Welcome to the web page for Wallowa Fiddle Tunes Workshop, in Wallowa, Oregon, sponsored by the Wallowa Valley Music Alliance.

Photo ©Dwain Vermilyea

Ours is a week-long, small, inexpensive and family oriented music workshop focused on traditional string instruments, begun in 2005. Week-long classes are $75 with early registration. There is a country family dance on Thursday nights for which the workshop participants provide the music.

Classes are held in the elementary wing of the Wallowa School, from 9 am till 3:15 pm Monday through Friday, learning tunes chosen by the instructor. There is plenty of time for practice and jam sessions. On Friday afternoons, classes perform for each other.

After classes there will be optional short workshops taught by volunteers.

Workshop participants under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult chaperone. Curfew is 11 pm; all workshop participants under 18 must be in their own camp after 11. No alcohol, drugs, or weapons permitted on school grounds. Please bring your instruments and accessories such as spare strings. Instructors may provide tablature, music notation, chord charts, etc. so bring a music stand.

Free camping. On-site tent and RV camping (no hookups) at the Wallowa School. You may arrive on Sunday, July 11, after 3 pm. (We advise people NOT to camp too close to the basketball hoop!) Camping areas must be vacated by Saturday, July 17, by 11 am. Showers (often warm or hot) are available in the school's locker rooms (bring your own towels etc.). For those who do not wish to camp on school grounds, motels and RV parks are available (see wallowacountychamber.com). The MINGO MOTEL, about a block from the school, is offering a 15% discount to WFTW participants (541-886-2021).

Downtown Wallowa is about 2 blocks from the workshop site with cafes, library, and grocery store.

From here you can register online for Wallowa Fiddle Tunes Workshop classes and lunch service, using PayPal to pay for classes via PayPal or credit card.

Those entering multiple registrations for minors may find it easier to submit printed forms by mail, with a check. We will have those available by the end of February. Those of you registering one or two people should find our online registration process pretty easy, and you can get confirmation right away.

2009 Workshop info (outdated)

New this year is a FAMILY DISCOUNT. If you register three people from the same family, a fourth is FREE. To take advantage of this special offer, you must use the mail-in registration form (right click and save as to download).

Again this year we will offer lunch service for $40 for 5 days.

Classes and instructors

Connie Dunnington, beginner fiddle. This class has TWO sections this year:
1. A part-time preschool class for ages 4-6 that meets from 9:00 am to 9:45 am each day, as well as 1:00-1:45 Monday through Thursday. Parent or guardian must be present in the room with their child. $40. A fiddle book and CD with simple children's fiddle tunes will be provided. Singing and performance skills will be practiced along with the tunes. Make sure your child has a fiddle their size that is playable.

2. A class for ages 7 to adult. We will be learning beginning old-time fiddle tunes. Teaching materials include a beginning fiddling book and CD with the songs played at slow speed and normal speed . The class will go over tuning your instrument, basic scales, instrument placement and bow hold. The tunes will be taught by ear, or if you prefer, using very simple tabulature or written music from the book. You don't have to know how to read music. The class will be flexible daily, moving along according to the skill levels of the students, paced so that every fiddler is getting what they need out of the class. Bring a music stand. Meets 9:45 am till noon, and 1:45 to 3:15 pm.

Connie began learning to play the fiddle as an adult. She was the 2008 Beginning Fiddle instructor for Wallowa Fiddle Tunes. Each year she teaches beginning and intermediate fiddling classes for Hood River Community Education as well as private students. Currently, she is teaching two fiddling classes, grades K - 4th grade for the Whitson Elementary after school program in White Salmon, Washington. She enjoys attending fiddle workshops, competing in fiddle contests, performing with her husband Rich, and continuing her education through private lessons. Connie has a degree in Early Childhood Education.

Robyn Freatman, lower intermediate fiddle tunes Prerequisite: Some experience playing the fiddle, and the desire to learn more. Robyn will teach up to a dozen common tunes, some of them for the dance on Thursday night. Robyn grew up near Enterprise, playing old-time fiddle tunes along with the violin classics. She has been a regular at many NW fiddle and violin contests including Gaston, Wallowa County, Banana Belt, and Allied Arts Festival. She taught an intermediate class in 2008 at Wallowa Fiddle Tunes, and plays bluegrass and old time fiddle with the Stumptown Sawyers.

Vivian Williams, intermediate or advanced fiddle. Prerequisite: Be able to play at least at an intermediate level. At least a dozen tunes, mostly American, Canadian, and British Isles tunes, occasionally one from Europe, appropriate for old time dancing, including waltzes, hoedowns, reels, polkas, and two-steps. Course objective: learning to play with authority, which requires solid rhythm, appropriate dynamics, and a reasonable tone, all of which can be achieved by proper control of bowing. Position playing, and playing in keys such as B and B flat, using the "first finger capo" technique. Bowing patterns such as the Nashville Shuffle and Georgia Bow. Leading Northwest old-time and bluegrass fiddler and composer Vivian Williams has been Washington State fiddle champion, Senior and Ladies champion at Weiser, and has judged at Weiser.

