E-Tap report 2002

Reports and archives of the E-Tap

A report of the European Tap Guitar Seminar 2002 by participant Dave Bowmer.

Every summer, during the first week of July, students and masters of the tapping technique travel from around the world to attend the European Tap Guitar Seminar organised by Clic Music. Held in Neufchâteau, a small town located in the attractive Ardennes Forest region of Belgium, this seminar has the special added attraction of being an integral part of a large festival of traditional music and dance arranged by the Wallonie Summer Academy. This provides an unrivalled opportunity for tap guitarists to meet, hear and play with hundreds of other musicians specialising in a wide range of instruments and styles from African, Cuban and Iranian percussion through Celtic and various European traditions to flamenco, sevillanas and tango.

Students and teachers at E-tap 2002.
Laying in front: Grobi Okun. First row sitting from L to R: Thomas Catts, Wolfgang Daiss, Frank Salama, Geza Andras Sasvari, Alain Wolter Pinero, Siggi Abramzik, Ola Rinta-Koski, Daniel Schell; Standing behind from L to R: Corinne Schwers, Jim Lampi, Kuno Wagner, Dave Bowmer, Uwe Haass, Olivier Verschueren, Roger Stubs, Paolo Vallebona, Lionel Cretegny;

A reliable indicator of the quality of this enjoyable event is the number of musicians that return year after year, forming a supportive and friendly community of artists. This was my third annual visit, and once again had a memorable experience and returned home with more than enough material to work on for another 12 months.

My journey from Oxford to Brussels was by Eurostar, the easy way to travel with an instrument. At the London station the unusual shape of my tapping instruments case attracted the attention of the security guard who looked at it suspiciously as though it may conceal something far more dangerous than a musical instrument. On carefully opening the case and revealing the 12 string Grand Stick & he stepped back looking surprised and proclaimed :Thats crazy, too many strings, how many people does it take to play that thing ? I responded by feigning ignorance and explaining that I was travelling to Belgium to meet some experts that may have the answers.

Tapping instrument cases also make it easy for tappers to spot each other in a crowd, and sure enough immediately on arrival in Brussels-Midi station I was approached by another tapper, Lionel Cretegny, just arrived from Switzerland. Then Claudia Wester, co-organiser of the seminar and Clic Music's Director of international operations, found us and quickly led us through the crowds to the Clic Music Tour Bus where Spanish tapper Alain Pinero-Wolter and American Stick player Jim Lampi greeted us. My ongoing fascination with playing The Stick is thanks to Jim, as he introduced me to the amazing instrument when I first saw him playing in Paris in 1984, and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from him later when he moved to London.

The international nature of the seminar was further emphasised when we reached Clic Music World Headquarters in the countryside of Lennik where a steady flow of musicians arrived from all over Europe and beyond. We were all warmly welcomed by Daniel Schell, Artistic Director of Clic Music and seminar co-organiser, and then after refreshments and catching up on each others news we headed to the Brussels venue, Arts-O-Bases, for that evenings Tap Night concert.

The concert showcased the diversity of musical styles of the various tapping musicians as the enthusiastic audience were treated to some great solo and group performances. Particularly interesting was the variety of instruments, string configurations and tunings favoured by the artists, providing a rare opportunity to compare their sounds and observe the differences in playing approach.

Thomas Catts opened the proceedings with a solo performance on 12 string Warr Raptor in standard tuning. Later, Tom also played in a trio with Laura Wester on Grand Piano and Emanuel Suys on clarinet.

Wolfgang Daiss showed just how far jazz can be taken when mastered on a tapping instrument, using his tuning of uncrossed 4ths with both sets ascending in pitch from the centre of the fretboard. As Wolfgang usually plays a giant sized 14 string instrument we were surprised to see him this time with a 12 string Warr guitar.

Alain Pinero-Wolter had the audiences attention captivated by his arrangement of the beautiful composition "Fratres" by modern composer Arvo Part, played on 12 string Warr guitar tuned unusually all in 5ths on both sets of strings. I had previously also spent some time playing a dual 5ths tuning following some experience with Guitar Craft, but I found it extremely challenging on a two region instrument, so respect to Alain for mastering this.

