Adult intensive workshops
Dive deep into the topics you love
Wintergrass adult education includes both festival workshops, included in the price of your ticket, or deep dive sessions for both advanced and beginner players. These classes require separate registration.
Beginners through advanced players can take advantage of Wintergrass Intensives which include ten master classes on a wide range of instruments and topics. All Intensives take place on Thursday. Half-day intensives are three hours of instruction each. Morning sessions are from 10am–1pm. Afternoon sessions are from 2pm-5pm.
Space is limited.
Kimber Ludiker 10am-1pm
Bluegrass Fiddle Vocabulary
Expand your fiddle vocabulary in a skill-building crash course aimed at applying the “bluegrass filter” to sound authentic to the style. We’ll use a standard to explore elements of playing bluegrass including kicks, cool (moveable) licks/fills, and approaching a solo. Improve your tone, bowing, accompaniment, and technique along the way! Recordings provided after the class.
Skill Level: Intermediate-Advanced
Beppe Gambetta 10am-1pm
Flatpicking: A traditional technique in the service of creativity
This workshop will focus on flatpicking and plectrum techniques developed in American Roots Music, from old traditional schools to new modern approaches.
Beppe will take you on a journey from the style of the fathers of the music to the more complicated developments of his unique approach.
The program will touch on the basics of the style and practice the art of selecting, transforming and combining different elements to embark on a creative artistic journey.
Skill Level: Intermediate-Advanced
JACOB JOLLIFF 10am-1pm
Mandolin: Bluegrass and Beyond
Jacob will cover a blueprint for how to learn the entire fretboard, and how to put that knowledge to use playing bluegrass, jazz, and other genres. Additionally, he’ll lay out his philosophy in regard to right hand technique, left hand technique, and developing effortless playing and drive.
Skill Level: Intermediate-Advanced
Don Share & Sue Thompson 10am-1pm
Singing Harmony by Ear: An Intuitive Approach
Do you love singing with others? Wish you could sing harmony by ear, without relying on someone else to teach you your part, or looking at notes? Come to this fun, high-energy, intensive workshop, and learn Sue and Don’s proven methods for harmonizing naturally and intuitively. Plus, discover how to choose your best key for a song, learn the secret of voice blending when people with different vocal ranges sing together, and get tips for finding harmony below the melody. There’ll be lots of small-group practice and personalized coaching. Singing buddies and bands welcome, or come on your own and meet new singing friends!
Important! If you’re easily able to play chords on your guitar, ukulele, mandolin, etc, while you sing, please bring your instrument. It will be helpful and fun in our small group break-out sessions.
Skill Level: You should be able to sing a melody reasonably in-tune (none of us is perfect!).
Joe Craven 10am-1pm
Songetry: Jumpstarting Your Timed Creativity of a Poem to Music
Joe’s “Songetry” connects something most of us have already done (writing a poem) to the business of songwriting. The goal is learning how to write in timed creative movement and spontaneity – while your inner critic is tucked away in the trunk! You won’t be able to prepare for what we’ll be creating, so just get ready to have fun and be surprised with what you and your friends’ ideas create under pressure. Joe will give you recipes on how to cradle these poetic puppies in a variety of musical landscapes to explore and connect the intention of words to story to music. Bring a notebook or a recording device.
Skill Level: Whether you’re first time at songwriting or your 50th…All Levels Are Welcome!
Mike Marshall 2pm-5pm
Choro Mandolin!
Come join us for a deep dive into the Brazilian Choro music world.
We will learn a few of the classic tunes from the Choro repertoire and break down the structure of Brazilian rhythms and melodies. We’ll unlock the mysteries of Brazilian swing together in a fun and relaxed setting.
Sheet music with TAB will be provided in advance as downloads.
Skill Level: Intermediate-Advanced
DOUGLAS LORA 2pm-5pm
Brazilian Rhythms for Guitar
Understanding the origins and characteristics of selected Brazilian rhythms. From a perspective based on a historical background and the rhythmic cells, performed by percussion instruments on their original settings, how to build and develop right hand patterns, know as “levadas,” in Portuguese.
Skill Level: Intermediate-Advanced
CHRIS COOLE 2pm-5pm
Clawhammer Banjo: Building Tunes from the Ground Up
This workshop introduces a systematic approach to coming up with arrangements of tunes and songs that is accessible to all levels. We’ll look at the right and the left-hand clawhammer tools, get a better understanding of how they work, as well as their limitations. In doing so, we’ll learn a “stepping stone” approach to arranging tunes that will shed light on playing variations, learning by ear, and aesthetics. As an added bonus, all the skills learned directly relate to the skills needed to learn tunes on the fly in a jam session.
Skill Level: Intermediate-Advanced
John Showman 2pm-5pm
Use Better Bowing Technique to Increase Your Tone, Groove and Expression.
My goal is to help other players and students get the most out of their bowing. With better use of your right arm, you will gain a facility on the instrument that will take you beyond notes and licks and into the world of phrasing. It’s a two-pronged approach: firstly, we will look at bow path and how to keep you motion fluid and easy; and secondly, we will free up your playing from the tyrany of note sequences and learn to centre and ground the rhythm of the tunes and songs in our bodies. In this way, we can play fiddle independently of that groove without losing it’s feel. This opens up a world of possibilites for expression and phrasing.
Skill Level: Intermediate-Advanced
Orville Johnson 2pm-5pm
Become a Better Dobro Player
We’ll spend the first hour exploring the fundamentals-good right and left hand technique, blocking and muting, getting a good sound, and playing in tune. Then we’ll learn a tune that brings these techniques into focus. The last hour of class I’ll take your questions on everything dobro and make sure everyone leaves the class feeling like they’ve learned something that will help them become a better player.
Skill Level: Please be able to play a couple of simple tunes in GBDGBD tuning. That’s the tuning we’ll be using. I’m going to present material that will help all levels of players, but this is not for complete beginners.
cliff perry saturday 1oam-3pm
Never Too Late Adult Academy
Never Too Late is the camp for grown-ups! Cliff Perry and Emmett Pritchard lead a day of fun and learning for all, from beginners to veteran pickers. Modeled after Wintergrass’s award-winning
Wintergrass is a production of Acoustic Sound, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. EIN: 91-2103544
all photos copyright Maria Camillo