Class - 50 Shades of Open Tunings with Mary Flower

Levels advanced beginner to expert welcome

Mary will bring some of her own tunes to this class to demonstrate the primitive yet brilliant nature of open tuning. Students might find it easier on the left hand than standard tuning as many chords require only 2 fingers.Class will be slanted towards blues “shades”. Blind Blake, Bo Carter and Skip James (to name a few) all slacked their strings for their unique sounds. Students will be able to find their own unique sounds by experimenting and learning the lay of the land.Class will explore how to listen, improvise, find melodies and chords in a variety of tunings. Mary will demonstrate the common ground that all the tunings share. Many musicians have found it’s difficult to sound bad in open tuning!

Recording the class is encouraged and ability to read tablature can be helpful. Please make sure your strings are relatively new and/or that you have a backup set and don't forget your tuner.

Mary Flower taught guitar for over six decades. She has been on staff at over 25 guitar camps around the country and is artistic director for her own guitar intensive near Portland, Oregon called Blues in the Gorge. This October marked 12 years of this great gathering.

Mary Flower’s immense finger-picking guitar and lap-slide prowess is soulful and meter-perfect, a deft blend of the inventive, the dexterous, and the mesmerizing. Her supple honey-and-whiskey voice provides the perfect melodic accompaniment to each song’s story.

An internationally known and award-winning picker, singer/songwriter and teacher, the Midwest native relocated from Denver to the vibrant Portland, Oregon music scene in 2004. She continues to please crowds and critics at folk festivals, teaching seminars and concert stages domestically and abroad, that include Merlefest, Kerrville, King Biscuit, Prairie Home Companion and the Vancouver Folk Festival, among many.

A finalist in 2000 and 2002 at the National Finger Picking Guitar Championship, a nominee in 2008, 2012, and 2016 for a Blues Foundation Blues Music Award, and many times a Cascade Blues Association. Muddy Award winner, Flower embodies a luscious and lusty mix of rootsy, acoustic-blues guitar and vocal styles that span a number of idioms – from Piedmont to the Mississippi Delta, with stops in ragtime, swing, folk and hot jazz.

Flower’s 11 recordings, including her four for Memphis’ famed Yellow Dog Records — Bywater Dance, Instrumental Breakdown, Bridges and Misery Loves Company — show a deep command of and love for folk and blues string music. For Flower, it’s never about re-creation. Her dedication to the art form is a vital contribution to America’s music.

Jorma Kaukonen calls Mary “A national treasure in your own back yard”.

Find out more: www.maryflower.com.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Artichoke Community Music