Interlochen 2016 - Getting Started!

Hello friends.

I am very excited to finally be situated in Interlochen, Michigan and ready to begin my work with the Intermediate Concert Orchestra at Interlochen Arts Camp for the 2016 season. This is my 6th season conducting this Orchestra and I have grown too love the process of turning these kids from all over the world into a high-level musical ensemble.  Many of you know that I had a little delay in arrival. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I had to request a substitute for the first concert of the 2016 season. I am very pleased that my dear friends Aaron and Wendy Tenney were able to fill in in my absence.  I made it to camp in time to see their performance and was truly pleased with what I witnessed. The performance was beautiful and I was particularly impressed with the beautiful strings sound of the ensemble. The sonority was absolutely stunning!  Congratulations to the Tenneys and all of the students for their magnificent performance.

Many of you know that I frequently write about the repertoire that I select for this ensemble. I intend to do that again this summer. My remarks on the repertoire for the first concert will be a little more brief than usual, simply because I haven't been immersed in that repertoire like I would have been had I conducted the program. The first concert included 4 selections:

• Pendleton Suite, Mvrt 3, M.L.  Daniels
• Of Glorious Plumage, Richard Meyer
• Concerto in G Major, Vivaldi, Arr. LaJoie
• Nanigo, Sharp

The third movement of the Pendleton Suite includes a driving rhythm creating an exciting concert opener. Tom Lajoie's arrangement of the Vivaldi is one of my favorites and the students performed it with a true musical energy and understanding. Of Glorious Plumage is a beautiful, epic work that highlights the ensemble's ability to play long, lush lines with beauty and grace. Finally, Nanigo is a West African folk tune and is always a great way to end the program.

As we move forward with this summer, I will continue to write about the repertoire that the Intermediate Concert Orchestra is preparing, concepts that come up as part of rehearsals, and other general themes that arise as part of camp and my time in Northern Michigan. I look forward to sharing my experiences with you. If you are seeing my blog for the first time, I also would encourage you to find me on Twitter where I am "Orchestraguy."  I will post shorter thoughts about rehearsals and camp there as well as links to various videos and, of course, new blog posts.

I am looking forward to a great summer full of wonderful music-making, happiness, and new rich friendships.

Peace .

Scott

Strings, Students, and D’Addario

Most of you know that I have a long standing relationship with the D’Addario Company.  I have played their Zyex and Helicore strings exclusively for the past 12 year or so and I really love them.   I think the strings sound great and last forever.   D’Addario puts a tremendous amount of research and development into their product, and their plant is one of the coolest, most impressive places I have ever been.   It is a great American company where the folks they employ all seem to love coming to work each day.  D’Addario sponsors so many events and clinics that are great for students and educators.  They believe in string education and in the importance of quality music educators.  D’Addario has generously supported much of my scholarship over the years, sponsoring many of my appearances around the United States and encouraging me in many ways.  For those that don’t know, Daddario’s brands include D’Addario Strings (guitar and bass strings), D’Addario Bowed, Evans (percussion), Rico (reeds), Promark (percussion), and Planet Waves (electronics).

Over the years, D’Addario has provided a variety of small gifts for me to use in my teaching and conducting appearances as motivational tools for students and teachers.  A student makes great eye contact: they get a cool sticker.  A student takes a chance by playing a passage alone for the group: they get a D’Addario lanyard.  A teacher gives a great answer at a seminar: they get a classroom poster.  You get the idea.  This type of extrinsic motivation works when used in the right way.  People love to get free stuff and will usually step out of their comfort zone to get it!

Lately, I have been keeping a couple extra sets of strings in my bag to give away for just that special situation.  Two such situations have occurred in the past few weeks and wanted to share them with you. 

At a rehearsal a few weeks ago, a cellist broke an A string on her cello.  She was shocked and upset.  She didn’t have another string in her bag and I don’t think this had ever happened to her before.  I asked if anyone in the section had an extra strong.  The young man that was sitting in the Associate Principal position of the section quickly volunteered one of his new spare A strings.  One of my assistants was putting the string on the cello and that new string broke!!  The assistant, a college student, felt horrible and volunteered to buy a replacement string.  I was able to quickly tell her that I would take care of it and the next day was able to give a brand new set of D’Addario Kaplan Cello Strings to the young man.  I explained that it was compliments of the D’Addario Company and that I knew they would want him to have the set.  I also was able to compliment him on his selflessness and willingness to provide a string for his colleague.   In the end, that sense of caring for others and helping out is really what I wanted to reinforce.  D’Addario helped me to do just that. 

