I decided to recycle this article from the Breakdown that I wrote over a year ago, updated for this year. CBA Summer Music Camp is coming up, and there are still some spaces left, so if you haven’t committed yet. Now is the time. We have space especially in:
- Bass Rhythms level 1/2/3
- Bluegrass Fiddle level 1/2
- Singing Styles level 1/2
- Songwriting level 1/2
- Bluegrass Bass level 2/3
- Bluegrass Banjo level 1/2
Registration is open. See more on our website.
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About eight years ago or so, I restarted playing fiddle after a hiatus of three decades. I was taking lessons, and dutifully sitting in my basement office, the Amazing Slow Downer fired up on the computer, practicing all the fiddle tunes my cats would listen to. I was improving and really happy about it, until…
My husband suggested I might improve faster if I played with other people. I shrugged, remembering high school orchestra, and not recalling it being all that much fun. That June, he went off to CBA Summer Music Camp while I stayed home and played “Whiskey Before Breakfast” for the cats another hundred times.
Of course, he returned from camp regaling me with tales of how much fun it was, the amazing instructors, the great jams, and how he couldn’t wait for the next one. I finally relented and went along the following year—pretty sure I’d be the worst fiddler ever to grace a bluegrass/old-time music camp. And, maybe I was, maybe I wasn’t. But I sure had a lot of fun, and didn’t really care if I was a terrible fiddler, because no one else seemed to care, either.
Fast forward through many music camps, fiddle classes, workshops, band classes, jam classes, informal jams, and a few actual performances in front of audiences. My husband doesn’t get to hear me say this very often, but he was right. CBA Summer Music Camp changed my musicianship, connected me to new friends, and brought a new level of joy to playing a very frustrating instrument.
So, this is a message to all you musicians who are still playing in your basements for the cats, dogs, turtles, or resident spiders. If you’re working on your new year’s resolutions, add another one: Play with other people. Make summer 2019 your year to join other CBA Summer Music Camp students. You’ll learn some new tunes, practice some old ones, jam under the stars, hear a lot of good music, and make a whole lot of new friends.
Okay, I know some of you still have some reservations.
• Is your budget a little tight? Volunteer! Registration and meals will be covered. Contact Camp Directors Peter Langston and Tina Webster at (info@cbamusiccamp.org) for more information.
• Hate camping? There are motels, hotels, and vacation rentals nearby.
• Don’t like getting up in the morning? It’s so much easier when someone’s made coffee and a nice hot breakfast for you. You won’t even have to do the dishes.
• You’re nervous about playing in front of others? Most people are. But, you’ll never find a more accepting crowd (except maybe your pets).
• You’re thinking maybe in a year or two, when you’re a better player? Join us in 2019, and become a better player immediately. No need to wait another year.
Your dogs and cats will thank you.
