I'd like to do some total music immersion sometime and wonder if there are any places that accommodate that — especially in New England.
Know of anything?
Thanks!
I'd like to do some total music immersion sometime and wonder if there are any places that accommodate that — especially in New England.
Know of anything?
Thanks!
Gibson A-Junior snakehead (Keep on pluckin'!)
Thanks Charlie. I thought about this today.
I was thinking of a technique and difficult concept in music theory and I wondered (for five minutes) how I could teach that to someone.
5 minutes later I had the answer: don’t confuse things with verbal language and explanations.
Communicate with the instrument!
I'm not sure if you are looking for instruction or simply woodshedding?
About 30 years ago I moved to a new town. I was single and I didn't know anybody. I had no television, on purpose. For about a year I practiced between 6 and 15 hours a day. In those pre-internet days, I would put on a favorite record and learn song after song. If I couldn't figure it out at first, I told myself it has to be on the neck somewhere, possibly a flat, a sharp or a minor chord, or even an alternative tuning. In that year I would easily say I became 10X the musician I was before, and I had been playing since I was a kid. A good immersion, for me.
When I wasn't playing music, I read a bunch of books (mostly about music or musician biographies) and cooked Ramen noodles......
I would recommend the practicing and reading....the Ramen was just because it was quick and I didn't have to leave the house.
There is a week-long music camp with top notch instructors at the Ossipee Valley Music Festival...dunno if that fits into the realm of a "retreat"...?
too many strings
I know of a couple of top notch musicians/instructors who will offer several days or week long immersions out of their homes. It obviously carries a cost. One is guitar oriented but also has fly fishing. I have not done it due to cost.
One is in Wyoming and the other in East Tennessee.
Jay Unger/Molly Mason have a beautiful event center in the Catskill Mountains of NY where they have week long retreats for many different styles of music/dance, etc. I have driven past it many times, it is on my bucket list!
https://ashokancenter.org
Pre-festival camping a festival is a great idea IMO. I used to go to Greyfox the Friday before the festival opened and hang in line with everyone. During the day (if I wasn't volunteering), I'd either woodshed alone, find a jam to play, or go out to explore the area (Bash Bish!). Not "total" immersion but pretty close If there's a festival near you that allows pre-festival camping, that's a great (and relatively cheap) option. Plus then you get to see the pros do it on stage haha
Information on lessons, gigs, and misc musical stuff: www.mattcbruno.com
Weekly free Mandolin Lessons: www.mattcbruno.com/weekly-posts/
My gear and recommendations: www.mattcbruno.com/gear-recommendations/
Cooking fun: www.mattcbruno.com/quarantine-cookbook/
Mando's in use
Primary: Newson 2018
Secondary: Gibson F9 2014
Primary Electric: Jonathan Mann OSEMdc 5
Great ideas. The last time I volunteered at the Pagosa Folk and Bluegrass Festival in Colorado, I arrived a week early and camped in my van (for free) in the Rio Grande National Forest off Wolf Creek Pass. Plenty of woodshedding and alone time prior to the weekend festival. I highly recommend it.
WWW.THEAMATEURMANDOLINIST.COM
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"Life is short. Play hard." - AlanN
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https://halswaymanor.org.uk/ Simon Mayor does some here https://halswaymanor.org.uk/event/simon-mayors-mandolin-masterclass-2023/ and the BBMG Summer School dive tails in with it nicely.https://www.bbmg.org.uk/summer-school/
Eoin
"Forget that anyone is listening to you and always listen to yourself" - Fryderyk Chopin
Gibson A-Junior snakehead (Keep on pluckin'!)
.... you know you want to really! Verily 'tis but a hop o'er the pond.
Eoin
"Forget that anyone is listening to you and always listen to yourself" - Fryderyk Chopin
Thanks. Even if they were here in Augusta, I'm not looking for a teacher, just a retreat place.
They have 'em for writers and visual artists, but I don't know of any for musicians, and I figured, if anyone knows of any, it's the Mandolin Cafe folks.
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=O]
Gibson A-Junior snakehead (Keep on pluckin'!)
My friend in Montana runs an artist’s retreat in the mountains. Volunteers camp (campers and bunkhouses) and help with building the place for a few weeks and have daily opportunities to practice or jam. We have some great campfire sessions when I bbq a salmon at my place
Search for Artists’ Refuge at Thunderhead.
I live in the woods in Wisconsin, it you want to come here and camp you can be by yourself as long as you want.
THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!
There's Acadia trad camp -- you can attend classes and sessions and concerts and whatnot but you may be able to just hang and play in your room or outside; you can reach out to them and see if they can offer you a space on campus. https://acadiatradfestival.org/ it's at Bar Harbor, by the way.
and of course catskills irish arts in upstate new york. if you don't take classes, you can spend the entire day just playing by yourself or with neighbors just for the cost of the hotel room/meals. and go to concerts and sessions all night.
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1920 Lyon & Healy bowlback
1923 Gibson A-1 snakehead
1952 Strad-o-lin
1983 Giannini ABSM1 bandolim
2009 Giannini GBSM3 bandolim
2011 Eastman MD305
You could always go for just pre-festival stuff when there's a lot fewer folks then head out before the festival starts. That said, I'm honestly a bit curious about how you'll be immersed in music and potentially jamming without other people playing music too... Seems like you'll have to tolerate people at least
For just woodshedding, if you don't have a good spot for that at home (or just want to get out of the house for it), renting a small studio space might work. Or, if it's nice out, I like hitting up a park.
Information on lessons, gigs, and misc musical stuff: www.mattcbruno.com
Weekly free Mandolin Lessons: www.mattcbruno.com/weekly-posts/
My gear and recommendations: www.mattcbruno.com/gear-recommendations/
Cooking fun: www.mattcbruno.com/quarantine-cookbook/
Mando's in use
Primary: Newson 2018
Secondary: Gibson F9 2014
Primary Electric: Jonathan Mann OSEMdc 5
I want to immerse myself in my own music. Since I got married, I've only written a couple of songs a year. Really miss it. So I'd like to find something like what NDO describes in post 18 — but not as far away.
No studio rental budget, or I would've started doing that years ago. Sometimes I go to the park, and sometimes when I do that I invite other people. But Maine doesn't have a lot of months where you can really do that.
Last edited by Charlie Bernstein; May-11-2023 at 5:33pm.
Gibson A-Junior snakehead (Keep on pluckin'!)
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