Fiddle and Vocal Workshops
I love teaching workshops! In my workshops, everyone plays and everyone learns. I've taught workshops on several continents, online,
and right in my own living room. Some people say that group learning can't be effective. I'm out to prove that's just not true.
Below are some of my favorite topics. Keep an eye out - I might be teaching one near you!
Fiddle Workshop - Old Time Fiddling - Learn a Tune, Learn the Bowing, Get the Sound
National Champion and professional fiddler Megan Lynch Chowning will teach a really fun old time tune that you'll enjoy playing in jams but more importantly you'll learn bowing patterns and fingering techniques that will translate into every aspect of your playing. You'll also learn the underlying structure of old time tunes, crooked and straight and better, more effective ways to learn by ear. This workshop is best for beginning through intermediate fiddlers who love old-time music and want to sound more authentic and have more fun doing it. Recording is encouraged.
Fiddle Workshop - Breaks and Fills - What You Really Need to Know
National Champion and Master Teacher Megan Lynch will teach you specific fills and breaks to help you make it through your favorite bluegrass, country, or folk jam. Sure, there are tricks and shortcuts for surviving these things on the fly but wouldn't you love to have a whole list of real fills (in all the keys!) and solos that you can learn, memorize, and then count on the next time someone points to you in a jam? OK, we'll cover the tricks and shortcuts too There will be handouts but bring a recording device too!
Fiddle Workshop - Classic Bluegrass Instrumentals
Learn some basic and advanced versions of instrumental jam tunes that pop up in jams across the country. Don't get stuck just chopping in the background while everyone else plays Road to Columbus! In this workshop, National Fiddle Champion and professional bluegrass fiddler Megan B. Lynch will take you note for note through some of the most common bluegrass instrumentals and give you recordings and sheet music for several others. Both beginners and more advanced players are welcome at this workshop as Megan will have versions appropriate for all levels. This will be hands on and a ton of fun! Recording is encouraged.
Fiddle Workshop - Details, Details, Details!
In this workshop Megan B. Lynch will show you how to take your playing to the next level - from any level! It's all about the details. How can you achieve better intonation? How can your bowing be a little more precise? How can your tone be a little more pristine? The answers to these questions and more will be revealed in this workshop. Learn how recording yourself can make a huge difference and more importantly, what to do with what makes you unhappy about your playing. This workshop is about conquering the little things - and we all know, the little things can add up to one big thing - being a better fiddler! Recording is encouraged. This workshop is best for advanced beginners to advanced players.
Fiddle Workshop - Double Stops and Drones - Take Your Playing to the Next Level
In this workshop National Fiddle Champion and professional bluegrass fiddler Megan B. Lynch will show you some great double stop patterns in many common keys (as well as some uncommon ones!) as well as how to add droning strings to give your playing a fuller sound. Megan will cover double stops in several positions, but never fear, the entire fingerboard will be worry free when you get done with this workshop! This is geared for more advanced beginners as well as intermediate/advanced players. Recording is encouraged.
Fiddle Workshop - Fiddle for Newbies
Have you been playing the fiddle for just a couple of years, or maybe even just beginning? Are you wondering if you could be practicing more efficiently or if you're ingraining some bad habits? Then this is the workshop for you. National Champion Fiddler (and super encouraging teacher) Megan Lynch has the exercises, tips, and motivation to take your fiddling farther, faster. There will be handouts but bring a recording device and lots of questions!
Fiddle Workshop - Improvising, It Doesn't Have to Be So Scary!
Ever wonder if there were some tricks of the trade when it comes to improvisation? National champion and professional bluegrass fiddler Megan B. Lynch will share them with you in this workshop. Learn how to play over chord changes, how breaks and solos are created, and last but not least, learn when and when not to play! Megan will reveal systems that will make your jamming and improvisation fun and successful. This workshop is best for beginning through intermediate fiddlers who would like to improve their musical interactions with others. Recording is encouraged.
