The Junior Appalachian Musicians Program of Grundy County, JAMkids Grundy Area, is beginning our second year this fall! The JAM program gives kids the opportunity to learn the “Old Time” music of our mountain heritage, offering classes in fiddle, guitar, and banjo, led by our excellent local old time musicians Bob Townsend, Denis Marlowe, and Michael Klug. Instruments are provided on loan to students who will commit to attending at least eight classes a semester and practicing their instrument at home. This year classes are structured to accommodate absolute beginners as well as kids who have some experience playing their instrument. At the end of each class all the kids will JAM together!
This year we are adding ukulele, harmonica, vocals, and spoons to our program! Ukulele is a great option for younger JAM students who may later want to learn guitar. Harmonica and vocals are a wonderful choice for kids with a musical ear who are less inclined to learn a string instrument. Spoons will be fun for everyone, with featured guest performer “Uncle Donald Clark” demonstrating how to play the spoons at our first JAM class on Monday, September 8th at 4:00 p.m. New students will attend their music classes after the demonstration, and after class we will all circle round for our first JAM session with the spoons feature!
Classes take place at the Littel-Partin Center, or “the old Grundy County High School building” at 14399 US-41 in Tracy City on Mondays at 4:00 p.m. from September 8th - December 8th following the Grundy County school schedule. JAM classes are suited for kids ages 8-18, with “Junior JAM” (ukulele, singing, and beginning fiddle) available to kids from 4-7. Families with younger children are welcome to stay and be amongst the music. Parents and guardians may accompany their children in the classroom during lessons or wait in the hallway or outside the building. Benefits of the JAM program include the expansion of learning capacity for the developing mind, the preservation of Appalachia’s living history of music, the opportunity for kids to form friendships while playing and learning together in a wholesome environment, and a chance to experience additional concerts, dances, and fieldtrips the JAM program offers.
Our local JAM program is made possible by the South Cumberland Community Fund, the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, the Caverns, Gold Tone banjo company and the many people who have donated instruments, time, and resources, and all the families who are supporting their children’s interest in music. JAMkids Grundy Area is offered on a sliding scale basis from no cost to low-cost, 0-$150 per semester according to what a family is able to contribute to the program. No child is turned away who wants to learn how to play music, and we hope to accommodate as many as are able to come and JAM with us!
You may register your kids for JAM online at www.grundyarea.art/jam from now until September 8th. Please contact program director Cara Kitzrow at
Z3J1bmR5amFta2lkcyB8IGdtYWlsICEgY29t with any questions. Let’s JAM, Grundy! Bring a spoon or two!
Also check out other Kids events & activities in Tracy City, Workshops in Tracy City, Music events in Tracy City.
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