Daniel Schell, on 12 string Megatar tuned in uncrossed 4ths, played great performances of his compositions with Emmanuel Suys on clarinet and Carlo Strazzante on percussion. Of particular note was the beautiful melody of his raga based composition "Tumulus" which opens the latest Karo Trio CD "In concert in New Delhi" captured on their recent tour of India.

Jim Lampi, with Carlo Strazzante on percussion, showed his mastery of the Grand Stick in standard tuning, employing every possible technique and trick as he squeezed impossible harmonics out of his instrument while performing pieces from his latest CD, Greazy. With the help of some processing he created a very individual bass sound, deep and warm like a fretless bass, which really complemented the more percussive timbre of the melody side.

The newest and most futuristic sounds of the evening were created by "Centrozoon", the innovative trio of Markus Reuter on 8 string Warr guitar tuned in extended crafty 5ths, Bernhard Wostheinrich on electronic percussion and keyboards, and Tim Bowness on vocals. Markus and Bernhard skillfully crafted and overlayered loops which intertwined around Tim's lyrics to create rich textures and atmospheres ranging from ambient to fierce in a powerful performance. Their sense of dynamics was emphasised further in a contrastingly quiet piece where Bernhard moved to Grand Piano and Javier Paxarino joined them with some expressive playing on sopranino saxophone.

After the concert, following tasty Turkish food at the club, all of the musicians retired to Daniel and Claudia's house for the night, and then the next day travelled south to Neufchâteau for the seminar.

The seminar took place in a college during the summer vacation period. The resident attendees were each given a students room in the large accommodation building, providing simple but adequate accommodation. The same building included a large dining room where three meals a day were provided in a sociable environment. The rates for food and accommodation were very reasonable and provided hassle free arrangements leaving the students maximum time to focus on their music courses.

The tap guitar course was well structured to cope with the wide range of playing standards and different tuning systems of the tappists. Mornings were devoted to specific classes led by each of the four expert tutors. The musicians were divided into three groups of compatible levels of ability, and these groups were then rotated around the tutors classes which were customised to meet the different levels.

The teachers, from L to R: Jim Lampi, Kuno Wagner, Daniel Schell, Wolfgang Daisss.

Daniel Schell used short pieces from the series of books accompanying his comprehensive tapping method study book "My Space" to improve the students reading ability and at the same time taught the correct fingerings, hand positioning and playing methodology. All tunings and string configurations were welcomed and easily managed by employing Daniels system of "C Dots", providing a quick graphical reference to assist the student in learning the relative note positions.

In his lessons for my group, Wolfgang Daiss presented some callisthenics exercises to warm up the finger muscles whilst also improving finger isolation and strength in a relaxed manner. These types of exercises are important to help prevent repetitive strain injury in musicians. An exercise to develop rhythmic competence and diversity was then presented, keeping a basic pulse with the left hand while playing a progressively expanding complexity of beat positions and combinations with the right hand. Students were then invited in turn to play a piece of music of their choice while Wolfgang pointed out opportunities to improve and then demonstrated his solutions. This was a very effective process, each student learning much from observing each other.

Jim Lampi taught a method for dividing the left hand into two parts, showing how to evolve a bass line and an accompanying chordal part in the same hand. Jim then introduced the group to Afro-Latin clave rhythms. The method of creating harmonics was later investigated, showing the different locations and ways of producing them such as touching the harmonic position on the string with a right hand finger while tapping the source note with a left hand finger, then holding a note while slapping its chosen harmonic position, and then touching the harmonic with the thumb and popping the string by plucking it. Various rolls and embellishments were also covered. Two handed scales and arpeggios on the same string set were then studied in both 4ths and 5ths tunings. Jim then played one of his classic pieces, Petite Pause, demonstrating the use of the various techniques discussed.

Kuno Wagner taught each group a different piece of music appropriate for the skill level of the group. We were taught the first piece that Bill Frisell composed, called "Throughout", a simple but very enjoyable piece to play in a group. The Guitar Craft method of circulating the notes of the arpeggiated chords was also investigated, always a very interesting experience and beneficial for helping the musicians to listen more closely and learn how to connect better with each others playing.

The programme in the afternoons was different each day, made up of special interest classes, masterclasses and the opportunity for private lessons. Daniel shared his expert knowledge of the practice of Indian music, teaching the structure of the raga, beginning with how to count the rhythm and developing to finally give each player the opportunity to experience improvising over the structure.