Fiddle Workshop - Master Class for All Levels
It's a workshop, it's a private lesson, it's both! Famed throughout the world, Megan Lynch's master classes provide a unique opportunity for 10 people to get together and figure out exactly what it takes to make themselves better fiddlers, under Megan's guidance. Because each person gets individual instruction, every experience level is welcome. (Beginners, don't be afraid!) No matter where you are now, you will be a better fiddler by the end of this workshop, and you will have specific instructions on how to continue to improve. We'll talk about practice techniques, exercises specific to your needs, tunes that can help you move forward in your genre of choice, and much more. Fiddlers travel from all over to work with Megan in Nashville, but for this master class she brings 20 years of experience right to you. Bring your instrument, a recording device and/or something with which to take some notes, and a desire to be a better fiddler.
*This workshop is limited to 10 students so please register early.
Fiddle Workshop - More Jamming - Fiddle Style
There can never be enough tricks and tips to being a successful jamming fiddler. Whether it be a bluegrass jam where you're desperately wanting to participate but aren't sure how, or an old-time jam where you're not sure how to play all those great old tunes with the word "possum" in the title, there are ways to succeed and Megan Lynch can help you. This workshop is for advanced beginners to advanced players who want to know how to get the most out of every group playing experience. Bring lots of questions!
Fiddle Workshop - So, What Does the Fiddle Do In a Jam Again?
Often, fiddlers are left out of bluegrass, folk, and singer/songwriter jams. They stand in the back, looking lonely and sad, mustering a measly long bow here and there, but otherwise barely contributing at all. National Champion and professional bluegrass fiddler Megan Lynch is ready to change all that. The fiddle can be a great rhythm instrument, a fantastic accompaniment to a singer, and an all-around asset to any jam. Learn how to chop unique rhythms, play behind a singer, and kick off songs (some of which you may never have even heard!). Understand how chord changes actually matter in the life of the fiddle player and even better, what to do with that knowledge. Leave every jam feeling that you actually added something to the mix. This workshop is best for advanced beginners all the way to advanced players. Recording is encouraged.
Fiddle Workshop - The Right Arm - Bowing Secrets Demystified
Learn how the bowing arm holds the secret to being an authentic sounding fiddler, but it doesn't have to be a secret anymore. You will master fun techniques for improving your bow arm, get that fluid motion, learn several bowing styles and how they relate to various traditional fiddle styles, and finally, once and for all, play with great volume and tone. This workshop is best for intermediate through advanced fiddlers who would like to improve their bowing and timing. Audio and/or video recording is encouraged.
Fiddle Workshop - Two Tunes to Make Your Double Stops Rock!
In this workshop, Megan B. Lynch, National Champion and professional bluegrass and country fiddler, will break down two classic tunes (Washington County and Wednesday Night Waltz) double stop by double stop. She'll show you how the double stops in these two tunes can be used in almost every fiddle tune you already know, making them sound fuller and more fiddle-y! There will be handouts but please feel free to being a recording device. This workshop is best for intermediate and advanced players.
Jamming Workshop - Intro to Jamming
For All Instrumentalists and Singers. Are you stressed out about playing in a bluegrass jam session with others? Then this workshop is for you! Designed for beginning and intermediate players on all instruments and singers who want to gain confidence and have more fun playing with others. Bill and Megan will review the roles of each instrument and get everyone started playing immediately on several easy songs played slowly! We'll discuss playing in other keys and using the capo, kick offs and endings, jam etiquette and knowing the unspoken rules of a jam session, how to hear chord changes, and try our voices in some harmony singing.
Jamming Workshop - Intro to Singing Bluegrass with Confidence and Soul
Are you nervous about singing? Are you scared of jumping in and trying to grab a harmony part on the chorus? Do you stand in the back of a jam and hum quietly to yourself? Well, it's time to get in the singing game! Megan will help you figure out the right kinds of songs for you, what keys are good choices for your voice, and where on earth to find those darn harmony parts. Bring your voice, and a recording device to help you remember some great new tricks of the trade that will get you singing in jams without fear. OK, maybe not WITHOUT fear, but definitely with a whole lot more confidence!