INSTRUCTORS & INSTRUMENT REPAIR --- This web site is maintained by me - Michael Ludgate. I originally started this as a beginner fiddle player who was excited to share everything I learned about folk music with my friends. (more at MySpace.com take a look!) To keep myself and the rest of my musician friends organized I started a music email list and this web page. It has really evolved into more than that. It is a valuable networking resource for the musicians: both beginner and expert, amateur and professional. It really only works if you use the information and stay on the list. It also works better if you help: send me your gigs and other interesting music information and I'll get the word out to the rest of the list. For clarification: I maintain 3 email lists; one each for Customers of Ludgate Farms, another for mostly Folk Music [ Mikes-Music ] and a third for outdoor exercise (Cycle and XC-Ski)... if you want to be on any or all of these email lists just let me know at email Mike Hit reload or refresh every time you visit: this page changes often! [ SUBSCRIBE Mikes-Music ] The music email list generates about 1 email per day ... sometimes more ... sometimes less -:)

Local independent music instructors:
In no particular order ...

Judy Hyman -- from the Horse Flies. Fiddle
Bill Gregg -- thirty years teaching experience
Ron Andrico -- fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, lute!
Suzanne Miller -- Masters IC viola, teaches violin too!
Kathy Selby -- excellent Contra fiddler, Scottish fiddle.
Steve Selin -- authentic Virginia Old Time fiddle
Phil Shapiro -- Group Folk Guitar Lessons

Joe Crookston -- Acoustic Guitar, banjo: folk, blues
Hope Grietzer -- a Rocky Mountain Fiddler of the Year
Mark Weinand -- woodwinds pro from Hog-Tie
Harry Lawless -- Mandolin, Irish tenor banjo
Laurie Hart -- Fiddle
Anna Lisa Quinn -- Hammered Dulcimer
NeidFyre -- Violin, Voice

CSMA ...
Here is an Academy style lesson venue:
The Community School of Music and Arts -- CSMA

ITE

The Ithaca Talent Education School, located in the beautiful Finger Lakes area of New York State, offers instruction in the Suzuki Method for violin, viola, and cello. A full curriculum of musical activities includes private lessons, group repertory classes, advanced tour groups, and orchestras. Monthly recitals, coaching with piano, ensemble concerts, a workshop with guest faculty, and performances in the community complete the offerings of the school. Tuition includes all activities of the school, and classes are geared to satisfy the needs of each level of advancement.

Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts
http://www.trumansburgconservatory.com/home
Music lessons available here also ...

Judy Hyman is fiddle teacher for at least 4 of our fiddlers. "With roots in classical training, traditional fiddle music, and modern rock, Judy is a founding member of the alternative rock band, The Horse Flies. She has toured extensively in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and recorded 7 albums with The Horse Flies, including releases on MCA and Rounder Records. The Horse Flies have been featured on MTV, Prairie Home Companion, All

Things Considered, World Cafe and Mountain Stage and have been written about in Rolling Stone, Musician Magazine, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and many other major publications. With the Horse Flies she played a leading role in composing two feature film scores (Where the Rivers Flow North and A Stranger in the Kingdom). With her husband, Jeff Claus, who is also a member of the Horse Flies, she scored a third feature film (The Year that Trembled) and a video that will run for several years in the exhibit at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C." [ back to top ]

Richie Stearns

Banjo ... "I got into playing music at 14 in junior high, with a pack of like minded hippie kids. (A typical beginning, eh?) Except the kind of music we were exposed to was string band and jug band music. Locally there were some very active bands in these genres, while on our record players we had Lou Reed, Bob Marley, the Beatles, the

Stones, Doc Watson, Jimmy Rogers, Hank Williams and the Skillet Lickers. The doors were wide open in those days. We went to experimental free schools that fostered creativity and independence above all. So while we were being tutored and steeped in acoustic fiddle music by mentors we found in the local music scene, we were also sent early on the road to thinking for ourselves, making our own kind of music."
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What is Clawhammer Banjo?

"The clawhammer style of playing the banjo is the most common way to play the banjo in Old Time music. Old Time is a folk tradition of music common in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. It has its roots in Scottish and Irish fiddle tunes, English ballads, and African-American rhythms and minstrel shows. The two primary instruments in an old time string band are the fiddle and the banjo, often backed up by guitar and bass. Less frequently you'll hear other instruments such as mandolin, autoharp, dulcimer, and harmonica in a band.

It is music that is strongly associated with square dances and other forms of Appalachian dance such as flat-footing or clogging. In keeping with this association, it is usually relatively simple, strongly rhythmic, and repetitive. Most old time songs usually consist of an A and a B part, each of which is repeated twice, over and over with a minimum of variation or improvisation. Though there are other ways to play the banjo in the old time tradition, such up-picking (a la Pete Seeger), and two-finger or even three-finger fingerpicking styles, clawhammer remains the most popular, probably because of its strongly rhythmic character.

