Back from Camp - pumped for music - PIX link

NancyF · Post by **NancyF** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 10:14 pm

Ok you guys, I'm so pumped for music I can't stand it. Just rolled in from a week at Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp where my whistle teacher was Grey Larsen. http://www.rmfiddle.com/. I also took bodhran and fretted dulcimer with Bonnie Carroll.

Thanks to camp, I finally have begun to get an inkling or understanding about ornamentation, breathing spots, tonguing and other whistle mysteries. Grey is a wonderful teacher and a fabulous musician on so many instruments.

I'll post a link soon to some pics.

EDITED TITLE WHEN PIX WERE READY http://photos.yahoo.com/pwnanok

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 10:32 pm

Nancy, you seem to be one happy camper! Almost thou persuadest me to be a student.

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 10:39 pm

Cool, Nancy! You have my full attention. Waiting for pix.....

NancyF · Post by **NancyF** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 11:23 pm

Link to pix is:

http://photos.yahoo.com/pwnanok

Let me know if this doesn't work

BrassBlower · Post by **BrassBlower** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 7:14 am

Great pix!

Do you plan on taking any workshops in Winfield?

-Jim

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 7:44 am

Great Pics Nancy, though the kid in pic 11 needs its head gluing on again.

I see LOTS of fiddlers, have you made any fiddling progress?

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 7:58 am

I was surprised to see Cellos there, but wondering why that surprises me????

I was only able to get to pic 36 or so and then it would not show me any more. Is this a Yahoo thing? Maybe a second album to go to?

NancyF · Post by **NancyF** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 9:46 am

Martin, it was after all, fiddle camp, hee hee. But no, I don't fiddle, tho I did spot Grey fiddling in at least one session. Classes were offered in cello and bass, piano, whistle/flute, both kinds of dulcimer, mandolin, bodhran, banjo, dance and singing.

NorCal, cello for the string band crowd has been around a long time I was led to understand. Just lately it has crept into our music via Alisdar Fraisure's work with Natalie Haas and Abby Newton. Abby has a nice description of the history at her link below.

BB, I will probably attend the fretted dulcimer wowrkshop at Winfield, but I'll hang out and play whistle (and the b-word) at Carp Camp.

http://www.abbynewton.com/index.html
http://www.culburnie.com/

I'm not sure why it isn't showing you all the pics, is anyone else having trouble with that?

Nancy

Numex · Post by **Numex** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 10:04 am

Nancy---- Question: how was the instruction time laid out every day? i.e how much time did you spend each day in whistle class with Grey? I assume it still allowed you to take the other classes. I tried to get an idea from the website , but there wasn't a schedule that I could find that gave any hints.

moxy · Post by **moxy** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 10:19 am

Looks beautiful out there.

I was able to get all the way through the 67 pics

Very nice!

NancyF · Post by **NancyF** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 2:23 pm

There were 6 class periods of about 1 1/2 hours each. Whistle and flute were together. My own schedule was periods one and four free, period 2 whistle, 3 Scots singing, 5 bodhran and 6 fretted dulcimer. Only singing, dance, guitar, piano, banjo, I think cello and obviously fiddle had multiple sessions.

Grey was teaching piano too, but he had several open periods for private lessons. Some people took all 6 periods but that is way hard. You have to save time for practice, napping, socializing etc.

Besides class time a day was: breakfast 8-9, class 9-6 with lunch in there, dinner 6-7, organized teacher-lead jams and kids dance time 7-8, teacher concert 8-9:30, dance with teachers playing the music 9:30-11, snack 11-11:30, informal jams 11:30 - ?? in designated areas.

Great fun, very exhausting, hee hee. Try playing whistles at 9000 ft.

Numex · Post by **Numex** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 7:21 pm

NancyF wrote: Great fun, very exhausting, hee hee. Try playing whistles at 9000 ft.

Nancy--- thanks for the description of the daily class schedule.
Well, whistles have gotta be easier than the flute at that altitude....

NancyF · Post by **NancyF** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 7:42 pm

Yeah, Grey was suffering when he had to play flute for very long. Anyone with asthma had double trouble.

Numex · Post by **Numex** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 9:56 am

Nancy---- The camp sounds like a lot of fun; certainly the locale looks lovely (though a bit thin of air). The thin air's not really a worry for those fiddlers I'd imagine. Grey is likely coming from living near sea level, which would certainly be a drastic change going up to 9,000'.

Were there very many whistle and flute students? Did you notice many youngsters at the camp? From the website, it sounds like something that the whole family could attend, with the children taking classes in various topics, while parents pursue theirs.

NancyF · Post by **NancyF** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 2:00 pm

My class had about 8-10 depending on the day. Classes are open so you aren't stuck with the same thing each day unless you choose to go. For example, one day during a free period, I sat in on a beginning mando class since it was raining and I wanted to stay inside.

Children where attending. They ranged in age from 3 (child of teachers) then starting at about 6 or so were taking classes too. They had both beginning fiddle and novice (one year or or so). programs with classes most of the day.
There were a lot of really good teenaged fiddlers that are the core of the group whose CD's we'll be buying in the next decade. So many in fact, that there was a teen girl's dorm and a teen boys dorm! They fit in fine with the older fiddlers for most activities, even attending the dances, jams and meals.
Music is a wonderful uniter.

N