Course Descriptions

Tricia Spencer &. Howard Rains

In this class, Howard and Tricia will unlock the secrets of their unique double fiddle sound. It will cover all of their favorite stuff: repertoire, seconding, and bowing. You will learn some of their favorite tunes and how to second them according to your current skill level. Of course all the nerdy stuff like where the tunes come from will also be discussed.

Riley Calcagno

Playing old time fiddle can be sublimely gratifying but it can also sometimes feel like a struggle to produce the groove, sound, and feeling that we want. The goal of this class will be to become more comfortable and confident fiddle players and to build tools to find those things as you progress. We will listen to recordings for style and we will learn some simple exercises to help with technique and promote relaxation. And we’ll of course learn some great tunes together, paying close attention to bowing, ornamentation, and all the stuff that makes it good. Hopefully, we’ll all feel more confident and excited about fiddle than when we came in. Can’t wait!

Cathy Fink

Take your clawhammer playing to the next level with advanced techniques for both tunes and song accompaniment. We will learn both right hand and left hand techniques that offer more versatility, specialty tunings and work on dynamics, timing and taste. Advanced players should already have a broad repertoire of familiar tunes and be comfortable changing tunings and keys quickly.

Riley Baugus

We’ll be exploring tunes and techniques from the Blue Ridge and beyond, to increase and improve our banjo skills and confidence as players!

Marcy Marxer

Advanced guitar will not only include challenging repertoire, but the techniques that improve your tone, clarity, and timing. Fiddle tunes and songs will be our vehicle for learning skills and drills that help us play cleaner, faster (when appropriate) and make better noise. We’ll also work on a few styles of music from old-time to bluegrass to early swing, both accompaniment and lead. Participants should be able to play 10 fiddle tunes at dance tempo, both lead and rhythm.

Karen Mueller

This course will show you how to play solid and interesting accompaniment for old-time tunes and songs from a variety of sources, hear chord changes more clearly, and develop good practice habits to help you continue to improve at home. We’ll work on playing bass-chord (boom-chick) and alternating bass rhythm patterns, making smooth transitions between chords, using bass runs, and emphasizing the backbeat. Music will be in the keys of G, D, A, and C, and we’ll use a capo on occasion. There will be some melody picking as well, especially for turnarounds and tags in songs. Instruction will be mostly by ear, with assistance from lyric/chord charts and a little tablature, which will be explained.

Lloyd Wright

Lloyd Wright has been in the old time scene for over 25 years. This native Texan has roots that stretch to Madison County NC, getting his start right here in Mars Hill. Comfortable on dulcimer, fiddle, banjo and guitar, Lloyd Will be teaching the mandolin. His overall knowledge of old time music gives insight to his mandolin playing, and how to make it fit into the old time genre. He’ll cover melody playing as well as back up rhythms and chords.

Vivian Leva

In this class we will sing songs rooted in the old-time tradition, from unaccompanied ballads to early country and bluegrass. We'll explore the stylistic choices that one can make, and what kinds are most effective within these genres. We'll sing often in harmony (both duets and three-part), learning how to hear, find, and choose harmony parts. If you play an instrument, feel free to bring it along in case we split into groups and you'd like to accompany yourself. Also, if you have a group-friendly song you think might be a good fit, please bring it with you!

Margaret Wright

Not your Grandmother's Dulcimer - (unless Margaret Wright is your grandmother!) The focus of this class is getting you into the Old Time tunes and actively into the Old Time jam. Tunes will be in traditional keys of D, G, A and C. Tunes will be taught by rote with reminders (Tab) to bring home. Playing by ear will be guided and encouraged. Joining in the jams will be STRONGLY encouraged with plenty of helpful support. Your dulcimer should have a 6 1/2 fret and fresh strings. Bring a capo. Call or text Margaret with questions. 936.222.1892

Rachel Eddy

This class is open to all instruments, and will be focused on helping early intermediate players improve their skills in making music with others. We will learn how to listen, lead, follow, and work in both large and smaller ensembles throughout the week. We will discuss and learn how to learn tunes, and how to fill the role of our chosen instrument in the context of an ensemble. Your playing does not have to be at an intermediate/advanced level, but it is important that you have some command over your instrument, know how to tune it, and have at least a small handful of tunes in your back pocket.

