Feedback from Peter Knight's Masterclass Weekend:

6th and 7th of June 2009.

All comments reproduced with permission.

Fran Broady (ex Shave the Monkey)

I feel compelled to write while I still find myself somewhere in a bubble trying not to ‘come down’ after a magical weekend.

Thank you so much for all you have given and for giving it so generously during these two days. It has affected me very deeply in what I can only describe as a life-affirming way.

I expected the weekend to challenge me and hoped it would help me to confront some musical demons. It did both of these things and much, much more.

I feel as if a whole heap of stuff has been drawn out from somewhere very deep, thrown in the air and jumbled up. This has created an opportunity and a new energy to take a clear look at them and put them back in a different order. Amidst the sheer beauty of your music as you played ‘The water is wide’ for us yesterday afternoon, all of these things were floating around my head. Small wonder that nobody moved when the music finished. The spell was too good to be broken.

Today, back home again and some of the rearranging has begun. This morning my metronome has moved from a dusty top shelf to take up residence on the mantelpiece and had an opening conversation with my fiddle. Two planks of wood with such potential for a lasting friendship…!

I cannot thank you enough Peter - for all the warmth, the laughter – and most of all for the inspiration, making this life seem so much richer than it did when we set out on this journey last Friday afternoon.

With Love, Fran.

Christine Adams

I wanted to e mail and say so many things about this weekend but find the only thing I can write at present is a very deeply felt and seemingly inadequate thank you. Like everyone else I am in the process of letting the huge thing that has happened in the last couple of days settle.

For now, suffice it to say that when I was falling asleep last night, the thought that I found going around my head was something like,"I've always had the suspicion that I really am a musician and someone has shown me how to access that part of me - a part of me that is not just important but fundamental to who I am." For whatever reasons, some I'm aware of and some I'm not, I've never truly been able to access that before. So, again, thank you.

Lots of Love, Christine

Chris Nelson

A quick message, just to say how much I enjoyed, and benefited from, the weekend.

Two fantastic gigs, and the massed fiddle experience on Saturday night was a real treat - several members of the audience told me how much they had enjoyed it, including a couple who were there last year and had come back for more.

I felt quite mentally and emotionally drained by the end of Sunday afternoon, but I think that is actually a good sign, suggesting that some profound things were happening to me. I do hope it was rewarding for you too.

Once again, I have come away with ideas to move my playing forward, as well as some thoughts from last time, reinforced.

For me, the highlights of the Masterclass were the group improv sessions. I was actually very moved, on Saturday, by the way you seemed to bring out the best in everyone's playing with the 'one-to-one' improvisations - quite astonishing in a couple of cases. As I said as I was leaving on Sunday, it was a privilege to be part of that group, and to watch people progress through the two days.

On Sunday, when we went around the room three times (while Roger and Geoff broke the record for playing two chords) I was astonished at how some people went for it. Jo's pizzicato and Aly's third one were particularly memorable for me, and Steve's 'attack' really seemed to mean something too.

Anyway, thanks once again to you both (and to Mo & family, Roger and Vincent) for all your hard work that made for another unforgetable weekend.

Very Best Wishes,

Chris.

Reviews of the Masterclass Weekend: September 2008.



Masterclass with Peter Knight

13th and 14th September 2008,
Lower Oddington, Stow-on-the Wold, Gloucestershire.


Review by Geoff Vince

28 September 2008


"As a guitar player of modest capability (amongst what might be describedas a "feast" of fabulous fiddle players!), I did have some initial reservations about attending Peter's Masterclass, thinking at first that I might be completely out of my depth.

I needn't have worried. It wasn't about having to demonstrate how well you could play, or what other participants may have thought about anyone who had yet to reach a similar standard of playing to their own. It was about listening to Peter's insights into the way he approaches his own playing, applying some of his ideas by putting them into practice as a group (great fun!), and adding what we had learned to our respective musical vocabularies.

One of the great things about the weekend was that the programme was not set in stone. The way in which the class developed and what the participants were able to take away with them was as much to do with what each of the students wanted to learn as it was with what Peter had already intended to show them.

One example of this was a group session in which, by showing each student in turn how best to approach a specific aspect of their playing, Peter was effectively showing all of us how to approach it.

An added bonus for me - and everyone else, I am sure - was the presence of Gigspanner's Roger Flack (whose guitar playing has been very accurately described as flawless), and Vincent Salzfaas, a wonderful percussionist who virtually "gets inside" every note he plays. Having the opportunity to play with musicians of this calibre, and with each of the participants who attended, was a rare privilege indeed.

I have come away from the weekend with inspirational insights into areas which included technique, creativity, practising and performing, all of which can be applied to my own playing in the future. I have also learned how to make the most of what I already knew and how to open up new avenues of creativity.

I remember one reviewer of "The Gemini Cadenza" describing Peter's playing on that recording as "egoless". In my view, that's a very accurate description. Indeed, it could be said that Peter Knight is the personification of musical integrity, because he doesn't allow anything to get in the way of his music. It's transparently clear that the guidance he gives to his students emanates just as much from his heart as his playing does, and that is why his classes are so effective.

To anyone who is thinking of attending one of Peter's Masterclasses, I would recommend that they grasp the opportunity with both hands. All they'll need is a love of music and of the instrument through which they express themselves, and an open and receptive mind - they will find it a thoroughly illuminating and enjoyable experience."



