Teaching Old-Time Music in Higher Education

This session will gather together teachers from East Tennessee State University, Morehead State University, and Warren Wilson College to discuss various methodologies for teaching traditional music at the college level in an institutional setting. The roundtable discussion will focus on ensemble classes, individual instruction, and performance, and the ways that we have found to provide context and a semblance of the oral tradition in our teaching. Both Morehead State University and East Tennessee State University offer bachelors degrees in traditional music, and Warren Wilson College has an Appalachian Music Program and a minor in traditional music. All three offer old-time music instruction alongside bluegrass instruction and we will discuss some similarities and differences between the approaches to teaching the two musics. We will also share our observations on what directions we are seeing the music take, and the various orientations of young, serious-minded traditional musicians.