You'll sometimes hear mountain folk refer to Old Time as "old-timey" music, often to distinguish it from more modern forms of music popular in rural America such as pop country and bluegrass . . . which brings us to our next topic." [ source article ] [ back to top ]

Mark Wienand ...
Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet

From the Hog-Tie website: Mark Wienand has been a member of The Hog-Tie Sessions since 1996. He is a

saxophonist holding both BM and MM degrees in classical saxophone. In the band, he plays various sizes of saxes from the baritone to the soprano, as well as playing flute, pennywhistle, clarinet, mandolin, siren, squeaky toys and nose-flute . Mark has played in bands of many styles, including Rock, Reggae, Ska, Celtic, Jazz, and Avant-Garde. He most enjoys stretching musical boundaries, and creating music that moves people in different ways. Mark has also taught music from the middle school level up through college. In 2002-2003, he was director of instrumental music at Pfeiffer University in NC. After teaching full time, he realized that he would rather create music full time with his best friends, so he left his position, and rejoined the Hog-Tie Sessions. He's also a bit of an eccentric and environmentalist, and drives a car that has been converted to run on vegetable oil. Telephone 1-336-655-2152 (cell/voicemail) [ email ] [ back to top ]

Joe Crookston ...
http://www.joecrookston.com

From Joe: "Starting In the Fall of 2005 I will be teaching both at the CSMA as well as at OUR NEW HOME! Acoustic Guitar Blues, Folk, Fingerpicking, Open Tunings, Songwriting, Etc.. Kids or Adults -- Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced Welcome." Email Joe [ back to top ]

Recent Reviews: "His keen musicianship as guitarist,

clawhammer banjo player, fiddler, singer and songwriter fuse quirky contemporary stylings with age-old traditional and old-time elements reaching across demographics and generations and into the human spirit. Lyrically, he sites Michelangelo creating David when he say's... "I simply chisel away all the unnecessary words and musical clutter that aren't "the song" and strive to present my music in the purest, most distilled way I can. Simplicity and silence have incredible power in this cluttered-up world."

His latest release "Fall Down as the Rain", was chosen by

Performing Songwriter Magazine as a 2004 “TOP-12-Do-It-Yourself” independent recording, and two of his songs (including the title track of his latest CD “Fall Down as the Rain”) recently won runner-up in the folk category in the prestigious National John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Joe's CD is available at Ludgate Farms and from his website.

Joe's music continues to fill the airwaves of public radio stations across the US, and his music has been featured on National Public Radio's "All Songs Considered", as well as Minnesota Public Radio's Morning Show. He has shared music festival stages with the likes of Livingston Taylor, John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie, and Tim Reynolds."

Joe Crookston
www.joecrookston.com
joecplay at mindspring dot com
607-277-8986
PO Box 234
Ithaca, NY 14851
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Laurie Hart

Laurie specializes in Celtic, Québécois, Scandinavian,

Lauri Hart's Web Page - photo Bill Mutch

English and American dance music, and she also plays Swedish nyckelharpa and Norwegian Hardanger fiddle. Laurie is known for her beautiful tone, agile bowing, large repertoire, and fidelity to the diverse styles she plays. She has performed since 1986 at contradances, concerts, festivals and dance weekends across the U.S. and Canada (see her web site). She has just finished working on a new recording with Québec guitarist Paul Marchand .. Details on "local CDs" page and on Laurie's website. [ back to top ]

Testimonials:

"She has a very gentle way of teaching children and making learning fun. Her expertise on the violin, and especially in fiddling, was enjoyable to watch. It was my daughter's favorite class at the Institute."

"I can tell she enjoys teaching and the children. Her warmth penetrates the class and the hearts of the learners and listeners alike. She leaves no child behind, always checking each individually and offering soft encouragement and acceptance of each child's ability."

"I found your style very refreshing. You had a very diverse group ability-wise and found a way to engage everybody."[ back to top ]

Finger Lakes Guitar Repair

Experienced fretted stringed instrument repair person Nate

Clark here. I just wanted to give you all a heads up that I've opened up a new repair shop. Finger Lakes Guitar Repair is now open for business. My workshop's address is 45 Atwater road Lansing NY 14822 (just 7 miles from downtown Ithaca located behind the post office that's on route 34). I'm an authorized Taylor and Alvarez warranty repair center. I have a wealth of experience repairing a multitude of fretted stringed instruments from pre-war Martins to mandolins and banjos of all sorts to old and new Fender and Gibson electrics.

