Review By: Giovanni Pagano
Attendees: Markus Reuter, Aralee Dorough, Giovanni Pagano, Courtney Vallejo, Lloyd Dyson & John Pope
Another great Touch Guitar intensive, with many familiar faces. This gathering was a great extension to prior ones and was evidence that the teaching technique used by Markus has expedited and refined the art of playing the Touch Guitar. Progress was met with significant improvements by all attendees from prior sessions. Since we had a new participant, it gave way to the group’s teamwork in presenting the concepts utilized in the workshop for optimal playing. While the weather was a bit rainy most of the time, the Bob Ross-esque landscape served as a perfect respite for focused learning sessions. The schedule proved to be challenging but not exhausting and was intermingled with mid-day breaks, meals, team building activities and an evening out to the local jazz club, The Deer Head Inn.
Arrival Day, May 12th (brief evening session)
We began with a general discussion on expectations and the direction we would like to go for the coming week. We engaged in an exercise where we passed notes of the C pentachord to one another, with an emphasis on capturing the energy and tempo being transferred.
Day 1, May 13th
The morning warm-up focused on the chromatic scale with both right and left hand starts. We then spent time on Do Re Mi exercises before moving into chord work, triads, inversions, and an exercise alternating between chords and pentachords.
Day 2, May 14th
The day started with chromatic scale warm-ups at increasing tempos. A theory session followed, focusing on the circle of 5ths, modal structures, and identifying where the half steps fall. In the afternoon, we explored modal finger patterns from different root notes. We wrapped up with improvisation using a series of major and minor chords.
Day 3, May 15th
We opened with chromatic scale warm-ups, continuing to increase the tempo. The focus then shifted to pentatonic bracket patterns and repeated note groupings. We played Yoko exercises before reviewing the two-octave scale starting on F. The day ended with learning a section of Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells (Pt. II)”.
Day 4, May 16th
After morning warm-ups using varied fingerings for the chromatic scale, we moved into a chord assignment, collaboratively writing a short chord sequence based on C, Dm, and Em. Later, we experimented with improvising over a C drone, gradually introducing single-note variations to hear how each of the 12 notes interacts with the drone.
Day 5, May 17th
We began with our chromatic scale drills using both right and left hand starts, then shifted to improvisation in D minor, exploring added tones. Midday work focused on pentachord repetition and interval exercises in thirds. In the evening, we revisited “Tubular Bells (Pt. II)”, increasing the tempo to 260 bpm.
Day 6, May 18th
The final day began with a variation on the “Daughter” chromatic scale exercise. Midday included a card-based improvisation, adding fourth notes to major and minor triads. We closed with a group exercise, alternating between C and D chords, listening closely to transitions and note tension while improvising.
Throughout the week, most evenings included structured group sessions led by Markus, focusing on polyrhythms and differing time signatures. These sessions emphasized listening, timing, and ensemble coordination.
