Fiddle
Fiddle, level 1—In this class, we'll be working on better technique, tone, intonation, and rhythm, and then using those skills we’ll start working on becoming bluegrass fiddlers. Megan will show you the building blocks of kicking songs and creating breaks, and she’ll give you new ways to memorize tunes. We'll listen to a wide variety of classic and contemporary players and learn how to use their tricks to improve your playing. And of course, we'll cover jamming and all kinds of group playing. Most importantly, Megan will answer all your questions and try to help you with anything you want to improve when it comes to your fiddling.
Prerequisites: Students should be able to tune their instruments and play a few simple tunes. Students should, if they are not already, begin listening to old-time and/or bluegrass fiddling. Bring your fiddle, and you're encouraged to bring a recording device of your choice. Being able to read music is not necessary, but some way to take notes may be helpful. Feel free to email Megan with any questions at megan@fiddlestar.com.
Megan Lynch was raised in Redding, California, often considered the hotbed of fiddle music west of the Rockies. She began taking lessons at the age of four and started competing shortly thereafter. Megan won her first National Championship at age 8 and followed that with three consecutive wins at ages 10, 11, and
12. In 2003 Megan made a return to serious competition and captured two more National titles in 2003 and 2004. During the last 24 years of on-and-off competition, Megan has also won 6 California State titles, as well as the Minnesota State Championships. She is a fiddler of varied interests and influences. In addition to bluegrass, she also plays Celtic and Texas style.
Megan is a former member of Koch recording artists 3 Fox Drive and west coast supergroup Due West. Since moving to Nashville, she has played with country legend Pam Tillis as well as bluegrass luminaries Roland White, Larry Cordle, Jim Hurst, and Chris Jones. She has performed on the Grand Old Opry, including a night at the historic Ryman Auditorium.
Megan is in high demand as a private and group teacher. She counts dozens of State and National Champions among her students, and has added several prestigious bluegrass camps to her list of teaching accomplishments. Her no-holds-barred workshops have drawn rave reviews across the country.
She is the founder and director of FiddleStar Youth and Adult Fiddle Camps. We are delighted to have her join us for her first year at the CBA Music Camp.
www.fiddlestar.com
Fiddle,oldtime, level 2—Heidi will teach tunes of the southern mountains. She will be drawing heavily from these fiddlers: Doc Roberts, Bill Birchfield, Leonard Rutherford, and Ernie Carpenter. Students are encouraged to listen to the music of these fiddlers in preparation. The unique bowing of old-time fiddling will be a focus as well as tunes in standard tuning, cross tuning, and crooked tunes.
Prerequisites: Have a bunch of fiddle tunes under your belt; be able to play tunes in the keys of A, D, G, and C; be willing to learn tunes by ear and play in different tunings. Have a comfortable, strong bow hold. Students are welcome to bring a recording device---the tunes will be taught by ear.
Heidi Clare is recognized as one of the premier old-time fiddlers in America today. She rose to prominence during the last decade as one of the founding members of the highly successful touring and recording group, The Reeltime Travelers. The Travelers performed on the soundtrack for the movie, Cold Mountain, and entertained audiences from diverse backgrounds on the Down from the Mountain tour. Heidi's fiddling, along with her incomparable clogging and infectious presence was always at the forefront of Reeltime performances, and her fiddling is clearly a centerpiece to their recorded music. More recently she fronts her own band, Heidi Clare and AtaGallop. Her '06 CD, I Declare, features not only her distinctive, powerful fiddling but also her wide range of musical influences; her decisive interpretations of rare tunes; and her attention to insightful vocals and organic rhythms. Heidi holds a Master's Degree in music from Holy Names College in Berkeley, CA. She has studied both formally and informally the tunes and techniques of the very best old-time fiddlers ever recorded, and her knowledge of both those fiddlers and their music is unsurpassed. Though she is from the wilderness of northern California, she lived for many years in the heart of the Appalachian fiddling country, making her home in Johnson City, TN, which is not only a center for the finest in traditional American fiddling, but just a stone's throw from the other recognized breeding grounds of such fiddling---western North Carolina and southwestern Virginia.
Heidi is a dedicated, individualistic, and creative teacher. She has a comprehensive knowledge of the fiddle which extends from mastery of bowing techniques to accurate noting. She knows hundreds of tunes and the music theory involved in explaining and sharing them, and she loves to teach these techniques along with methods on how to master them. Her enthusiasm for old-time fiddling is infectious, and we’re pleased to have her back for her second year at the CBA Music Camp.
www.heidiclare.com
Fiddle, bluegrass, level 2—Jack will teach a general approach to constructing bluegrass solos. He’ll show how to quickly locate the melody of a standard song on the fiddle and then reinterpret it in a classic bluegrass fiddle style. He will show when and how to inject standard licks into the solos as well as teach backup methods for playing behind singers and other instruments. He will show bowing patterns that are common in bluegrass and show how to use bowings to add more rhythm to pieces. Also included will be bowing and left hand exercises, double-stops and other technical issues. Although he will teach by ear, written music will also be supplied. Songs will be different from last year.
Prerequisites: Because this is an intermediate class, students should understand standard fiddle/violin technique of arm/ bow movement and left-hand fingering. Students should be able to play several fiddle tunes at a moderate and steady pace and have some ability to play simple melodies by ear. Familiarity with classic bluegrass songs is highly recommended. Jack’s suggested listening for those needing help in this area would be recordings of Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers and Jimmy Martin and /or newer bands that cover this older material. Students should bring a recording device to the class.
Jack Tuttle grew up in a musical family in rural Illinois and has been playing music since age five. He has performed professionally in the U.S., Canada and Japan and has been a member of numerous bands, including the Tall Timber Boys and Fog City Ramblers (bluegrass) and the Mayfield String Band (old-time). Though not currently touring, he performs locally as a member of Blue Grass Stomp, and also frequently sits in with various local bands.
Jack began teaching full time at Gryphon Stringed Instruments in 1979 and has built a complete lesson program on banjo, mandolin, fiddle and guitar.He has taught more than a thousand students over twenty years, many of whom have become top players in the Bay Area and beyond . He’s written six instructional books, and developed and taught special seminars in History of Bluegrass, Critical Listening to Bluegrass and Music Theory for Bluegrass. Jack has taught at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes and the California Coast Music Camp, and has been an indispensable teacher at the CBA Music Camp since its inception.
www.jacktuttle.com
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