The School of Music is taught by some of the folk world’s top teachers

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

Upcoming Classes

Intro to Guitar

Mondays from 7:00pm – 8:15pm ET

February 8th, 15th, 22nd, & March 1st

In this course we will go step by step to learn basic guitar techniques, chords, and rhythms. Our ultimate goal will be playing and singing some of our favorite folk songs.

Intro to Fiddle with Oona Grady

Mondays from 7:00pm – 8:15pm ET

February 8th, 15th, 22nd, & March 1st

In these classes you will learn how to hold your instrument, create pitches, and control your bow. Topics will include simple scales, bowing rhythms, and how to sound out your favorite melodies by ear.

Intro to Appalachian Flatfooting

Tuesdays from 7:00pm – 8:30pm ET

February 2nd, 9th, 16th, & 23rd

Learn about the basics of Appalachian Flatfooting in this four week virtual workshop led by Nic Gareiss. Flatfooting is a solo, freestyle 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. Wear

Songwriting 2 with Dan Navarro

Tuesdays from 7:00pm – 8:30pm ET

February 9th, 16th, 23rd, March 2nd

Dan will lead you in four classes exploring the basics of song structure, the dynamics of story arc, the role of repetition, the elusiveness of originality, and how-when-why to break the rules, all in the quest for a connected and satisfying form of expression and communication.

Clawhammer Banjo with Bruce Molsky

Saturdays from 12:00pm – 1:30pm

February 13, 20, 27 and March 6

We’ll look at a couple of classic tunes and focus on the important elements, like phrasing and rhythm, and work on techniques such as pull-offs, drop thumbs and rolls.

Suggested experience level: If you have at least a small repertoire of tunes and feel comfortable learning short phrases by ear, then you’ll be fine.

Intermediate Clawhammer with Allison DeGroot

Sundays from 2:00pm – 3:30pm

February 14, 21, 28 & March 7

This class is designed for those who are confident with their technique, including drop thumb, and have a list of tunes they can play. We will learn new repertoire, but each tune will have a focus. Some concepts we will cover are creating variations, learning from source recordings and how to practice rhythm.

Suggested experience level: This class is designed for intermediate plauers

Clawhammer 2 with Allison DeGroot

Sunday from 12:00pm – 1:30pm

February 14, 21, 28 & March 7

This is a continuation of the Beginning Clawhammer class

Suggested experience level: This class is designed for people who took Beginning Clawhammer with Allison and have some experience playing the banjo

Practice Smarter, Play Better with Cathy Fink

The course will take place on Sunday Feb 7 from 2:00pm – 3:30pm

We bring ton of information home from camp, but sometimes are overwhelmed by it and don’t know how to approach learning one new thing at a time. We’ll discuss the tangible and intangible tools for good practice as well as learning to schedule “manageable bites” of music to learn in manageable time frames.

Right Hand Drills for Clawhammer Banjo Players

Dates: Sunday, February 7, 4:00 – 5:30pm