Judy Hyman & Jeff Claus

We’re really looking forward to returning this year to share, teach, talk about, and play with you some of our favorite tunes. Given we did this at BROTMW last year, we promise no repeats. There are so many great tunes!

We’re drawn to the tunes we love for lots of reasons (e.g., the groove, the melody, great rhythmic bowing and flow, a droney tuning, bluesy inflections, history, and more). Then, in the process of learning them, we inevitably make them our own. We think a person’s repertoire is an expression of their musical history, voice, and identity, so, hopefully, in this class, people will find some new tunes and techniques they’d like to include in their own repertoire and carry forward in their own way.

We’ll present tunes from different regions (mostly the southeastern U.S.) and source players (old and young, living and deceased). We may also include one or two of Judy’s originals. Some will be in standard tuning on the fiddle, and others will be in “open” tunings that make the music flow and ring in a way we love. We’ll talk about how we found or created the tunes, why they appeal to us, and in the case of old ones, how they’ve likely changed in our hands. We’ll also discuss some of the many ways players can develop their own repertoire and voice.

To introduce each tune, we’ll briefly talk about it and play it for you. Then we’ll teach it, starting with the melody, but also demonstrating some of the fiddle bowings, guitar chords, bass runs, and banjo uke techniques, trying to make these relevant to all instruments. We’ll balance our time so we can move through a few tunes a day, while also giving you enough experience with each tune that you can continue your learning process after the week is over. Because the class welcomes all instruments, we’ll focus a lot of our time on playing together as a group rather than offering detailed instrument-specific instruction. So, please come prepared to PLAY a lot and have fun! Audio/video recording is, of course, welcome, and bringing a tuner and extra strings is encouraged.

Greg & Jere Canote

This class is full! Registration is now waitlist only

Tricia Spencer

Tricia will teach her approach to old time fiddle built upon the shortcuts her grandma, Iona Spencer showed her when she was young. These are things every fiddler should know but maybe haven’t picked up along the way. This chord-based approach teaches seconding first and then how to find fiddle tunes in the shapes. All levels.

Margaret Wright

Jeff Claus

Small but mighty, the banjo uke and regular uke can bring powerfully rhythmic drive and compelling chordal variation to traditional Southern fiddle and stringband music. In this class (taught on banjo uke, but with regular ukes welcome), we’ll work on developing skills for creating and maintaining a strong, steady groove with smooth flowing chord changes. Initially, there will be some demonstration and exercises designed to help you achieve a solid, rhythmic foundation, then we’ll spend the bulk of our time playing at a moderate tempo, with some guided instruction, in each of the four fundamental keys of A, D, G, and C. Much of our time will be spent playing with a fiddler to help develop the motor skills critical to great groove making. People should know how to play at least the basic chords of A, Am, D, E, Em, G, C, and F and should bring an instrument, a tuner, a video/audio recorder, and a desire to play a steady, propulsive role in the dynamic engine of Southern fiddle and stringband music.

Vivian Leva

This songwriting mini-class will be a time to sit, to consider, and to write. There can be many things that stand in between me and writing a song: writer's block, stress, a lack of ideas. But often, I find that the main reason I don't often write songs is because I don't give myself the time and space to do so. In this class, we explore ways to find inspiration, a kernel to get you going on a song. We'll also talk about the elements that make a good song. We'll talk about why we love the songs that we love, and how we can learn from them.

Troy Harrison

Troy is a native of Madison County and studied under. banjo and ballad singing legend Obray Ramsey. This course will delve into the wide range of three finger banjo styles that have long been a part of Old Time Music. We will work on a variety of techniques such as: accompanying the fiddle, providing rhythmic and chord backup to singing, playing lead, and using a variety of banjo tunings. Come prepared to have a good time in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.

Howard Rains

In this mini-class, we will apply the great Louis Armstrong's quote regarding folk music to folk art: “All music is folk music, I never heard a horse sing a song.” We will work on drawing, painting, collage, composition, and overall conception. We will also learn about other artists. This is a great opportunity to let your musical mind rest after a long day of learning and explore another creative side. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never drawn or if you’ve been drawing your whole life. We will approach making art from an untrained perspective. No skills required. Materials fee of $35.