More posts about the camp are coming, but for now, here’s the group shot. (You campers, I’ll email you the high res version of the shot, as well as the individual shots in the next couple days.) (Click on picture for larger version.)
Murphy Method Banjo Camp Campers (Not pictured: Jim Chambliss)
Murphy Henry
Well, as it turned out I did NOT get my strings changed. Good thing, too, as I found out Casey had advised the students not the change their strings before the camp!
We had a wonderfully fabulous time Friday afternoon doing three separate sessions. 1:30 till 6:00 (when I left to go dance!) The first session was a “meet and greet” and “let’s play and vamp some easy tunes.” So all 15 students introduced themselves and said a few words about what they wanted to learn. Our furthest students came from England (Roy) and Alaska (George). We weren’t sure which was further in actual miles, but since there was no prize, it didn’t really matter. I image someone will Google it and tell us today.
I was so happy to see my old friend and student Wes Edwards there! I’d met Wes at a workshop in Louisiana back in 1992 and had written about that workshop and Wes in my book, And There You Have It. (“The Murphy Method Goes Cajun” in case you want to look it up.) I read the section about Wes aloud to the class, since it had to do with hand position. That was an off-the-cuff idea but made the point, I hope, that everyone has a different hand position and no one needs to position their hand like J.D. Crowe just because J.D. does it that way!
After introductions, we played three tunes: Banjo in the Hollow, Cripple Creek, and Foggy Mountain Breakdown. We’d start out playing all together slow, then we split the class into “Marty’s Side” and “Wes’s Side” and had vamping and playing. We then worked up our speed to medium and then to “Zac speed” which is fast as greased lightening! It was really fun to play that much.
At our second session we jumped right into improvising, working on Blue Ridge Cabin Home and Bury Me Beneath the Willow. Of course I was preaching the gospel of “licks, not melody” and everyone seemed to get the idea. Jason, from Maine, who is one of our teenagers, didn’t much like the idea of no melody so I gave him—and him alone!—permission to look for the melody. I am learning to roll with the flow!
For our last hour Casey and I had a delightful time playing the students’ banjos and demonstrating the different sounds and how the same player sounds pretty much the same no matter what instrument is in her hands. Our good friend and Inn owner, David McLaughlin, joined us on guitar and he and I had exchanged some pointed banter in our friendly fashion.
Okay, the old clock on the wall tells me to get my butt in gear and get a shower and get into town. Looking forward to another fun day at camp. Geoff Stelling is arriving today to tell us how to set up a banjo. And Casey is giving a workshop on banjo backup for fiddle. Fun, fun, fun!! Wish you were here!
We’d like to have a place where our campers can share their experiences at camp, so we invite all fifteen of you attendees (plus companions) to write in the comments section below about what you’re doing, the good or bad jams you’ve had, and just what it’s like being at a camp with ALL Murphy Method students. Murphy and I are having a great time, we hope y’all are, too! —Casey
Murphy Henry
It is now 11:00 a.m. on Friday March 25. Banjo camp officially starts at 1:30. I thought I’d tell you quickly what’s going on at our house as we prepare.
Have I practiced my banjo today? No way! I’ve been too busy! What I have done this morning since getting up at 7 a.m.?
Driven into town to get new tires for my car. Waited there an hour and a half. (Shout out to Pep Boys. They did a good job. I did have an appointment.)
Did some last minute grocery shopping for Casey who is busy preparing meals for the camp.
Bought water softener salt and lugged that 50 pound bag into the house and deposited it, a scoop at a time, into the water softener.
Unclogged a toilet.
And blogged! I now will shower, eat lunch, and possibly change my banjo strings. Oh, just remembered I have to gather up product (DVDs, CDs,) to take to camp. The strings may remain unchanged! We’ll see.
Hope to report back more as things unfold. Wish you were here!
