PAULO SA

1) Choro: Tradition and New Directions *
Historical development: the beginning of Choro as a way of playing and the development of it as a national genre; the traditional Choro and new tendecies; the main characters of Choro in the past and today.

2) Choro: Analysis & Technique *
Analysis of 2 or 3 pieces, showing live examples on the mandolin and other examples through CD recordings. The form of Choro, common rhythms, how those rhythms are written and how they should be played. Main characteristics and concepts of the style. At this point I will make an introduction to right hand techniques, counterpoint in Choro, embellishments, dynamics and improvising in Choro music.

3) Choro jam (with MM) *
Paulo and Marilynn will lead this directed Choro jam, with attention to distributing melodies, bass lines and sections for the soloists. We will play together with the students the pieces saw during the lecture and will help them to put in practice the concepts of the style and all the topics of the lecture. Depending on the numbers and types of instruments,we will divide in 2 or 3 groups. At this point, for the methodology I intend to atempt to the sub-groups, for example, put together the bass line's instruments and the solo intruments by the other side, so that we can guarantee their concentration. After that we will put them together to play.

KEITH BAUMANN

1) Monroe-Style Bluegrass Mandolin:
This workshop will explore the building blocks of Bill Monroe's ground-breaking style. We will explore Monroe's right hand techniques and how he used a pick along various rhythm patterns to emulate the fiddle bowings of old-time musicians. We will also review Bill's left hand fingerings in both the open and closed positions that he commonly used to create his melody and improvised solos.

Workshop will cover:
-Monroe's approach to old-time fiddle tunes.
-His classic closed position scales, arpeggios and blues runs
-Using pick downstrokes
-Triplets and Tremelos
-Creating drive and volume with double stops, triple stops and more

2) Improvising Swing & Jazz:
Working with a handful of swing and jazz standard tunes, we will explore the art of creating interesting solos by utilizing a few basic musical tools such as scales, arpeggios, chords and syncopation.This workshop will get you started down the road to jamming along with any jazz, swing or western swing song.

Workshop will cover:
-Scales and arpeggios in both open and closed position
-Navigating common swing and jazz chord changes.
-Creating interesting phrasing
-Using blue notes
-Demystifying the rest of your fretboard

3) The Blues In Bluegrass: (Rich DelGrosso and Keith Baumann) *
Bluegrass music is highly influenced by the blues. As a young man Bill Monroe worked many dances with a blues guitar player named Arnold Schultz who had a profound impact on Monroe's playing style. The use of blues scales in bluegrass music is quite common among both the traditional and modern players.. In Addition, the bluegrass chop stresses the backbeat, the "half" of the beat that is emphasized in the blues. In this workshop we will explore a few of the basic blues scales and rhythm techniques as we use them to develop bluegrass solos.

We will cover:
-Classic Monroe Blues licks
-Modern Bluegrass Blues Scales and Licks
-Phrasing
-Use of Slides and "Smearing" Techniques.

MARILYNN MAIR

1) The Complete Mandolinist- An Insider's Guide
Marilynn Mair will give a hands-on tour through her new 224-page method book, published by Mel Bay in December 2007. Bring your own copy, or buy or borrow one at the workshop. Technique for the right & left hand-- including tremolo, shifting, duo-style; coordination exercises to develop speed and dexterity; and advice on developing musicianship will all be included, as they fit the interests of students. It's your opportunity to ask the author questions directly.

2) I Hear a Waltz- *
A look at the variety of music in 3/4. There are Viennese waltzes, Brazilian waltzes, Cowboy waltzes, Italian waltzes-- all share a lilting 3/4 time signature while maintaining their own unique style. Marilynn Mair and August Watters will play a few of their favorites with you and discuss their differences and similarities.

3) Directed Choro Jam (with PS)
Description is above.