I had another situation just a few days after that with a student that was seated at the back of my 2^nd violin section.  She was playing on a standard student quality violin and had a set of very low grade strings on the instrument.  She came to me with concerns about the tone quality of her D string.  I played it and it was very false in tone.  I asked her how old the strings were and she replied that they were new within the past few days.  This was clearly a defective string and it really sounded bad.  I was able to offer her a new set of D’Addario Zyex strings for her instrument and put them on the violin during our next break.  They totally changed the sound of her instrument for the better and she was absolutely thrilled.  Again, this was a great kid, an interested aspiring musician the just got ahold of a subpar set of strings.  Having that great sound under her ear could completely change her musical experience in the future.  I am honored to have this opportunity to share quality strings with students as a result of my relationship with the D’Addario Company and the D’Addario Orchestral product line. 

Thanks to D’Addario for their unwavering support.  The opportunities that they have provided me and others have been huge. They are changing lives every day.

Peace.

Scott

Side by Side

Hi all -
It is a cold morning in Northern MI today, so I am inside the library at Interlochen, catching up on e-mails and on organizing my thoughts for this next set of concerts.

We have a new initiative here at Interlochen that I thought I would share with you today.

During the summer, we have an amazing faculty of artist/teachers that come to Interlochen to teach for the summer.  Each 3 week session, I have 5 of these folks assigned to my orchestra to lead sectional rehearsals and help with the preparation for upcoming concerts.  During our first 3 weeks of concerts, a decision was made to convert some of these sectional rehearsal meetings to "side-by-side" experiences within the context of the orchestra rehearsals.  During a side-by-side, the instructors came to rehearsal and sat within the section, offering tips on bowing, style, fingerings, technique, etc.

I was pleased to hear of this opportunity for our students.  I know that as an undergrad at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, I had the opportunity to sit beside my violin teacher, Mrs. Delight Malitsky, in almost every orchestra rehearsal for three years.  She sat at the Concertmaster position in the university orchestra and I sat in the Assistant Concertmaster position.  In every rehearsal, she would model all of the best of orchestral practice and give me and the other players tips throughout our time together.  I can't begin to describe how very much I learned from her in that setting.

I was really pleased with the results of the side-by-sides during our first two concerts. During the first and second meeting, the faculty were able to sight-read the repertoire that I had selected for the upcoming concert, discuss the various sight-reading techniques, and offer an aural image to the students for their upcoming work.  For these early rehearsals, they sat at the Principal positions in the section and were able to interact with each other both verbally and musically for the students in the section.  In my opinion, it was magical.  I did my best to make those meetings significantly less "conductor-centric" that my standard rehearsals and simply give them the framework in which to teach and lead.

Later in our concert preparation, the teachers sat in the middle and back of the sections, where they could look over the section for problem spots with bowing, technique, physical interaction, etc. and give thoughtful tips and tricks for cleaner, more expressive and unified performance.  Sectional rehearsals were not completely abandoned and they were able to give more specific advice to their respective sections in those meetings.  I also think that the ensemble meetings gave the faculty members a really good idea of the composers' vision and a better feel for the specific needs that could be addressed in the sectional rehearsals.

Those of you that know me, know that I am all about collaboration.  I loved having the opportunity to collaborate with my colleagues in these "side-by-side" experiences and was thrilled with the results.  I feel like I know them so much better at this point and really value their expertise and musicianship in new ways.  Perhaps they feel the same after working with me in this way.

I do this think this requires balance.  There is definitely a need for the sectional rehearsal in this environment.   But  there is so much that a young musician can learn by watching a true pro in the rehearsal environment. The real key is that the conductor stay out of the way.  (Not one of our strong characteristics - by the way!)

Both concerts that were performed at the end of this experiment were outstanding and I think the students experienced a real benefit from the opportunity.  We will see how it goes for the next two concerts with a new group of kids!

For now, stay warm.

Peace.

Scott

ICO 2014 Concert 2

Hi friends!

