Once you arrive….
…at the Sambica Camp and Conference Center on Lake Sammamish, about 15 min. from downtown Seattle, and 35 min. from the SeaTac airport… (We CAN ARRANGE FOR YOU TO BE PICKED UP IN ONE OF THE SAMBICA CAMP VANS) See registration form.
2020-SAW-Registration-Form
…you will be welcomed, shown to your lodging, and given a wonderful dinner. After dinner, there will be an orientation session and get-acquainted jams with our instructors.
When you send in your registration we will also ask you to fill out a detailed questionnaire to tell us about your playing level and learning goals, and musical preferences. You will also be asked to put YOURSELF into one of four groups, (there are 8-12 participants in each group). Groups will be formed according to playing level and interests of participants. (After you arrive, if for some reason you feel like you’re in the wrong group, we can quickly remedy that).
There will be:
Morning Core Sessions
You’ll start the day with a hearty breakfast, and then you’ll divide the morning between two instructors one day, the other two the next day, and so forth; so that each person will have a number of sessions with each of the four instructors. These core classes will concentrate on developing solid rhythm, clean melody picking, tune arrangement, musical expression, tasteful song accompaniment, and developing your repertoire. Our instructors will work as a team; each teaching one or more areas of playing at a level appropriate to each small group and progressing through the week, so you will have intensive contact with each of the instructors throughout the week. These sessions will be tailored to your needs and skill level, and will be a hard-working but fun experience.
Afternoon Specialty Sessions
After lunch and some time to relax, there will be a short “round robin” by the instructors on a particular theme, followed by a specialty workshop session, covering particular aspects of autoharp playing. These will depend on student interest, and may include: standard chromatic repertoire, advanced tuning techniques, diatonic open noting, playing fiddle tunes up to speed, fancy rhythms, use of diatonic and chromatic color chords, great licks and tricks, storytelling with the autoharp, songs for children, celtic repertoire, and others. Also there will be PARTICIPANT LED WORKSHOPS, where anybody can do a session on a topic of their choice or one requested by others.
During and after this session, you will have to option of going off by yourself to play, getting together with your fellow participants to jam or practice or enjoying the environment of the camp.
Evening Community Activities and Group Playing
We’ll have a delicious dinner and a short break, and then the entire camp will gather in the Joshua Lodge for a fun and entertaining evening session. Activites might include a “hat band” (band scramble type of activity), student concert, instructor concert, and sharing of musical and non-musical experiences.
After this, there will be time and space for everyone to get together to practice and jam, with participants and instructors all taking part.
And of course, you can stay up and play music as late as you want. Or settle in to your cozy bed for a good night’s sleep.
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After we receive your registration questionnaires, we’ll spend some time reviewing playing levels, goals and interests of our participants. Then we’ll map out a more detailed schedule and curriculum, geared specifically to your skill level and interests.
Feel free to e-mail info@seattleautoharpweek.com if you have questions.