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MBC News Hot Off the Press
06/11/09 - 2009 Banjo Camp group photo available for purchase. |
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| Ken Perlman & Stan Werbin Directors |
You now can also find us at MySpace: www.myspace.com/midwestbanjocamp |
Midwest Banjo Camp June 5-7, 2009
2009 Midwest Banjo Camp Group Photographs
(click on photos for details)
Midwest Banjo Camp V took place on June 5-7, 2009 at the Olivet College Campus in Olivet, Michigan. Come study old-time or bluegrass banjo with some of today's best players and teachers in both styles. Our program features hands-on classes, demonstrations, two faculty concerts, and still leaves lots of time for jamming with your fellow banjo enthusiasts.
General Program:
MBC offers nine class sessions over the course of the weekend -- two on Friday, four on Saturday and three on Sunday. Each session is one hour and fifteen minutes long. There are staff concerts on both Friday and Saturday evenings; over the course of the weekend you'll have the opportunity to hear our entire staff in concert. Rounding out each evening program are staff-led bluegrass and old time jams at a variety of skill levels.
To get a better idea of what we're about, check out our Preliminary Schedule for 2009. You can also access programs for former MBC's: 2008 Schedule, 2007 Schedule, 2006 schedule and 2005 schedule .
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See a collection of photographs from the 2008 Midwest Banjo Camp
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Check out what students said about the 2008 camp.
Check out what students said about the 2007 camp.
Check out what students said about the 2006 camp.
Here's what students had to say about the 2005 camp.
Instructors:
More than anything else, MBC prides itself on the strength of our teaching staff. Our instructors are not only great players and brilliant teachers, but they genuinely care about student progress, and are eager to lend a helping hand. See the right-hand column of this page both to find out who is teaching at MBC this year, and to access their career details.
Classes:
In the tradition of the Tennessee Banjo Institute and the Maryland Banjo Academy, our camp is committed to offering highly specialized classes with subjects tailored to the expertise of our faculty. Most of our classes are "hands-on," meaning that teachers have a set of skills or a tune or two in mind to impart, and that students should have their banjos in hand during class.
Note: Once you've registered for MBC, you may attend any class you wish at any time throughout our program. You do NOT have to pre-register for any track, class, or teacher.
Here are some classes that were popular at last year's MBC:
Old Time: |
Bluegrass: |
Demos: Some of our class sessions are devoted to demonstrations. Demos are essentially presentations or mini performances combined with explication and Q&A sessions. Somewhere in between hands-on classes and demos are those classes labeled "demo-instructional." Following are a few examples of the kinds of demos we might offer:
- Progressive 3-Finger Style
- Great Tunes I Collected
- Crafting Breaks
- Scruggs Fest
- Jazz and Blues on Banjo
- Composing for Banjo
- Singing with the Banjo
- Fiddle Tunes on Banjo
We now offer four levels or "tracks" for both bluegrass and old-time banjo: Novice, lower intermediate, upper intermediate, and advanced. Here is how we define our levels:
Novice track: The novice program is designed primarily for true beginners: banjoists who have been playing a few months or less, or who have not yet learned even the most basic mechanics of either fingerpicking or the clawhammer stroke. If you already know these basics, we recommend diving into either the lower intermediate or even the upper intermediate programs. Even if they are a little over your head, you'll still be taking home vital advice and mental images that will guide your growth on banjo for years to come.
Lower Intermediate Track: Our lower intermediate track is for students who are beyond the novice stage but still need a lot of technical help on a variety of fronts -- such as efficient left hand and right hand techniques, building up speed and power, achieving good timing, basic song and tune arranging, and so on. Estimated playing experience required: 6 months to 2 years.
Upper Intermediate Track: The upper intermediate track is for students who can play pretty well at a basic level, but are looking to increase their repertoires and playing efficiency, and expand their horizons. It is also designed to help your playing sound more "authentic" and professional. Estimated playing experience required: 18 months to 3 years.
Advanced Track: The advanced track is for those who can already play up to (or close to) speed, but who are looking to grow further as musicians through learning from some of the world's best players. Estimated playing experience required: 3-4 years and up.
Jamming: Needless to say, enabling a successful jam when the available crew is made up only of banjoists presents a special challenge. We've pretty much risen to the occasion, however, and here's how we'll organize things. First of all, we have Camp accompanists and a number of other guest musicians on hand to assist our jam leaders by playing a variety of other instruments - such as fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bass, etc.
By the way, at MBC we call our guest musicians "musos" (pronounced "mew-zoes"). Ken Perlman picked up this expression in Australia where it's an affectionate nickname for "musician" and it's more or less stuck.
Here's the kind of jam sessions we offer:
- slow jams for novices
- jam workshops for those who can play pretty well but just don't know how to play with others. Issues covered in these workshops are jam etiquette, the roles of different instruments, how to find appropriate chords, how to play something effective when you don't know the tune, etc.
