WinterSongs 2011
Friday, February 18th
to Monday, February 21st, 2011
Ready to Register? YES!
Ashokan Center, Olivebridge, NY
Cost: $449.00 (if you register before 12/31/10. $509.00 after 1/1/11)
[plan to arrive by 3pm on Friday and leave on Monday by noon]Hi Everyone!
Welcome to our 10th annual winter gathering, guaranteed to warm your spirits in any kind of winter chill! The beautiful Ashokan Center (where SummerSongs began in 1999) once again provides the backdrop for a fun-filled and jam-packed weekend (literally!), complete with S'mores, campfires, and some of the finest camp food you'll ever eat. Instructors include perennial favorites Penny Nichols, Sloan Wainwright, and David Roth, and last year we added the wonderful Greg Greenway and Anne Hills, Vito Petrocitto and Glen Roethel for our new guitar track of classes). Join us! And don't forget - EVERY camp brings a wealth of information and experience from our students too, so be prepared for a weekend you'll never forget with old and new friends.
We will be posting the new faculty for 2011 WinterSongs soon!
Guitarists! Check out our new Guitar Track at WinterSongs!
Penny Nichols
Greg Greenway
Anne Hills
Pete Nelson
Vito Petrocitto
Sue K. Riley
Glen Roethel
David Roth
Sloan Wainwright
Click on an instructor's name for a short description of their classes. Some bios are still in the works...
Instructors & Classes
Penny Nichols:
Harmony singing
Have you ever wanted to learn to sing in harmony better, how to do it and where it is appropriate in a song? You will have a chance to experience for yourself the fun and unique qualities of singing in harmony and how to begin to master the skills needed to sing in harmony well. You will learn listening techniques, how to recognize chordal relationships and how harmony fits into a melodic landscape. Don't miss the fun of singing in harmony with your pals at WinterSongs!
For more info on Penny visit: www.pennynichols.com
Greg Greenway
Freedom, Freedom
For your own personal enjoyment and freedom, for the enjoyment of
everyone listening and watching,
this class will be a valuable performance handbook for intermediate to
advanced performers. I've performed for years anywhere from
Carnegie Hall to people's living rooms and watch thousands of
performances. Together we will focus on who you are, what you
are conveying, and how to find the freedom that can make presenting
your songs so exhilarating - the craft that leads to art.
Take A Walk on the Wild Side
Whether just starting out or having many songs under your belt,
sometimes you need a jump start.
I've collected a bunch of fun exercises to jog you out of a fallow
period and out of your comfort zone.
It's a little wild, a little dangerous, but a whole lot rewarding. We
will laugh, we will perspire, and we
WILL write a song together.
Anne Hills
THE PURPOSE OF THE SONG
When do we begin a song, when is a song is needed, who is or will be the audience we want to reach, and why are we writing? Answering these questions, understanding the history of song and defining our goals for songwriting dramatically impact the quality and effectiveness of our work. We will explore the deeper side of songwriting, while discovering tools to move our writing toward a more definitive purpose.
Pete Nelson
Finessing the Ballad Narrative:
Not all songs tell stories. Not all songs need to, but if you want to tell a story, there are rules and general principles you need to know to make your song as powerful as it can be. In this workshop, we’ll write songs and do exercises to work on how to grab your listener by establishing tension in the first line, how to keep it moving hold their interest, and how to provide a satisfying pay-off. No song is “too long” if your listener can’t wait to learn what happens next.
Writing in Concrete:
Some songs hit hard and linger in your mind for days. Other songs float away and disappear the minute they’re over, and two minutes later, you can’t remember what they were about. In this song, we’ll write songs using concrete imagery to register your song in your listener’s mind. We’ll practice honing in on the useful details, where a sharp image is a picture worth a thousand words, but a fuzzy image is a blur that mumbles. Working in teams and groups, we’ll practice the difference between showing and telling, and how to know when it’s time to do one or the other.
David Roth:
Performance 101
This is a performance lab for anyone, but especially for those of you who may be new TO performing or perhaps a bit (or a LOT!) scared to step out on that stage! Over the years I have give fear way too much power at times, but when I remember that it's an acronym for "forgetting everything's all right", I have a building block to transform it from obstacle into ally, and together we can help one another do the same. This will be fun, playful, interactive, gentle, and powerful as we each take our rightful place in front of our audience (who, by the way, is there TO love and appreciate our unique gifts). Bring a song you know by heart, and your willingness to move forward.
