Dylan James
Dylan James, a South Dakota born singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, brings a love and appreciation of stringed instruments and Appalachian folk music and instrumentation into his work as a performer and music educator. He specializes in the flatpick guitar style and also plays mandolin and ukulele. During his performances and educational experiences, he discusses and demonstrates “fiddle tunes,” repetitive instrumental folk songs found commonly in Bluegrass and Old-time music. He likes to emphasize the fun side of musical exploration, while also discussing the important aspects of music theory and how they relate to a musician’s experience.
Dylan has worked as a professional musician for over ten years and has performed in many states across the country as a touring musician. He has taught private lessons to students ranging in age from 5-70 of all backgrounds and abilities. His teaching philosophy is to identify a student’s area of musical interest and passion and use this to foster motivation for practice and musical growth.
Dylan’s residencies will consist of learning basic skills on the guitar and ukulele, basic and practically helpful music theory, and appreciation of different types of folk music - particularly those of Appalachian origin.
Folk-jamming for High-schoolers:
During residencies in high-schools, Dylan will teach students the basic principles and skills on guitar and/or ukulele (simple chords and melody), teach the basic concepts of creating a simple song, learn a song to be played as a group (the students will help choose this song), learn and perform the song as a group, and learn very basic improvisational skills. If students achieve aforementioned goals in less than the time of the residency, the students will work on writing a song as a group. Dylan will provide at least 10 guitars for the residency. Ukuleles will need to be purchased by the school and can be purchased for approximately $10/ukulele. Dylan will be happy to assist the school in this process upon request.
Folk-jamming for Grade-schoolers or Middle-schoolers:
“-jamming for grade schoolers” is very similar to “folk-jamming for high-schoolers” except that all students will play the ukulele and more time will be spent on performing/demonstrating by Dylan. Dylan will start the first day of this residency with a performance of folk music on several different instruments: guitar, mandolin, and ukulele. Ukuleles will need to be purchased by the school and can be purchased for approximately $10/ukulele. Dylan will be happy to assist the school in this process upon request.
Early American Folk Music and Songwriting Traditions:
In this program, Dylan will perform traditional American folk music on several different instruments: the guitar, mandolin, ukulele, and fiddle. Dylan will also write a simple song with the help of the class. He will explain the parts of the song and what an arrangement is and then construct its individual parts with the help of students.
Music in Healthcare and Permanent Care Facilities:
Dylan has a long history of working with the elderly and playing in health-care and permanent-care facilities. Dylan’s vast knowledge of popular American music from every decade in the 20th century makes him very enjoyable for all age groups. Dylan is compassionate and thoughtful and loves the opportunity to bring people joy through his music. While Dylan lived in Sioux Falls, he would perform in up to 20 nursing homes per month, bringing joy to residents by playing songs from their past.
Contact: Dylan James
Phone: (605) 219-7810
Email: dylanjamesflatpicking@hotmail.com
Performance video links:
https://youtu.be/OXCcsql1fxI
https://youtu.be/rle2gFRMv60
https://youtu.be/oJDnDxfIbAM
https://youtu.be/IhnnTLRwepw