Jun 7: Rags to Riada - a masterclass with Clive Carroll

Dusty Strings 3406 Fremont Ave N

Maximum Enrollment: 16

Registration & Refund Deadline: Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Clive’s workshop will focus on two contrasting pieces that utilize alternating thumb patterns to support the melody.

The first tune, “Montreal Rag”, is a great introduction to the world of ragtime technique, it also has variations and there could be a chance to explore improvisation.

“O’Neill’s March” is a grand old Irish tune with a similar picking-hand thumb groove. It also acts as a gateway to the world of DADGAD tuning and Celtic ornamentation.

A short Q&A session about anything guitar related will be available towards the close of the workshop.

Skills Needed: This event will be hosted in a relaxed, no pressure setting with attendees playing as a group on the whole. While the session isn’t for beginners, you probably need a least a two years experience to gain maximum benefit. Don’t panic! You’ll be fine.

What to Bring: A guitar, music stand, and a recording device is optional. Sheet music/TAB will be handed out on the day.

Teacher: Clive Carroll made his musical debut at age two as a banjo-strumming cowboy singing nursery rhymes, and went on to earn a 1st Class Honours Degree in Composition and Guitar from the famed Trinity College of Music in London. Clive’s solo tours have brought him around the world, and he has been recognised with an array of awards, composed scores for major films, and collaborated with guitar greats such as John Renbourn, John Williams, Tommy Emmanuel, Xuefei Yang, Ralph Towner, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, and Al Petteway.

“The Abbot”, Clive’s latest release, is already being hailed as a modern-day classic. Featuring the music of British guitar legend John Renbourn, “The Abbot” sees Clive joined by 20 guest musicians and a medieval ensemble. Renbourn’s finest compositions stand alongside several of his never-before-heard pieces, all presented in new arrangements that Clive delivers with his own unique musical voice.

Clive is also a sought-after teacher, and has given workshops and masterclasses at University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee, Aldeburgh Music's Britten-Piers Foundation, Bristol and Brighton Institutes of Modern Music, Colchester Institute, Marlborough College, the Irish World Academy at the University of Limerick, Newcastle University, The Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, and The Swannanoa Gathering, among others.

*Most classes and workshops are geared towards late-teens and adults. Younger learners will benefit most starting with private lessons.