Here are some more thoughts on summer repertoire for ICO.  The second concert will be in 3 short days and perhaps many of the parents that read this will be in attendance for the concert.  We had a great rehearsal today and will certainly be ready to give a great performance on Friday.

We will open our performance with the Overture to the Messiah by Handel.  This is the original Messiah Overture and we are using the Schirmer edition.  I like that edition because the Grave section is written with the appropriate double dotted rhythms and it is otherwise very predictable for those of us that have played this work in any variety of settings.  In the Grave section students learn hooked bowing and really have to listen to the ensemble along with subdividing to keep the passage rhythmically clean.  The Allegro is a fugue and each section must count independently and demonstrate a marcato style throughout.  This is a great piece and teaching tool for young orchestras.

Next, we are doing Fantasy on American Sailing Songs, by Clare Grundman, Arr Longfield.  This is a medley of popular sailing songs that is very accessible for young orchestras.  Students play in a variety of keys and time signatures and there are plenty of opportunities for teaching ensemble, rhythm, and interaction between sections.

Our reall challenge piece for this concert is the Minuet from Petite Suite, by Debussy/Arr. Osentowski (Pub FJH).  This is a grade V adaptation of the famous work for 4 hands piano.  This is a real contrast to much of the repertoire that I have programmed over the years for this type of group.  It is very lyrical, requires extremely close listening across the ensemble, and includes of very tricky violin parts.  The key to this one working well is every section having full awareness of their respective roll in the work from measure to measure, phrase to phrase.  (Isn’t that always the case?!) But, really, this one is a challenge and it is a new piece for me as well.  I am looking forward to using this as the centerpiece to our program. 

We will finish our program with a bang with Choreograpy, by Norman Dello Joio, Mvt 3.  This is a classic and oft-used string orchestra piece that was commissioned and written in the 1970’2 by the American String Teachers Association.  This is a fast and furious finale to the work.  I asked the kids what emotions come to mind as they play it and received answers including: angry, determined, important, and anxious, among others.  This will be a fun and exciting way to end our program.

We look forward to performing this program on July 11 at 7:00 in Corson Auditorium on the Interlochen campus!

Peace.

Scott

ICO 2014 Concert 1

Hi friends!

I wanted to take a quick minute today to run through the repertoire that I programmed for my first two concerts with the Intermediate Concert Orchestra here at Interlochen this summer.  My hope is that this post will give parents of ICO students some insight into what their children have done this summer and some of my values as a conductor.  I am also hopeful that perhaps colleagues will find some of this to be helpful as they plan their repertoire for the upcoming year with similar ensembles at their schools or youth orchestras. 

The ensemble that I conduct is a string orchestra with students ranging from 12 to 15 years old.  The playing level is quite diverse with the top students auditioning on intermediate repertoire such as Mozart Concerti, Accolay Violin Concerto, and other similar appropriate solos and possessing a good deal of range and musical background.  Other students are significantly less experienced and it is always a challenge to bring the group together in a way that challenges and inspires all students, without leaving the less experienced folks in the dust.  This concert cycle, the group is quite evenly matched and that has been less of an issue that some other years. 

For each concert, I always try to select a diverse program that includes something traditional and something more contemporary; something very technically challenging and something that doesn’t take as long to learn the notes and rhythms, something lyrical and something fast and rhythmic; and something that features a guest artist or extended instrumentation.  I think that we achieved all of those goals for this concert cycle.

Concert 1

We began our first concert with Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla, by Glinka, Arr. McCashin (Pub FJH).  This is a wonderful arrangement of the original for string orchestra that really challenges a young orchestra.  We were able to work this up to tempo and do some really great things with ensemble and listening across the orchestra.  The celli and violas get a beautiful lyrical section in the middle and everyone gets the opportunity to play “high, fast, and loud” as part of the fun.  It was a great concert opener and I think it really surprised our audience.  I always like Bob McCashin’s arrangements because he keeps the pieces very true to the original and always challenges the player.  This is listed as a Grade V piece.