Update 2:00 p.m. – Camp is officially underway! Murphy is teaching downstairs at the Nancy Shepherd House Inn in the room known as the Tater Hill Tavern (which is not technically a tavern since there is no liquor license) and I can hear laughter wafting up the stairs. Innkeeper David McLaughlin is practicing his own style of clawhammer banjo playing in one of the parlors, and I’m at the dining room table checking email for the first time today while water for iced tea is on the stove in the kitchen. Here’s my guess: the banjo strings remained unchanged. I know mine didn’t get changed! —Casey
Casey Henry
Y’all may or may not know that our Murphy Method Banjo Camp is coming up this weekend. It starts Friday afternoon and runs ‘til Sunday at lunch, but a few students are filtering into Winchester, Va., on Thursday so that they’ll be settled and ready to go on Friday. Murphy is doing most of the teaching. I’m cooking lunch for everyone on Saturday and Sunday and doing a lot of jam-leading and general organizing.
We’re happy to have Geoff Stelling coming to do a banjo set-up workshop on Saturday afternoon, and he’s sticking around to play bass with us on our Saturday night concert for the students.
I’m about to start getting ready to drive to Virginia for camp, carrying a lot of cooking stuff, in addition to my instruments, camera (to capture the momentous occasion of our first camp!), souveniers for the students, and a sense of adventure for doing this job that I’ve never done before (being in charge of a camp, that is!).
As I’m preparing I thought I’d write about how you students might be/should be preparaing to come to this camp, or any camp really.
Just four days ‘til camp kicks off. I can’t wait!!
If you procrastinated and didn’t get your reservation in when we announced this camp, you’re in luck. We’ve had cancellations and can now offer spots to TWO deserving students (first come, first served). Camp dates: March 24-27 in Winchester, VA. Price $650. All details HERE (it says “sold out” but pay no attention to that). To register email themurphymethod (at) gmail (dot) com or call 615-513-8620.
Murphy Henry
By Marty Bacon
(Some, but not all, grammar and spelling cleaned up by Murphy in deference to Marty’s wife who is a professional writer!)
Hi Murphy,
Just finished Nameless Banjo Clinic and thought I would share. What I know from that clinic is I can jam with folks if they will let me define the tempo which doesn’t have to be excruciatingly slow. But some people just want to play everything fast. Also it seems that all banjo clinics only have people who want to play non-singing songs. Odd, huh? All they want to do is play the banjo. 
[As opposed to becoming banjo players.]
It is interesting to get in groups of people who have different playing interests. I found another banjo player who has been playing just a little less time than I have and she was a little better technically than I was. Then it turns out she worked diligently for decades to try to become a professional cellist. If it’s not that you are a Primitive Baptist, it’s that you are already accomplished on multiple other instruments. Everyone seems to have a leg up on me. She at least is really nice and lives in Pittsboro which isn’t too far away so she is going to start going to those jams I go to and we might get to play together some.
I did learn a new Scruggs lick (one that you tried to teach me at Kaufman Kamp, I can only describe it as bum-ba-bum-ba-bum-ba-bum out of an F shape and you can play it out of any chord. Does that make sense? [It actually does! Casey teaches it on Beyond Vamping!]
I am also discovering that I know a lot more about the keyboard. Just quiz me and I can tell you where an awful lot of 2-finger and 4-finger chords are. The problem is, in some respects, it is knowledge that hasn’t translated into improved picking, so that is problematic for me. The classes at these things are still too much of “let me show you what a great player I am” and not enough of “let me really see how to make you better.” But it is banjo immersion.
I am always inclined to think I could have spent my money and time better up there with you. Nonetheless, I am getting better. At some point I have to unconsciously be able to keep my fingers down on the head so folks stop cranking on me about that. [Let it go, Marty. It is what it is. You’re playing!]
I am looking forward to coming up there in December, because I really have no idea where I should be at this point and I think some good direction will be a big help once you can see where I am at. [Okay, I couldn’t stand to correct that bit of bluegrass grammar!] Every time I learn something new about the banjo, it seems like 10 more things crop up that I don’t know or can’t do.
Hope TDB is almost finished. [TDB is The Darn Book.]
Take care,
Marty
Comment from Murphy: In defense of banjo clinic teachers everywhere, it is REALLY HARD to know how to make a room full of people you’ve never seen before better banjo players in one afternoon or even one weekend. And it’s even hard to get them all to play songs together. Fortunately, Casey and I love the challenge! Not saying we always succeed, but we always try. When we teach, students play!
