Mandolin
Photo by Mike Melnyk
Mandolin, level 1—This is a basic mandolin class. Emphasis will be on learning to keep the basics in mind, i.e., playing a song's melody cleanly with good tone and timing. We'll learn some simple tunes, how to practice wisely, and we’ll also take an introductory look at double stops.
Prerequisites: Students should be able to play simple melodies and be able to change basic chords in time with the music.
John Reischman is an internationally renowned mandolinist whose 25 years of performing and recording includes time with the Good Ol' Persons and the Tony Rice Unit. He currently leads his own band, The Jaybirds, and has released numerous critically-acclaimed albums.
John's extensive teaching experience includes music camps in the US, Canada, and England. He’s been a favorite CBA Music Camp teacher since our first year.
www.johnreischman.com
Mandolin, Old time, level 2—Caleb Klauder—Caleb will teach a few traditional fiddle tunes (different ones from last summer’s camp) that are easy to remember and that will challenge both the right and the left hand technique. He will explore the different tones of the mandolin and demonstrate how to get the most sound from the instrument. He will talk about rhythm playing and teach chord variations. The class is an intermediate class and as such will not be geared for beginners although there is plenty that can be learned by simply attending.
Prerequisites: That you know the C, D, G and A scales well and that you can use your 5th finger. You should also know the I, IV, V , chords of the before mentioned keys.
Bring: a recording device.
Caleb Klauder has been playing mandolin in the traditional styles of old time and bluegrass for over fifteen years and performs (and records) with the Foghorn Stringband. He also has a duo with Stephen “Sammy” Lind, fronts The Caleb Klauder Country Band, and has performed and recorded with Dirk Powell. Caleb’s style draws from old time banjo rhythms and fiddle bow shuffles. Being a fiddler, singer, and guitar player, as well as a mandolinist, he has a well-rounded sense of traditional music.
As a teacher Caleb puts focus on the importance of melody and rhythm in support of the fiddle, and the tune in general. He feels strongly that the mandolin has many roles and there are many approaches one can take to adapt it to any given musical moment. Caleb will emphasize and demonstrate his style playing the melody using double stops and single notes to bring out the full tone of the mandolin and to help lift the music. Caleb got rave reviews from his students at summer camp, so we’re bringing him back for more.
www.calebklauder.com
Mandolin, bluegrass, level 2—Roland White—In this class, we’ll work on how to develop solos above the fifth fret, in second position, and possibly above the seventh fret also (third position). We’ll also work on some tunes in some of the less familiar keys, such as B and Bb, and get familiar with playing in those keys. And we’ll take a look at how to find the double stops in any key.
Prerequisites: You should be very familiar with notes and chords up to the fifth fret.
Roland White began playing professionally at the age of 16 after his family moved from their native Maine to Burbank, California. He led his brothers in their first band, The Country Boys, later known as The Kentucky Colonels, was a member of Lester Flatt's Nashville Grass, Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, the progressive bluegrass band Country Gazette, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, which won two Grammies, and The Roland White Band, which earned a 2003 Grammy nomination for the CD Jelly on my Tofu.
Roland is known as one of the few unique stylists on the mandolin, with his own unmistakable sound and touch. In his distinguished career in bluegrass music, Roland has played in some of the most influential and popular groups in the music’s history. His soul and infectious rhythm enable him to seem to dance through his instrument.
Roland is widely praised as a gentle and patient teacher. He has taught mandolin and guitar privately, and at workshops and camps, including Augusta Heritage Week, Camp Bluegrass, Rockygrass Academy, Bluegrass Masters Camp, Bluegrass at the Beach, Nashcamp, Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend, and Kaufman Camp, for many years. He loves to teach beginners, or beginner/intermediate players, and has boundless enthusiasm for the music, which rubs off on those around him. He has published two critically acclaimed mandolin methods instruction book/CD sets, Roland White’s Approach to Bluegrass Mandolin and Roland White's Mandolin Christmas, and is in high demand at music camps and seminars. His students at our camps always love him, and we’re delighted to have him back.
www.rolandwhite.com
Photo by Mike Melnyk
