HONKY TONK WINTER WARMER with Fire in the Mountain
Join Fire in the Mountain for a day of country songs and making music together. This is a supportive, hands-on intensive for singers and instrumentalists who want to dig into what makes a country song really work. We’ll explore harmony singing, vocal arrangements, instrumental accompaniment and the joyful art of putting a song together as a group.
We’ll start and finish the day together, with sessions bringing singers and instrumentalists into the same musical space. In between, we’ll split into dedicated strands for singers and instrumentalists, with focused guidance tailored to each. The vocal track, led by Gwennie Einsiedel, covers harmony singing, basic vocal arranging, phrasing and execution. The instrumental track, taught by fiddler Craig Judelman and guitarist Vera Van Heeringen, digs into the basics of arranging, chord choices, playing with vocalists, and crafting intros, outros, and solos, all while keeping it country.
Along the way, you'll learn new repertoire, go deeper on style and arrangements, and build skills you can take home. Whether you’re an experienced musician or looking to build confidence, the day will combine guidance and practical playing with plenty of time to sing, play and experiment. Above all, it's about being together, strengthening your musical network, and leaving with a community of people to play with.
Singers: come ready to stretch your harmony skills, find your voice in a group, and get stuck into some great country songs.
Instrumentalists: come ready to hone your skills playing alongside singers, learn how to support a vocal arrangement, take a ride and develop the accompaniment skills that make a band sound great.
Meet the tutors
Gwennie von Einsiedel (UK / USA)
Gwennie von Einsiedel is a musician and ethnomusicologist originally from the UK. She now lives in Louisiana, where she leads the traditional music programme at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, coordinating student ensembles in Cajun, zydeco, R&B and honky tonk, a team of instructors teaching voice, accordion and fiddle, and a year-round calendar of public performances, workshops and lectures. As a singer and musician she has toured with Sam Lee, performed in major theatre productions and led choirs and group singing for many years. She is currently performing with Pont des Chansons, a project exploring connections between European and American ballad traditions alongside Louisiana musicians Kelli Jones, Trey Boudreaux, Chad Viator, Megan Constantin and more. Gwennie is passionate about helping singers build confidence, find their voices and discover the joys of singing together.
Vera Van Heeringen (UK)
Vera will be working on flatpicking and cross-picking techniques, With an emphasis on confidence and strength in both lead and backup playing, she'll be exploring how to put the groove into tunes with rhythmic melodies. (For guitar in standard tuning, this course requires a plectrum).
www.veravanheeringen.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8tzMlMOUzM
Vera van Heeringen is an accomplished and highly acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. She was part of the brilliantly comedic New Rope String Band for five years and has toured with several Cajun and Old time greats such as Dirk Powell and Sheryl Cormier. In recent years Vera has been performing with her own trio and she released her third album 'Won't be Broken' not long before lockdown which has been described by the press as her best yet. Vera has taught guitar for over 10 years and is known for her inclusive approach which aims to inspire in a laid back and enjoyable way.
Craig Judelman (USA)
Craig Judelman grew up in Seattle, where he started playing violin at age 4. After studying classical and jazz music he was quickly drawn to various folk music, first klezmer and eventually fell in love with old time music. He learned mostly from deep listening to old records and field recordings, but was fortunate to get to visit with some of the great southern fiddlers, including Clyde Davenport and Joe Thompson and even more fortunate to have Peter Stampfel (the gigs, holy modal rounders) and John Cohen (New Lost City Ramblers) as mentors and bandmates for years while living in New York and touring with his old band The Dust Busters.. He has taught old time fiddle for many years, using insights into technique gleaned from all of his mentors as well as the Alexander technique. Craig currently lives in Berlin, Germany where he plays and teaches old time, swing and klezmer music.
SCHEDULE
9:30 arrival
10:00 - 13:30 Morning workshops with break
13:30 Lunch
15:00 - 18:30 Afternoon workshops with break
19:00 Dinner
20:00 Squaredance, 2-step, waltz
22:00 - 23:00 jam/open stage
We will be in touch by email nearer the date about catering arrangements.
The venue has a bar for the evening.
Any queries please contact honkytonk@fireinthemountain.co.uk