Red Henry
We’ve also had a lot of interest in our very first Murphy Method Banjo Camp, scheduled for late March. We often get inquiries saying “Where can I attend a banjo camp?”, and now Murphy and Casey, two of the best banjo teachers anywhere, will be giving a camp right here in Winchester, Va. There are still some student slots remaining, so if interested, take a look at the details here.
. . . . .
On another subject entirely, last night I did an extensive interview with a researcher who may write a book about Randy Wood, the pioneer (and still currently-active) bluegrass instrument builder who began making superb mandolins, banjos, and guitars way back in the 1960s. Since I have Randy’s very first mandolin as well as #3 (a Bill Monroe mandolin, which Murphy bought from Bill’s estate sale in 2001 and gave me), I like Randy’s instruments a lot and was able to share many stories from 35 and 40 years ago, about Randy’s pioneer work in making great instruments for bluegrass pickers to play.
Everybody keep picking!
Casey Henry
Officially announcing our first Murphy Method Banjo Camp! You have asked and finally (finally!) we have answered! Join us for Murphy Method Banjo Camp, March 25-27, 2011 in Winchester, Virginia. Murphy will be your teacher for this banjo-intensive weekend. Hone your skills and open up new doors with three days of Murphy’s personal instruction. Attention: it will be a small camp! So get your registration in early if you want to come. All details and registration information are here.
Greetings from Kaufman Kamp! I am sitting here in the kitchen of the suite Casey and I are sharing at Maryville College watching Casey pour her morning orange juice. And as you can see, I’m still in my pajamas!
Today will be the fourth teaching day at camp and I am happy to report that all my classes have gone swimmingly. (Does anybody say “swimmingly” anymore? For all you Y genners that means “great.”) At Kauf Kamp each teacher sees all the levels of students, not just one section. So I will see the Beginners, Intermediates (two sections), and Advanced students twice each for two, two-hour-long teaching periods.
You can get a lot done in two hours so the Beginners (whom I have seen twice already) have learned the low and high breaks to “Boil Them Cabbage Down” (from the Misfits DVD) and have learned to vamp to it and come in and out of their breaks and add an ending lick. We performed for Casey’s Banjo and Mandolin 101 class yesterday (folks who have never played banjo or mandolin before but want to learn) and my folks did, well, swimmingly! I was so proud of them! And Casey’s students played for us, too, picking out a fine version of “Skip to My Lou” (from the Beginning Mandolin DVD).
I’ve been taking both Intermediate classes through “Blue Ridge Cabin Home”, first a high break (from Easy Songs) and then a, more or less, improvised break (from, duh, Improvising!). Of course, my view of improvising—which is to play licks against chords with no melody at first—goes counter to everything the other teachers at the camp are telling them, but so it goes and what else is new. I think and hope they all left the class realizing that they, too, can improvise. As I said to them as they were leaving class, “This isn’t brain surgery.” To which one guy promptly replied, “It’s harder!” Good one!
The Advanced Class is being treated to a massive dose of “how Earl done it” beginning with “Bluegrass Breakdown” (from the Rawhide DVD). I had told them in the material in my section of the Kamp Book to “leave your melodic licks at home” but apparently some of them hadn’t read the fine print. They were gently told to “play that break again and leave out the melodic crap and put in something Earl would play.” Today we will look at Rudy Lyle’s fantastic break to Rawhide (from the DVD of the same name). The tune is done is the key of C and we will examine it both capoed (at the 5th fret) and uncapoed a la Craig Smith and Casey Henry. (I recorded it capoed myself being somewhat unadventurous at the time and more concerned with “how Rudy done it.”)
And in just an hour or so I will be explaining the mysteries of Learning To Hear Chord Changes (from the DVD of the same name) to a room full of students who possibly think I have a magic formula to dispense. Alas, no! I will be showing them that it’s just guess work at the beginning, trial and error, hunt and peck. But I will be assuring them that it will get easier.
So I will close now and go fix my oatmeal and read some in my current book, Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagels. As the Cowardly Lion said, “Fascinatin’” And to all you students who couldn’t be here—especially Zac, Susan, and Luke—we miss you! Maybe next year!