Groovemama "a wild storm of music!" Ron Buchanan, dance caller, Philadelphia Folk Festival 2007 Celtic, Canadian and Old Time fiddle/banjo music. Concerts, festivals, school workshops, coaching Great Groove Bands. Summer Camp Weeks for kids and adults in Voorheesville NY. Press release School program	Great Groove Band Youth band for ages 6-18 every summer at the Old Songs and Philadelphia Folk Festivals. Slideshow with mp3
Contact for both: dhebert at crocker dot com

2006 Old Songs Great Groove Band - main stage performance. Roger Mock photo.

SAMPLE Program - up to 50 people Swallowtail Jig (Irish 6/8 Jig, E Dorian) violin, viola, cello, chord chart, easy and fully-styled Irish settings. Mp3 samples: slow / fast Sail Away Ladies (Appalachian Old-Time song and tune, G major) violin, viola, cello, chord chart, lyrics, easy & fully-styled settings November Wind (Original waltz, © Jane Rothfield) 2 parts each for violin, viola, cello, chord chart East Tennessee Blues (Appalachian Old-Time tune, C major) violin, viola, cello, chord chart - easy and fully-styled settings

AUDIO & PHOTOS Groovemama mp3: Brasstown & Uncle Bob's Boogie (both © D. Hébert) Great Groove Band slideshow. Music: East Tennessee Blues, in performance at 2005 Old Songs Festival

Repertoire: For schools, curriculum tune packets contain sheet music for violin, viola or bass clefs with a lesson and play-along CD. Students or schools order curriculum packets at least 6 weeks in advance and teachers and students listen to the music as tunes are learned first by ear. We have 50 tunes available for violin, viola, cello and bass and can work on two tunes per hour of workshop time to be able to play for an evening jam session onstage. Most school workshops are 3 hours long. Residencies are for a 3 hour class for 2-3 days, with a public concert the last evening.

When we arrive, we review the tunes and teach rhythmic backup lines on the spot, helping the group arrange the tunes for an evening jam onstage with us. Participants are taught how to read and follow chord charts and how to find harmonies and rhythms within the tune. Sheet music is allowed for a panic peek, but we encourage students to look at and listen to each other and us. Rhythm cues come from the recordings and from playing with us. We don't conduct; they JAM with us and we help them find the groove! Students are given the opportunity to play both lead and backup lines and to improvise.

Jam session & performance: A conductor keeps an orchestra's rhythm in order, but who does it in a jam session? We cover the basics of sharing leads and harmonies, teaching and using non-verbal cues and signals. We teach how to find and stay with a group rhythm or groove and cover some common-sense do's and don'ts.

The one hour evening concert program ends with the students onstage jamming with us - fiddle heaven!

"Donna and her Groovemama colleagues changed the way my students and I think about fiddling. They actually helped us to feel confident enough to turn our music over, close our eyes and play independently. The techniques can be a real help to your ears for harmony and melody, your sense of rhythm and your bowing technique. There is nothing in classical music that approaches these skills in this way. I even started playing Mozart the following day in a different style - much lighter and more at ease! Through careful preparation, Donna has designed a program that teaches students theory and fiddling styles. She instructed us in detail on what to prepare, and she was very easy to work with. The students and their director will have materials to play and work with for the rest of their playing lives. They now have the tools to pursue fiddling further and we have all gained an appreciation of the art." Jane Ezbicki - 2006 Mass. ASTA chapter president, Fine Arts Director & Orchestra Conductor, Wayland MA Schools

CONTACT US: info@fiddlingdemystified.com

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© 2007 Donna Hébert, fiddlingdemystified.com | Designer: Donna Hébert. P. Gonyer, R. Mock photos.  Violin Bach/Blue artwork © daniele todaro www.todaro.com. Used with permission.