Murphy Method Women’s Banjo Camp: July 28-30, 2023
All Levels. All Women.

Level: Beginning and Intermediate
Tuition: $575 (Includes lunch on Saturday and Sunday. DOES NOT INCLUDE LODGING. See below for details.)
To Register:  Print this form and mail it back.

Join us for our tenth Murphy Method Women’s Banjo Camp, July 28-30, 2022, in Winchester, Virginia. Why an all-women banjo camp? Because we want to do a women’s camp. We want to reach out to more women who play and get them playing together. Very few women come to our other camps and we want to create a unique event with an inclusive atmosphere where everyone will feel comfortable.

Our first nine Women's Banjo Camps were a rousing success! Everyone left in a state of euphoria, including the instructors: Murphy and Casey Henry. The after-hours jamming lasted till midnight and was a source of many hilarious stories the next day. The vibe during the entire weekend was electric, with women, from ages 12 to 75, bonding, sharing, supporting, laughing, and--best of all--playing and singing their hearts out!

Venue and Lodging

We make our camps ones that WE would want to attend! Our camp classes and activities are held in the conference rooms at the COURTYARD by Marriott-Winchester Medical Center, and you will have access to the classrooms after hours for jamming. We have arranged a special camp rate for guest rooms.

COURTYARD By Marriott-Winchester Medical Center
300 Marriott Drive
Winchester, VA 22603
T 540-678-8822

Here is the hotel booking link. You can also call the hotel directly to book your room. Our camp rate for 2023 is $119 + 8.8% tax. If you want to get our rate you have to book at least 30 days prior to the start of camp. You may, of course, make other lodging arrangements. If you have any questions at all or need more information please feel free to email Casey at themurphymethod@gmail.com.

Murphy and Casey will focus on making you a better, more well-rounded banjo player. There will be lots and lots of playing. And while we have said this is a camp for all levels of banjo playing women, we do have some minimum pre-requisites:

Prerequisites:

Banjo In the Hollow

Boil Them Cabbage Down, low break and high break

Cripple Creek (all three are on New Beginning Banjo 1)

Know your F shape vamp chord (also taught on New Beginning Banjo 1 as well as on Vamping: Beginning Banjo Backup. You do NOT need to know the D shape.) Be able to play the G, C, and D chords in the F shape and move between them smoothly. This takes months to get down. You want to start early on this one!

ESSENTIAL FOR HIGHER LEVEL CLASS:

Know your D shape vamp chord and be able to move between D shape and F shape

Do Lord (on Banjo for Misfits / New Beginning Banjo 2) Foggy Mountain Breakdown (on Beginning Banjo Vol. 1 / New Beginning Banjo 2)

Blue Ridge Cabin Home (on Kickstart Your Jamming / New Beginning Banjo 1)

Bury Me Beneath The Willow (on Kickstart Your Jamming / New Beginning Banjo 2)

Must be able to use the capo in A (two frets) and C (five frets) and vamp to songs there.

Highly Recommended for higher level class:
Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms: FROM THE DVD "Jam Session Standards" (we need Earl's all-important first and last lick, which are the same, and which I call the "Roll in my sweet baby's arm" lick. NO substitutions!

Old Joe Clark--played in A. So practice it WITH YOUR CAPO at the second fret. Learn and practice vamp chords in A. This is on New Beginning Banjo 3 _or_ the old Beginning Banjo Vol. 2

Extra credit: Lonesome Road Blues (high break). If you can't get to the high break, learn the low break which is on our Improvising: The First Stage DVD.

All the songs on Beginning Banjo Volume 1 / New Beginning Banjo 1

All the songs on Banjo for Misfits / New Beginning Banjo 2

From Beginning Banjo Vol 2: All songs except Salt Creek and Fireball Mail 
OR
From New Beginning Banjo 3: All songs except Salt Creek

Improvising: The First Stage: First two songs or three songs

FAQs

How serious are you about the pre-requisites? 
We are serious about our “absolutely required” songs. We start our teaching from this point and we can't catch you up. If you don't know these songs you'll be behind from the start. Our camp works best if everyone is at about the same level and knows at least the same core body of songs. You’ll be able to participate more fully and easily if you can play most of the material under “highly recommended” as well, but these are not deal breakers. Vamping is a must. Being able to play the songs all the way through is a must. We don't care about "perfect," but you need to be able to recover from your mistakes and keep going. Being able to improvise even a little bit will help, but is not a must. We know you will be nervous about playing with others and in front of others and we will work on this. But we will NEVER push you to play a solo by yourself unless you want to.

Can my significant other come along? 
Of course! If your non-banjo-playing partner wants to come along they are welcome. $30 will cover lunches for Saturday and Sunday, plus attendence at the evening concerts. If they play, too, they are welcome to bring their instrument and they can join in on the jamming! Here are some things they can do in the area while we are banjoing!

When should I arrive? 
We’ll start class at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, so a Friday morning arrival is fine.

When should I leave? 
Classes will end at noon on Sunday, and then we eat lunch, so you can plan for a mid-day departure.

What level player do I need to be to attend this camp? 
This will be an intermediate level camp (see the pre-requisites and highly recommended DVDs). If you still have trouble playing straight through your tunes and have never tried to play with anyone else before, you might consider booking a few Skype lesson with Murphy or Casey to evaluate whether you are ready for camp.

What is the closest airport?
Washington-Dulles (IAD) is about an hour drive away. Most people fly there and rent a car. Reagan National is somewhat further but still doable. And BWI is about the furthest convenient airport.

Will private lessons be available?
Murphy will be available for private lessons before the camp. These should be arranged individually with her. (Murphy: nmhenry@visuallink.com)

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