Flatpicking Doc: Flatpick Style of Doc Watson

Adult Group Class

With the recent passing of Arthel “Doc” Watson, the world lost a true icon of American music. In this workshop we will explore Doc’s flatpicking style that changed the role of the steel string guitar in a range of traditional styles. With an unprecedented command of flatpicking technique and deep rooted knowledge of traditional dance music, he carried the guitar from anchoring the rhythm, to sharing the melody, lead and eventually to the intricate improvisations at the heart of modern bluegrass.
Doc was cited as a primary influence by the most important artists in traditional and contemporary acoustic music: Norman Blake, Dan Crary, Tony Rice and many others. We will cover many of the techniques of the great Doc Watson including:“Carter-style”, bass runs, cross-picking, hammer-ons/pull-offs, “blue notes”, as well as standard rhythm style.