- intermediate jams: moderate tempos and common tunes.
- open jams: pretty much up to speed, but leaders will be instructed to keep tempos under control.
Or, organize your own jams -- there's plenty of available spaces -- either during the scheduled jams, immediately afterwards or at any other suitable time.
Concerts. We now split the faculty concert into two parts; half the staff plays on Friday evening and the other half plays on Saturday evening. Given that our staff contains a hefty percentage of the best banjo pickers in creation, these concerts come pretty close to achieving banjo heaven. Here's how some of our students have described our staff concerts: "The best banjo concerts in the world", "As good as any bluegrass festival", "None better! What a ride!" And finally, "Either half of the faculty concert was worth it coming to camp alone. But both!"
Fiddle and Guitar Programs: For those so inclined, we offer special classes in both fiddle and guitar, taught by our support staff. On the schedule, guitar classes are listed under "Special Events". This year fiddle classes have their own "track".
New for This Year: The MBC Fiddle Program. MBC now offers a full program in fiddle, with one option in old-time or bluegrass fiddle during each class session. Full-time fiddle players can now study their instrument throughout, while those banjoists who also play fiddle can enrich their experience by taking an occasional fiddle class. Over the course of Camp, we will offer six classes in old-time fiddle, and two in bluegrass fiddle. For the precise nature of our offerings, see our preliminary Schedule for the 2009 Camp.
During our first few years, we noted that roughly half the staff and a few dozen students came to town on the evening prior to camp and took up residence on site. Last year we had our early-arriving instructors run a few events on Thursday evening and Friday morning for the benefit of students who wanted to jump start their weekend of banjo immersion. We called this our "Pre-Camp Program" and it turned out to be a great success: probably two-thirds of our staff and well over 100 students took part.
This Year it appears that almost our entire staff will participate.
On Thursday evening, we will have a social "mixer" followed by a few faculty-led jam sessions. On Friday morning we'll schedule round-robin demonstrations, "clinics" on banjo technique and set-up, "mentoring" (teachers offering advice on various banjo related issues), and a course for total beginners called "Introducing the Banjo." There will be a small extra tuition charge this year for MBC students who wish to take part in pre-camp events; there is also a charge for lodging at the Olivet dorms on Thursday night, and for signing on to the Olivet meal plan beginning Friday morning. Pre-camp attendees are on their own for the Thursday evening meal. Be aware that as things now stand there will be no cafeterias open at Olivet College on Thursday night and that obtaining meals requires walking a couple of blocks to restaurants located in the Olivet town center.
The MBC "Pre-camp"
Introducing the Banjo: a Two-Hour Crash Course for Absolute Beginners.
On Friday morning June 5, MBC will run a special two-hour class for people who want to get started on banjo (or for those who have already gotten started and figure they need a quick review before diving into our novice program). The class covers the following topics: getting acquainted with the instrument, holding it, getting in tune, how to finger the strings and play a few basic chords, how to keep time by simple strumming, etc. For those who are undecided about which banjo path to pursue, instructor Joel Mabus will also demonstrate both bluegrass and old time styles on the banjo and explain some of the plusses and minuses about trying to learn each genre.
"Introducing the Banjo" is open to all MBC Registrants. You do NOT have to register for the Pre-Camp in order to take this course.
Use of Recording Devices at MBC
Many of our instructors prefer to teach by ear and example rather than by tab or other notation. Consequently, we encourage students to bring along compact recording devices, so that recordings made in class will be available after camp to serve as memory aids. As a courtesy, however, please ask each instructor at the start of class whether he or she permits the use of such recording devices.For more information, see the Accommodations and Fees page.
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We regret the passing of Clif Ervin, Seattle's "Ambassador of the Bones" and a 3-time semi-official staff member at MBC. Clif will be remembered for his warmth and genial nature, the fine bones he handcrafted, as well as his ability to deftly fit the bones into just about any kind of banjo music! He will be missed by his many friends at Camp. |
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Read the March 26, 2005 article on The Midwest Banjo Camp from WCFCourier.com.
MBC Flyer Available to Print Out
Please help us out with publicity. Here is a pdf file file of a flyer for Midwest Banjo Camp. Print it out yourself, or ask us and we'll be glad to send you a batch.
Click on an artist to see a bio.
email: info@midwestbanjocamp.com
We are also now on MySpace: myspace.com/midwestbanjocamp
Camp Directors:
Ken Perlman
Stan Werbin
If you have any questions or concerns that you would prefer to address by phone, send us an email with your phone number and suggested times to call. We'll then get back to you as soon as we can.
Would you like to help us out with publicity? Here is a pdf file of a flyer for the camp. You can print it out yourself, or ask us and we'll be glad to send you a batch. If you have an appropriate place to post or distribute it (coffeehouse, festival, music or record store) then we would appreciate it. Thanks!
