Kevin Crawford will be in st.Louis for the TIONOL April 4,5, 6. See http://www.tionol.org for all details or contact mmullins@tionol.org.
Mike
He is a WONDERFUL teacher, and loads of fun. Sign up, sign up!
P.S. With any luck Kevin and John Skelton will reprise/continue their one-day-to-be-fabulous comedy act.
I left Illinois at the wrong time. 
Who-all’s going?
M
I plan to be there.
Me too. Not sure whether I’ll sign up for whistle or flute.
Dave Copley
Loveland, Ohio
Sign me up.
Me three, although I think I’m going to subject myself to even MORE humiliation than ever by taking a piping class. As if trying to play the flute’s not struggle enough… 
I really hope I can, even if I have to fly in late Friday night!
My elementary choir is singing in a music festival until close to 5 p.m. on Friday, the day before Spring break. (A lousy time to schedule this festival 
)
Kevin’s a wonderful teacher–very clear, good pacing, fun stories, and amazing technique and style! I’m sure the class will be packed.
Jeanie
I’m planning to go as well. Probably a piping class.
Would his class be appropriate for a relative beginner? I went to the website and read the 4 skill level descriptions: beginner, basic, intermediate, and advanced. Beginner and basic are as follows:
Beginner: You have no or relatively little experience with the instrument.
Basic: Appropriate for those musicians who have played their instrument for at least 1 year, know simple tunes and cam play by written music or by ear at a slower pace.
Even though I have had my Copley for only two weeks, I have played the Boehm flute for a few years, and I would say I fall somewhere between beginner and basic at this point. I can play simple tunes from written music at a slower pace but would only have 3 months of experience on the Irish flute at the time of the workshop.
It’s a long way from California, but I could possibly tack on a visit with my family in Indiana on either end of the event. But, I wouldn’t want to spend a good chunk of money and then sit in a room feeling woefully inadequate and embarrassed either. Any thoughts…?
Bob,
When I was at Augusta and also at Boxwood the previous year, Kevin C. passed out an abc version of the tunes we were working on. He sometimes passed it out after he taught it by ear. There were a couple of beginners who requested it at the start of the lesson, and he complied if he had a copy handy. He was a very giving, patient teacher.
He teaches phrase by phrase, explaining ornamentation, etc. as prompted by class questions. He would usually play through the tune once slowly, and then faster. Everyone would record it for later work.
You can always go and participate as much as you can, making sure to tape it so you can work with it later at home.
Jeanie
In my case woefully embarrassed and inadequate are
par for the course. But I still learn a lot. I record
a good deal. One of these things last me for years.
And I learn a lot by osmosis from the teacher,
just seeing somebody do this wonderfully well, somebody
sitting a few feet away.
Never ever worry about feeling woeful - embarrassed or otherwise. So much of this music is about the experience. As Jim says its an osmotic process - the more you hear in terms of music, in class and session settings, and and in terms of listening to people like Kevin talking about it the more it becomes part of you. The more that gets in, the easier it is for it to come back out.
M
Norcalbob wrote: Would his class be appropriate for a relative beginner?
I took a class with Kevin in September at the Irish Arts Center in NYC. At the time, I had only been playing flute since March. He was extremely patient with all of us, as our abilities varied. He made copies of the tunes in ABC format and taught them to us phrase-by-phrase, giving us ideas for varying ornamentation during the repeat of each part. Listening to the recordings after the lessons helped tremendously. I found him to be an outstanding teacher overall and wished I was able to join all of you during this upcoming class Have fun. BTW, I took a class with John Skelton as well, and he was an outstanding teacher also!
~Sean
Thanks for the encouragement folks. It seems like players of all ability levels can learn a lot in these kind of events. I’ll seriously look into the possibility of attending.
Hoovorff and Irish Marine - you both mention the ABC format. Can you tell what that is exactly?
And, Jim Stone, I think you may be sandbagging a little regarding your skill level and may actually play quite well, but if you are in my league, I would welcome some company in the corner at the back of the room… 
Last year was Mike Rafferty. About half way through
I was swamped entirely, couldn’t absorb anymore.
The others were charging ahead. But there was the
Irish fluteplaying grandfather I have always
wanted, right in front of me, playiing brilliantly
and telling stories. What did I care?
Just check your ego at the door and dive on in.
norcalbob-ABC format is just a way of notating music. You can do a search for it on this site and some good info will pop up. Just be aware that each instructor’s method varies a bit. Kevin explained his to us and we all understood it in minutes. If you PM me with an email, I can send you one that he gave us in NYC and explain it.
watch out for this man, he’s a lunatic:
Thanks for the link rama. That version of Fox on the Prowl is just like he demonstrated before teaching the tune phrase-by-phrase, commenting on variations in ornamentation. Still don’t sound like he does though Check out his version on Tom Busby’s-wow does he make that D pop 