• Plans for the 9th Annual Jim Richter Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us Announced

    9th Annual Jim Richter Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us

    BLOOMINGTON, IND. — The 9th Annual Jim Richter Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us featuring Mandolin for Dummies and Mandolin Exercises For Dummies author Don Julin will be held July 13-16 at the Grant Street Inn.

    The camp welcomes its 2022 sponsors: Kimble Mandolins and the Grant Street Inn.

    As always, the camp focuses on non-bluegrass mandolin styles with a special emphasis on rock and blues. Additionally, the camp intends to address "beginner-itis," or the dreaded disease effecting those mandolinists who never seem to move beyond beginner status.

    If your goal is to win the Winfield mandolin contest next year, this may not be the camp for you. If your goal is to learn to better enjoy the instrument we all love and endear, this most definitely will be your 2022 mandolin camp.

    This camp has many individuals who travel across the country each year for its very special and singular approach to mandolin instruction pedagogy. The camp is a dedicated program that all students attend, engage, and interact in. There are no level systems, concurrent classes, etc. This is an opportunity to develop a student cohort that will ensure the best outcomes for this type of camp.

    Course Curriculum

    • Blues
    • Rock
    • Jazz
    • Arrangement
    • Basic music theory
    • Technique
    • Practice routines
    • Jamming
    • Instrumental construction
    • Most importantly, conversing musically with others

    As in previous years, attendees help refine the curriculum by completing a questionnaire that is a part of the registration form. The camp is very sensitive to the needs of students in the moment and will always consider shifting the schedule to accommodate.

    20 minutes of individual instruction is a standard part of the camp. Given that camp is open to around 15 attendees, we have to limit private instruction to 15 minutes. Individual instruction will be held in the mornings between 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.

    Schedule and Activities

    Wednesday: Meet and Greet/Jam. Not obligatory to attend but a good icebreaker and beginning.
    Thursday: Individual sessions in the a.m. Classes from noon until 5:00 p.m. Jamming in the evening.
    Friday: Individual sessions in the a.m. Classes from noon until 5:00 p.m. Faculty concert in the evening with jamming in the evening.
    Saturday: Individual sessions in the a.m. Classes from noon until 5:00 p.m. Student concert in the evening.

    COVID-19 Protocols: It is strongly encouraged that all attendees be vaccinated and boosted. For those that are not vaccinated, it is strongly encouraged that masks be worn. We will follow official county/state protocols in effect at time of the camp.


    Jim Richter Mandolin Camp
    Comments 9 Comments
    1. Sue Rieter's Avatar
      Sue Rieter -
      All men in this group, interesting
    1. Bill McCall's Avatar
      Bill McCall -
      Limited to 15. Self selected quick responders………
    1. JimRichter's Avatar
      JimRichter -
      Quote Originally Posted by Bill McCall View Post
      Limited to 15. Self selected quick responders………
      Hi there. Camp size can go up to 30. The camp the last two years has been different because of Covid protocols and purposefully kept the size of the camp manageable where there would be social distancing. Also I have a mailing list of previous camp attendees who have been coming for many years. This the accounts about half to 60% of attendees. Happy to clarify any questions you have.
    1. JimRichter's Avatar
      JimRichter -
      Quote Originally Posted by Sue Rieter View Post
      All men in this group, interesting
      Hi Sue, this past year was one of the first years where we did not have any female attendees. If you go to either jimrichter.com or to richtermandolincamp.com And look at pictures from the previous eight years, you will see the typically 1/4 of our students are female. Please reach out to me if you have any questions. Thanks for reading the post.
    1. Sue Rieter's Avatar
      Sue Rieter -
      Quote Originally Posted by JimRichter View Post
      Hi Sue, this past year was one of the first years where we did not have any female attendees. If you go to either jimrichter.com or to richtermandolincamp.com And look at pictures from the previous eight years, you will see the typically 1/4 of our students are female. Please reach out to me if you have any questions. Thanks for reading the post.
      I didn't mean anything by the comment. I was just making an observation. I apologize if it came across critical. I probably should have kept my observation to myself. I bet it's a wicked fun and educational time, regardless of the demographics. Anyway, they look like a genial group.
    1. CES's Avatar
      CES -
      I’d love to go to this one but already have a family trip scheduled that month, so can’t take the time
    1. Dave Greenspoon's Avatar
      Dave Greenspoon -
      Acoustic,as in unplugged, only?
    1. Mandolin Cafe's Avatar
      Mandolin Cafe -
      Jim tells me just a couple spots left. This is a great workshop experience!
    1. Southern Man's Avatar
      Southern Man -
      I am registered for this and wondering if other cafe members are going?