Daniel also presented his detailed analysis of an unconventional piece of music called "Black Loam" composed by twin neck guitar tapper Steve Hayden. (Black Loam is a rich soil, the perfect plant growing medium, and as the title suggests this piece is a framework for creating improvisational ideas around). This was challenging work to follow and for some reason there seemed to be a noticeable increase in the consumption of blanche beer afterwards.

Thomas Catts gave a masterclass on the specialised tapping course developed for him at the University of Arts in the USA where he is undergoing BA studies in the tap technique, and showed some of the course material. He also discussed his interesting experiences in Ireland learning from Celtic musicians.

An experienced luthier, Sigi Abramzik, gave fascinating masterclasses on how to build tapping instruments, sharing a vast range of knowledge on the subject, and discussed the design and construction of the two instruments he brought to the seminar. One was a very compact 12 string design with an unusual distressed matt red finish and a short scale length of 62.5 cm. It had two treble string sets both ascending unidirectionally in 4ths, one set tuned from E ascending to F, the other B ascending to C. The second instrument, finished in Blueberry, was a 30 inch scale length 8 string tuned in 4ths from low B. This featured an unusual but comfortable asymmetrical curvature behind the neck.

Jim Lampi presented a masterclass on his experiences in writing and recording the music for his latest CD, "Greazy". Jim shared his insights into first defining an overall vision and then establishing suitable grooves and voicings, and showed the importance of being able to direct other compatible musicians towards performances congruent with the overall vision.

Kuno Wagner presented the score for a selection of pieces to study and performed them in duo with Martin Albrecht. Kuno played an 8 string Krempl guitar in extended crafty 5ths tuning while Martin played an acoustic guitar in standard tuning. The sound of these two instruments complemented each other perfectly as they performed these elaborate and captivating pieces, which can be appreciated to full effect on Kuno's new CD "Zero distance run", which also features a great arrangement of the Philip Glass composition "Opening".

At another session, Kuno taught a large ensemble of tap guitarists how to perform an arrangement of the powerful King Crimson composition "Red" in preparation for the student performance at the end of the week.

In the late afternoon the tap students joined Daniel and Claudia at their log cabin hidden deep in the forest for a welcome opportunity to relax for a while, walk through the forest to visit the nearest village bar, or best of all swim in the private secluded lake.

One evening, as is the tradition for all courses at Neufchâteau, the tap guitar course held an open session in their classroom where anybody interested could visit for an informal introduction to the technique. Another evening, all the tappists performed at a well attended classroom concert where the challenge of performing new pieces with minimal preparation time in this environment was a useful experience.

Also in the evenings the tutors of all the various courses presented expert performances in the large main auditorium which was packed to the limit every night by an enthusiastic audience. The leading tap guitarists performances were accentuated by the superb accompaniment of African percussion expert Chris Joris on Udu, jazz drummer Antoine Cirri, Cuban percussion master Didier Leblanc on congas, Carlo Strazzante on frame drums and Naima Joris on soprano saxophone.

Every evening after the concerts everybody crammed into the adjacent bar, where impromptu performances by unusual combinations of instruments and musical styles continued into the early hours of the morning, to the enjoyment of a wildly dancing audience fuelled by an endless supply of Hoegaarden beer. When you entered this atmosphere you understood immediately the seminar motto of "Nobody sleeps at Neufchâteau".

The week culminated in a massive evening concert where all of the students from the various music courses presented short performances. The sound system was excellent, the sound engineers and organisers deserve recognition for coping so well with the considerable range of instruments and line ups, making efficient rapid changes between sets. The tap guitar students performed two pieces. Fratres was played by the duo Alain Pinero-Wolter and Giza Sasvari on E-Bow, then a massed ensemble led by Kuno performed "Red".

The tapping ladies: From L to R : Andrea Sasvari, Corinne Schwers, Satu Rinta-Koski

After the final performance a ball was held in the auditorium, where traditional group dances were shared by anyone who wanted to join in. The novices often managed to cause complete chaos in the dance, which all added to the fun. In parallel, the long final night in the music bar began, where many people partied on until breakfast time.

The European Tap Guitar Seminar is totally unique, and the opportunity to learn so much in its enjoyable atmosphere makes it an addictive experience. Many of us are already looking forward to next summers visit to Neufchâteau.

Last modified December 2002