Guitar | Ashlee Watkins | All Levels | Period 3 | Week 3 (July 20-24, 2026)
In this workshop for all levels, we’ll delve into a variety of ways to approach melodic playing. Starting with the basics, we’ll cover essential right and left-hand techniques as we dig into some stripped-down tunes. We’ll find the heart of a melody and explore variations that add optional layers of detail. Along the way, we’ll listen to some of the most influential old time guitar melody masters like Maybelle Carter, Alton Delmore, and Bill Napier, as well as modern minimalist masters like David McLaughlin, as we examine a variety of compelling and accessible techniques for stylistic melodic playing.
A note from Augusta – This class will not teach from-scratch basics. Students should be familiar and comfortable with their instrument and able to pick up basic techniques and tunes by ear. Check out Augusta’s evening mini-class offerings for from-scratch options!
About the Instructor
Having grown up in a musical family in New South Wales, Australia, Ashlee Watkins is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter whose powerfully unadorned vocals exhibit a refreshing directness of expression reminiscent of Maybelle Carter, Molly O’Day, and Hazel Dickens. She has been awarded a number of blue ribbons from fiddlers’ conventions around the Southeast for her folk singing and old-time banjo and guitar playing, and in 2021, her string band The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee won first place at the 85th Annual Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax, VA. In 2022, she completed a Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship with Floyd County master musician Mac Traynham. Ashlee has performed with Larry Sigmon and is a member of old time string bands The Mustard Cutters and The Crooked Road Ramblers.