Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp preserves bluegrass history

The International Bluegrass Music Museum established the Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp in an effort to preserve the unique, historic performance art of Bill Monroe, “The Father of Bluegrass," by teaching his style of mandolin playing and songwriting to a new generation of players. A faculty consisting of some of the greatest ambassadors of Monroe-style mandolin are assembled each fall to examine issues related to the development and execution of Monroe's mandolin style. The fourth annual camp was held in September 2009, welcoming 45 participants and 12 guests to the program held at the Museum. All of the campers, including four or five who are repeat students, became Museum members.

As arguably the most well-respected purveyor of Monroe’s style, it was no surprise that the Museum tapped Mike Compton to head the mandolin camp. “The primary goal of the Monroe Mandolin Camp is to preserve and further the mandolin art of Bill Monroe,” he says. “In order to achieve this goal, we have sought the most accomplished and knowledgeable practitioners of the art from coast to coast, most of whom have highly respected musical careers of their own.”

The Camp was a great success this year, Mike says. “Rave revues from this year's student body, as well as comments from the instructor staff, confirmed the progress we have made in focusing the curriculum. There were a number of students who made this year's event their fourth in a row and there is every indication that many of them will be returning next year,” he says.

“The classes were designed to offer something of value to all skill levels. Pertinent subject matter was presented using lectures, sheet music in standard notation/tab, audio samples and ‘call-and-response.’ There were also short individual sessions that offered the students a chance to address questions ‘knee-to-knee.’” Looking forward to next year, Mike plans to incorporate more multimedia to enhance the experience, as well as appeal to those with more visual learning styles. “Hopefully, we will be able to include some of the video footage available on Monroe's various bands as another angle to convey the information.”

Together with knowledgeable instructors and a strong curriculum, campers delve deeper into the Monroe sound, as well as partake in a healthy dose of jamming each night. Jamming is vital to any good camp camp, according to Compton, because “the music is the vehicle towards an end.” And the nightly jam circle means just as much to the instructors as to the campers, he says. “It is pure joy, sometimes even ecstasy, to be able to play Bill's tunes with other people that love the form as much as I do. It's just being able to interact and make the sound, to find other people who share a common interest.”