Everyone seemed to get a kick out of the fake trailer for Jim Van Cleve’s AcuTab fiddle DVD which we ran last week. Jim said that he heard from people all over the country who had gotten a chuckle from watching it.

But lest you think the DVD itself is a joke, here is the real trailer, which offers a glimpse of what is actually covered in this 4 hour presentation, titled Become A More Complete Fiddler.

Van Cleve has long been regarded as one of bluegrass and progressive acoustic music’s most technically versatile fiddlers, and in this new 2-DVD package, Jim shares a great deal of the insight and experience he has gained over the past ten years of performing and touring professionally. He teaches four songs that he has recorded (Nature Of The Beast, Devil’s Courthouse, Wheel Hoss and #6 Barn Dance) but the largest part of the presentation is dedicated to finding melody-based breaks and improvising on familiar bluegrass standards.

He takes Banks Of The Ohio and Pretty Polly and demonstrates them down in 3 different keys. Before going over them, Jim breaks down the scale and common positions for each key in turn. He shows where to find the melody, and where adjacent double stops are located, as well as licks and phrases that suit each song. He also goes over the different scales that inform these two songs, one in a diatonic major key, and the other based on a Dorian, “mountain modal” scale.

Attention throughout is given to both playing a melody-based solo and what a fiddle can do to assist the band sound in accompaniment. A booklet with transcriptions is also included.

The DVD will begin shipping next week (9/22) and AcuTab is accepting orders now. More details can be found on the AcuTab site.

AcuTab is soon to release a new instructional DVD from Mountain Heart fiddler, Jim Van Cleve. The product is actually a two disc set, featuring over 4 hours of instruction from Jim.

Disc 1 contains a good deal of instruction in the areas of technique, practice routines, ear training, transposing tunes to various keys, etc. Examples are given using familiar bluegrass tunes such as 9lb Hammer, Banks of the Ohio, and continues on disc two with Pretty Polly.

Following all that instruction, Jim then teaches several of his most requested tunes, to round out the program.

The video trailer for the project was just finished yesterday and we’ve got an exclusive look at it for our readers here on The Bluegrass Blog. This is just a short showcase of the techniques and tunes you’ll learn on this DVD.

Enjoy…

John adds: Is this April Fools Day and I didn’t notice?

Ron Block will be the featured guest on Friday’s (12/12) edition of Lonesome Pine RFD on WFDU-FM.

He will join host Carol Beaugard from 11:00 a.m. until noon to talk about his new AcuTab banjo instructional DVD, A Fresh Look At Bluegrass Banjo, and his work with Alison Krauss & Union Station. Carol will also play some of Ron’s many recordings during the hour.

The show is broadcast from 9:00 a.m. to noon (EDT) on 89.1 FM in the NYC area, and streamed live online at WFDU.fm.

Banjo players have been clamoring for instructional materials from Ron Block for years, but his busy schedule with Alison Krauss & Union Station has prevented him from dedicating the time to it. Until now…

His first banjo instructional DVD will be released by AcuTab next week, offering more than three and a half hours of discussion, demonstration and detailed instruction from this multi-Grammy and IBMA award winning banjo picker.

Entitled Ron Block – A Fresh Look At Bluegrass Banjo, the package includes two DVDs and a printed tab booklet. Ron starts by analyzing his style, and particular aspects that stand out like tone production, his use of bends and chokes, how he arranges solos, and improvisation. He also covers his practice routine, showing drills and exercises he uses to stay in shape and move forward as a banjo player.

Seven of Ron’s most requested solos are taught in detail, including six he has recorded with Union Station – Cluck Old Hen, Tiny Broken Heart, Man Of Constant Sorrow, I’ll Remember You Love In My Prayers, Everytime You Say Goodbye, Bright Sunny South, and My Poor Old Heart. He also teaches his complex and challenging solo for Smashville, from Sierra Hull’s Secrets CD.

AcuTab has prepared a YouTube trailer to give a flavor of what is included on the DVDs.

The Ron Block banjo DVD will begin shipping on December 8, and there is a special offer for the first 300 orders placed directly with AcuTab. They will receive an autographed copy of the DVD, and two free sets of Huber banjo strings.

You can find more details at acutab.com.

Ron plans to create several more instructional DVDs with AcuTab over the next few years, including additional projects for both banjo and guitar.

AcuTab will release instructional videos in 2009 for Jim Van Cleve, Sierra Hull, Ron Stewart and JD Crowe. You can request notification when they are available by visiting the AcuTab site.