There are some very good professionals on this forum who might be able to give you a more detailed reply but I hope my view helps a bit.
But if you have a natural feel for that sort of gospel playing, and already have an appropriate (and that is important) grounding, you might learn them quite quickly.įinally I should say I am not a professional musician. There is so much ground work you would need to do first. If you are a relative beginner its going to take a long time. Give or take a grade!Īs for how long it would take you to learn them, that is equally difficult to answer as I don't how good you are at reading music/playing from and/or interpreting chords, and/or just learning by ear. Having said that I'd say they probably equate to about grade 6. The rhythmic feel is very different, and to play them well getting the rhythmic feel is essential. In 2010, she contributed a song to The Harry Smith Connection: A Live Tribute To The Anthology Of American Folk Music.It's very difficult to make a comparison with ABRSM grades, as they are classical grades and these pieces are not classical. She was the subject of the 1999 documentary film entitled His Eye is on the Sparrow and a 1997 Goldenseal magazine article, “Hand-Clapping and Hallelujahs: A Visit with Ethel Caffie-Austin.” She founded the Black Sacred Music Festival at West Virginia State University in Institute, and has several recordings and an instructional videotape to her credit. She has taken her music and ministry into prisons, schools and government housing projects, and has performed at festivals across the country and in Europe.Ĭaffie-Austin is also in demand as a clinician and often presents gospel workshops in conjunction with the Vandalia Gathering. Throughout her life, she has carried on a rich tradition of African-American gospel singing, piano playing and worship. She was conferred an honorary Doctor of Arts degree in May 1997 by Davis and Elkins College. Ethel is a graduate of West Virginia Institute of Technology, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Language Arts. Hope, Ethel Caffie-Austin is known as West Virginia’s “First Lady of Gospel Music.” She began playing piano at the age of six, started accompanying church services at nine, and directed her first choir at age 11.
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