Deering Banjos believes in fostering the love of America’s instrument, the banjo, in children and adults alike. With this in mind, they have teamed up with educators and musicians across the country to strongly support the International Bluegrass Music Associations’ “Bluegrass in the Schools” program. The 24 Goodtime openback banjos and gig bags donated by Deering to the International Bluegrass Museum are loaned out free of charge to qualified teachers to be used in their classrooms. According to Chuck Hayes of the International Bluegrass Museum in Owensboro, KY, the banjos are used regularly at 2-week intervals by qualified area educators and in the classes taught by Bluegrass fellows in the Museum’s own classroom programs for children.
With the resurgence in the interest in roots music spurred by “O Brother Where Art Thou,” the Traditional American Music Program (TAM) presented by Greg Cahill and his band, The Special Consensus, has become an even more important vehicle for informing our American youth about our rich musical heritage. By logging on to www.specialc.com, teachers can get free lesson plan guides. For a modest $10 fee, they can order from IBMA or the International Bluegrass Museum an informative 45 minute video to coordinate with the lesson guide.
“We who have been around (bluegrass) music know of the fellowship and fun, know of the bonds of friendships that are made, of the bonds formed,” wrote Bob Turbanic of Wheeling Park High School, West Virgina, in his “Bluegrass Unlimited” article detailing the growth of his now famous Wheeling Park High School Bluegrass Club and Band. The desire to pass the music “from teaching hand to learning hand, from our hands and our hearts to the hands and hearts of our students,” have made the program started in 1992 with only 3 students grow to one being offered not only to the 2100 students of Wheeling Park High School but because of his student musicians it is reaching down to the middle and elementary schools to the 4000 students in the next generation. Bob and his fellow teacher, Kim Mattis, hope to one day sit in an audience where one of their club members will perform and reach the heart of another child in the audience. As Bob wrote, “At that magical moment, the music will pass from one more teaching hand to one more learning hand, one more time.”
Bearfoot Bluegrass—an Alaskan high school bluegrass band run by Belle Mickelson has had such great success that they are talking about making a CD! The group out of Cordova, Alaska, has played at the Anchorage and Juneau Folk Festivals and helped out in the Kids on Bluegrass program in Grass Valley, CA.
At IBMA every year, teachers have the wonderful experience of learning how to play a Goodtime openback banjo from John H. Shortt. He offers them an entire day of exposure to Bluegrass and Folk music history, songs, and simple instrument making that they can take back to their classrooms. Many of those teachers had never played a banjo and John has them strumming “Bile Them Cabbage Down” together with only 20 minutes of instruction. The love of music and the banjo he shares with them will filter down to the children. To further quote Bob Turbanic, “one more teaching hand to one more learning hand.”
For details on using the Goodtime banjos donated by Deering banjos in your classroom, contact Chuck Hayes at the International Bluegrass Museum at 270-926-7891.
For more details on how your school or teachers can purchase Goodtime banjos from Deering through IBMA’s “Bluegrass in the Schools” program, please contact the Carolina Bridges at the Deering Banjo Company, (800) 845-7791..