Zigzag Old Time Campout 2022 Workshops
We are excited to offer a variety of workshops this year. Just like our campout, the workshops are rather casual. Sit in on as many – or as few as you like. All levels are welcome in the workshops. You can even just sit in for a few minutes and listen, if you like.
Please note that the below workshop lineup is tentative and is subject to change!
All workshops will be outdoors with masks optional and social distancing encouraged. Everyone attending a workshop is required to sign in. This information will help us if contract tracing is warranted. Please stay tuned for safety measures that we will have in place to make sure that everyone stays safe.
You don’t need to register in advance for the workshops. However, you do need to register for the Zigzag Campout: Register here! (Please note: link will open a Google Form.)
Saturday
September 3, 2022
Saturday 10:00am
All Instruments: Learning By Ear with Clinton Davis
Learning by ear is a mysterious thing for most. It may seem like you either were born with an amazing ability akin to “perfect pitch” or else you weren’t, and that’s that. Not true! Let’s learn how to train our ears and mind with as much intent as we train our fingers. I’ll try to break down what it means to listen to a tune analytically, and the concept of an “inner ear.” Because these are mental skills, they are of equal use to all instruments. However, I’ll use these concepts to illustrate how you might listen to a banjo and deduce what key or tuning is being used.
Saturday 10:00am (45 minutes)
Youth New Tune Workshop for all levels, all instruments with Olivia Horgan (45 minutes)
We will learn a tune note for note. More experienced young fiddlers who can pick up a tune quickly will also have the opportunity to play with adding in harmony and chords.
Saturday 11:00am
Youth Song Workshop with Olivia Horgan and Steph Noll (45 minutes)
If you can sing you can play. If you can play you can sing! We will learn a new song and back up the singing on your instrument of choice with drones, chords, fills, and chops!
Slow Jam with Melissa Takush – New to jamming with others? Comfortable with your instrument, but new to old-time? Want to take some extra time to practice starting tunes in a supportive group? Working on a new tune you might need some help with? You’re not alone! Meet new people to play with and get comfortable jamming in a low-pressure environment.
Saturday 2:00pm
Fiddle: Northern Kentucky Fiddle Tunes (Easier Tunes) with Clinton Davis
Fiddle styles and repertoire of Kentucky’s northern regions along the Ohio River have a distinct flavor compared to the state’s more famous Appalachian region to the east. Let’s learn about some of the stylistic features of the region, and some underplayed tunes from Bill Livers, Harold Zimmerman, and Frank Miller.
Saturday 4:00pm
Backup Guitar: Circle of 5th Progressions with Clinton Davis
If you are an old time musician you could be forgiven for assuming the only chords in the universe are I, IV, and V chords. But, when a rare tune uses a circle-of-5th progression, even the most capable old time players might start scratching their heads. Let’s learn the musical theory behind this important progression, learn about its place within the old time tradition, and hopefully open the door to a new set of repertoire that uses it. Once we have a clearer idea of what this sound is, we’ll talk about strategies for bass lines/walks/runs in the keys of G and C.
Sunday
September 4, 2022
Sunday 10:00 am
All instruments/all levels: “JAM & TOAST” for Kids & Teens led by Maja Diettrich-Kennett and Lila Tierney
All are welcome to come and jam! Led by our teen musicians, we will play some common old time tunes, as well as the tunes taught at the kids’ fiddle workshop. Participants will be encouraged to suggest and lead tunes, and those who don’t know a tune will be given ideas for playing along. Grown ups who can play backup instruments (guitar, banjo, uke, etc) are also encouraged to join in.
Sunday 11:00am
Fingerpicking Guitar: Sam McGee’s “Rockhouse Joe” with Clinton Davis
Sam McGee is one of the early architects of fingerpicking guitar, giving us classics like “Buck Dancer’s Choice” and “Railroad Blues”. His arrangement of “Rockhouse Joe” is a fine challenge for those just beginning to fingerpick. We’ll go over some fundamental fingerpicking exercises, learn the tune as Sam played it, and explore ways to elaborate this otherwise simple melody.
Sunday 1:00pm
Fiddle: Northern Kentucky Fiddle Tunes (More Difficult Tunes) with Clinton Davis
Fiddle styles and repertoire of Kentucky’s northern regions along the Ohio River have a distinct flavor compared to the state’s more famous Appalachian region to the east. Let’s learn about some of the stylistic features of the region, and some underplayed tunes from Bill Livers, Harold Zimmerman, and Frank Miller.
Sunday 3:00pm – 5:00pm (2 sessions with a short break)
Banjo: Open D Tuning Session 1with Clinton Davis
Open D (f#DF#AD) is a beautiful tuning that’s rarely seen “in the wild” these days. Let’s see what it can do! In this workshop, I will start off by demonstrating a few examples of traditional banjo pieces that use open D. Together, we’ll explore the unique features and possibilities of this tuning. Then, we will explore its use for fiddle tunes, giving you a whole new way to explore your D tune repertoire.
We will break this workshop into two sessions. The first session will be an intro to the tuning, and the second will be focused on learning one specific tune.
Sunday 7:00 – 9:00
Bonfire Concert Open mic performances and a concert set by Clinton Davis!
2022 Zigzag Teaching Artists
Clinton Davis is an old-time folk musician based in San Diego. A fifth-generation Kentuckian, Davis grew up in Carroll County. He currently performs on guitar, banjo, fiddle, harmonica, mandolin, and piano. He has performed at folk festivals across the country including Wintergrass (WA), Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival (WA), Portland Old Time Gathering (OR), Berkeley Old Time Music Convention (CA), National Jug Band Jubilee (KY), and the Brooklyn Folk Festival (NY).
Davis’ skills across instruments and genres have earned him acclaim at home in Southern California and across the country. Stefan Grossman, renowned authority of American roots guitar, has called him “a master…carrying on the traditional music torch of Mike Seeger.” No Depression calls his work “a joyous and soulful restoration of one of the lost treasures of American musical tradition.” Deering Banjos has called his playing “simply sublime.” In 2022, in recognition of his work as a performer and educator, Davis was named a Kentucky Colonel, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the state of Kentucky.
Davis performs as a soloist, with his own string band, or backing up other kindred spirits devoted to traditional American music such as Brooklyn’s queen of the blues, Mara Kaye, and San Francisco’s powerhouse string band Skillet Licorice.
Davis is an official artist of the Deering Banjo Company. In 2017 Davis and Deering partnered with San Diego’s Center for World Music and the San Diego Music Foundation to launch their “Banjos in the Classroom” program, which brings group clawhammer banjo lessons to San Diego’s public schools.
Olivia Horgan is an Irish American fiddle teacher from Portland, Oregon with roots in Michigan and Virginia. She loves travelling with her fiddle, and has played on a beach in Zanzibar, the Sorbonne in Paris, and the desert in Namibia. You’ll often spot her at the Hostel Cafe playing with the jazz trio the Whole Grain Loafers and recently had a blast playing with the Celtic Light Orchestra. She also sings with the Rose City Folk Chorus.
Steph Noll is an old-time musician, dance caller, and mama to two fun and musical tweens. She loves calling family dances, singing with friends old and new, and loves the PNW old time music scene for its many opportunities to make music with friends of all ages. Steph will be supporting the kids jam and offering a wild card Family Song Session and a Pop-up Square Dance over the weekend. Check out the board on the deck to find out when they are happening!
Melissa Takes has been hosting jams in the Eugene area with Mud City Old-Time Society since 2011. She loves helping folks get connected to the PNW old-time community!