Today's first day of camp was great. It was mostly demonstrations by the faculty and some grounding in music theory in the Bluegrass style, but tomorrow my vocal classes begin in earnest. I've sung for many years, studied voice when I was younger, and even did a little bit of professional work on stage back in the 1990's. But I haven't done any serious singing in a long time, so this is a jumpstart for me.
Since it's a Bluegrass camp, there are different instructional tracks, including vocal, banjo, fiddle, guitar, dobro, mandolin, and bass. Although I'm attending the vocal program this week, I'm also learning to play clawhammer banjo with a professional instructor back in New York. My main interest is in Southern Appalachian mountain music - a subset of the narrow world of old time string band music. I'm really having a great time, but since I'm still on New York time I'm running out of steam this evening faster than everyone else.
Well, there's a jam session I need to get to, and then a campfire. I feel just like a little kid again in some ways, even though I'd guess the average age here is somewhere in the 50's. Well, best to stay young at heart...
G'night all,
Mike
