Clogging – Peggy Leiby (for all) Three good reasons to clog: you become the rhythm section on the dance floor, it’s great exercise, and you can’t help but smile while dancing! Music will be provided by Henry Koretzky and Kevin Neidig, and old-time instrumentalists are welcome to join them.

Fun and Easy Instruments: Spoons, Bones, Jaw Harp, and More – Ryan Stauffer (for all) Start the weekend with some good old-fashioned fun!

Arranging Songs – Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum (all instruments and voices) A good song deserves a good arrangement. We’ll look at how to take a simple song and adapt it to your unique musical talents and strengths to come up with your own special version.

How to Learn Tunes by Ear – Debbie Rifkin (adv. beginner) We’ll examine the process of learning by ear and identify helpful characteristics such as meter, tonal center, and scale. Then slowly, phrase by phrase, we’ll put these strategies into use.

Easy Old Time Tunes – Jerry Trusty & Rachabelle (adv. beginner) We’ll look at some easy-to-learn and fun-to-play old time tunes.

Playing the Blues - Scott Ainslie (intermediate) Understanding the African roots of blues, and the fact that they use both the West African minor pentatonic scale and the Western European major/minor scales will give you the freedom to explore the blues while paying attention to a strong and vibrant tradition!

Cajun Tunes – Jesse Lége & Squeeze Bayou (advanced) Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Folk Music for Beginners – Debbie Rifkin and Jerry Trusty A gentle introduction for beginners and total non-musicians.

Singing the Blues – Scott Ainslie (all levels) Aesthetic values of traditional and pop black and white vocal styles in America were almost entirely separate until the Swing Era. There are a number of specific techniques aimed at expressing a wider range of emotions in historically black singing. We’ll look at how to incorporate them to extend the emotional reach of our vocals.

Top Ten Tunes - Karen Hirshon & Linda Littleton of Simple Gifts (adv. beginner) Working from sheet music, we’ll look at ten of the most commonly played tunes. This is a great way to build your repertoire and get ready for a weekend of jamming!

Playing Backup – Henry Koretzky & Kevin Neidig (adv. beginner) Learn to make your backup playing varied, interesting, and powerful.

Irish Tunes – Matt & Shannon Heaton (intermediate) Come learn some well-known and lesser-played Irish tunes. Sheet music with chords will be available, and by-ear learning is encouraged as well.

Chinese Tunes – Bamboo Breeze (intermediate) Be adventuresome and try something really different! You’ll learn a few simple Chinese folk tunes and we’ll explore what makes them sound Chinese.

Perfecting the Professional Sound – Rachel Hall & Rachabelle (advanced) There's a difference between playing professionally and really sounding professional. We'll work on polishing your band sound, with a look at how to lock in rhythmically, how to blend your sound, and how to get a distinctive band sound.

Instant Musician – Clark Parry & Cindy Durkee (beginner) For the absolute beginner or non-musicians, c’mon in and we’ll get you going. You’ll be strumming along before you know it!

Contradance Basics – Bob Nicholson (for all) Contradancing is easy enough that you’ll be fine at the evening dance even if you’ve never tried it before. But you’ll have a better time if you come to this workshop to learn the basics. Live music provided by Henry Koretzky and Kevin Neidig. Intermediate/advanced level participants who know the contradance repertoire are welcome to join in.

Harmony Singing – Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum Learn to make your voices blend in beautiful harmony!

How to Learn Tunes by Ear – Ryan Stauffer (adv. beginner) Trying to learn tunes by ear can be tough. Ryan will share tips and shortcuts to make it easier.

Tunes that are Cooler than They are Hard - Rachel Hall & Gordon Bonnet (adv. beginner) This workshop teaches tunes that are easy to learn and play, but full of zest, sparkle, and coolness! Tunes will be taught by ear but sheet music will be available.

Rhythm and Style for Melody Players – Shannon Heaton (intermediate) Keeping a melody strong and rhythmic without the assistance of a backup player takes style and drive. Come learn how!

Backup Techniques – Bob Thomas & Jim Crawford of No Strings Attached (intermediate)
Backup players can make or break a band’s sound. Using a variety of styles (traditional, swing, celtic, and jazz), we’ll look at techniques for making a band sound the best it can!

Swing Tunes – Randy Marchany and Wes Chappell of No Strings Attached (advanced) You’ll learn some swing tunes, and you’ll also learn how to make it swing. Remember, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing!” Music will be provided.

