Fiddle Group Classes

Bowed string players (violin, viola, cello, double bass) are invited to sign up for our fiddle group classes which take place at Moore Music Company in Greensboro, NC (Spring 2024).

Are you a bowed string player looking for new ways to play your instrument? Do you want to learn to play in folk and popular styles? Are you looking to build community through sharing music? Join Dr. Christen Blanton Mack at Moore Music Company for a special series.

Players will spend time learning new tunes together, supplemented with ensemble techniques to be able to seamlessly switch from playing an accompaniment role to playing the main melody. Tunes and songs will draw from various music styles, including old-time and Celtic fiddle tunes, jazz and blues charts, and even pop and rock!

Classes are recommended for teens and adults ages 13+, but all ages and experience levels are welcome. Tunes are specifically tailored so anyone who can play a D Major Scale on their instrument will be able to participate.

The workshop will culminate in a showcase and jam session on the last day.

Details:

Spring 2024 class dates: First and third Saturday of each month, Jan-May (Jan 6, Jan 20, Feb 3, Feb 17, Mar 2, Mar 16, Apr 6, Apr 20, May 4, May 18). Combined all-levels class 4:00-4:50pm.

Where: Moore Music Company, 615 W. Market St. Greensboro NC 27401

Requirements: Bowed string players of all ages are welcome (violin/fiddle, viola, cello, double bass), recommended for teens and adults 13+. Beginner class: participants should be able to play at least a D Major Scale on their instrument. Advanced class: participants should know at least one tune by memory, and have experience learning tunes by ear.

Enrollment: minimum 7 students, maximum 20 students per class.

Tuition: Register for the whole semester at our discounted rate of $175 per student ($17.50 per class x 10 classes). Drop-in rate $25 per class. Tuition is non-refundable and non-transferable. Participants must provide their own instrument.

About the Instructor

Dr. Christen Blanton Mack is an arts educator and prize-winning fiddler. She is the Orchestra Director at the Academy at Lincoln Middle School in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she also teaches Music Production, and leads the Global Music Ensemble and Vespa Strings. Dr. Blanton directs the Old-Time Ensemble at UNC-Greensboro, where she has taught and mentored students of folk and roots music since 2016. As a member of the American String Teachers Association Eclectic Styles Committee, she advocates for eclectic, vernacular, and popular music to be included in all string curriculums. An in-demand educator and clinician, Dr. Blanton regularly presents workshops and professional development for the North Carolina Music Educators Association and the American String Teachers Association; her research has been shared at the Society for Music Teacher Education, the International Society for Music Education, the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention, and the International Bluegrass Music Association. Her band, The Zinc Kings, have been featured performers at the North Carolina Folk Festival, the Eastern Music Festival, the Charlie Poole Music Festival, and the Folk Alliance International Conference. They have received top prizes at prestigious fiddle conventions across the southeastern US, including the Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention, and the Union Grove and Fiddler’s Grove Old-Time Fiddlers and Bluegrass Festival.

Christen holds degrees from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam (BM, music education) and UNC-Greensboro (MM, viola performance and PhD, music education). When she is not fiddling or teaching, Dr. Blanton enjoys hiking, camping, and gardening with her husband and puppy dog.

Fiddle Group Classes