A Cultural Gem of the Rockies: Celebrating 30 Years of the Best Roots Music

All Blog Posts (43)

Eric Clapton Made Easy

Let me start by saying It's not easy to make Eric Clapton's music easy to play. Eric Clapton is a master of his musical art form. To begin with, he was born tremendously talented. Then he had the right influences as a young boy and practiced his !?*&^! off. When he started to play professionally (at age 16) he got to the point where he was playing guitar most of his waking life. He would go to a gig at 6 pm and when he was finished with that gig he went to another gig that same night. (read… Continue

Added by Richard Reed on September 22, 2009 at 10:27am — 1 Comment

Robert Johnson Made Easy Workshop

There are several reasons I teach this workshop. The first is accessibility: Thanks to Eric Clapton's unplugged CD that was recorded back in the 90's the vast majority of acoustic blues guitar enthusiasts had a very inspiring rendition of Robert Johnson's music made easily accessible for the first time. By accessible, I mean very playable and readily available by music publishers. Before that you had to dig to find arrangements that were easy to learn and that sounded good. Several very talented… Continue

Added by Richard Reed on September 22, 2009 at 10:12am — No Comments

just played swallow hill

last night and it was a dream. EVERYBODY was 'good people' ... friendly, smart and full of light. thanks for the gig. it was my first ever in colorado. hope to come again some day. danielle (what i said)! Continue

Added by dirk hamilton on September 19, 2009 at 2:42pm — No Comments

"Top of The Hill" double bill concert With Fairlight and Friends and Neil Haverstick

Hey Friends, Students and Fans, You are in for a really good time if you come to my concert. I've got a killer blues trio called "Fairlight and Friends". Fairlight Moriah is our lead singer and boy can she belt one! You can hear some of our tunes that I've posted for you. Or you can go to our website to hear more: www.fairlightandfriends.com. Neil Haverstick will be playing a set with us too. He's got a killer trio and plays some of the finest blues guitar ever! It's going to be a great evenin… Continue

Added by Richard Reed on September 14, 2009 at 8:30pm — 1 Comment

Swallow Hill’s “Top of the Hill” faculty not only teach—they perform

Swallow Hill’s “Top of the Hill” faculty not only teach—they per… Continue

Added by Laura "Spunky" McGaughey on September 13, 2009 at 12:15pm — No Comments

Jayme Stone & Friends pay tribute to John Hartford

(Originally published in the September 2009 issue of Pow'r Pickin' magazine, the official publication of the Colorado Bluegrass Music Society.) John Hartford was a true American original and Renaissance man: a songster, banjoist, guitar picker, fiddler, riverboat captain, calligrapher, folklorist and old-time music revivalis… Continue

Added by Laura "Spunky" McGaughey on September 9, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

A Pantheon for the People: Harry Tuft and the Denver Folklore Center

A Pantheon… Continue

Added by Laura "Spunky" McGaughey on August 10, 2009 at 4:00pm — 2 Comments

Did we make the record for the World's Largest Music Lesson?

Swallow Hill Music signed in 815 people with instruments at Red Rocks to try and break the current record, held by Old Town School of Music in Chicago, of 1,577 participants, in 2007.

The Guinness World Book may consider all the people in attendance, regardless of whether or not they had instruments and signed in with us. The record of total people in attendance at

… Continue

Added by Laura "Spunky" McGaughey on July 30, 2009 at 12:39pm — No Comments

Hello from England

Hi there, Un ptit bonjour from rainy Portsmouth, England. Thanks for inviting me on this site. I'll be playing the Swallow Hill Music @ Tuft Theater on Friday 30th of October 09 ! Looking forward to meeting you all. A bientot, Claude http://www.myspace.com/claudebourbon http://www.reverbnation/claudebourbon Continue

Added by Claude Bourbon on July 11, 2009 at 8:43am — No Comments

chillin like a villian

good morning, it's sat. the 11th and Im just sitting around going to get some coffee do some other stuff I play the acoustic,electric, drum machine, bass, and I have a four track. I've been taking classes in acoustic a few classes because I didnt play for many years, I wasnt always that great from the beginning although I could keep up on the bass anywho I'm a beginner per say in playing all over again and looking for some one to practise with on the weekends maybe at the park washington/harvard… Continue

Added by david j scott on July 11, 2009 at 8:01am — 1 Comment

New Member

Hey all- I just joined this Swallow Hill website today! Here is a little about me: I play 6 instruments - piano, organ, guitar, ukulele, handbells, and recorder, also I sing. I'm 13, and I've taken various lessons from Swallow Hill - 2 small group lessons of guitar, as well as private lessons, all with Virginia Anderson. Also, I've taken the Ukulele classes 1, 2, & 3 there with Chris McGarry. (I'm not sure if I spelled his last name right. Sorry Chris!) I play several sports - golf (my favo… Continue

Added by Emma Johnson on July 9, 2009 at 4:21pm — 1 Comment

Pickin' & Grinnin' at the Olde Town Pickin' Parlor

Pickin' & Grinnin' at the Olde Town Pickin'… Continue

Added by Laura "Spunky" McGaughey on July 6, 2009 at 1:22pm — No Comments

I have some classes needing Students!