Cajun Fiddle – Karen Collins of Squeeze Bayou Tips and techniques for playing Cajun music on fiddle.

Cajun Accordion – Jesse Lége Cajun squeezing!

Playing Anything on Anything – Wes of No Strings Attached & Karen of Simple Gifts (all levels) The prerequisite for this class is an open mind and sense of fun. Bring items that aren’t usually played and we’ll figure out what to do with them. We will talk about how certain instruments are often assumed to be for certain styles and why that ain’t necessarily so.

Try a Yangqin – Bamboo Breeze The yangqin is a Chinese hammered dulcimer, and Xiao is widely considered to be a master of the instrument. We’ll have several yangqins available and you’ll learn to play a simple tune.

Cajun Singing – Members of Squeeze Bayou

Reaching the Next Level – Ryan Stauffer (adv. beginner) Sometimes as a musician, you hit a wall or a plateau. You want to get to the next level, for some that is playing faster, for some that is playing difficult tunes, it is different for everyone. Ryan will help to set musical goals and develop a personal plan to achieve them, using a quantitative approach he’s developed for his students.

Easy Steps to Improvisation – No Strings Attached (adv. beginner) We’ll explore some of the basic techniques of improvisation. You’ll learn how to recognize chord progressions, use different scales to create your melodies, and most importantly, how to experiment. We’ll use some well-known examples of chord progressions to illustrate the points.

Contradance Band - Rachel Hall, Peggy Leiby, Bob Nicholson (intermediate) We’ll play through the music planned for this evening’s contradance and learn arrangements and approaches that make them come alive! Music and chords will be provided. [Note: It’s ok to skip this workshop and play for the dance anyhow.]

Old Time Tunes – Henry Koretzky & Kevin Neidig (intermediate) We’ll look at some unusual but wonderful old time tunes. We’ll work by ear in the old time style, and sheet music will be available at the end of the workshop.

Klezmer Tunes – Debbie Rifkin (advanced) Klezmer is the traditional music of the Eastern European Jewish culture. (Think Fiddler on the Roof.) You’ll learn to play a hora and a bulgar, two traditional dance forms. We will discuss traditional accompaniment styles as well as Klezmer ornamentation. We will work by ear, with music available if needed.

Old Time Banjo – Jerry Trusty (all levels) Jerry will demonstrate some frailing techniques he’s developed over the years and show how to put some of these together to form a tune or two. Banjo tab will be provided.

Blues Guitar – Scott Ainslie (all levels) We’ll lay the ground work for understanding blues guitar techniques that were the foundation for rock and roll and contemporary country music. We’ll examine the chord forms and techniques that allow solo guitarists to sound like two guitarists with an eye to understanding how to find these sorts of forms up the neck and how best to use them as soloists. A few chords, licks and just enough guitar information to have them hold together.

Try a Mountain Dulcimer - Clark Parry & Lucinda Durkee (beginners) The mountain dulcimer is satisfying both because it has a pretty sound and because it’s very easy to learn. Come give it a try, even if you have no musical background. Dulcimers will be provided.

Clog & Jam – Peggy Leiby (all levels of dancers) Musicians in the Old Time Jam workshop will play lively old-time tunes, and Peggy will show you how to clog along!

Irish Style Singing – Matt & Shannon Heaton We will explore the exciting world of possibilities for American singers who want to sing traditional songs in an “Irish style”, while still approaching the music with American diction. Topics include a survey of song sources; techniques for adapting Irish, Scottish, and English vocabulary; and accessing emotional connections inherent in traditional songs.

Ear Training – Linda Littleton & Karen Hirshon of Simple Gifts (adv. beginner) Step by step, phrase by phrase, work on playing or singing back what you hear.

Intro to Balkan Music - Gordon Bonnet (advanced beginner) This will be a gentle introduction to the enchanting tunes from the Balkan lands of Eastern Europe. This music is known for its asymmetrical rhythms; for example, tunes in 7/8, 11/8, and 22/16 meter. First we’ll learn to tap the rhythms, then we’ll add simple melodies working from sheet music. Beginners and non-musicians are welcome to come “tap along”. Don’t worry, it’s easier than it sounds!

Old Time Jam – Jerry Trusty, Henry Koretzky and Kevin Neidig (intermediate) This will be a fun old time jam with the bonus of being joined by the clogging class.

Chinese Flower Songs – Bamboo Breeze (all levels singers, intermediate instruments) You’ll learn two or three Chinese folk songs of the flower theme, first in their bare form and then adding embellishments. We will work from sheet music.

