Private Lessons, Classes & Workshops

Private Lessons • In-Person and Online

Randy Armstrong provides lessons—both online and in-person—for students of all ages at your venue or in his Beauty Hill Music & Recording Studios in Barrington, NH. Randy creates individualized lesson plans—beginner to advanced students welcome!

• Guitar in all styles
• Marimbas & Steel Pan
• Sitar
• Tabla
• Djembe
• World Percussion

Drumming Workshops

Randy Armstrong offers a “hands-on” workshop of the rhythms of West Africa and the African Diaspora. Focus is on djembe, ashiko, djun-djun, bell, and shakere techniques using the drum language of master musician, Babatunde Olatunji. A wide variety of rhythms from West Africa, the Caribbean, and Brazil are taught with concentration on ensemble performance. Transcriptions of rhythms are available to all students, and workshops range from 1 to 3 hours. Randy has extensively studied the balofon and djembe and has been incorporating African music sensibilities in his original compositions since the mid-70s. His expertise as a Teaching Artist makes his Music Lessons invaluable to students eager to explore world rhythms.

Guitar Workshops

A workshop and master class is offered for Guitar Courses focusing on acoustic guitar as well as synth-guitar. The focus is on world music applications to guitar performance and demonstration of synthesizer and guitar interfaces. Areas covered include tunings, North Indian ragas & scales, flat-pick & finger-style combinations, modal harmonies & ethnic influences, and much more. As a Teaching Artist, Randy Armstrong ensures that each session is structured to help students develop their musicality in a global context.

South African Marimba Group Classes

Marimba Bands can be heard and experienced throughout South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Southern Africa. Even in the United States, you can find Marimba Bands from the Pacific Northwest to New England, inspired by many African musicians who have taught the tradition and instruments at Universities and Cultural Institutions in the U.S. for decades. These sessions also incorporate elements of Dance Scores, blending rhythmic movement with musical learning.

Randy has been a performer, teacher, and student of the balafon, which is the West African marimba/xylophone-style instrument similar to the South African marimbas, for over four decades. While on tour in South Africa as an accompanist for the women’s chorus, Voices From The Heart, in the summer of 2018, Randy experienced the dynamic and joyous music of Marimba Bands at concert halls, churches, schools, and street performances. At a concert, Voices From The Heart performed with Desmond Tutu and his family in attendance. A young group of talented and energetic South African Marimba players performed traditional songs and pop tunes that had the entire audience singing and dancing together. Even Papa Tutu got up to dance to the song “PATA PATA,” made famous by South African singer Miriam Makeba and played brilliantly by the Marimba Band. At that moment, Randy was inspired to commission a set of South African Marimbas handcrafted by ethnomusicologist Gavin Coppenhall—African Ethos Instruments in Cape Town. The Marimbas arrived at the Port of New York on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2018, and the journey begins.

Through his engaging Music Lessons and Guitar Courses, Randy Armstrong continues to be a sought-after Teaching Artist, offering workshops that inspire creativity and cross-cultural appreciation. With a passion for global music, he also incorporates Dance Scores into his educational programs, ensuring a holistic musical experience for students of all backgrounds.

“Music is a great blessing. It has the power to elevate and liberate us. It sets people free to dream. It can unite us to sing with one voice.” — Nelson Mandela

Weekly group classes and private lessons at Beauty Hill Music Studios, Barrington, New Hampshire.

• For Info: 603.512.4325 or  Email: [email protected]
• Visit Us On FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/WorldBeatMarimba