Inspiration from a Master

BEN EDOM received a grant from HI~Arts’ Musicians’ Professional Development Scheme to attend a seminar in France with the great guitarist Pierre Bensusan. Ben reports on a memorable experience.

PIERRE BENSUSAN has consistently proved himself to the leading exponent of fingerstyle on acoustic guitar in Europe – and arguably worldwide – throughout a long career during which he has persistently developed his technique, musicianship and compositional skills.  My invitation to study with him at his first Advanced Guitar Seminar was an exceptional opportunity to advance my own technique, musicianship and creativity.

From the moment when Pierre collected myself and another course member from the station at Chateau-Thierry he was unfailingly friendly, hospitable and informative, giving us a fascinating monologue on the history of the area in excellent English all the way to his home in Boureshes where we were to stay for the next ten days.

In the mornings the students were to practice techniques and exercises, including material from the previous day’s tutorial and Bensusan’s composition “L’Alchimiste”, which we had committed to learning before the seminar.

Each afternoon and on the mornings of the sixth and seventh days we were given tutorials by Pierre and on one occasion by his wife Doatea, who is a registered practitioner and trainer in “Bio-Dynamiques”. The latter was invaluable for the correction of bad posture and imbalance, and her insights as a Flamenco and Contemporary dancer into tempo, rhythm, timing and energy in music would in itself make a very valuable workshop for any instrumentalist.

During Pierre’s tutorials he led his students from thinking of themselves as guitarists to realising themselves as ‘musicians’ who use the guitar as their chosen instrument for expressing their musical vision and creativity.  The difference may appear subtle but it required a dramatic shift in the students’ meta-belief structures.

To facilitate this shift Pierre introduced us to the singing techniques of American jazz singer Bobby McFerrin,  who sings many parts of a piece of music simultaneously.  Needless to say we were unable to go as far with this as Pierre has, but the insights we gained by singing our compositions/improvisations and imagining all the parts we wished to include as completely as possible before ever touching our guitars were powerfully transformative.

“To sum up, I have found this seminar informative, inspirational and transformative.”

He was also able to communicate to us the panoramic vision he has regarding composition.  We were repeatedly encouraged to listen more deeply, create more imaginatively and populate our music with many different characters whose interactions produce the quality and intricate naturalness characteristic of all good music.  To that end we were bombarded by exercises on Tempo, Rhythms and counter-rhythms, Melody, Harmony and above all the development of an artistic vision for these rather than the more common compromises of mechanistic convenience.

However, during some of the earlier tutorials we were subjected to hour after hour of right and left hand exercises, which Pierre has developed, as well as borrowed from such great guitarists as Paco de Lucia, all designed to increase flexibility of expression through having a phenomenal vocabulary of precise combinations of physical movements.  They provide an exceptional insight into the extent to which great musicians will train and discipline themselves in order to more fully serve “The Music”.

To sum up, I have found this seminar informative, inspirational and transformative.  Not only was Pierre Bensusan warm, hospitable and open to the needs of his guests, he also has the ability to shine a bright light of startling clarity on the musical road of each of his students so that they fully understand where they currently stand. They clearly see their strengths and weaknesses but also exactly what needs to be done to rectify them and step boldly forward in their evolution as musicians and people.

This is not a seminar for the faint-hearted or the un-grounded dreamer.  Only guitarists with a hunger for real improvement and a genuine love of music should apply but they will reap benefits far beyond what they might reasonably expect from a mere ten days in France.

The Pierre Bensusan Advanced Guitar Seminar took place in Boureshes, France, from 1-10 August, 2004

© Ben Edom, 2004

Related Links

• Pierre Bensusan’s website