Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association

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GRASS SEEDS MUSIC ACADEMY

A Festival of Bluegrass & Old-Time Music & Dance
March 5-7, 2010, Radisson Hotel & Conference Center, Plymouth MN

WE ARE VERY SORRY, BUT THE FIDDLE CAMP AND FIDDLE SECTION OF GRASS SEEDS ACADEMY ARE FULL! We still have room for all other instruments!

The Grass Seeds Music Academy is presented by the Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association (MBOTMA) during the Winter Bluegrass Weekend at the Radisson Hotel & Conference Center in Plymouth Minnesota. In 2010 it will be held on March 5-7 and will feature the members of The Whistlepigs, Chuck Millar of Tangled Roots and Eric Christopher of the High 48’s as faculty. This year we are expanding to include a fiddle camp as well as the traditional multi instrument (guitar, banjo, mandolin, bass and fiddle) jam camp.

All musicians age 8 to 18 (or so) are invited to register for the Grass Seeds Music Academy. You will learn jamming etiquette, ensemble playing, how to play back-up and take a break, lead and harmony vocals, as well as instruction on your own instrument (basic instrument instruction is not offered). The Music Academy begins Friday night at 7:00 with faculty introductions, some organizational necessities and a group jam to introduce the tunes and get ready for a full weekend of playing. Participants will also meet for two sessions on Saturday and one on Sunday morning. The weekend will finish with group performances and a faculty concert on Sunday from 12:00 to 1:30PM. This year our concert will kick off an afternoon of music in the Old Time Music and Dance Hall. The theme of the day is Pass it Along, celebrating the tradition of passing the music from one generation to another.

Registration fee is $75 and includes admission to the Winter Bluegrass Weekend and the Headline Concert (a limited number of scholarships are available). To register, call MBOTMA at 1-800-635-3037. For more information, contact Sandi Pidel at 763-784-5286 or grassseeds@minnesotabluegrass.org.

WHAT IS GRASS SEEDS?
By Sandi Pidel, Grass Seeds Coordinator

You keep seeing it on flyers and hearing about it at MBOTMA events. Are you wondering just what it is? Grass Seeds Music Academy is a three-day MBOTMA sponsored youth workshop held in conjunction with the Winter Bluegrass Weekend at the Radisson Hotel & Conference Center.

2010 will be our sixth year! We are excited to have The Whistlepigs plus Eric Christopher and Chuck Millar as our faculty. We meet Friday night, Saturday and Sunday and then finish off the weekend with a concert in the Old Time Music and Dance Hall. Some of the things we work on are jamming etiquette, ensemble playing, how to play back-up and take a lead break on your instrument (guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle and bass), plus singing lead and harmony vocals. The kids have a lot of fun, but they work hard too.

2010 will bring an exciting new addition to the Grass Seeds Music Academy. We are expanding to include a fiddle camp. The kids in fiddle camp will learn most of the same things as the kids in jam camp, but they will focus on fiddling and twin fiddling.

Grass Seeds is NOT just for beginners or "little kids" nor are we just looking for those really talented kids. If you can play a few common chords or fiddle a tune, or if you are a really "hot picker" between the ages of 8 and 20, there is a place for you at Grass Seeds. We spend much of the time in small groups. Each one becomes a band for the weekend, so there is plenty of room for all skill levels. While we work on fairly common jam tunes in the large group sessions, the students can work on any song they agree upon in their small groups.

The main goal of Grass Seeds is to inspire young people to play their instruments and foster a love for traditional music. We provide a non-competitive, friendly atmosphere where kids can meet and get to know others their age who enjoy the same music. We work on a few common jam tunes in hopes that everyone will go out and jam in the evenings. So if you see a young person out there jamming, please invite them to join you or stop and play a song or two with them. We also hope that next time they see someone from Grass Seeds, it will be easy to start jamming together since they already know a few of the same tunes. By the end of the weekend, there are usually a lot of phone numbers and email addresses exchanged.

Grass Seeds is a unique opportunity for the young people in our area. There are very few programs like this one. If you have any further questions, I welcome your phone call or email.

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