Evening & Weekend Classes
Each online session consists of four weekly lessons. Local students are encouraged to participate in Caffe Lena’s jams and open mics in order to further develop skills and become part of a folk music community.
To ask a question about the Caffe Lena School of Music or learn more about scholarships please email musicschool@caffelena.org
“Caffe Lena School of Music has created a truly unique, folk music, virtual learning experience & communITY. It’s like sitting on the front porch learning tunes from a master” – Jamaica rafael, CAlifornia
Tuesdays Feb 8, 15, 22, and Mar 1, 2022 7:00pm-8:15pm ET / $165
7PM ET / 6PM CT / 5PM MT / 4PM PT
UNLOCKING THE GUITAR NECK TWO with Stash Wyslouch takes you deeper into your knowledge and comfort along the fretboard. With Stash’s encyclopedic understanding of the guitar, you’ll learn new tunes and unique techniques for comprehending all the guitar has to offer.
After learning how to break tunes into bite-size chunks gaining skill using a few scales and chord positions, this workshop takes you that much farther in your journey to use the whole guitar neck. You’re in for a lifetime of musical exploration and wonder. Diagrams, worksheets and select repertoire will be given.
The goal of this workshop is to enhance your musical tool box. The information transmitted will be CONCEPTUAL in that it can be applied to ALL music/styles. Light music theory will be discussed and more importantly APPLIED TO THE GUITAR NECK. Students will be able to walk away with a solid practice routine regardless of style and song-taste tailored to their own time-constraints. This workshop functions for the dabbler (10-15 minutes of playing time a day) or the obsessor (1-8 hours of playing a day).
Both single-note playing (melodies) and chords will be discussed.
Pre-requisites: Attendance in one of Stash’s Unlocking the Guitar Neck classes at Caffe Lena, or elsewhere.
Must be able to sing a major scale or identify it by ear (do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti), the names of the strings of the guitar (Lowest to highest: E A D G B E) and open chords (E, A, D, G, C, F).
Tuesdays 7:00pm – 8:00pm: February 1, 8, 15, 22 / $165
Nic Gareiss returns to Caffe Lena School of Music in February!
Flatfooting is a solo form of percussive dance originating in the Appalachian mountains with connections to West African, Indigenous, and Western European dance. Using the toe, heel, and ball of the foot to strike and slide across the floor, flatfooting articulates the rhythms of mountain fiddle and banjo music. Though it’s usually improvised, in this course for dancers already familiar with the Tennessee Walking Step, we’ll work through new exercises and combinations drawing upon flatfooting technique. Wear smooth-soled comfortable shoes with a low or no heel for this virtual class designed for intermediate-advanced dancers ages 12+. Roll back the rug and find a spot in your house where you can hear your footsteps as we delve into the technical possibilities of the traditional art of Appalachian flatfooting. More about Nic Gareiss
Allison de Groot returns with two online classes in January:
Sundays Jan 9, 16, 23, 30, 2022
Beginning Intermediate Clawhammer Banjo: 12pm ET / 11am CT / 10am MT / 9am PT / $165
Class runs 75 minutes. All sessions are recorded and made available to registered students for review after the class.
Advanced Intermediate Clawhammer Banjo 1:30pm ET / 12:30pm CT / 11:30 MT / 10:30am PT / $165
Class runs 90 minutes. All sessions are recorded and made available for registered students for review after class.
The instructor maintains the right to cancel or postpone if minimum enrollment of four (4) students is not met. So bring your friends!
Wednesdays April 6, 13, 20 & 27, 2022 / $165
7PM ET / 6PM CT / 5PM MT / 4PM PT
Class runs 90 minutes and meets on the ZOOM format
Bruce Molsky returns to Caffe Lena School of Music! Beloved multi-instrumentalist, singer and mentor – his classes are always full! We’ll take a fun and intense hands-on approach in Bruce’s old time fiddle workshop. Tunes are taught a phrase at a time, first melody, then bowing, and then piecing things together. We’ll dig into old-time music’s unique phrasing, rhythm and syncopation, intonation, etc. The tune is the vehicle, so mostly we’ll be playing! If enough folks are interested, we can also spend some time working on singing with the fiddle.
Miss a class, want to take two at once or the times just don’t work for your time zone? Check out the video archves! We have classes available for purchase by some of your favorite teachers. Each session is recorded as it is happening on Zoom. The feel is very down to earth and easy going. You’ll get to experience the sense of camaraderie and community that makes Caffe Lena School of Music a favorite. If there are handout or recordings that go with the session, we will provide those via email.
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