A Medley of Old-Time Music Workshops
with Billy Mathews and Colin Blair
There's a great thing happening on August 15 and 16, 2008 at The Inn at Mountain View! We are offering FOUR instrument workshops over a two-day period - plus evening jam sessions where we put it all together. Learn to play, but also learn to play well with others!
If you've ever wanted to play better, and to play better with others, this is for you! Each workshop will feature in-depth approaches to playing old-time music, with an emphasis on rhythmic interpretations and nuanced accents, as well as unique techniques to the individual instrument.
A well-formatted outline -- complete with CD to take home -- will provide a base upon which to build one's technique, but also better enables one to get that true old-time sound. Far from a festival format, this workshop's approach will be toward the old-time string-band sound, as heard on the early 78s, as well as in countless parlours and barns across the US, particularly in the Ozarks. Plus, we'll be learning Ozarks tunes not well known outside of the area!
The material covered in the individual workshops will then be applied each night in a private jam session, with guidance from Billy and Colin. No pressure, just a relaxing play-party in the Ozarks tradition. We're here to learn, but we're hear to have fun, too!
Instruments instructed will be old-time banjo, fiddle, guitar and mandolin. These workshops will also help the aspiring bluegrass instrumentalist, as traditional old-time music is the root of the bluegrass and country genres. The techniques for each instrument are also the root. Learning the foundational material allows one to then build upon it.
Schedule is as follows:
Friday, 15 August
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM -- Old-Time Guitar Workshop (Billy Mathews)
1:30 PM - 4:30 PM -- Old-Time Mandolin Workshop (Colin Blair)
7:30 PM - ?????? -- Instructed Jam (Billy and Colin)
Saturday, 16 August
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM -- Old-Time Fiddle Workshop (Billy Mathews)
1:30 PM - 4:30 PM -- Old-Time Banjo Workshop (Colin Blair)
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM -- Pot-luck Supper
7:30 PM -- ?????? -- Instructed Jam (Billy and Colin)
It is suggested that participants have at least one year of experience with their instruments. This is not mandatory, but will allow the participant to get more from the workshops. No matter one's inexperience, this workshop will accelerate the learning process.
Each instrument class is limited to 10 participants, on a "first come, first served" basis. A reserve list will be kept for those who would like the opportunity to participate in case of cancellations.
Snacks will be provided by the Inn for Friday nights jam. But, it has long been the tradition at The Inn to have a pot-luck supper on Saturday night at the workshops, and this workshop will be no exception. The Inn will be providing some of the food, with the locals providing the rest. Y'all from "off" needn't worry about contributing. There will be an abundance of food. Just enjoy yourself, and eat up!
Cut-off date is 1 July! Reserve your spot now! Classes will fill quickly. These workshops have been highly successful in the past, but have not been widely advertised, until now. And though we expect a high rate of return patronage, we also want to extend the opportunity to others desirous of learning.
Workshop fee: $50.00, with a reduced rate of $35.00 for each subsequent workshop. This in addition to the room rate, with a minimum two-day reservation required.
Workshop schedules will be provided to participants by 10 August, 2008. Schedules will also be posted on this web site, as well as www.banjobilly.net , and will be available at The Inn.
About Billy Mathews and Colin Blair
Billy Mathews
Billy's been playing fiddle for over 30 years. He's a serious collector of tunes and has traveled all around the South and Midwest. With several CDs full of both traditional and original selections to his credit, Billy is the consummate old-time fiddler, always ready to play and teach. And, Billy loves to teach people, whether privately or in groups. He's a regular clinician at several fiddle retreats and workshops. Known primarily for fiddle and banjo, Billy was also the guitarist for the original Skirtlifters and has a long career with the guitar and the mandolin. Billy knows the music, backwards and forwards, and can teach you about playing in a group with your instrument.
Colin Blair
At 29 years old, Colin Blair has established himself as one of the most skilled fiddle and clawhammer players in the St. Louis area. He learned deep in the Ozarks, in the lamp-lit cabin of Banjo Billy Mathews, one of the legends of Arkansas old-time music. Voted the Best Folk Artist of St. Louis by the Riverfront Times in 2007, Colin knows how to get at the heart of the music. His interpretive banjo-playing workshop will prove to be of great interest for all old-time banjo players, and his approaches to mandolin and fiddle will also be of great benefit to all participants.
Autoharp Workshop at The Inn at Mountain View
August 1st – 3rd 2008
Workshop price $50.00 (includes ticket for Saturday night’s performance at the Britton Curry show Live) where Fredona will be performing with her son’s band.
Two night stay at the inn is required. You may call 1-800-535-1301 to make reservations or go to www.theinnatmountainview.com to book on-line.
Fredona will offer a beginning workshop on Rythm strumming, followed by these workshops for all levels:
Joyful Gospel
Performance Playing/Showmanship
Rythmic stops
Dynamic Playing
Jamming Etiquette
She will also provide hand-outs of the lyrics and chord changes for all the songs we learn in the workshops.
Raised in a musical family, Fredona started singing at the tender age of three. She spent her childhood happily performing in talent competitions across Texas, appearing numerous times on various radio and television programs.
Fredona's interest in the autoharp did not develop until 1981, when she found a dusty old autoharp in a little flea market, tuned it up, and began to play "Redwing". Because she already played guitar, the strumming techniques on the autoharp felt very natural to her, and it was "love at first strum"! Fredona still plays the very same autoharp today!
Three years later, Fredona won the Southern Regional Autoharp Championships at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, AR. Then, in 1987 she placed 3rd in the International Autoharp Championships in Winfield, Kansas.
Fredona entertained audiences for over 20 years at the Ozark Folk Center, also instructing workshops and sharing her love of Ozark music with visitors from all over the world. She has performed at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO, and was a regular performer at the annual "Pioneer Days" festival at Six Flags Over Texas for many years.
Fredona currently enjoys performing every weekend in her son's popular family music show in Mountain View