Handmade Music School Workshops offer unique learning experiences in music or dance with master teachers at the Floyd Country Store. The workshops are timely, engaging, and dynamic sessions targeted to serve participants with varied interests and goals. Register today for a shorter 1-2 hour workshop, an all-day learning experience, or a multi-day camp!
Events Search and Views Navigation
August 2018
On the fourth Sunday of every month, prior to the Old-Time Jam, the Handmade Music School hosts the Youth Old-Time Jam on The Floyd Country Store stage! Geared toward youths under 16, this is a chance for young musicians to gather and play their repertoire at an accessible speed. Led by Mac Traynham and friends! All are welcome. Admission is free.
Find out moreSeptember 2018
Join us on Saturday, September 1, 2018 from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm for an Introduction to Improvisation in Bluegrass (Guitar & Mandolin) with Abe Goorskey and Scott Patrick. Abe Goorskey and Scott Patrick will provide a brief introduction of how improvisation applies to bluegrass music and show you how to incorporate improvisational playing into your song repertoire. Using mandolin and guitar, Scott and Abe will discuss melodic and improvised approaches to songs and tunes, and how to use both approaches with ease.
Find out more
The Handmade Music School presents an Intermediate Live Sound Workshop Series with Joseph DeJarnette of Studio808A/Turn It Down Sound. Workshop dates are Tuesdays September 4, October 2, and December 4, 2018 from 6pm-8pm. Cost is $30 per class. This intermediate workshop is designed for folks who already know how to set-up and run a small PA, but are looking to become more familiar with fine tuning a system for the best possible sound using whatever gear and space is available. This session will also be useful for musicians looking to communicate better with professional sound engineers, or to tweak their own sound at small gigs.
Find out more
The Handmade Music School presents an intensive clawhammer banjo workshop with Adam Hurt: Introduction To The Sandy River Belle Tuning on Thursday, September 13 from 5:30-8:00pm. Cost is $40.00.
Find out more
The Handmade Music School presents a special fiddle workshop with Eddie Bond on Saturday, September 15, 2018 from 3:00-5:00pm. Learn fiddle in the old-time way, phrase by phrase from with one of the most respected fiddlers in the Blue Ridge Mountain region. Eddie will teach Roundpeak/Galax style tunes with attention to bowing. Eddie Bond grew up in Fries, Virginia, where the fiddle and banjo are still welded in a Virginia dance tradition. Eddie is the fiddler and lead singer in the New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters, and is the winner of many fiddle contests, including the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention.
Find out more
Join the Handmade Music School for an intermediate fiddle workshop with Erynn Marshall on Sunday, September 23, 2018 from 11:00am-1:00pm. Old-Time Week Coordinator Erynn Marshall is a fiddler well-known nationally and beyond for her traditional music. She learned the nuances of old-time fiddling from visiting 80-95 year-old southern fiddlers. Her fieldwork culminated in the book, Music in the Air Somewhere about West Virginia fiddle and song traditions (WVU Press).
Find out more
Join the Handmade Music School for an intermediate guitar workshop with Carl Jones on Sunday, September 23, 2018 from 11:00am - 1:00pm. Carl Jones is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Born in Macon, GA, Carl presently lives in Galax, VA. He is widely respected for his instrumental talents and original songs about the joys and tribulations of day-to-day life in the South. Carl’s songs have been recorded by The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Kate Campbell, Rickie Simpkins with Tony Rice, and others.
Find out moreOn the fourth Sunday of every month, prior to the Old-Time Jam, the Handmade Music School hosts the Youth Old-Time Jam on The Floyd Country Store stage! Geared toward youths under 16, this is a chance for young musicians to gather and play their repertoire at an accessible speed. Led by Mac Traynham and friends! All are welcome. Admission is free.
Find out more
The Handmade Music School presents an intermediate banjo workshop with Jared Boyd on Saturday, September 29, 2018 from 3:00-5:00pm. Cost is $30. This workshop will focus on a few Round Peak/Galax area tunes, as well as some clawhammer techniques and licks you can add to your playing to give it more character/variety. We will go through tunes phrase by phrase at a moderate pace so as to get in as many tunes as possible. Attendees are expected to be able to learn by ear or by watching, as no tablature or written notation will be provided.
Find out moreOctober 2018
The Handmade Music School presents an Intermediate Live Sound Workshop Series with Joseph DeJarnette of Studio808A/Turn It Down Sound. Workshop dates are Tuesdays September 4, October 2, and December 4, 2018 from 6pm-8pm. Cost is $30 per class. This intermediate workshop is designed for folks who already know how to set-up and run a small PA, but are looking to become more familiar with fine tuning a system for the best possible sound using whatever gear and space is available. This session will also be useful for musicians looking to communicate better with professional sound engineers, or to tweak their own sound at small gigs.
Find out more
The Handmade Music School presents a flatfoot dance workshop on Saturday, October 27, 2018 from 5:00-6:00pm with Martha Spencer from the family-based Whitetop Mountain Band & Larry Sigmon & Martha Spencer. Martha has just come out with a Flatfoot Dancing for Beginners DVD and will be sharing her easy to learn method, with each step broken down, slow and fast. The workshop will also feature a brief history of the dance traditions from Southwest Virginia.
Find out moreOn the fourth Sunday of every month, prior to the Old-Time Jam, the Handmade Music School hosts the Youth Old-Time Jam on The Floyd Country Store stage! Geared toward youths under 16, this is a chance for young musicians to gather and play their repertoire at an accessible speed. Led by Mac Traynham and friends! All are welcome. Admission is free.
Find out more