Classes & Faculty

Classes & Workshops

Fiddle

Beginning Fiddle

Sarah Howard

This beginning fiddle class will focus on learning the parts of the instrument, as well as noting and bowing technique. Students will walk away with a few simple tunes under their belt. Young students should be able to easily reach the top of the fingerboard while the instrument is under their chin.

Early Intermediate Fiddle

Meghan Bryant Hall

Early Intermediate Fiddle is for students who have completed a beginner class, feel comfortable holding the fiddle and bow, and can already play a few simple tunes. This class will build a repertoire of basic Kentucky fiddle tunes, focusing on tunes that are commonly played at jams or square dances. The class will also explore bowing patterns, slurs, and other techniques that can be incorporated into your playing.

Intermediate Fiddle

Nokosee Fields

This class will cover a variety of topics to inspire a well rounded musician and promote the ability to learn outside of the classroom. We’ll work on bowing, posture, technique and how it relates to fiddle music with the goal of building control and awareness of the sounds we’re making. We’ll spend time listening to older recordings and learning ways to take inspiration from the past to inform the present. This intermediate class is for those who can lead tunes in a jam and have a good understanding of playing but are looking to deepen their relationship to the instrument.

Advanced Fiddle

John Harrod

Banjo

Beginning Banjo

Emily Bryant

This class is most appropriate for students who have no prior experience or are very early in their studies. Beginning banjo will provide an introduction to the basics of clawhammer style banjo. This class will focus on strumming technique, common tunings for the banjo, and learning a few staple tunes of old time music. Students of all ages are welcome.

Early Intermediate Banjo

Nadia Ramlagan

For players with a few tunes under their belt. This class will be a collective listening experience focused on learning by ear. We'll dig into to source recordings from the eastern Kentucky repertoire, including John Salyer, J.P. Fraley, Emma Lee Dickerson, Perry Riley, and Paul David Smith. We'll break down the process of internalizing a tune and mapping it out on the banjo, sharpen our timing and tone, explore syncopation, and take a look at the banjo’s unique relationship with the fiddle. We’ll also spend time discussing the context that created and nourished music from the region. A recording device and banjo capo will come in handy for this class.

Intermediate Banjo

Kevin Howard

Kevin's class will focus on styles, techniques, and songs that are local to the Eastern Kentucky region. It is best suited for players who have a handful of common tunes under their belt and want to expand their repertoire and deepen their relationship with the instrument.

Advanced Banjo

Derek Wall

This course is best suited for students who are comfortable playing common old time tunes on the banjo up to dance speed. Wall will cover the Magoffin County banjo tradition of his family. His playing style is distinct and has been passed down through generations. Students will learn the eight tunings that his family uses which range from the ‘John Henry on the High Side’ tuning to the ‘John Henry on the Low Side’ tuning, and take a deep dive into the right hand ‘double-noting’ or drop-thumb technique used heavily in the Helton family playing as well as the left hand technique known as ‘kicking the fine string.’

Guitar

Beginning Guitar

Pierceton Hobbs

This beginning guitar course will cover all the basic major and minor chords as well as rhythm patterns and strumming techniques great for accompanying other musicians playing traditional mountain music in jams or performance capacities. No prior experience is necessary. By the end of the week, participants should understand basic chords and the context of how guitar accompanies other instruments in group settings.

Advanced Guitar

Gabe Dansereau

This class will focus on Kentucky fiddle players that Gabriel loves such as Ed Haley, Buddy Thomas and Snake Chapman and how their fiddle playing can be adapted to the guitar. Through learning these tunes, we’ll be exploring guitar technique, a little bit of music theory and the culture that surrounds music from the mountains. Along with learning the tunes by rote through demonstration we will also refer to source recordings and talk about what we can gleam from them. The aim of this class is to give students more tunes to play and share, while also developing skills and tools to further their musical journey.

Other

Improvisatory Appalachian Flatfooting and Clogging

Carla Gover

Learn to improvise to live music in Appalachian flatfooting and clogging in this immersive workshop designed for advanced beginner to intermediate dancers. Award-winning instructor Carla Gover shares her Flatfooting Formula, helping you transform from knowing individual steps to flowing confidently with the music. You'll master essential traditional steps, learn how they connect to fiddle tunes, and develop the skills to improvise freely. Perfect for dancers who want to move beyond counting steps to truly dancing with the band—whether you're just starting out or ready to add more flourish to your existing repertoire.

Kentucky Songs & Ballads

Karly Dawn Milner

This course will help students to develop a strong singing voice and more confidently find appropriate harmony through songs and ballads with roots in Kentucky's rich musical history. It is for singers with all levels of experience.

Intermediate Mountain Dulcimer: Joining the Jam

Sarah Kate Morgan

The mountain dulcimer is often considered a solo instrument, or an instrument to accompany the voice. But the dulcimers’ unique tone, dynamic range, and rhythmic texture makes it the perfect addition to an old-time jam. In this intermediate class, I'll be sharing the knowledge and skills you need to successfully hold your own when playing dulcimer with others! We'll cover topics like: playing in multiple keys, learning tunes by ear, identifying chord shapes, playing tunes in multiple positions on the fret board, and lots more!

Note: This is an intermediate level class for folks who have already started their dulcimer journey and are wanting to build upon their basic skills. Students should already have a basic understanding of the instrument in the DAD tuning, be able to play several tunes from memory at a moderate tempo, and should have some knowledge of chords and notes of the fret board.

Fiddle & Banjo

John Haywood & Leo Shannon

John Haywood and Leo Shannon will lead a fiddle & banjo class that explores playing these two essential instruments together. The class will include listening, talking, and playing. We will discuss technique and musicianship on both instruments, like keeping good rhythm and playing a tune you've never heard before, or playing with a person you've never played with. Students should be intermediate or advanced players of one or both instruments and should have some experience playing with others.