Finger Lakes Guitar Repair now has a web page: http://www.fingerlakesguitarrepair.com as well as a new email address: nate@fingerlakesguitarrepair.com

Nate Clark
email: nate@fingerlakesguitarrepair.com
Finger Lakes Guitar Repair
http://fingerlakesguitarrepair.com/pages/contact-us.php

Steve Selin ...

Steve is one of our local fiddlers. He has been playing fiddle for over a decade and lived in the mountains of Virginia for 3 years. The Virginia stint has had a strong influence on his style - he has an authentic southern old time fiddle style and he loves to teach about it....

Steve Selin performs string instrument repair and

restoration specializing in violin family instruments. He also has the finest selection of violins for sale in the Fingerlakes. Visit him at Cayuga Stringed Instruments http://www.shviolins.com/ 560 West King Rd., Ithaca. 272-9862

Steve also plays with the Rabble Rousers: an Old-Time stringband, playing originals and traditional southern old-time music. Darin - Fiddle, Steve Selin - Banjo, Jason - Guitar, Brett - Bass [ back to top ]

Bill Gregg
http://www.harmonic-resources.com/

Bill Gregg teaches guitar, appalachian style fiddle, autoharp, dulcimer,

and frailing banjo. He has thirty years of experience teaching all ages from five years old to the elderly. He currently teaches private lessons in his home studio and at the Trumansburg (NY) Conservatory of Fine Arts. His studio is about ten miles north of Ithaca, NY on Route 96.

Bill teaches authentic American fiddle, both for beginners and those wishing to further develop their skills and repertoire. As a child he accompanied Ray Robinson, a gifted square dance fiddler from upstate New York. Later in life he began playing southern appalachian style fiddle tunes with assistance from noted revivalist fiddlers Walt Koken of the Highwoods String Band and John Specker of the Correctone Stingband. He also plays blues fiddle and frequently performs for contra dances.

Bill Gregg has played guitar since 1969. His early influences were John Fahey, Bert Jansch, and Robbie Basho, instrumentalists who excited his interest in experimental guitar. In addition he was profoundly influenced by Blues guitarists such as Son House and Skip James. He also studied classic guitar to develop more refined techniques and delved into jazz guitar to enhance his improvisation skills. He has performed everything from old-tyme stringband backup to rock to electro-acoustic experimental music on the guitar and continues to compose two to three songs or instrumental pieces each week.

His approach to teaching guitar is to concentrate on developing manual skills and good technique right from the start. He has people playing simple melodies by the first or second lesson. Over the years he has developed a highly individual approach which targets a person’s strengths and weaknesses as well as their specific musical interests. Bill uses a combination of guitar tablature, conventional notation and ear-training to develop the new guitarist’s repertoire. He has tremendous patience for those who have difficulty mastering this complex instrument. Bill believes that with proper guidance that nearly everyone can enjoy making music on the guitar.

As the student’s skills improve, he concentrates on helping him or her master a particular musical style or styles as well as developing in-depth knowledge of fretboard theory and harmony. Bill is a specialist in alternate tunings for six and twelve string guitars and is willing to train advanced students to use unconventional tunings.

Bill has won numerous contests with his melodic autoharp fingerpicking. He first learned to play the autoharp from John Kilby Snow, one of the great masters of southern folk music on the instrument. Bill is always willing to help those interested in learning to play the autoharp or expand their abilities on this exciting but neglected folk instrument. He also has room for a few students who interested in studying beginning to intermediate frailing banjo or appalachian lap dulcimer.

Bill holds an annual recital each spring where students are encouraged to display their progress. This is a very exciting event that allows the students to develop performance skills and poise before an audience as well as to show their friends and family their sometimes astonishing progress on the guitar. http://www.harmonic-resources.com/

Contact:

Bill Gregg
P.O. Box 838
Trumansburg, NY 14886
http://www.harmonic-resources.com/

e-mail: billgregg@harmonic-resources.com
Phone: (607) 387-6630

Suzanne is a graduate of Ithaca College where she earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Viola Performance. As a graduate student she served as teaching assistant to Debra Moree, teaching lessons and classes to undergraduate students.

Suzanne is now on faculty at the college as a lecturer in viola. Suzanne plays regularly with the Orchestra of the Southern Fingerlakes and is a substitute violist for the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and the Binghamton Philharmonic. She is also a founding member of the chamber ensemble “Sonorous.” She works with and enjoys teaching students of all ages and levels. She is a well rounded musician. She plays folk music on her 'fiddle' with the Canaan Valley gang quite regularly. Suzanne can be reached by [ email Suzanne ]

GROUP FOLK GUITAR LESSONS

This happens a couple times per year - check the links for more info.

