To give you an idea of how the days are structured, here is a typical day from the Kids Camp:

• 8:00 - 9:20am – Registration on Monday
• 9:20am – Meet with your band at Kids Camp to walk to Wildflower Pavilion
• 9:30 - 10:15am – Join Adult Academy in the Wildflower Pavilion
• 10:15 - 10:30am – Introductions and Sing-A-Long: Everyone
• 10:30 - 11:20am – Block 1
• 11:20 - 11:35am – Break / Snack Time
• 11:35 - 12:30pm – Block 2
• 12:30 - 2:00pm – Lunch (unsupervised)
• 2:00 - 2:50pm – Band
• 2:50 - 3:00pm – Break / Snack Time
• 3:00 - 3:50pm – Block 3
• 3:50 - 4:00pm – Break / Snack Time
• 4:00 - 5:00pm – Optional Afternoon Activities
• 5:00pm – Done for Day!

The end of camp concert will be held from 4:00-4:30 on Thursday in the Wildflower Pavilion.

Students need to bring their own lunch. Food and childcare from 12:30 - 2:00 will not be provided. Water bottles and recording devices are recommended. Snacks will be provided by Planet Bluegrass.

Leslie Zieigler, a founding member of The Railsplitters, will be leading this year’s camp. Leslie and her staff have taught children across the US and Canada. Read full bios for each of the five instructors on the RockyGrass Academy instructors page.

This music camps take a significant amount of time and effort to put on. Volunteer jobs include setting up snacks, helping kids to classes, finding instruments, tuning instruments, helping with registration, and other camp jobs.

Everyone will be participating in a band class during the fourth block. This is a chance to work up a song with your peers to play during the camp concert. The class will be mostly students of your same age or level, and will include everything from stage presence, to singing and taking solos, to playing rhythm. Everyone is automatically put into a band, so you don’t need to worry about signing up for it; we will take care of putting you into a band.

Beginning Bass

No prerequisite. Students will learn how a bass fits into a jam or band. They will learn 4-5 chords and how to back up a guitar on some simple singing songs.

Intermediate & Advanced Bass

Students should have been taking lessons in orchestra or otherwise for at least 6 months. Students will learn chords to back up a guitar, as well as scales, patterns for following new chords, new songs, and how to walk.

Beginning Fiddle

No prerequisite. This class is geared towards students who have no or very little background in playing fiddle or violin. Students will learn how to correctly hold and bow the instrument as well as a few basic fiddle tunes.

Intermediate Fiddle

Students should have been taking fiddle for one year or be in Suzuki Book 1. In this class, students will work on becoming stronger players and learn a few basic fiddle tunes in first position.

Advanced Fiddle

Students should have been taking fiddle lessons for 2 years or be in Suzuki Book 3. Students will learn 2-3 fiddle tunes, some basics on how to improvise, different bowings, backup, and other techniques to bluegrass fiddling.

Twin Fiddle

Students must have been playing fiddle/violin for 2 years. This class will teach students how to find and/or play harmony parts on the fiddle. Students will learn the lead and harmony part to a few different fiddle tunes.

No prerequisite. Students will learn fun singing songs to sing with a group, a guitar, or solo.

Beginning Guitar

No prerequisite. Students will learn 4-5 basic guitar chords, how to strum with a pick, and a few basic bluegrass songs.

Intermediate and Advanced Guitar

This class is geared towards students that can play several chords comfortably and the boom strum rhythm. Students will learn to flat pick, along with strengthening their chord and rhythm knowledge.

Beginning Mandolin

No prerequisite. This class will teach students the basics of how to hold and play the mandolin. They will learn a few easy mandolin chords, some bluegrass tunes, and mandolin rhythm.

Intermediate and Advanced Mandolin

Students should be quite comfortable playing 2 finger chords. They should also be able to play a few basic tunes. Students will learn how to play closed finger chords, work on their rhythm, and lead on a few new bluegrass songs.

For students 11 and up. This class will be an introduction to how to write songs, from instrumentation to lyrics.

Beginning Jamming

No prerequisite. Students will learn how to jam with their peers by learning basic jamming tunes, the elements of a jam, and jamming etiquette.

Intermediate/Advanced Jamming

Students must have been playing their instrument for at least one year, and feel fairly comfortable playing it. Students will learn how to jam with others – taking leads when appropriate, and keeping background rhythms for the group. They will also learn a selection of bluegrass standards typically played in a bluegrass jam.

No prerequisite. Students will explore how to record on different devices (phone, computer, etc.) and learn how to approach the recording process as an instrumentalist and a recording engineer.

Registration for the Academy for Kids is not like the Adult Academy. Students are choosing three classes instead of one. Students will take an elective class during each block time period in addition to participating in a band. Please select your top two choices for Blocks 1, 2, and 3 and indicate your choices on the Registration Form.

• Beginning Mandolin
• Beginning Guitar
• Beginning Fiddle
• Intermediate & Advanced Fiddle
• Vocals

• Beginning Bass
• Beginning Fiddle
• Beginning Guitar
• Beginning Mandolin
• Intermediate and Advanced Mandolin
• Vocals
• Twin Fiddles

• Beginning Fiddles
• Beginning Guitar
• Beginning Mandolin
• Intermediate and Advanced Bass
• Intermediate and Advanced Guitar
• Vocals