Alex Skolnick of Testament talks about National Guitar Workshop

I recently caught up with Rock House Instructor Alex Skolnick just before he was flying out to the UK for a tour with his band Testament. We talked about his upcoming involvement with The National Guitar Workshop.

The National Guitar Workshop has a mission statement that best describes what they accomplish. They are dedicated to bringing the best in music education to guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, drummers and vocalists regardless of style of music or level of ability. Our acclaimed faculty and world-renowned guest artists, combined with highly developed courses and supportive learning environment, foster meaningful experiences through performance instruction, jamming and master classes.

Alex Skolnick is one of the Guest Artists this year at their workshop in McLean, VA. The workshop is June 27th through July 2nd, 2009.

“I haven’t been involved with National Guitar Workshop for about 10 years”, Stated Skolnick, “One of the reasons I am doing it now is that I feel I have a lot more to offer now and I really enjoyed doing it when I was involved with them a while back”.

The multi-talented guitarist said one of the reasons he took a break from NGW was so he could grow himself as a musician. “I went through a few years where I wanted to be the student, I went to New York and got my music degree. I really just wanted to get experience outside of the world of heavy metal and play with a lot of different types of musicians“. “I also spent the last couple years doing my solo albums which are mostly modern jazz but with some other influences as well. I got a lot of attention with them and they have been pretty successful for me“.

Although it has been a few years since Skolnick has been involved with NGW, he felt the time was right to come back to the workshops. “I’ve been pretty busy as a musician and I eventually crossed paths with Jason Shadrick not long ago. We talked and we thought it was a good time to squeeze me into one of their workshops again“.

“I remember when I was there the last time, there was a very diverse group of musicians“. Added Skolnick.

The workshops are designed to be beneficial to musicians who are at all different levels of playing ability. “I remember one time I was there and John Scofield was a guest artist, which was a big thrill for me because he is one of my favorite guitar players“. Alex was inspired by Scofields caring for the musicians that were there. “I remember him helping out a student, doing a one on one with him. He was an older gentleman but he was new to guitar. This guy didn’t have much experience but Scofield spent the time with him that was needed and gave him some great tips and really took the time to help him“.

That’s what workshops are all about. Giving back and teaching others how to better themselves as musicians. The cost is actually the best deal around considering the price of the many other live instructional programs available. Think about it, 5 days of core classes, seminars and summits and add in the knowledge you will gain, it’s actually priceless. If you’re serious about gaining knowledge and learning some skills from some of the best in the business the NGW is the best bang for the buck.

To help defray some of the costs don’t forget that members of The Rock House Method can still get $100.00 off the cost of a workshop. The offer is still good until June1st, 2009. To get the discount code go to this article at Rock House - Rock House Method News

You can also check https://www.guitarworkshop.com for dates of workshops coming near you this summer.

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