Mid-Winter Festival 2012
January 28, 2012
Here's a beautiful blog compilation of descriptions and images from the AFTM 2012 Mid-Winter Festival compiled by Steve McKinney
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
12:00 pm Austin Mandolin Orchestra
1:00 pm Blue Buckskin Whinchers (traditional folk)
2:00 pm Yuan Li Chang (Guzheng/Ancient Chinese Harp)
3:00 pm Agbadza Sogo (African drummers)
4:00 pm Hem & Haw (vintage honky tonk/bluegrass)
5:00 pm Fiddlisa & Friends (International and American)
6:00 pm Third Rail (bluegrass)
7:00 pm Square Dance! to the Good Old Timers & caller Rich McMath
8:00 pm Hays County Gals & Pals (old time country and cowboy)
9:00 pm Reed Island Rounders (Appalachian old time)
AFTM Midwinter Festival 2012- - Betty Vornbrock and Billy Cornette present a workshop on the music of JP Fraley. This is 'Shades of the Yellow Rose'. Video by Earl Hunt.
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
1:30 pm - 2:15 pm:
Room A. J.P. Fraley - Tall Tales and Tunes of a Mountain Fiddler
Billy Cornette and Betty Vornbrock shared a long friendship with Kentucky musicians J.P & Annadeene Fraley. Come listen to their legacy of fiddle tunes and songs, with a good J.P. story (-- or is it a lie?) or two thrown in.
Room B. Clawhammer Banjo Basics, Jerry Hagins
Jerry will demonstrate basic clawhammer techniques and tunings, and discuss tips for learning tunes and playing with others.
2:30 pm - 3:15 pm:
Room A. Old Time Fiddling of the Appalachian Mountains, Betty Vornbrock
Betty will discuss & play the styles of her Kentucky, West Virginia, and Blue Ridge favorite fiddlers. Enjoy tunes from Melvin Wine, Wilson Douglas, Clyde Davenport, Emmet Lundy, Paul Smith, and J.P. Fraley. Billy Cornette will join her on guitar.
Room B. Pentatonic Mandolin, Joel Hobbs
Whether you want to learn to pick simple tunes by ear or you want to better improvise and play up the neck, pentatonic scales are essential. In this workshop for all mandolin players, you will learn a closed position pentatonic scale that you can use to easily play familiar melodies like Amazing Grace by ear in any key. You'll also learn how to use this scale for improvising your own solos.
Room C. Dances, Play Parties & Singing Games, Malissa Mollberg
Malissa introduces five musical activities that can be enjoyed by children in party, school and camp settings, as well as family gatherings. Each activity involves singing and movement. The context is simple. They are traditional games that children and young people have enjoyed for generations. This is an interactive workshop, come prepared to play! A handout will be available for you to take home.
3:30 pm - 4:15 pm:
Room B. New Dimensions in Clawhammer Banjo - Dave Polacheck
New Dimensions in Clawhammer Banjo will cover a range of songs and tunes from various sources, not usually played on the five string banjo in clawhammer style. We will also explore a recent innovation in the design of the instrument.
Room C. Bones workshop, Rich MacMath
Rich learned to play the bones from Percy Danforth and the class will be learning with a pair of Danforth Bones. We will learn how to hold the bones and play bone basics, the tap and the triplet, and maybe more. A few pairs of bones will be available (and for sale) for this workshop. If you have some already, please bring them along.
4:30 pm - 5:15 pm:
Room B. Back-up Guitar, Ethan Azarian
Ethan will demonstrate and talk about some of the bass runs that can be used and how to keep the rhythm steady for the fiddlers and banjo players.
Room C. Square Dancing for Beginners, Rich MacMath
No dance experience and no partner required. Come and have fun learning do si do, allemande left and big ball of yarn. There will be a square dance on stage later in the evening where you will get the opportunity to try out what you learned in class.