Next we did Serenade for Strings, Mvts I, II, IV, by Robert Washburn.  This gem has been around for many years and I hadn’t conducted it for at least 13 years or so.  Dr. Washburn was Professor of Music at The State University of New York in Potsdam for many years and just passed away in November, 2013, at the age of 85.  I had conducted this piece in 1997 with the Maryland Junior All State Orchestra and Dr. Washburn stopped in to hear about two hours of my rehearsal.  He took some time to speak with the students and with me afterwards and it was really the thrill of a lifetime.  His affirmation of my work and encouragement went a long way for me in the early part of my career.  The first movement is in ABA form and is very lyrical, requiring all players to listen carefully to the inner rhythm of the work.  The second movement is in “3” and reminds me of a lullaby.  Again in ABA form, the B section is very warm and “orchestral” in nature.  It is simply gorgeous.  The forth movement is more rhythmic and driving.  To my ear, there is a Native American flavor to it.   Each section gets a feature in this movement and it ends the Serenade with a bang!  This piece is usually listed as a Grade IV work.

We ended our first concert with Cascade, by Bert Ligon.  The piece is in a pop style and calls for a piano and drum set in addition to the string orchestra.  I thought it needed guitar as well, so I called Bert up and asked if he might be able to help us out with a guitar chart.  He graciously agreed and I had guitar charts for the piece within about 48 hours!! (Thanks, Bert!!) This piece is great for teaching a pop style and the importance of syncopation in contrast with non-syncopated figures.  It is also fantastic for teaching and reinforcing dynamics and direction of line.  Every section gets a feature in this piece.  It is listed as a Grade 3.5, but I wouldn’t hesitate to do it with a much more advanced group.  Bert’s music is always so well-written and it feels good to play.  I intend to do with my NCSSM group this fall.

So that was our first concert.  I will write about our 2^nd concert in the next post.  I hope this was helpful!!

Peace.

Scott

D'Addario at ASTA

This week, I have been at the National Conference of the American String Teachers Association. It has been a magnificent conference with something for everyone. I have participated in educational sessions, learned a ton, given a few sessions, met new friends, and connected with old friends from around the country in the string education community.

One of the most informative sessions that I attended was "Demystifying Your Strings," presented by my friends and colleagues at D'Addario Strings, Lyris Hung and Fan Tau. In the session, they discussed and explained the differences between the various string cores, wrappings, tensions, and other issues surrounding string technology. Fan is simply one of the most knowledgeable engineers in the world of acoustics and designs D'Addario's strings from beginning to end.

The session was really well attended and incredibly interesting. Lyris and Fan are tremendous colleagues and did a great job with this one. In the video, Fan explains the concept of harmonics and how that relates to a "false" string.

Enjoy.
Scott

The Lesson Room

Hi all!
Today I want to give you a little bit of insight on using the new teaching resource from D'Addario, www.thelessonroom.com.

This new resource is an exciting tool that can be used as a supplement to any solid instrumental music program. It is populated with video and other content that can be used by instrumental teachers, regardless of the method book or curriculum that they are using. Students can find good lessons that cover technique and ideas, taught by master teachers in an easy-to-use, free package.

In the coming months, we will be populating this site with solid video instruction on violin, viola, cello, bass, and guitar that you can use in your classes or as a resource for homework. We also anticipate that teachers will be able to use these videos to enrich their own understanding of the nuances of the individual instruments and techniques. Or, maybe to just pick up a tip or trick to use in their own teaching.

Much of the instruction on violin and electric violin is already there and can be found at this link: http://www.thelessonroom.com/LessonRoomResourceLibrary.Page?query=laird

Our planned content includes the following:

Introduction/Explanation: Scott Laird, NC School of Science and Math
1. Welcome
2. Students: How to use
3. Teachers: How to use

Violin: Scott Laird, NCSSM
1. First Year Technique
a. Playing position – Seated and Standing
b. Left Hand set up
c. Right Hand (Bow hand) Set-up
d. First year finger patterns
i. Upper strings: 2/3, ½, 3/4
e. Basic Note Reading
f. Rhythmic Patterns
g. Long tones
h. Tuning Tutorial (how pegs work, tuners vs. fine tuners, getting in tune)
2. Second Year technique
a. Finding third position
b. Finger Patterns
c. Shifting
d. Major Scales (with or without music)
e. Changing strings

Viola: Scott Laird, NCSSM
1. First Year Technique
a. Playing position – Seated and Standing
b. Left Hand set up
c. Right Hand (Bow hand) Set-up
d. First year finger patterns
i. Upper strings: 2/3, ½, 3/4
e. Basic Note Reading
f. Rhythmic Patterns
g. Long tones
h. Tuning Tutorial (how pegs work, tuners vs. fine tuners, getting in tune)
2. Second Year technique
a. Finding third position
b. Finger Patterns
c. Shifting
d. Major Scales (with or without music)
e. Changing strings