Vivian and Phil Williams presenting their outstanding "Pioneer Dance Tunes of the Far West" program during the Wallowa Fiddle Tunes Workshop, July 9, 2009

Andy Emert, intermediate and advanced fiddle tunes. For more experienced fiddle players, comfortable playing tunes in C, D, G, A, and beyond. Any Emert began his fiddle playing odyssey 20 some years ago in Salem, Oregon. While learning the Suzuki method in primary school he stumbled upon fiddle playing at the local community center. After discovering the fun to be had while playing fiddle and guitar Andy has been attending contests and festivals ever since. Andy is a former Oregon State Fiddle Champion, and has judged at Weiser. Andy currently teaches violin and fiddle at the Community Music Center in Portland, Oregon and works at David Kerr violin shop.

Bob Webb, intermediate mandolin. For those who know the basics of mandolin playing and are looking to learn new tunes and techniques. Learn backup techniques for a variety of styles, and how to get better tone out of your instrument. Bob Webb, of Charleston, West Virginia taught guitar at the 2008 workshop. He has played mandolin for over 20 years. He was a key member of the house band for the syndicated radio show Mountain Stage, where he accompanied Odetta, Tom Paxton, Shawn Colvin, and Arlo Guthrie.

Phil Williams, basic backup guitar. For those who know the rudiments of flat picking and are reasonably familiar with basic chord formations in A, C, D, E, F, G and the 7th chord formations in these keys. We will also be working with closed chord formations and integrated backup systems not commonly found in instruction books, and playing in every key without a capo. The style taught is the traditional backup style used by old time string and dance bands in the U.S. for about the past 150 years. For a head start on this class, see the "Hillbilly Way" of guitar backup. Phil Williams has been documenting and performing Northwest folk music since the 1960s. He is well known as a backup guitar player. With his wife Vivian he operates Voyager Records, which has recorded 85 fiddlers. They regularly play for square dances.

Matt Bell, swing guitar. A fun and informative ride into the world of guitar. Moving away from open chords, we will use the stock "energizer bunnies" of swing chords to translate song chart symbols directly to your fretboard. With the addition of basic scales, we will put these patterns to work in picking out single note melodies, and then attach them to the chords themselves. Throw in some walking bass lines, interchangeable turnarounds, and simple substitutions to make your rhythm playing sing, or to create your own chord melody arrangements. Matt is a predominantly self-taught musician, with studies focused around jazz harmony. He has put swing guitar to work backing up singers and dancers, giving solo performances, working with numerous combos, and is currently studying music in New Orleans.

Scholarships

We do have a few scholarships available, particularly for students at Wallowa School and residents of Wallowa County. Note that families registering three participants get a fourth registered for free. To use this option, you must submit paper registration forms.

Questions? You may email coordinator Peter Donovan: peter at wallowa dot net or call him at 541-426-5783.

Mini-workshops

In addition to our regular class offerings, workshop participants often offer free hour-long mini-workshops in the afternoon. Some, such as the rhythm workshops led by Kodria Haddock, meet more than once.

Learn to Waltz

You will learn some basic waltz dance steps in this series of extracurricular lessons, which should prepare you to enjoy dancing to the waltz tunes on Thursday evening and for many other dances in your lifetime. No prior dance experience is required to start on Monday. But attendance each day is required to continue with the series. This is because we will only review, then add new moves every day. We will not have time to teach again from scratch what students have already learned.

Classes meet from 3:30 to 4:30 Monday through Thursday in the gym near the stage. Casual attire is appropriate for all class sessions. The best shoes for dancing have smooth bottoms that provide a bit of slip & slide. Soles with a lot of grip are not recommended, nor are shoes without heel backs. I have shoes and boots strictly for dancing which I never wear outside. Ladies are encouraged to wear a colorful long skirt or dress during the dance on Thursday evening and for the Friday performance if you choose to participate in that. The skirts add flair when they swish and swirl as you twist and twirl.

This course is based on Round Dancing, which uses ballroom dance steps that are choreographed to music, and a cuer prompts you. This makes it much easier for a man to "lead" his lady dance partner. Also, since all of the dancers are doing the same steps at the same time the entire floor moves together, which is beautiful!

Similar to properly performed ballroom dancing, dancers move around the dance hall in a circle or concentric circles, hence the name, "round dancing". The "line of dance" is normally counterclockwise but at times can also be "reverse line". Any number of couples can do round dancing.

Richard Rubicam and Lara Utman will lead these dance lessons.