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Maine Fiddle Camp | ||||||||||
Aug 2, 2022 | Vol 12 Number 10 | |||||||||
Contact Us
Doug Protsik:
| Maine Fiddle Camp for August will start in less than a week!
We have several staff members in camp in August who were not at the June camps. They include Éric Favreau fiddle – both weeks, Pascal Gemme fiddle - second week, Baron Collins-Hill mandolin - both weeks, Neil Pearlman piano - both weeks, Sharon Pyne whistle - both weeks, Sara Grey banjo – first week, Steven Weiss harmonica- second week, McKinley James cello – second week, Elizabeth Anderson fiddle – second week, Nina Miller uke - first week, Carter Logan banjo second week, Jeremiah McLane piano accordion - second week. You can find the whole staff list on the MFC website here: August Week I (mainefiddlecamp.org) or here: August Week II (mainefiddlecamp.org) and read their bios too..
Both August sessions are FULL, though there is an online waiting list for the first week. If you have not received a confirmation and informational email letter from Doug sent on Monday August 1, you are on the waiting list. You were kept on the waiting list if bunk space was not available or the maximum number of total campers was reached before your registration hit the top of the queue, even if a payment was sent. All waiting list applicants’ checks will be destroyed, if we do not contact you about last-minute availability. We are sorry that not everyone could be accepted, and we certainly do appreciate your interest.
If you want to learn a little more about our new venue, Pilgrim Lodge, here's a little introductory video by Doug: https://youtu.be/2cIuDYMPJOk Of course there is much more info on the MFC website! Health and Safety With a Covid pandemic still in our midst, the most important aspects of re-starting in-person camps, are health and safety. With that goal, we are requiring all registrants to be fully vaccinated and boosted, and with that in mind all campers must have their CDC vaccination cards on file with MFC before you arrive at camp. Our preferred method is sending a photo of your vaccination card via email. Or, a hard copy sent by postal mail insures privacy. After more research and other considerations, we have revised our testing procedure. Note: As was the case in June we no longer require a PCR test but all campers and staff must pass a rapid antigen test at the time of arrival at Pilgrim Lodge. We are asking each camper to bring at least four “over the counter” rapid antigen test kits to camp. They can be found at any pharmacy and some will be available at the Camp Store if you run out. These will be self-administered and reviewed by our nurse Christine and her team, as part of the health screening on arrival. We know the tests sometimes give an inaccurate reading, but with a second test kit, we can retest immediately for accuracy to allow a camper to attend. Please be prepared for this testing to help expedite the registration process. During the week, we will be asking everyone to test periodically and report any symptoms to Christine. Please see Covid Screening FAQ for more info. Everyone will be asked to sign a waiver as part of the screening. For unaccompanied youths, this waiver is available as a download HERE for parents/ guardians to fill out in advance. (Parents will need to sign and date in two places on this form. The remaining info will be collected at the in-person screening). We also require a few medical forms completed for unaccompanied youths to attend camp. These documents can be found in the new “Medical Forms and Information” section under the green “Come to Camp” tab on our website. Bring all required forms to the health screening. We are asking everyone to mask whenever indoors at Camp. We will also encourage campers to eat outdoors whenever possible. Note: All Maine households are eligible to receive 5 free tests mailed to their home each month. Visit accesscovidtests.org and enter zip code from there. All US households are eligible to receive 4 free kits mailed to their home twice (and they recently added 8 more!). Visit covidtests.gov.
Tune History, “Snow Deer” If you go to the MFC web page, you will see a list of tunes that have been selected as “Welcome Tunes”, that is to say tunes from the vast MFC common repertoire that we will play together on the first night of camp. Here they are: Road to Boston, Liberty, Cock of the North, South Wind Waltz, Bonnie Tammie, Finnegan’s Wake, Over the Waterfall, Maison de Glace, Snow Deer, Skye Boat Song, One Hundred Pipers, Jamie Allen, Steamboat Quickstep, Gaspé Reel. All of these tunes are accessible on the MFC website. You can listen to recordings, fast and slow, and find sheet music as well..
