Hey everyone,
I'm looking into attending my first mandolin or general fiddle camp next year somewhere in the west.
I'm probably an advanced beginner or low intermediate level player right now, presumably getting a little better by next spring/summer.
Right now I'm mostly playing bluegrass, folk, traditional and celtic. I'm not a singer or dancer and I can't read music so it's either tab or memory. I'd like to get better at improv and leading.
I don't mind camping but wouldn't mind a shared room either. I live well north of Salt Lake City. If I don't fly I need to carpool, rent a car or take the bus. My family would probably prefer I don't extend the trip with an associated music festival before or after but one extra day might be okay.
For my first camp I don't want to drop a ton of money so I created a spreadsheet to roughly add up tuition, lodging, food, and transportation. These five are in the $500-1000 range:
- Weiser Music Camp (Boise) - cheapest by $400 (can take the bus easily)
- Bluegrass Music Camp (Grass Valley) - bluegrass only
- Montana Fiddle Camp (Great Falls) - 2 days longer than others
- River of West Mandolin Camp (Portland) - mandolin only
- Walker Music Camp (San Francisco)
I considered Targhee but it's close to $1350.
1. Anything I might be missing that hasn't been announced yet or is more eastward?
2. How many days is optimal for a first camp?
3. Any experiences with these camps in particular?
4. Mandolin only vs. Mixed group?
5. Level of proficiency that is optimal for a camp to get the most out of it? Skill set at that level?
6. Other thoughts?
Thanks for your insights!
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