| Banjo Building Course |
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Tuition: $3000  2010 Schedule
This year we are offering a two-week banjo course taught by master-builder Will Fielding. George and Adam will assist Will in teaching students how to build banjos. Students will design and build their own instruments from standard stock and hardware, not a kit. Necks and fretboards will be handmade of raw materials and fitted to tone ring and rim with simple tools, and then finished and properly set-up for the best playability and intonation. The tuition of $3000 includes all materials, and living and cooking accommodations. Please contact the school or Will Fielding for more information. This promises to be a very popular course so sign up early. Contact Will: (802)464-3260 or
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A Note from Will: |
Will's Bio: In 1973 I began my professional woodworking career learning the art of guitar building from Augie LoPrinzi. While I worked at LoPrinzi Guitars I began repairing old banjos, then building new ones. I taught woodworking at Solebury School, a private high school in Pennsylvania, before moving to Vermont to study furniture building with Gib Taylor at Marlboro College. In 1979 I graduated with honors. Since then I have been doing custom cabinetry, building custom furniture, stringed instruments and drums, and doing custom-designed home renovations.
George and Adam have asked me to add my thoughts to their description of the Banjo Course I intend to teach. I am happy to say that the way the Vermont Instruments School teaches is completely in line with my own thinking on building and teaching. Each student goes home with a finished instrument and enough knowledge to build another if he or she desires to do so. In the tradition of The Vermont Instrument School I plan to teach a low-tech and hands-on course that relies on basic hand tools, small-scale power-tools, and a few simple jigs. Each student will build a banjo that will be easy to play, sound great, and be beautiful as well. There will be opportunity for individual expression on each instrument. Students will leave with a clear understanding of how and why all the parts fit together to make a whole banjo. Hope to see you there.
