rory Block, Delta blues guitar; and Sam Bush, bluegrass mandolin, to name a few.
Traum caught the folk bug in high school back in the `50s when he saw Pete Seeger in concert. Immediately, he asked his parents to buy him a guitar and, years later after graduating from New York University with a degree in English, he joined the burgeoning Greenwich Village folk scene.
A singer and guitar instructor, Traum had already written several instructional books when requests from his students convinced him there might be a future producing audio-tape lessons and marketing them through the mail. ”So we got a couple of tape recorders, put them on the kitchen table, and made some very rough tapes,” he said. ”People started asking for more. The whole thing grew from there.”
Eventually, Traum graduated to producing videotapes.
The tapes are not scripted, Traum said, ”because I want to have the feeling as close as possible to a spontaneous lesson. If we script them, then it comes out very stiff.”
The most talented musician, he said, is not necessarily the best teacher. ”You have to find people who can talk about what they`re doing,” he said.
Some, like Rory Block, are natural teachers. Block clearly knows her stuff and is able to convey information authoritatively with great warmth and enthusiasm. Others, like Dr. John, need a little coaching.
”Dr. John is not the most outgoing communicator,” Traum admitted, ”but he`s such a resource. He`s a national treasure. I really was eager to get him to do this.”
The Homespun videos are fun, entertaining and informative. Generally, the instructor will provide some historical background, introduce the tune or song, play it once through, then play it again at a slower pace, breaking it down into its component parts. Using closeups and split screens, the instructors demonstrate proper fingering techniques and discuss specific playing styles.
On ”The Power of Delta Blues Guitar,” Block teaches the rhythmic pounding of Charlie Patton, the fingerpicking of Tommy Johnson, and the sliding, open-tuned phrasing of Robert Johnson. Occasionally, she`ll drop a few words of encouragement (”You can be sloppy. It`s actually OK to be sloppy.”).
Students also can learn some fascinating trivia. On ”New Orleans Piano,” Dr. John reveals that he first started playing guitar but an injury from a brawl forced him to switch to another instrument, the organ.
The students aren`t the only ones who benefit. The tapes and videos force musicians to analyze what they do, and this in turn helps them become better at their craft.
”It`s a way that they can document what they`ve been doing,” Traum said. ”It gives them a certain credibility.”
Folk music, he noted, is participatory at its best.
”It`s a kind of music that people want to make for themselves,” he said. ”I think that`s why our tapes do so well, because they touch that part in people who don`t necessarily want to be performers but who want to make music for themselves and their friends. We really encourage that.”
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Most Homespun videos are 60 to 90 minutes and cost $49.95. For information write to Homespun Tapes, Box 694, Woodstock, N.Y. 12498.