Grain of Salt
Stuck somewhere in the middle? This is our annual interactive and participatory workshop for any songs or parts thereof that you might wish to have some input on. We'll hear these songs in progress and become a collective think-tank about what's working so far and what might be improved upon (keep in mind that you are and always will be the CEO of your song, no matter what anyone says!). It's also an opportunity to hone your listening and feedback-giving skills as well as a chance to ponder all the elements that make a song click. All levels. And take everything you hear here with a...
Sloan Wainwright :
Singing with your heart, soul and body:
Singing is fun! Inside each of us lives a beautiful and unique instrument!
In this workshop, we will move our bodies, soften our hearts, open our mouths and let our voices out to play! We will use a combination of vocal warm-ups and work-outs, to help relax and strengthen the voice...making it more flexible and reliable. Individual attention and support is offered to each person in class as well as for the group as a whole.
Creative Process:
Take the leap! Bring paper and pens and pencils! Bring a tape recorder! Bring your wonderful unique self and all your beautiful self - expression! Together, we will create a safe environment to explore the process of creativity through writing. We will get our ideas flowing with the help of fun writing exercises and lively discussion. You will have the opportunity to break out of old writing habits and discover new territory in stalking the wild song.
Vito Petrocitto
New! Guitar Track at WinterSongs!
In Search of the Lost Chord:
“In Search of The Lost Chord” is primarily for those who have taken few (if any) guitar lessons where you’ll get some “shortcuts” to help improve your skills in a class that has been designed to leave no one behind. Any and all questions about guitar will be answered slowly AND in non-technical language we can all understand. This is not only for beginners either, as we’ll tackle questions that more experienced players may have as we collectively demystify the instrument. We’ll also will shed some light on theory, chords, and strumming, This would also be a great way to “feel out” the guitar lesson experience in a safe environment, in case you’re on the fence about
taking lessons on a more regular basis. Beginning to intermediate.
Understanding the Capo, Alternate Tunings, Prettier Chords and then some!
"Understanding the Capo, Alternate Tunings, Prettier Chords and then some!" This class will uncover the secrets of using the capo and alternate tunings to see how they can be used to create a more beautiful landscape for your song. This will be a great way to spice up the “regular” chords that may keep you from sounding like a pro! "And then some" refers to any additional accompaniment questions you may have, as we take time to cover “leftovers” and lingering topics. Advanced.
Glen Roethel
Harmony Class with Penny
New! Guitar Track at WinterSongs!
The Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Learn To Play Covers (...And Make More Money As A Professional Musician)
The Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Learn To Play Covers will benefit songwriters, singers and all instrumentalists, but our in-practice examples will be tailored for guitarists at all levels. Whether you're just starting out or a veteran recording/performing artist you'll find inspiration and practical information to fuel your advancement as a writer, performer and professional musician. We'll take a closer look at some timeless songs and learn to unveil and make use of their power in our own work — a practice that will help you to unlock the education in every one of your favorite recordings — and our handouts will give you a good head start when you're ready to start earning more money as a professional musician. We'll have time for questions and discussion, too, to enrich all who attend. All levels. All instruments and songwriters.
Glen Roethel (glenroethel.com, gatheringtimetrio.com)
Glen fell in love with the guitar at age 11. In awe of the myriad sounds trapped within this 6-stringed wonder Glen spent hours every day exploring it's mysteries, then after a year of hard work (intense fun) he auditioned for and was hired as lead guitarist by his first professional band, Focus. With Focus, Glen was paid to perform at parties, church dances, school and town events, and before long he was negotiating contracts, recording, writing songs and developing marketing materials. Through high school Glen continued his work in various original, pop rock, acoustic and musical projects on guitar, bass, piano and vocal - writing, recording and producing. In the summer after graduating, he played solo (originals and covers by Supertramp, James Taylor, Steely Dan, Joe Jackson, Yaz, America and many others), recorded and toured locally with a new group, The Passengers, and joined a wedding band (Champage) which typically performed 130 events each year. This young wedding band was very strong in harmony and fun showmanship and Glen quickly expanded his repertoire from Manhattan Transfer and Sinatra to B-52s, Pat Benatar, Beatles and Rolling Stones; continuing on the club date circuit for ten years provided a valuable education - and paid the rent. Not to be limited stylistically, Glen later played guitar and recorded with the Pat Nichols band (a signed rock project) and also in his own Buddha Babies project (a Buddhist fusion of Cuban, Peruvian, African American players and styles), keyboards in a Reggae band, lead vocals, bass and guitar in his heavy alternative rock band, GUSH, and many more. More recently, and notably, in addition to his career as a solo artist Glen performs with his folk-rock harmony trio, Gathering Time, and recently performed in concert with A Few Good Men - a Jazz ensemble comprised of three ex-felons from Sing-Sing prison with a special guest, the president of Deutsche Bank on drums.
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