Cello: Mira Frisch, UNC Charlotte
1. First Year Technique
a. Playing position – Seated and Standing
b. Left Hand set up
c. Right Hand (Bow hand) Set-up
d. First year finger patterns
e. Basic Note Reading
f. Bow Placement and use
g. Tuning Tutorial (how pegs work, tuners vs. fine tuners, getting in tune)

2. Second Year technique
a. Extensions
b. Shifting
c. Major Scales
d. Changing strings

Bass: Paul Sharp, University of North Carolina School of the Arts
1. First Year Technique
a. Playing position – Seated, Standing, Bent Endpin
b. Left Hand set up
c. Right Hand (Bow hand) Set-up – French and German
d. Basic Note Reading
e. 1/2 steps, whole steps, introduce 1/2 and 1st position,
f. Early scales: G, C, D, and F and Bb

g. Early thumb position
h. Basic Instrument set-up
i. Tuning Tutorial (how pegs work, tuners vs. fine tuners, getting in tune, harmonics?)
2. Second Year technique
a. Simandl and Rabbath method
b. Advanced thumb Position
c. Shifting
d. Major Scales
e. Changing strings


Guitar: Todd Miller, Wake County Public Schools
1. First year Technique
a. Finger patterns-basic right hand/left hand technique
b. Natural notes on the guitar
c. Open chords primer and 1st song
d. Intro to Tablature
e. Basic note reading
f. Basic finger Picking
g. Basic Strumming
h. Blues in A

2. Second year Technique
a. Strumming Technique
b. Finger-picking Technique
c. CAGED Concept

Various Round Table Discussions oriented towards teaching and pedagogy.

This content should all be posted by the start of the 2010-2011 school year and we hope that teachers and students all around the country and world will take advantage of the content on the site. We have plans for worksheets, hoework assignments and quizzes as well.

It is definitely an exciting time at D'Addario and we look forward to your feedback on this cool site.

Best,
Scott

Midwest Clinic Thoughts - Tuesday

Hi all.
Today, I am the Midwest Clinic in Chicago. It is one of the largest annual gatherings of music educators and music companies. If you are a music educator and have never been to this event, it is really worth the effort to get here at some point.

The string education sessions began this morning with a nice breakfast gathering that was sponsored by the Kjos Publishing Company. It was a really nice event and I had the opportunity to reconnect with many friends from around the country. I was particularly pleased to reconnect with Marvin Rabin, one of the true pioneers in the string ed field. He paved the way for so many of us that are making our careers in public school string education and at age 93, is really getting around well. I had the chance to thank him for the impact he has had on my career. For those of you that are familiar with some of my web-teaching, he planted the seeds for many of the concepts that I teach using finger patterns. (major scales and upper positions) My students at NCSSM can see these concepts put to use on the NCSSM Orchestra page. Those of you elsewhere in the world can see these soon on the D'Addario site: www.thelessonroom.com. I believe that they will be posted very soon.

I also had the opportunity to see Mark O'Connor present a session on his new O'Connor Violin Method. It is available exclusively through Shar Music. I think that he has hit on something really effective here and applaud his efforts to be innovative in the traditional world of string education. There were several performances by students that have studied with Mark in various capacities over the years and they were all fantastic. I am going to check this method out very closely and try it out with my own sons.

Tomorrow, I will be giving a session with Doris Gazda, Matt Turner, Sean O'Laughlin, and Larry Clark. This session is sponsored by Carl Fischer Music and, as always, D'Addario Strings is supporting me in this session. This session is called "Teaching the Nitty Gritty: Who Has Time for Anything More?" and will cover a variety of topics related to technique, literature and enrichment to traditional skills in the string classroom. I think that this will be a lively panel discussion and look forward to sharing this platform with my friends.

Meanwhile, I have just enjoyed a lunch in my room while jotting down this post. Time to head back over to the conference to get more new ideas! More later...

