Seminars

David is constantly developing his knowledge and sharpening his skills as a songwriter, guitarist, and worship leader.  He has studied with 5 of the best acoustic guitar players in the world, has won national and regional competitions for his songwriting, and has led worship at hundreds of gatherings.  He has been teaching professionally for over 10 years, and at one time had 50 individual students. 

When David went full-time as a performer, he let all of his students go, but he has such a desire to give back his knowledge that he has created multiple seminars.  These seminars are available to churches who are already hosting a concert.  David also does private consultations with church worship teams.  Please learn more by reading the information below.

How does it work?

1. A church that is already hosting a concert invites David to teach a 3-hour seminar on the same day in the afternoon.

2. The hosting church decides which seminar, or which combination of seminars David will teach.

3. Together with the hosting church, David promotes the seminar with posters, flyers, and website support.

4. Students register in advance with David by mail (some may simply show up to the seminar.)  Tuition is $30.00 per student, for a full 3 hours of solid teaching.

5. David teaches the seminar, providing worksheet packets and a multimedia presentation for different learning styles.  Students are blessed with an exciting, educational and inspiring seminar, and many return to the concert the same night to see David put his teaching into action.

6. After tallying the tuitions, if the total is less than $300.00 (less than 10 students), the church is responsible to cover the remainder.  The money for this does not come out of the freewill offering at the concert.  Also, if the total for the seminar is more than $300.00, the additional money goes to support David’s ministry of teaching.  It is not used to meet David’s performance fee in the freewill offering for the concert.

Breaking the Mold: Creativity on the Acoustic Guitar ANSWER KEY (PDF)
Rhythm Guitar:  The Next Level
ANSWER KEY (PDF)
The Peripheral Worship Leader
ANSWER KEY (PDF)
David’s NEXT upcoming seminar:    

SEMINAR TITLE:  "Rhythm Guitar: The Next Level"

DATE: Sunday, June 29, 2008

LOCATION:  North Coast Family Fellowship
2245 Wahanna Road, Seaside, OR 97138 / MAP

TIME:  1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

DETAILS:  Pre-registration through the church is requested.  Church phone: (503) 738-7453.  Click here to read more about the seminar and listen to excerpts.  Click here to download & print a PDF flyer about the guitar seminar.
FOR HOSTING VENUES
David’s Seminar Policies
The Capo:  A Guitarist's Trusty Companion
ANSWER KEY (PDF)
Writing Songs for Thirsty Souls
ANSWER KEY (PDF)
Seminars Available

Writing Songs for Thirsty Souls
Learn the key elements of crafting powerful lyrics and edifying music in this exciting new seminar.  Concepts include: developing your songwriting toolkit, learning what makes a great song, crafting excellent lyrics, merging words and music, understanding song forms, realizing your potential, preparing for inspiration, and more!  (For songwriters of all experience levels, ages 16 and up)

Read past students’ commentsListen to a sound clip from this seminar



The Peripheral Worship Leader
This seminar is for people who want to raise the standard of how they lead worship, either individually, or as a team.  Concepts include: defining worship, finding the balance in leading worship, developing a varied repertoire of songs, and a pictorial journey through the Tabernacle of Moses.  (For anyone involved with worship – no musical background required – ages 16 and up.)  *Note:  This seminar is most often taught in combination with a private worship team consultation.  Please see “Consulting” above for more information.

Read past students’ commentsListen to a sound clip from this seminar



Rhythm Guitar: The Next Level
Designed to enrich the skills of the rhythm guitarist, whether for worship leading or songwriting, this seminar covers practical aspects that any guitarist will find useful.  Concepts covered include: fretboard mapping, strumming patterns, fingerstyle, bar chords, the CAGED system, chord transitions, and more!  (For students ages 16 and up, with 6 months of experience or more.)

Read past students’ commentsListen to a sound clip from this seminar



The Capo: A Guitarist’s Trusty Companion
Discover how a capo can make things easier, different, or more interesting in this in-depth seminar.  7 different customized capos are examined (Kyser, G7th, Shubb C8B partial capo, Shubb C7B partial capo, Shubb “sawed off ½ open A” capo, the Third Hand capo, and the Glider capo).  These capos (along with a total of 20 ways to use them) are demonstrated, to help guitarists expand their playing and their creativity. (For students ages 16 and up, with 2 years of experience or more.  Bringing a capo to the seminar is strongly recommended.)

Read past students’ commentsListen to a sound clip from this seminar



Breaking the Mold: Creativity on the Acoustic Guitar
This seminar is designed for those who want to explore the guitar in new and exciting ways, by thinking “outside the box.”  Concepts explored include: 8 alternate tunings (DADGBE, DADFAD, DADGBD, DADGAD, DGDGAD, DADGCD, CGCGCD, and FADFCE), 2-hand tapping or the “touch style,” non-traditional playing styles, artificial and normal harmonics, and the use of a loop station to stack and layer live sound.  This is truly a unique and inspiring class that will help you broaden your horizons. (For students ages 16 and up, with 5 years of experience or more.)

Read past students’ commentsListen to a sound clip from this seminar



Build Your Own Rhythm Guitar Seminar (Available August 2007)
This seminar is for students and hosting churches who want a custom-tailored presentation.  In the same manner as choosing your toppings on a pizza, students are able to pre-register and fill out an online form where they list their preferences for specific available topics.  The concepts which can be covered range from preparation fundamentals, to harmonic and rhythmic fundamentals.  At least 24 different subjects are available, and David is able to teach them in order of students’ priority, for as long as time permits.  (For students ages 16 and up, with 6 months of experience or more.)

Read past students’ commentsRead the list of available topics for this seminar

Each of the above seminars can be taught in the following formats:

Option A: 3-hour seminar (David teaches 1 seminar from the above 5 options, in a 3-hour session, with a short break part way through.)

Option B: Two 90-minute “mini-seminars” (The hosting venue selects 2 of the above seminars.  David teaches both, but some concepts are abbreviated.)  Click here for some suggested pairings.

Option C: 50-minute workshop (David teaches a very abbreviated version of one of the above seminars per workshop slot.  This option is available for conferences only.)

As mentioned above, tuition for a 3 hour session (either Option A or B) is $30.00 per student.  Sometimes, the hosting church will help defray the cost per student by contributing a partial amount per student (example: if the church were to agree to pay $10.00 towards each student’s tuition, each student therefore would pay $20.00.)  This is up to the hosting church to initiate.

Consulting

David has led worship at hundreds of gatherings in many denominations as a guest worship leader, and he has worked with many worship teams in a variety of settings.  He can be hired for a consultation with a worship team mid-week (Monday through Thursday) for a flat fee of $350.00 plus travel (which is determined by round trip mileage from Marysville, WA).  This involves David teaching his seminar called “The Peripheral Worship Leader,” and then coaching the team (often at their regularly scheduled evening rehearsal time.) 

The timeframe for the session (teaching plus the consulting) can be up to 3 hours.  During this time, David encourages, gently criticizes, prays for, and instructs the team.  He brings humor, sincerity, and a biblical foundation into all aspects of the consultation.

He has also been invited to lead worship at churches as a guest worship leader, but with the hosting church’s worship team.  This can be a great way to have David coach and encourage the team with fresh perspectives and skills.

Read what people are saying about David’s consulting