The Foundation for Bluegrass Music hosts teacher workshops each year with the goal of introducing bluegrass music to classroom and music teachers at all levels (including home schooling parents), by giving them practical lesson plans and tools to implement bluegrass music in the classroom. 

The courses, with attendance certificates issued for professional development credit, usually include live presentations by professional bands who demonstrate the instruments used and vocal harmony structure, lesson plans on the history and evolution of bluegrass music with hands-on projects and activities for students, and live presentations from student bands with advice from educators who are already using bluegrass successfully in their schools and camps. 

A number of bluegrass music resources and take-home handouts, including info from IBMA’s Discover Bluegrass: Exploring American Roots Music DVD and accompanying lesson plans, are shared with teachers, along with a free one-day festival pass to the event going on during the teacher workshop.

Upcoming “Utilizing Bluegrass Music in the Classroom” workshops:  

Discover Bluegrass presentation for teachers at Summer NAMM, Nashville, TN - June 20, 2010, 2:30 p.m. Info: Nancy Cardwell, 888-438-4262,  nancyc@ibma.org

Bluegrass training for Memphis, Tenn. music teachers - August 5, 2010

Nashville, Tennessee: Friday, October 1, 2010; Renaissance Hotel. To register, email Nancy Cardwell at IBMA - nancyc@ibma.org or call 888-GET-IBMA/ 615-256-3222.

To request info on how to organize a teacher workshop in your area, contact Nancy Cardwell at nancyc@ibma.org or Tom Kopp, Ph.D. (IBMA Bluegrass in the Schools Committee chair) at kopptw@muohio.edu.  

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