Peace.
Scott

D'Addario on CNN

Hi Friends!
A few months back, I wrote about my experiences while visiting the D'Addario String manufacturing plant in Famingdale, NY. I mentioned how cool it is to be associated with a company that is committed to manufacturing in the United States and to their employees. Well, apparently others have noticed this as well. This past weekend, CNN featured D'Addario for their commitment to keeping jobs and manufacturing in the US. The clip details the Toyota Automation Strategy that I mentioned in my earlier post, commonly known as LEAN. It is a really interesting and enlightening clip.
Please follow this link to check out the video clip on the CNN Website. As always, I am so proud to be associated with D'Addario. They are a great company that makes a great product.
Peace.
Scott

Trip to D'Addario in Farmingdale

Hey everyone!
I am sorry it has been so long since my last post. I have been swamped with the organizational details of my Charity Bike Ride for the National MS Society, "Tour de Teacher" in Durham, NC. The event was a huge success and I will post more info about that event in the days to come.

Today, however, I want to tell you a bit about my recent trip to the D'Addario factory and headquarters in Farmingdale, NY. I headed up there with three goals for the trip: film a bunch of video content for the D'Addario website, take photos for a new set of classroom posters, and serve as guest speaker for the Nassau County Music Educators beginning of year dinner.

We definitely accomplished all of our goals while there. We managed to film a ton of educational videos on both bowed electric string instruments and effects processing and more traditional violin pedagogy that should be helpful to students and teachers, alike. We also got a great start of the photos for these posters. One will be focusing on bow hold and bowing terms and the other will be a fun look at the "Geometry of playing the violin." Finally, the dinner was a wonderful event and it was a pleasure to meet the good folks that are teaching music in Nassau County , Long Island. I was particularly please to meet Martha Boonshaft, wife of Hoffstra Music Professor, noted speaker in the field of Music Ed., and friend, Peter Boonshaft. I think my remarks were well-received and it was a real pleasure to be there.

All of that being said, the part of my trip that will probably remain with me the longest had nothing to do with any of my goals for going. My friend and host, Rob Polan, gave me an extensive tour of the facility and it was really enlightening. First of all, I was struck by the sheer number of employees at D'Addario. Sure, there were business offices like any office building. But it was the folks on the manufacturing line that really struck me. In a down economy, this group was moving fast. They were clearly happy and motivated, pleased to be working for a wonderful employer that cares about quality, efficiency, and the employees. I was struck by the level of artisanship of the ladies that were "silking" the violin strings. (Yes - it is done by hand, folks!) I was struck by the skill and speed of the people running the string winding machines, sometimes creating 3 strings simultaneously. The engineering and efficiency of the plant is simply stunning. (For my students that are considering engineering as a career, this should be a required tour. It was fantastic to see these machines that are made, right there in the plant, to suit the specific needs of the individual products. It was simply stunning from start to finish. I was struck by the number of people that were working, the volume of strings being produced, the high tech engineering that went into the production, and the general spirit of the workforce. Very cool. It made me totally proud to be associated with the D'Addario Company and I appreciate them in an entirely new way today. I have always been proud to be associated with the strings. Now, I am equally proud to be associated with the business model from top to bottom.

One thing that Rob pointed out during the tour is that D'Addario is always looking to be more efficient and has recently adopted a model called "Lean Manufacturing." The idea is that you carefully explore the efficiency of movement on the floor of the manufacturing facility and place workers and machines in the optimum environment for efficient work-flow. I couldn't help but to think that the education community has to do a bit of that, too. We really need to rethink the way that we are delivering information to our students. Are we really using our class-time efficiently? Is the old classroom model still the best classroom model for education as we move further into the 21st century. I truly believe that we must increase of efficiency of content delivery in our classroom. Which, brings me around to one of my original goals for the trip: video content for the web. D'Addario's goal is to provide video content on their website that will make string education more efficient. Students can go to the web to get solid string instruction and content. Then, when they go to school, the teacher can focus on the students individual needs. The teacher becomes the tutor, mentoring the students, rather than repeating content that can be efficiently delivered on the web. Will video content ever replace the teacher? Certainly not. But, when effectively used, teachers can focus on the true task at hand, the individual needs of the student, not repeated content delivery. For more information on this concept, I recommend that you check out an enlightening book about efficiency of content delivery in the 21st century entitled "Disrupting Class," by Clayton Christensen.

For now, thanks to all of the good folks at D'Addario for making me feel so at home for the past 2 days.

I am sure there will be much more to come on this topic.

Peace.
Scott