| • Participatory
Swing Jam
with Dave Crump
We provide chord and melody charts in the 3 most popular versions: C for C instruments
such as guitar, banjo, mandolin, etc.; B flat for such instruments as clarinet,
tenor sax, etc.; E flat for alto sax, etc. Lyric sheets also provided. There
are approximately twenty standard tunes from the "swing era" (Gershwin,
Porter, Ellington, etc.) in each booklet. We start slowly with a vocal and repeat
it enough times untio folks get the hang of it, and everyone who wants to solo
has
a chance. Easy for any skill level to participate.
• Beginning
& Continuing Mountain Dulcimer
with Annette Lindsey
This is basically a beginning–intermediate
mountain dulcimer class, but anyone just beginning
will be welcome. We will work with you and give
you peer tutoring if needed. We will be working
on learning several different songs in the tuning
of Mixolydian DAD. You might bring a capo if you
have one. One song we will work on will be learning
how to make our playing more musical. We will start
with a simple song and add to it using harmony,
chords, and rhythm. Chords are an important part
in making our playing more interesting and allowing
two mountain dulcimer players to accompany each
other. They also allow us to jam with others when
we don't even know the songs! So come to the workshop
ready to have a lot of fun just learning songs
you can take home and play around with.
• Songs
of the Catskills
with A.J. Bodner & Liza DiSavino
Songs of the Catskills will
feature Liza DiSavino and A.J. Bodnar, two Catskill musicians
who have spent the past three years researching music of
the Catskill Mountains. They have unearthed music that, in
some cases, has been lost for over a hundred years. Liza
and A.J. have dusted off and put a fresh face on what they’ve
gleaned from interviews with local residents, old hymnbooks,
and the vaults of the New York Historical Society. They will
perform both these and versions of better-known songs from
the area.
• Contra
Dance Calling for Novices
with Fern Bradley
Step by step, learn the basics
of how to call a contra dance: timing calls with
the music, interpreting dance transcriptions,
choosing the best wording for the calls of a particular dance,
teaching the walk-through, and communicating with the musicians
before and while you’re calling. Participants who wish
to try calling individually will have a chance to lead the
group in a dance. No previous calling experience necessary,
but participants should have some experience dancing contras
or playing music for them. • Festival
Jug Band, Session
I
with Ron Gordon and Elinor Ellis
Kids of all ages: come on by and
play some great old songs with the Festival Jug Band.
We will make and play washboards, kazoos, spoons, washtub
bass and any instruments brought to the Festival Jug
Band.
Session II, Saturday 12:30 pm; Session III, Sunday 9:30 am;
Main Stage performance, Sunday at noon.
|
• Choral
Harmony I
with Peter & Mary
Alice Amidon
Come for a feast of harmonies in
the Amidons’ choral singing workshop. Peter
and Mary Alice will be leading a cappella four-part
SATB arrangements of American secular and sacred
songs. The repertoire will include some of Peter's
own arrangements. Participants are encouraged to
come to all three of the Old Songs Amidon choral
singing workshops: we will be working on the same
songs throughout the three workshops, some of which
we will perform on the Main Stage Sunday afternoon.
Printed music is provided, along with permission
to share the music with your own local choruses
and choirs. This is a great workshop for choral
leaders looking for some fresh new repertoire.
It is also a great workshop for folks who simply
love to sing; Peter’s energy and warmth encourage
singers to feel relaxed while empowering groups
to create rich and soulful harmonies.
• Hammered Dulcimer
with David Lindsey and Cara
Lindsey
David and Cara will team teach so that there can be two groups
going on at the same time. One will be an absolute beginning
workshop for those who need an introduction. They will learn
basics along with a tune or two. The other will be jam tunes
for all levels with embellishments. A few dulcimers will
be available for loan. Those interested should make arrangements
as early as possible at the David's Dulcimers booth on Friday.
• Blues
Harmonica
with Peter "Madcat" Ruth
Grammy Award-winning harmonica player Peter Madcat
Ruth will help you improve your harmonica playing. Bring a 10-hole
diatonic harmonica in the key of C. Madcat has been playing harmonica
for 46 years.
By the late 1960s Madcat had immersed
himself in Chicago Blues and was studying harmonica with
Big Walter Horton. By the mid ’70s
he was touring the world with jazz pianist Dave Brubeck. In the ’80s,
Madcat went solo infusing the folk/blues tradition with elements
of rock and jazz. Madcat is now considered to be one of the best
harmonica players on the planet.
• Treasures from the Library of Congress Folk Archive
with Joe
Hickerson
Joe studied folklore and ethnomusicology at Indiana
University (1957-’63), where he served as folklore archivist and
first president of the Indiana University Folk Song Club. In
1963, Joe was appointed Librarian and, in 1974, Head of the
Archive of Folk Song (later called the Archive of Folk Culture)
at the Library of Congress. While there, he directed over 350
interns and compiled and edited numerous reference and finding
aids. He retired from the Library in 1998 after 35 years of
service. All of this goes by way of saying that no one knows
this archive like Joe and no one is better equipped to share
the gems that may be found there. To quote David Holt, “Joe
is an absolute treasure chest of American music and lore.” |