Classes needing students! Mondays the Modes and Singing & Strumming. Tues Intro to Django. Wed 3-a. Thurs 2-B and 2-A. Sat The Gear Workshop...and Sunday...all of them! All of these classes may NOT run if they don't find one or two more students! http://www.swallowhillmusic.org/music_school/teachers/teacher239.html Continue

Added by Chris "Citrus" Sauthoff on June 18, 2009 at 11:00am — 1 Comment

Get Hip with superstar bluegrass bassist Missy Raines at Swallow Hill

by Laura "Spunky" McGaughey… Continue

Added by Laura "Spunky" McGaughey on June 1, 2009 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Be part of the FACES OF FOLK photo shoot, 5/20!

We are doing a photo series for Swallow Hill called the FACES OF FOLK. Scott McCormick, our fellow teacher and photographer extraordinaire, is doing the the shoot. The photos will be displayed in a gallery showing, on the LED screens downtown in the Theater District, and in our music school catalog, all to promote that idea that everyone should play music. Anyone and everyone is welcome to participate: kids to octogenarians. You don't need to know how to play an instrument. We just want… Continue

Added by Laura "Spunky" McGaughey on May 13, 2009 at 4:58pm — No Comments

Help us reach our goal of doubling the pledge for the 2009 Walk Now for Autism Denver!

Autism Spectrum Disorder is truly a puzzle. Over time, the pieces will all come together, but only when everyone offers their piece to help complete the picture. All children have special needs. In the case of Aden, his needs are related to Autism, and our goal as parents is to give him the tools to understand and navigate the gifts, and the deficits, that Autism presents. Our goal as members of society is to also particpate in the community that advocates for children and getting parents the to… Continue

Added by Rodolfo Betancourt on May 12, 2009 at 11:22am — No Comments

Hear Gypsy jazz king JOHN JORGENSON today on KUVO radio!

Tune into 89.3 FM KUVO (stream @ http://www.kuvo.org) to hear Grammy-winning Gyspy jazz king JOHN JORGENSON today @ 3:20 pm MT before his show here on Friday night with his Quintet!

The John Jorgenson Quintet features guitarist John Jorgenson, a founding member of the Desert Rose Band and the Hellecasters, and six-year member of Elton John’s band. Known as a pioneer in the American Gypsy jazz movement, artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Bonn

… Continue

Added by Laura "Spunky" McGaughey on May 7, 2009 at 10:55am — No Comments

When the light bulb goes on!

Many times over my musical life...I have reached plateaus in my playing and felt like I would never be able to play anything NEW or different. Then suddenly, with a flash of understanding, the fretboard opens itself up to me in a big way and I learn a bunch of new vocabulary to express myself with. That is really how I see it too...Vocabulary. Scales and Chords and Arpeggios are Vocabulary and Grammar and such....if you want to express yourself you need to know MUCH. Remember when you went home… Continue

Added by Chris "Citrus" Sauthoff on April 15, 2009 at 8:25am — 1 Comment

Pete Wernick’s fantastic Flexigrass is back at Swallow Hill!

by Laura "Spunky" McGaughey (Originally published in the March 2009 issue of Pow'r Pickin' magazine, the official publication of the Colorado Bluegrass Music Society.) Living bluegrass legend Pete Wernick has been a past president of the I… Continue

Added by Laura "Spunky" McGaughey on April 3, 2009 at 1:50pm — No Comments

Our friend Chris Laterzo is playing this THURSDAY, April 2nd @ 7:30

I would like to send out a big invitation to the Denver Community to come check out this amazingly talented Singer Songwriter CHRIS LATERZO. I will be there with several friends and we would love for you to come down to the CAFE and hang out and listen to CHRIS. Check out the information here on the Swallow Hill site, or listen to his music on either MySpace.com/chrislaterzo, or his web page www.chrislaterzo.com. Stop by either site a give a listen. I am crazy about this m… Continue

Added by Bridget on March 30, 2009 at 8:22pm — No Comments