This mandolin class is geared towards the intermediate/advanced skill levels. Students are required to
1) Be able to tune their mandolins. (Just kidding, it’s impossible.)
2) Have a working knowledge of the fingerboard up to at least the 12th fret with emphasis on the use of chord “boxes” found in bluegrass music.
3) Be competent in their right and left hand technical skills.
4) Have a working repertoire of Monroe songs and tunes that they can play from memory.
5) Be able to play at various tempos and in different time signatures competently. 6) Have a basic understanding of Monroe’s approach to melody and harmony.
7) Most importantly, be interested in the subject matter and participate fully.
The class will cover
1) A review and inspection of right and left hand technique (because there’s never enough…)
2) The use of rhythmic accents and patterns evident in Monroe’s vocabulary used to establish groove and feel as well as assist in propelling and defining melody lines.
3) Other classic techniques such as downstrokes, slides, arpeggios, and a number of Monroe’s go-to phrases that he used throughout his career.
4) Variations in tremolo including illustrations in material covered.
5) Monroe’s frequent use of triplets, including triplet tremolo
6) A brief look at tunings.
While there is an agenda for this class it will not be closed to other topics desired by the students. Students will receive “homework” every day. It is advisable to bring a personal music stand as there will be written material handed out to benefit those who want it. Recording devices are acceptable. Please come prepared to play a LOT. The class is NOT an exhibition. Points discussed will be learned by doing.
***IMPORTANT INFO: We’re doing something a little different with our Banjo, Guitar, and Mandolin classes this year. Because of the stature of several of our instructors, we decided to play to their strengths by offering two classes for each of those instruments that will each cover both the Intermediate and Advanced levels.
Ron Stewart is a master banjo player, but he also played fiddle for six years with the late legend J.D. Crowe. His experiences have made him the perfect person to take a deep dive into the fine points of Crowe’s influential banjo playing. For Intermediate/Advanced students who want a more wide-ranging look at modern and traditional banjo styles, Gabe Hirshfeld will be teaching the other Intermediate/Advanced Banjo class.
Dudley Connell, one of the great rhythm guitar players in bluegrass history, will focus his class on the rich variety of sounds and grooves that rhythm players can bring to a bluegrass band or jam. There is so much more to rhythm guitar than ‘boom-chick”! Students who want more emphasis on lead playing will get that in Chris Luquette’s class.
Mike Compton—no stranger to Bluegrass Week—is the leading living exponent of Bill Monroe’s mandolin style. Students who are looking for a full understanding of the classic roots of bluegrass mandolin will find that in Mike’s class, while Matt Flinner’s Intermediate/Advanced class will branch out into more modern approaches to the instrument.
Because the line between Intermediate and Advanced is seldom well defined, we believe grouping the levels together like this is the best way to enable all students who wish to take advantage of Ron’s, Dudley’s, and Mike’s unique perspectives to do so. Of course there will be Beginner-level classes for those instruments, too, so novice students can get the intensive attention they need to progress. (As in past years, the Fiddle classes will be divided into the usual Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced sections.)***
Instructor Bio
Befriended and mentored by Bill Monroe, the acknowledged “father of bluegrass music,” Mike Compton is one of today’s foremost interpreters of Monroe’s genre-creating mandolin style. Mandolin students from around the world make the pilgrimage to his annual Monroe Mandolin Camp in Nashville, TN, where Compton and a select handful of other experts teach Monroe’s endlessly inspiring mandolin style. Mike’s decades of touring and recording with musical luminaries ranging from rockstars Sting, Gregg Allman, and Elvis Costello to straight-from-the-still acoustic legends like John Hartford, Doc Watson, Peter Rowan, Ralph Stanley, and David Grisman have established him as a master of the modern American mandolin and a premier interpreter of roots and Americana musical styles. With more than 140 CDs in his discography, including work with Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Patty Loveless, Compton has helped keep mandolin a cool, relevant sound as the modern musical styles ebb and evolve to reach an ever- broadening audience.
A native of Mississippi, Mike moved to Nashville, where he helped found the Nashville Bluegrass Band, one of the most admired and influential bluegrass groups. He’s also been a part of the John Hartford Stringband, Helen Highwater Stringband, 1942, Compton & Newberry, and other seminal groups.
When A-list Americana producer T-Bone Burnett needed experts in authentic rural musical styles to anchor the landmark O Brother, Where Art Thou? Movie project and subsequent tour, he called upon Compton’s unique knowledge and signature mandolin style to authenticate the Soggy Bottom boys’ rootsy sound. That Grammy-awarded Album of the Year- winning album went on to sell seven million copies and sparked a global revival in old-time and bluegrass musical styles.
Connoisseur of hand-painted vintage silk ties, popularizer of the denim overall urban fashion statement, lover of iconic men’s hats and curator of oddball official days (ask him about National Lost Sock Memorial Day or National Root Canal Appreciation Day), Mike Compton thrives at the intersection of traditional funk and modern authenticity.
Equally skilled in bluegrass, old-time string band music, country blues, and much more, Compton soars beyond easy categorization. Gifted at tastefully incorporating rural, roots-based lead and rhythm mandolin styles into modern Americana music, Compton’s unique musical skill set allows him to entertain audiences ranging from rockers and urban hipsters to die-hard country, folk and bluegrass fans.
Visit www.mikecompton.net for more information.