Review by Chris Nelson

20 September 2008

I had been looking forward to this event for months, aware that it might be a unique opportunity since (at least up until now) workshops and masterclasses with Peter Knight have been a rare thing. A little nervous too, at the prospect of playing my fiddle in Peter's presence; that voice in the head known as the 'ego' can inflict such terrible damage at times!

There were six of us in the group - five violin/fiddle players and a guitarist - and we (plus a few partners) met up for a meal on the Friday night at the excellent Fox Inn, getting to know one another and, of course, Peter and his partner Deborah. Good food and good company: this really was time well spent, as we didn't need to waste any valuable time the following morning, breaking the ice.

The sessions during the two days were quite extraordinary. Peter is a unique musician and over the two days we were privileged to be told, and shown, how he approaches his music, much of which is improvised. The members of our group had different musical backgrounds, styles and levels of ability, but a love of traditional music in common. Over a few hours, with gentle guidance from Peter, we found we could work together well, each person bringing something of their own to what turned out to be a glorious, and essentially improvised, collective sound.

Saturday night arrived and so did Peter's trio, Gigspanner, who were to do a gig in the village hall. We were honoured to be asked to play with them on three numbers, one of which was entirely unrehearsed and improvised; another was my current favourite of Peter's compositions, Sharp Goes Walkabout.

Sunday was relaxed, post-gig, and we spent a lot of time chatting, a fair bit of time playing together, and the fiddlers among us were lucky enough to be shown a few of Peter's trademark techniques, such as his uses of pizzicato and harmonics. All too soon it was time to return home; I've just spent a rather weird Monday trying to do some work, but finding that music was fighting constantly for my brain's attention!

I have to mention the wonderful food, provided by the talented Mo Griffiths and her family who worked hard all weekend. Also Roger Flack (Gigspanner's guitarist) who contributed so much to the musical side throughout the weekend and Deborah who played a huge part in making the whole thing happen. As for Peter, he is passionate about music, has a remarkable talent as a teacher and communicator and is so generous in his desire to help people grow as musicians. (He's a lovely bloke too, incidentally, and hilarious company.)

The legacy? Well it's early days, but I believe this masterclass will have a lasting, profound and exciting effect on my playing. I have already been told that my sound is different and have noticed it myself. Quite unexpectedly, I seem to be playing with more confidence and I am full of ideas that I hope I can develop in the coming weeks and months, and use to good effect in my music.

I hear that Peter is planning to do it again. If so, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to take their playing to a new level. You certainly don't need to be of a specially high standard to attend a so-called 'masterclass' - it's Peter who is the 'master', not the participants! Come to the next one and free your inner musician.



Feedback from Participants:


Geoff Vince (Guitar)


This is just a brief message to express my warmest thanks to both of you for one of the most enjoyable weekends I've ever had. It was an absolute joy to have been in such wonderful company, to have been surrounded by so much beautiful music, and to have learned as much as I did.

It was good to meet Roger Flack as well and to have had the opportunity of having a "one-to-one" session with him - he's a fabulous player and a lovely bloke.

Peter, you will never know how much that weekend has taught me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. To have had the opportunity of working on some of your material with you - and playing it with you as well - has been such a great experience for me that it is actually quite difficult to put it into words.

And what a fantastic group of people to work with - Chris, George, the two Alisons and Ingrid are all such lovely people. Pretty good fiddle players too!

The whole weekend was a joyful and inspirational experience. Thank you so much. Here's to the next one.....!


Chris Nelson (Fiddle)

I know we all said a lot of "thankyous" yesterday, but I feel I need to write and thank you again for an amazing weekend. Everything about it was an absolute pleasure, including the food (thanks again to Mo) and the Gigspanner experience (and I think I forgot to say how much I also enjoyed the parts of the gig I was NOT involved in).

Most importantly, of course, the sessions during the day are something that, I am sure, will have a profound and exciting effect on my playing. Siobhan has just told me that my sound is different and I think I have noticed it myself - quite unexpectedly I seem to be producing a sweeter tone than usual today! And I am full of ideas that I hope I can develop in the coming weeks and months and use to good effect in our music.

And what a lovely bunch of people to spend a weekend with - everyone did their bit to make the weekend such a relaxed, open and friendly experience - I know I have made some new friends.



Georgina Clarke (Fiddle)

Just a quick note to say thank you so much for the weekend. It was absolutely fantastic! I feel so inspired and supported. It's been a very emotional time, and I struggled to hold back the tears at many points, mainly from the positivity given by everybody. I loved playing with so many violins, a very special experience that I hope we can share again. I felt really looked after and spoilt!
Lots and lots of thanks, hugs and love, George xx




The following was written by renowned Fiddle player Brian McNeill following the Workshop he invited Peter to facilitate at the Scottish Academy:



"Peter Knight is primarily known as the fiddler in Steeleye Span, the pioneering folk-rock group which has done so much over the years to revitalise British traditional music. We here at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama have recently, however, been treated to a different side of Peter's talents -as teacher and workshop leader.

I have to say that the recent workshop he gave us on aspects of improvisation within traditional music is quite simply the best I have ever experienced within our genre. It left our student body -excellent players themselves, and hard to impress- both amazed and excited, and has already resulted in several serious new directions of study, particularly for our fiddle players.

As a result, he now has a standing invitation to come and deliver workshops for us here at the Academy. I urge you, if you have the opportunity, to do the same; it isn't often that we see the gift of music so well married with the gift of education. The results as far as students are concerned will be deep, energising and long lasting".