Tom Anderson
In addition to my performance work, I have dedicated over two decades to teaching as a college lecturer, where I share my passion for music performance, technology, songwriting, and Western musical theory.
I have performed across the UK, Europe, and the USA, including iconic venues such as Nashville's Basement, Mercy Lounge, and Two Old Hippies and The Royal Albert Hall in London—truly a moment to remember! I have received enthusiastic feedback from renowned guitar players like Tommy Emmanuel, who called me a “Beautiful player,” Jerry Donahue, who noted, “Tom can really play that guitar,” and Bruce Welch, who described me as a “Proper guitar player!”
I delve into the CAGED system, exploring its intricacies for experienced players who wish to deepen their understanding of the fretboard. This includes a thorough exploration of diatonic chords, secondary dominants, scales, and improvisation techniques. My curriculum offers a comprehensive Major Key diatonic chords workout utilising the CAGED system, complete with chord analysis and scales.
Jim MacKay – Celtic Django Project
Bring your guitar and learn the gypsy jazz rhythm style “Le Pompe,” then apply it to Scottish and Irish tunes in a group setting.
Based in Edinburgh, Vintage Tap and Swing was created over ten years ago by local dancer Cathy Harrison, with a view to initially teaching classic tap dances as well as Lindy Hop. It has has evolved since then, and with the help of Michael Joyce and others, we're branching out to bring more workshops and classes your way. Inspired by the pioneers of swing dancing from the early 20th century, we started swing dancing in the 90s, in the early days of the re-birth of Lindy Hop.
Our aim is to be true to the roots of swing dancing, in particular the Lindy Hop, and to pass on our knowledge of this amazing dance form.
We have been so lucky to have been taught by some of the original dancers from the Swing era, such as Frankie Manning, Dawn Hampton, Sugar Sullivan and by those known as the 'Revivalists', most well-known being The Jiving Lindy Hoppers, Lennart Westerlund and the Rhythm Hotshots. We want to share the love and passion for the dance through our years of learning.
Our experience extends into other swing dances, such as Collegiate Shag, St Louis Shag, and Balboa, as well as Boogie Woogie, taking classes with the best in their field. We've also been pupils of dance historian Richard Powers, of Stanford University.
Tap is another great love of ours. There are amazing tap dancers and festivals in the world today. It's more accessible than ever, and is finally being acknowledged as a wonderful art form. See the tap page for more info.
We have a wealth of knowledge to share with you, so welcome to our site. Hopefully you'll be able to join us for some of our classes and workshops and have lots of fun whilst learning.
Enjoy a lively social dance with CHARDON BLEU, featuring upbeat swing, welcoming Lindy Hop vibes and a full band festival buzz! Visiting musicians welcome to join the band, set list to be announced, bring your own charts, iPads, stands. Session led by Stephen Tyler. Open to the public for dancing and musicians for playing.
@Gillespie Centre
Learn Django style improvisation with John Wheatcroft, (Principal Lecturer (Guitar) at BIMM London)
Playing over the changes whilst staying stylistically appropriate but without relying heavily upon memorised licks, lines and patterns is one of the most challenging aspects of Hot Club-style guitar playing.
In this 90-minute workshop, John will outline a variety of super-useful concepts, approaches and techniques to allow you to break free from memorised cliches, removing the need to have everything worked out in advance whilst staying faithful to this style and most importantly, outlining all the harmony.
We look at some transformational musical tools to allow you to learn from the greats but to make these phrases, lines, licks and musical pathways your own. Drawn form his collaborative work with Biréli Lagrène including performances with artists as diverse as Billy Cobham (Miles Davis), Alex Acuña, John Williams, Frank Gambale (Chick Corea), Paco Peña, Stochelo Rosenberg, Angelo Debarre, Paulus Schäfer, Mozes Rosenberg,
@Arcadia Music Cafe
Join award winning violinist, vocalist and composer Seonaid Aitken for a focused fiddle workshop exploring technique, style, and creative approaches rooted in Scottish and Gypsy Jazz traditions.
@Arcadia Music Cafe
