Our Guitar Study Week is an intensive and enjoyable guitar-school for steel-string acoustic guitarists, led by three fantastic tutors – Jenn Butterworth, David Delarre and Tristan Seume. You’ll have the opportunity to spend a day with each of the tutors in workshops aiming to develop your technique, skills and repertoire – and provide for an enjoyable course of guitar playing in the manor.
The course will help you to develop your skills and confidence, with options to explore finger style, flat-picking, alternative and open tunings, arranging tunes and song accompaniment, chord vocabulary, and useful theory too. Whole group, smaller group and one-to-one teaching, to leave you enthused and inspired! There will be down-time too, for you to practise, jam, socialise and spend quality time with your instrument.
The tutor team bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience embracing a variety of styles and the programme for the week will be subject to change, tailored to the experience and needs of the group.
Who is it for?
This course is aimed at acoustic guitarists (steel-strung) of an intermediate level and above, it’s not really suitable for beginners.
As a guide, to get the most from the course you’ll need a grasp of the following topics:
- All common open major and minor chords
- Familiarity with one or two moveable barre chord shapes
- Some basic fingerpicking ability
- Steady, even strumming rhythm in 4/4 time
Beyond this, enthusiasm is much more important than skill level; we only ask that you join in to the best of your ability. This week is all about helping you develop your playing, whatever your current level of ability, and sending you away with the inspiration and tools to continue to improve.
The Team
Jenn Butterworth is widely recognised as one of the UK’s leading exponents of traditional folk guitar. Based in Glasgow, Scotland, she is a central figure in the thriving Scottish folk music scene. She is a key member of the award-winning folk powerhouse Kinnaris Quintet and performs regularly in duos with Laura-Beth Salter and Will Pound. In 2019, Jenn was named Musician of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards and was a nominee for the same title at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Two years earlier, her work with the acclaimed folk supergroup Songs of Separation earned the Album of the Year award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. This groundbreaking project, featuring luminaries like Eliza Carthy, Lady Maisery and Karine Polwart was conceived, arranged, and recorded in just seven days. Her highly anticipated solo album Her By Design is set for release in February 2025.
Jenn is also a highly respected educator with extensive teaching experience, ranging from one-on-one sessions to leading large ensembles. She has collaborated with organisations such as Fèisean nan Gàidheal, the National Youth Folk Ensemble (EFDSS), Halsway Manor, Burg Fürsteneck and Folkworks Summer School. As a member of the Traditional Music Department at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, she works as Creative Producer and was honoured with the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Teaching’ award at the RCS Student-Led Awards in 2024.
Tristan Seume is acclaimed as one of the UK’s leading acoustic guitarists, and has toured all over Europe both as a soloist and a sought-after accompanist. His two solo albums, You Just Know and Middle Child mix handcrafted originals with beautiful interpretations of traditional and contemporary tunes. He performs regularly with BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winning artist Jackie Oates, and has recorded and played with many other artists on the UK folk scene.
An experienced and enthusiastic educator, his CV includes countless contributions to some of the UK’s best-selling guitar magazines; Guitar Techniques, Total Guitar, Acoustic, and notably, over 130 consecutive monthly guitar tutorials spanning more than a decade of issues of Guitarist Magazine. He was also Head of Further Education at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, Surrey, and he leads workshops at guitar festivals and events around the UK. www.tristanseume.com
“Seume’s superb fingerpicking talent, and ease of drifting between styles drives you to a state of listening compulsion” – Acoustic Magazine.
David Delarre is a musician, composer and music educator. Through his work with the award winning singer Eliza Carthy MBE and Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, David has performed at a number of high profile venues and festivals across the UK and Europe. He has recently recorded sessions for BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4 and has also performed on BBC 1 for Jools Holland and BBC 1 Breakfast TV. His theatre credits include The Globe’s production of ’The Two Noble Kinsman’ and the Tony Award winning Broadway musical ‘Hadestown’.