Kafuman Kamp, week 1

I write from the beautiful campus of Maryville College in Maryville, TN, where I’ve been for the past week and a half, teaching at Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamp. Last week we had bluegrass banjos, fingerstyle guitars, Dobros, fiddles, basses, and old-time banjos. This week is flatpicking guitars and mandolins. My Banjo 101 class last week was small but fun. My two students, Paul and Phil, learned their rolls, three chords, “Banjo in the Hollow,” “Boil Them Cabbage Down,” and “Cripple Creek.” I told them they now have enough to practice on for about four months or so! This week I have six Mandolin 101 students. So far they have learned three chords, “Boil Them Cabbage Down” and “Skip To My Lou.” We will keep learning, picking and grinning here and I’ll report more later!