Guitar | Joan Fenton | Beginning | Period 1 | Week 2 (July 13-17, 2026)
Students will learn 2-3 finger-style blues songs in two different keys. They will learn how to pick out melodies played against an alternating bass. The focus is on learning by ear, and not from tab, with handouts available after we have learned how to play the songs. Requirements: Students are expected to know basic chords, A, B7, C, D, E, F and G. and be able to change chords so that they are ready to learn songs. Check out more about Joan’s class in the video below.
About the Instructor
Folklorist and performer Joan Fenton earned her Master’s degree in folklore from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981. She hosted traditional music radio shows in NC and WV, from 1974- 1989 and did field work and recorded southern roots artists from North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Louisiana. Her collection is housed in the library at the Southern Folklife Collection at UNC- Chapel Hill. Her mentors and teachers were Jerry Ricks and Reverend Gary Davis. In 1983 she founded Blues Week at Augusta and for this work is a recipient of the “ WC Handy award for “Keeping the Blues Alive in Education”. She has been an instructor at Augusta for over 40 years.