There are still a handful of spots left for this year’s Richter Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us w/ special guest Will Patton.  Please contact Jim at jim@jimrichter.com if you are interested.  Each year the camp always fills up so don’t tarry in signing up!

Jim Richter, the Grant Street Inn, and Kimble Mandolins announce the 5th Annual Richter “Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us” w/ special guest Will Patton

The 2015 5th annual Jim Richter “Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us”–with its special emphasis on rock and blues styles—will be Wednesday July 29th through Saturday August 1st at the Grant Street Inn in Bloomington, Indiana.

New to 2015 is special guest instructor Will Patton.  Will is definitely in my top 5 to 10 favorite mandolinists and am very excited to have him join us this year.  Will’s knowledge and skill in jazz, gypsy jazz, choro, folk, etc. is incomparable.  His technique and tone are full, rich, and vibrant, allowing each note from his Gibson A to fully sing. Much like the great Don Julin before him, Will understands and endorses the motivational and musical designs of this camp, facilitating the aim of a weekend musical encounter.

Besides rock and blues mandolin styles, this camp focuses on deconstructing the barriers that keep each of us from being the most creative and productive on our mandolins. I do not subscribe to “beginner-intermediate-expert” labeling—especially self-labeling, as I often think it undervalues or devalues the mandolinist. Creativity and ability are both spectrum-based, free of artificial levels and competition.

The curriculum, which is in final development, will cover:

• Blues
• Rock
• Jazz
• Choro
• Arrangement
• Basic music theory
• Technique
• Practice routines
• e-Mando
• Jamming

However, like last year, the attendees will also help refine the curriculum by completing the questionnaire that is a part of the registration form. Let us know what you’d like to learn and we’ll do our best to work it into the schedule.

Returning this year will be concurrently held “special topic” classes. For example, while Will is teaching basic music theory, Jim will accept a handful of students for blues arrangement. Or conversely, while Jim is teaching a general class on practice routines, Will will hold a small group on choro.

Also, 20 minutes of individual instruction is now a standard part of the camp. Given that we’ve opened this camp to around 20 attendees, we have to limit private instruction to 15 minutes. Individual instruction will be held the mornings of 7/30 through 8/1 between 9AM and 11:30AM.

Breakdown of the Camp:

Wednesday 7/29: Meet and Greet/Jam. Not obligatory to attend but a good icebreaker and beginning to the camp.

Thursday 7/30: Individual sessions in AM. Classes from noon until 5PM. Jamming in the evening.

Friday 7/31: Individual sessions in AM. Classes from noon until 5PM. Jamming in the evening.

Saturday 8/1: Individual sessions in AM. Classes from noon until 5PM. Faculty concert in the evening.

Cost: Tuition for the workshop is $320 ($330 if paying via Paypal). This covers camp instruction, printed materials, individual instruction, and the faculty concert. It does not include dining or lodging.

Housing: For out of town folks, I encourage you to use the Grant Street Inn as it is the center of activities and is offering a great discount for our group. Just tell them that you are booking for the Richter Mandolin Camp to ensure the $119 plus tax rate per night.
http://www.grantstreetinn.com 812-334-2353. Reduced rates are available from Tuesday 7/28 through Saturday 8/1.

Lesson Plan/Special Topic signups: Once I receive a sufficient number of registration forms back, we will finalize our curriculum. At that time I will send each of you a schedule of classes where you can list your class preferences. After sending this back to me, I will finalize our class rosters.

Registration: You can email me (jim@jimrichter.com) for questions or to put a hold on a spot for you.  You can register through my online registration form.  All registrations will be done online.  However, payment can be done either via check or PayPal.  If you choose to pay by check, please let me know.   Thanks!

About Jim Richter
Over the last 10 years I’ve built a reputation as a solid blues mandolinist who draws heavily from classic electric blues guitarists, such as Freddie King and Hollywood Fats. Due to my extensive background as a blues-oriented rock guitarist, I’ve garnered respect and notoriety for my mandolin renditions of tunes by Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin. This respect also extends to mandolin instruction, as I’ve become one of the more visible blues mandolin instructors. 2012 saw the release of my iPad interactive mandolin instructional book Richter Mandolin. In terms of recent discography, 2013 saw the release of the dual release In-Tuition: Blues & Mandopoly, containing mostly original tunes and special guests from artist such as the great Mike Compton.  Will Kimble and I were recently on The Road Home/Butch Baldassari Tribute CD and Gordon Bonham and I were on The Tribute to Yank Rachel CD.

About Will Patton
Will Patton is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. Will has been playing all kinds of music for over 30 years now, including celtic, jazz, rock and roll, bluegrass and Brazilian choro.  He is in demand as a jazz bass player and session mandolinist in his home state of Vermont and has performed and taught from Fairbanks, Alaska to Key West, Fla., Pacific Palisades to Paris.

– See more at: http://www.jimrichter.com/?page_id=850#sthash.nFezI8HB.dpuf