SETH AUSTEN

1) Eastern European Musical Traditions *
The music of Eastern Europe; klezmer, Balkan, Greek and Gypsy traditions, are well suited to mandolin family instruments. We'll explore unique scales, modes and odd meter rhythms (7/8, 11/16, etc) typically used in these styles, and learn to play a few pieces. For all instruments and levels.

2) Creative Backup (with BW) *
Playing back up offers many possibilities for mandolin family instruments; chords and inversions, double stops, drones, harmonies, counter melodies, bass lines, rhythmic variations. We'll explore these ideas and discuss how to come up with creative back up parts for traditional instrumental tunes and songs. This class is for any level and instrument.

3) Irish mandolin (Jim Dalton & Seth Austen)
In this class we will cover repertoire and technique for Irish-style playing with a special emphasis on jig ornamentation and jig picking. We'll also look at other types of tunes found in the tradition, such as hornpipes, reels and airs; and discuss ways of applying fiddle and pipes ornamentation to mandolin. We'll focus on what to do to get the authentic feel of playing traditional Irish music on mandolin family instruments. Guinness not included.

AUGUST WATTERS:

1) New England Fiddle Traditions for Mandolin
One of American music's most important traditional dialects, New England fiddle music is best known as contra dance music. The tunes are often more ornate than southern tunes, and always played at a danceable tempo quite a bit slower than bluegrass. This workshop will explore:

- introduction to standard tunes
- improvisational style and ornamentation
- translating fiddle music to mandolin

Highly recommended: New England Fiddler's Repertoire. Email us for tune assignments in advance.

2) Improvising Bluegrass
There are many books and videos on bluegrass soloing, but after basic pentatonics, what's next? This workshop will discuss improvisational devices used in bluegrass and ideas for developing and extending your personal bluegrass style.

3) I Hear a Waltz (with MM) *
Description is above.

RICH DelGROSSO
1) Rags, Drags and Stomps / Strings and Jug Bands *
2) Post-War Blues *
3) The Blues in Bluegrass (with KB) *

JIM DALTON:
1) Improvisation in Classical Music *
2) Chord Method
3) Irish Mandolin (with SA)

BEVERLY WOODS:
1) Beginners: Jamming Skills *
2) Beginners: Rhythm & Phrasing *
3) Creative Backup (with SA) *

 

*for all instruments

Beginners Track
Beginners will work with Beverly Woods -- a patient teacher with a gift for making it all understandable and getting the students playing. Each teacher will cover a variety of topics designed to get everyone playing in a group. Beginners are welcome to attend other workshops also, or move between beginners' track teachers. They'll get lots of individual attention to make sure they're getting off on the right foot!

Saturday Night Faculty Concert
Paulo Sá & the New England Mandolin Ensemble with special guests
This concert will be open to the entire Cape community: an entertaining and thoughtful presentation of the world of mandolin music by the faculty of CCMC, along with Paulo Sá and the New England Mandolin Ensemble. Admission price is included with CCMC tuition.

Guitars and other instruments at CCMC
There's room for guitars (both folk and classical) in most of the ensembles. Some ensembles can also accommodate fiddles, bass, banjo, and other instruments as well. Musicians who play these instruments are welcome to participate fully in the camp -- every workshop period will offer classes that are not mandolin-specific. When you register, just let us know any instrument you'll be playing.

Ensemble Performances
Playing in an ensemble is a thrill -- mandolin is such a sociable instrument! The Camp will present an opportunity for mandolinists of all levels to play, rehearse and perform in a group, and to work on those ensemble-playing skills that just can't be addressed by practicing alone.

Ensembles will be separated by level, style, and amount of interest in preparation before the festival. Some ensembles will be completely "by ear," and give the participants a chance to create an arrangement by working together, while others will pursue a polished ensemble sound while playing written, arranged and improvisational music. For those interested in preparing before the festival begins, written parts will be provided in both standard notation and tablature.

Radim Zenkl leads his advanced students in performance, CCMC 2005