I thought I'd start to tell a little about these tunes in upcoming newsletters. Let's start with “Snow Deer”. “Why Snow Deer?” you might ask.. Well I was first aware of this tune form the playing of Lucien Mathieu, Don Roy's “Uncle Lou”, who was a special guest at MFC for many years. Lucien was a member of the “Maine French Fiddlers” with Don and other notables, but spent a lot of time competing in fiddle contests in Maine, New England and the adjoining Canadian provinces. During these sojourns, Lou rubbed elbows with many of the northeast's fiddling elite and also picked up a lot of tunes. I am pretty sure Snow Deer was one of these. Lucien passed away in 2011 but his music lives on. Here are some words about “Snow Deer”.. First of all, the title is a little confusing. The tune is not about snow or deer, but is actually a Tin Pan Alley (click if you want to read more about Tin Pan Alley – interesting read!) song from the early 20th century, written by Percy Wenrich who composed it around 1910. From its pop-music beginnings it entered the traditional North American fiddle repertoire. Here's the original sheet music from 1913. SnowDeerSheet.pdf (dropbox.com)
JONI MITCHELL I haven't said a lot about singer-songwriters in these newsletter articles, but singing (the warblers) is the newest and one of the most popular “nests” at Camp. I can't imagine anyone interested in traditional or folk music hasn't already seen and been amazed by the Joni Mitchell performance at the July 24, 2022 Newport Folk Fest. This concert took a LOT of people by surprise. Joni has had health issues for the past many years and, while she has made a few brief appearances, hasn't done a full concert for 20 years,.. and yet.. Here she is.. https://youtu.be/4aqGjaFDTxQ
I was first aware of Joni and heard “Both Sides Now” at the Swarthmore College Folk Festival, April 5, 1968. Joni, from Alberta, Canada, was just getting known nationally at that point.. She went on that weekend to open at the The Generation Club in New York City on April 7 at a "musical wake" held for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who had been assassinated on April 4. Other performers included B.B. King, Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Richie Havens, Buddy Guy, and Jimi Hendrix. (those were the days, eh?!!) Here's a video from that NYC concert in 1968, just 2 days after I first saw Joni on stage. https://youtu.be/0FqScA0Nfd8 And here's a still shot from that concert:
Note that while her voice has aged in 54 years, the timing and “soul” of her music has not changed a bit. Joni's Guitar style. Don't believe EVERYTHING you read online, but this one piece on Joni's Wikipedia page struck me. While some of Mitchell's most popular songs were written on the piano, almost every song she composed on the guitar uses an open, or non-standard, tuning; she has written songs in some 50 tunings, playing what she has called "Joni's weird chords". The use of alternative tunings allows guitarists to produce accompaniment with more varied and wide-ranging textures. Her right-hand picking/strumming technique has evolved over the years from an initially intricate picking style, typified by the guitar songs on her first album, to a looser and more rhythmic style, sometimes incorporating percussive "slaps". In 1995, Mitchell's friend Fred Walecki, proprietor of Westwood Music in Los Angeles, developed a solution to alleviate her continuing frustration with using multiple alternative tunings in live settings. Walecki designed a Stratocaster-style guitar to function with the Roland VG-8 virtual guitar, a system capable of configuring her numerous tunings electronically. While the guitar itself remained in standard tuning, the VG-8 encoded the pickup signals into digital signals which were then translated into the altered tunings. This allowed Mitchell to use one guitar on stage, while an off-stage tech entered the preprogrammed tuning for each song in her set. Mitchell was highly innovative harmonically in her early work (1966–72), incorporating modality, chromaticism, and pedal points. On her 1968 debut album Song to a Seagull, Mitchell used both quartal and quintal harmony in "The Dawntreader" and quintal harmony in "Song to a Seagull". In 2003, Rolling Stone named her the 72nd-greatest guitarist of all time; she was the highest-ranked woman on the list.
Round and Round it Goes One of Joni's most popular song compositions was “Circle Game” (1966) It tells the story that life isn't over when you reach 21 years of age.. Guess she has proved that!! here it is from Newport: https://youtu.be/b5OIlK1g3yA
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| Maine Fiddle Camp Video This last one is 40 minutes long, professionally done, and is a great reminder of how much fun Maine Fiddle Camp is!!!
Ongoing: T-Acadie Tuesday night Jam session and mini-concert Pam, Bill and Jim have been hosting a jam session and mini-concert every Tuesday night. This is a free, guided jam session for all instruments geared toward the intermediate player, Tuesdays from 7-8PM EST. Tempos will be moderate and chords will be called out the first time through. The jam will be proceeded by a short mini-concert at 6:45. The jam will be streamed on Facebook Live, accessed through Pam's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/pamweeks.73. For more info email Pam at pam@pamweeks.com.
Ed Pearlman's Fiddle-online.com Check this out if you haven't already! Workshops, concerts, instruction!!
Upcoming Events: "Souche Camp" - In-person Trad Music Camp in Quebec. Camp 1: 21-25 August 2022 Camp 2: 25-28 August 2022 "The total": August 21-28 More info (in French or English): Musique Et Danse Traditionnelle | Souches à Oreilles - Maréemusique | Québec (mareemusique.com)
LIST OF MFC STAFF MEMBERS OFFERING PRIVATE INSTRUCTION: Don't forget that Virtual MFC, Maestro Bistro Plus, and even “live” Camp aren't the only way to take lessons from the amazing and talented Maine Fiddle Camp staff. Many offer private or group lessons online and/or in person. For more info click here: MFC Staff Offering Private Instruction (mainefiddlecamp.org)
WE are looking for videos from past MFCs, especially videos of dances. There are always cell phones poking up from the audience or sidelines, so we know there are videos out there, and we would love to see them. Send to: https://www.dropbox.com/request/PTaXBe9K0lghXbFicITO
To read a letter to Maine Fiddle Campers regarding our nation's troubled times click here
DONATE Help support Maine Fiddle Camp click here! Any amount is appreciated!
We are always looking for videos to post on the MFC Video page or to link to the MFC YouTube channel. Just about everyone carries a video camera in their back pocket these days, so I know the footage is out there. What I am especially interested in are any videos of Dave Kaynor calling two dances at an evening barn dance during the second August week, 2019. THAT was an amazing event that we would love to share. - bill o.
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