Meadow Party 2026 workshops
Students select their own workshops when registering. Each student may choose (4) workshops. Rhythm players are welcome to join fiddle classes if they are comfortable learning melodies:
instrumental
Beginner Bluegrass Fiddle: We’ll learn a melody to a classic bluegrass song. The fiddle often has the role of setting up a song with a kickoff before the singer comes in. The essential melody will be straightforward to learn for beginners, with added licks for everyone to try to give it that bluegrass feel. Students should have a solid grasp of fiddle fundamentals, plus a few tunes or melodies under their belt to get the most out of this workshop. Open to all strings; taught by Andy Lentz.
Beginner Old Time Fiddle - Muddy Road: Learn a beginner-friendly old time fiddle tune and song! We’ll move at a slower pace to accommodate beginning and intermediate players. This song has a few verses that go along with the A part of a simple fiddle tune, and the B part acts as a chorus with no lyrics, for a fun old time song structure. Students should have a basic understanding of fundamentals to get the most out of this workshop. Open to all strings; taught by Emilie Rose.
Bluegrass Fiddle Fast Tune: Let’s learn a bluegrass fiddle tune! You’ll be learning by ear, phrase-by-phrase, with plenty of repetition to help solidify the melody. We’ll spice it up with licks and double-stops. This workshop is aimed at intermediate-to-advanced students who can play some “standard” fiddle tunes up to speed comfortably. Open to intermediate and advanced strings; taught by Andy Lentz.
Celtic Fiddle Fast Tune: Learn one of teacher Emilie’s favorite Celtic fiddle tunes. This will be a moderate-to-advanced tune that you can just as easily bust out in a jam or as a show-stopper! This workshop is aimed at intermediate and advanced string players who can play moderate tunes up to speed comfortably. Open to intermediate and advanced strings; taught by Emilie Rose.
Improvisation, Level I: This workshop is open to all instruments including fiddles and rhythm players. We’ll start with vocal and rhythmic exercises before moving to melodic methods on our instruments. Teacher Sam is masterful at making the intimidating subject of soloing and improvisation approachable to students of all ages. Students should have an understanding of C, G, and D major scales to get the most out of the concepts taught in this class. Open to all instruments; taught by Sam Devine.
Improvisation, Level II: This workshop is open to all instruments including fiddles and rhythm players. Before joining this course, students should have taken Level I in years past or have prior experience soloing on their instrument. We will take our understanding of improvisation to a more technical level and dive into intermediate music theory and its application together. Students should have a working understanding of all major scales to join this workshop. Open to all intermediate and advanced instruments; taught by Sam Devine.
Musical Petting Zoo: Back by popular demand from last year, this class is an exploratory session that integrates group collaboration, improvisation, and songwriting on an array of instruments ranging from familiar to the unusual. Play on your own instrument or try something brand new - a selection of instruments will be available to play, learn about, and pass around. All are welcome in this sonic playground. Open to everyone; taught by Janapriyan Levine.
Rhythm Tricks: Learn some advanced techniques to improve your groove! This workshop is geared toward intermediate guitar, mandolin, and banjo players. Students will begin by finding common strum patterns, chord changes, and phrasing within song structures. We’ll then learn one or more complete songs together, working toward smooth chord transitions and a solid rhythm groove as a group. Students should be familiar with all basic open chords. Open to musicians ages 12 and up; taught by Janapriyan Levine
Songwriting 101: Students will examine a few basic musical structures and themes as a guide for working step-by-step through the composition process. We’ll ask ourselves what defines a song, and then write some ourselves. Simple! Open to everyone; taught by Sam Devine.
song + DANCE
Ceilidh Dancing: Ceilidh (KAY-lee) dances are fun, accessible, and high energy, and all are welcome. Rooted in the Scottish tradition, these folk dances are led step-by-step by caller Delphine. Everyone is invited to join, including solo dancers and families with kids. Please wear comfortable (flat) shoes. All of our dance workshops are queer friendly where everyone can dance any role. Open to everyone; taught by Delphine Griffith.
Square Dancing: If you can walk, you can square dance! Come learn this traditional American style of social dance with caller Delphine who will guide you through the dances step-by-step from the very beginning. Everyone is invited to join, including solo dancers and families with kids. Please wear comfortable (flat) shoes. All of our dance workshops are queer friendly where everyone can dance any role. Open to everyone; taught by Delphine Griffith
Murder Ballads: Dating back centuries, murder ballads are a cornerstone of folk music and have lyrics based on true (or true-ish) events. Many of the songs we’ll sing originated in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales and were later adapted to fit Appalachian stories. Sometimes violent or macabre, sometimes darkly humorous, sometimes just goosebump-inducing, we’ll learn and sing famous murder ballads and explore their origins and lore. Recommended for teens and adults due to content, though all are welcome; taught by Heather Grove.
Protest Songs Through The Ages: Song has the power to connect us - socially, politically, and across history. We will explore an array of songs built around resistance, dissent, activism, and struggle through many generations and cultures. Come sing with us as we explore the lasting and powerful voice of the protest song. Open to everyone; taught by Heather Grove.
visual art
Step By Step Watercolor Paint-Along: We’ll go over a few basic concepts of colors and color mixing and then practice the application of these introductory techniques in our artwork. Students need not have any background in art - this supportive beginner class will guide you through a complete piece step by step, with everyone working from the same reference image. All supplies will be provided. Open to everyone; taught by Jan Fenwick.
Water, Salt, Color, Ink: Although watercolor painting can be as simple as pigment plus water, we can use various tricks and tools to spice up our end results. In this class, we’ll play with additional elements like salt, ink, saran wrap, and more to create layers, texture, and effects in our artwork. Students need not have any background in art, and all supplies will be provided. Open to everyone; taught by Jan Fenwick.
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