Marcy Prochaska
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Hammered Dulcimer -- from Marcy's website:
http://mp-dulcimer.com/instruction.html

"What do I need to get started with dulcimer lessons?

To begin lessons, all you need is an instrument along with its accessories (hammers, tuner, tuning wrench, stand) and a notebook.

2. What if I don't have an instrument yet?

Check out my Links page for information about builders I like and rental / purchasing options. None of the area's music stores carry dulcimers, but Dan Duggan sells some at his studio/workshop in Red Creek, Mitzie Colllins sells and rents from Rochester, or you can order online. If you want to compare the work of various builders before you buy, come to a CNY Dulcimer Circle meeting or go to a festival. Also, if there's a particular builder you're interested in, I may be able to connect you with someone who plays one of their instruments. If you're not sure you're ready to make the investment, ask me to schedule an introductory lesson using my dulcimer; I'll show you how the instrument is set up, how to use the hammers, and some other basics that will help you decide if this is for you."

Hope Grietzer ...
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Hope Grietzer is a former Rocky Mountain Region Fiddler of

the Year, and has been performing for numerous years in acoustic bands in New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. Her background is primarily in New England fiddle style with a bit of bluegrass, old-time, and Celtic thrown in. Hope teaches both private and group fiddle lessons full time. She can be contacted at (607) 770-0033 or hopegrietzer1 at netzero dot net

Hope's New Yor website is up nd running - check it out! -:)
http://www.happyhollowmusic.com/

"Hope Grietzer is a fiddler from the Southern Tier of upstate New York, where she studied New England style fiddle with master fiddler and New York Fiddler’s Hall of Fame member Larry Downey. While living in New York, Hope was a member of the Geneseo String Band under the leadership of ethnomusicologist Jim Kimball, and fiddled in the bluegrass / new acoustic bands Dark Hollow and Tamarack.

After moving to Colorado in 1992, Hope sang and fiddled for eleven years with the band Black Rose throughout Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, South Dakota and Kansas, and was voted Rocky Mountain Region Fiddler of the Year by the Colorado Bluegrass Music Society. She has also acted as judge for several fiddle contests in both Colorado and Kansas."

“My daughter, Katie, has been studying with Hope for about 8 months. We have found her to be inspiring, fun, flexible, and best of all, challenging. Hope somehow makes each lesson a “delight” for my daughter. I can hear it in the laughter they share during the lesson and the glow on my daughter’s face when she leaves. Sometimes that excitement actually makes its way into the hours of practice time at home. Now THAT’S inspirational.” Joe Uveges

“Hope’s fiddle classes are positive, supportive, and most of all, fun. I have learned a lot of techniques to get a better sound—this is missing from most video or audio courses. If you’ve ever wanted to play this unforgiving but rewarding instrument you should give Hope’s classes a try. She also provides many opportunities to play new tunes in a group setting. This is the best way for me to gain courage—lots of fiddles help me be more relaxed when I play and I immediately sound better. All I need is more time to practice!” Sue Coulter

“I used to scream at the word violin, but now I jump up just at the sound. Hope has made the violin more exciting and joyful!” Sarah Beaston

“Hope Grietzer possesses the unique ability to patiently teach young and old alike. Hope combines the art of having the student first listen to a musical piece, then learn it, and at last successfully master each piece note by note. Hope’s broad range of musical talent ranges from classical to bluegrass, which is an absolute gift for any student who’s interests are not within a narrow range of style. Hope is well known throughout the musical community. When I am questioned about my fiddle teacher and respond with Hope Grietzer, the immediate response is “You are in great hands!” Cyndi Connolly

http://www.happyhollowmusic.com/

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Ron Andrico
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Ron Andrico, an accomplished player and teacher of stringed instruments, is now accepting new students for private lessons in fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, and lute.

A fixture in the now legendary Portland, Oregon music

scene, he was a founding member of the Portland Folklore Society and the first organizer of Portland's monthly square dances. For over 25 years, he played dance music with and for the likes of Sandy Bradley, Sherry Nevins, Bob Childs, John McCutcheon, Erin Shrader and many others. He also played monthly contra dances in

band with Clyde Curley, annotator of the now famous Portland Collection of dance tunes. A specialist in music for the theatre, for he performed, recorded and toured the US & Japan for five years with Marv & Rindy Ross, of the pop band Quarterflash. His current musical horizons have expanded to include lute music from the renaissance.

Having taught for 30 years, he has a sympathetic and focused approach to private instruction and specializes in helping beginning to intermediate players overcome barriers to relaxed, intelligent and expressive playing. [ back to top ]

http://mignarda.eglanteria.com/