Nashville Beginner Jam Camp
Thursday through Sunday, February 9-12, 2023

This camp has ONE SPOT open! Grab it now before it’s gone!

Fiddles, banjos, mandolins, guitars, Dobros, and basses welcome! Beginners encouraged.
This camp is for novice players who are looking to experience playing with other people, maybe even for the very first time.
It's totally fine if you're new at playing bluegrass, or even your instrument. That's what we're here for.

Megan Lynch Chowning ~ Ellie Hakanson ~ Jeff Burke ~ Sharon Gilchrist

*2023 Camp instructors include Megan Lynch Chowning (fiddle and vocals), Ellie Hakanson (fiddle and vocals), Jeff Burke (guitar, banjo, mandolin, vocals, and overall beginner jam skills), and Sharon Gilchrist (bass, mandolin, and vocals). Click on any of their names to learn more about how incredible they are. These instructors have been chosen for their patience and experience with newer players. Every one of them has taught brand new adult players to successfully play music with other people. They are simultaneously experts at their own instruments as well as experts at bringing people along slowly but surely and building confidence along the way. We are also excited to include one of our favorite advanced Jam Campers, Marty Calden, in the staff to help with anything you might need along the way.

*Dates for Nashville Beginner Jam Camp are February 9-12, 2023.

*This camp will focus on bluegrass-style jamming and will draw on traditional bluegrass songs and tunes.

*Registration will be first come, first picked, and numbers will be updated in real time on the home page and registration page. Unlike the intermediate/advanced camps, we are not going to try to get equal numbers of each instrument. We'll be able to work on building a good jamming foundation no matter how many of each instrument we get.

*The price for on-site lodging, tuition, and food is $1000. The price for traveling to and fro each day (we call this being a "day camper" which includes tuition, breakfast, lunch, and snack) is $800. Add on dinner plans for day campers are also available.

*Nashville Beginner Jam Camp loves Straight Up Strings.

*Register early - with only 15 spots time is of the essence... All of the Nashville Acoustic Camps sell out quickly. You don't want to miss this!

This is unlike any camp you've ever encountered...

In the hills just above Nashville, TN there is a house set back in the woods where people go to learn how to jam and play bluegrass music from some of the greatest players and instructors in the known universe.

Only 15 campers are allowed to attend so each class is small and every camper comes away feeling like he or she had a couple of days of private lessons. And yet, friendships are made that last a lifetime. It's pretty magical. Teachers are chosen because they are able to make special connections with their students. Meals are handmade and generally pretty southern and always delicious. You will stay on-site or travel from your home or nearby hotel each day and learn from the masters.

Jam classes will be grouped together by experience levels with a mix of instruments and led by an instructor or two. We aren't kidding when we say it's ok if you've never ever played music with other people. The instructors will walk you through how to do it, step by step. We'll also be doing a lot of singing. Lead singing, harmony singing, we'll work on it all. Campers will receive a song list and resources before camp to help have some common material to work on during camp. We also plan to offer bass instruction for everyone at camp, (we'll provide a few basses for everyone to share) since we don't expect to get many, if any, bass players to sign up for camp. But we'd like to make bass players out of everyone who does come. We are so excited about this format - bringing all the instruments and voices together to share a Nashville Acoustic Camp experience!

Nashville is only a stone's throw away so there are always field trips into town to see a great concert or visit a traditional music hotspot.

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