Concord Conservatory of Music Expands American Roots Offerings

The Concord Conservatory of Music has expanded their American Roots offerings for this coming year. As a musical tradition, American Roots was born out of early folk music, then shaped by the country’s political and cultural evolution through the 20th century. Today it takes the influence of a wide range of musical styles, including early jazz and gospel, folk, bluegrass, Cajun, country, spirituals, and many others, with a come one, come all bent.

New this year, CCM is offering classes in Fingerstyle Picking and Blues. CCM’s Roots classes also include Old-Time, Bluegrass, Banjo, Fiddling, and Guitar classes. Courses are tracked for those who are entirely new to the instruments or new to the style, and for adults with Bluegrass experience who are looking for a local jam. Teens and adults will find a class or a jam session that’s right for them.

Course offerings for beginners include Americana fiddling, bluegrass, banjo, and mandolin. Young folk as young as 8-years-old can join the group classes in fiddling and banjo, and they can also join the weekly jam sessions. Adult-track classes include beginner and intermediate fiddle, a learning to jam bluegrass class with a jam, beginner banjo, and mandolin. Beyond banjo, fiddle, and mandolin, anyone on guitar, violin, bass, banjo, or Dobro would fit in the offerings just fine. Anyone that enrolls in a group or lesson in the American Roots genre can also join the Thursday, 8 pm weekly jam for free. Throughout the year, CCM will also offer monthly drop-in jam sessions and workshops to complement the program, focusing on related skills like improvisation, for example.

In the classes, students will pick up songs that are common in the Bluegrass and Roots tradition, learning melodies by ear. “Song-based and aural learning works a whole different part of the brain than reading music off the page,” says fiddle player and teacher Kathleen Parks. “Learning in this way opens up a whole new world of musical and social possibilities.”

Tony Watt, an award-winning Flatpicking guitarist, and mandolinist who will be teaching the bluegrass courses says informal jamming is so central: “Jams have a very low bar of experience needed to join but allow musical growth as far as you are willing to push yourself,” he says. “Ultimately, it is one of the most jam-centric styles of music, and that means it has one of the strongest and most-welcoming communities you can find.”

Indeed, much of the charm of this music is the social aspect: “The Roots tradition really lends itself to an inviting community of people. Beginners and intermediates can play with more advanced players—on a whole range of string instruments—and connect across generations in a way that’s fun and unlike other genres,” says Kate Yoder, executive director and founder of CCM.

For more information about specific offerings, please visit concordconservatory.org/offerings/american-roots, call 978-369-0010, or email info@ConcordConservatory.org.