Cajun Tunes – Jesse Lége & Squeeze Bayou (advanced) Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Fiddle – Laurie Lewis (intermediate to advanced) Tips and techniques for fiddle players.

Mandolin – Tom Rozum (intermediate to advanced) Learn to play mandolin like a pro!

Percussion: Chinese or Otherwise - Bamboo Breeze We’ll look at approaches to percussion for both Chinese and non-Chinese music.

Playing as a Duo – Laurie & Tom, Matt & Shannon (for all) Two wonderful duos will perform for you, discuss the joys and challenges of playing as a duo, and answer your questions. This will be a performance/discussion rather than a play-along class.

Dance Party! – Peggy Leiby & Bob Nicholson (all levels) Peggy and Bob will show you some easy-to-learn dances, with the accompaniment of the Dance Tunes workshop participants. Dances will range from French and Israeli to waltzes and polkas.

Hymn Singing - Clark Parry & Cindy Durkee (for all) Non-denominational, no sermon, no collection basket. Just soulful songs anyone can sing. Instruments are welcome too. Ends at 9:45. This workshop is free and open to the public.

Easy Cajun Tunes – Jesse Lége & Squeeze Bayou (adv. beginner) There are plenty of easy Cajun tunes that are fun to play!

Scottish Tunes – Ryan Stauffer (intermediate) Ryan will teach a few Scottish tunes, some classics and some by modern composers. Sheet music will be available, and there will be tips for both melody and backup players.

Dance Tunes – Rachel Hal, Rachabellel & Gordon Bonnet (intermediate) Working from sheet music, we'll play fun and interesting dance tunes ranging from French and Israeli to waltzes and polkas. As we play, the participants in the Dance Party workshop (see above) will dance along!

Improvisation – No Strings Attached (advanced) Come learn advanced techniques in improvisation, using standard chord progressions as the basis for improvisation exercises. We’ll apply these techniques to a variety of styles including jazz, old-time, bluegrass and Celtic.

Slide Guitar – Scott Ainslie (all levels) There are about five basic techniques that will allow you to succeed in playing slide guitar, yet many professional players use only one or two of them.  We will examine them all with an eye to giving you the keys to the kingdom of slide guitar. We’ll look at both open and standard tunings, and leave you with the tools to successfully and safely find your way in and out of this particular dark forest.

Bodhran – Matt Shannon Learn to play this popular Irish drum. Makeshift bodhrans (made from pizza boxes!) will be available.

Pipes – Ryan Stauffer and Gordon Bonnet (for all) Discussion, demo, and performance of several styles of bagpipes. We’ll also have several sets of small pipes available for you to try.

Cajun Dancing – Jesse Lége & Squeeze Bayou This dance will be great fun! Non-dancers may want to come by too to hear the amazing sounds of Jesse and Squeeze Bayou.

Piedmont & Delta Blues – Scott Ainslie (all levels singers; intermediate instruments) These two regionally distinct forms of blues grew up in the same time frame (1890-1930). Piedmont Blues was influenced by ragtime and Sousa marches, while the Delta Blues of the deep south hewed closer to traditional African song forms, rhythms and scales. We’ll have a look at these two great traditions incorporating whatever instruments and vocalists turn up.

Easy Contradance Tunes – Henry Koretzky & Kevin Neidig (adv. beginner) We’ll look at some easy-to-learn and fun-to-play contradance tunes from the New England tradition.
Backing up a Singer – Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum (intermediate)
We’ll look at fills, rhythms, and other techniques that instrumentalists can use to make a singer sound wonderful!

Rhythm & Meter – Debbie Rifkin (intermediate) Develop rhythm skills and retention through a series of fun, interactive games. You’ll learn to identify a reel, hornpipe, jig, slip-jig, waltz, schottische, courante and more through their distinctive rhythmic characteristics.

Creative Arrangements – Simple Gifts (advanced) Learn how to arrange your music so that it sounds more interesting and professional.

Hammer Dulcimer Techniques – Randy Marchany of No Strings Attached (all levels beyond beginner) We’ll start with a simple set of drills to improve your playing, and then look at techniques like bass runs, split hand playing, single noting, and bending notes.

Irish Flute – Shannon Heaton (all levels beyond beginner) The emphasis will be on cultivating a strong, rhythmic approach to the Irish flute. Both wood and metal flutes are welcome.