Schedule

Sunday, August 4th, 2019

• 4:00 Check-in & Move-in
• 5:30 Supper & Welcome
• 6:30 New Camper Orientation
• 7:00 Instructor Concert & Course Descriptions

Monday-Friday

• 8:00-8:45 Breakfast
• 9:00-10:15 Class Sessions 1
• 10:30-11:45 Class Sessions 2
• 12:00-12:45 Lunch
• 1:00-2:15 Class Sessions 3
• 2:30-3:45 Class Sessions 4
• 3:45-4:15 Break
• 4:15-5:30 Jams & Music Circles
• 5:30-6:15 Supper
• 7:00 Sunday – Instructor Class Descriptions/Presentations
• 7:00 Monday, Tuesday & Thursday – Instructor Concerts
• 7:00 Wednesday – Contra Dance (instructors bring the music, campers bring their dancing shoes)
• 7:00 Friday – Student Concert (all are encouraged to participate)
• 9:00-9:30 Monday, Tuesday & Thursday – Mercantile open to purchase Instructor music or other items after instructor concert.
• 9:30 Friday – End of Student Concert All Camp Harmonium
• 10:30 Friday  – Biscuits & Gravy (a nighttime tradition!)

Saturday, August 10th 2019

• 8:00-8:45 Breakfast & Farewell
• 9:00 Check-out and Move-out – SAFE TRAVELS!

Classes 2019 (a work in progress)

Fiddle

Old-time Fiddle (Level 1-2) – Gretchen Priest

Old Time melodies have stood the test of time, but tunes need fun OT bowing techniques and double stops to make it pop! Rhythm is king!

Irish Fiddle (Level 2-3) – Gretchen Priest

Irish Fiddle (2-3 level):  Learn left hand ornaments and bowing ornaments to dress up beautiful Irish fiddle tunes! You’ll learn essential tips for speed as we go!

Afternoon Jam with Gretchen – Gretchen Priest

Gretchen hosts Inclusive Multi Level Jamming “wether you’re  first time jammer,  or if more seasoned; don’t be shy and come join in on the fun!

Banjo

The World of the 5-String Banjo (Level TBD) – Lewis Mock

This course is an introduction to the 5-string banjo and many of its popular styles of playing. We’ll be talking about and learning the basics of banjo playing including the old-time banjo sounds of “Frailing” and “Clawhammer” style to the 2-finger, 3-finger, and melodic styles that came afterward.  Bring your  5-string banjo and be ready to “pick” (no accordions allowed)!!

Guitar

Class descriptions forthcoming from instructors including but not limited to: Robert Bowlin, John Corzine, Lewis Mock, Raul Reynoso & Doug Smith.

Bass

For beginners, post-beginners, and intermediate players who want to increase their bass skills and musical knowledge. Open to upright bassists and bass guitarists. We’ll work toward the goal of playing steady, accurate, lively, and supportive bass in roots music styles, including folk, bluegrass, country, blues, and swing.

Starting with some tips on bass care and tuning, we’ll go on to explore methods for comfortably producing a powerful sound. We’ll investigate our role in an ensemble, and develop techniques for hearing, finding, and naming roots, fifths, and beyond. We’ll discuss how to thrive in jams, and how to identify and anticipate chord changes. There will be plenty of in-class playing.

During the week, we’ll learn ways to use passing tones, scalar runs, arpeggios, and basic walking bass patterns. By week’s end you’ll come away with lots of ideas for how to continue to grow as a bassist.

Intermediate to Advanced Bass (Level 3-4) – Cary Black

A seminar-style class with the following prerequisites: Some facility with scales, modes, and arpeggios, and knowledge of basic music theory. (Auditors welcome.)

Topics will include active listening, precise timekeeping, efficient technique, improvisation,  and practical theory; with special attention given to ensemble skills, walking bass, soloing, and playing in more complex musical styles and grooves.

We’ll expand our available range of notes, and survey creative uses of syncopation, counterpoint, dynamics, and chord substitution. We’ll learn methods for going beyond our reliance on limited, preconceived patterns, in order to encourage the free flow of musical ideas that adds to the joy of group improvisation.

Mandolin

Developing your basic musical instincts (Level 2-3) – Steve Smith

All budding musicians need to work at ear development, learning how to hear and make chord changes with ease and how to learn melodies (tunes by ear). Developing our ear allows us to learn things quicker when working from sheet music and tab for example  because we begin to memorize or “teach it to ourselves”. Often times we make or learn chords to  songs from a book or chart without really learning how or why they work or sound good together. By making a few chord/key associations and expanding our chord groups we can bring ourselves up to speed and build a lot of confidence for playing with individuals, group or jams in a variety of styles and on the fly without charts. There will be handouts, voice/ear/instrument training and fun. Bring video and recorders.

Modernizing and expanding your repertoire (Level 3-4) – Steve Smith

(Intro into DAWG) Mandolin players don’t have to just play bluegrass and old-time music (Fun as it may be) there is a whole world of music waiting for you to play. Folk, singer songwriter, Jazz, Irish, Rock, Blues  to name a few. We’ll look at paths that can lead us to some of these different styles chords and melodic.

Intro into Dawg (Level 3-4) – Steve Smith

We’s explore a few of the early tunes of David Grisman learning the melodies, chords and scales. Dawg continues to be a force in modern mandolin music and has led the way introducing folk, grass, jazz, gypsy and classical influences into an evolving performance and composition style all his own. This can make for some exciting jams and learning experiences.

Singing, Swinging, Sliding, Writing, Performing, Theorizing, Harmonizing

Class descriptions forthcoming from instructors including but not limited to: Cindy Scott & Cosy Sheridan