About Fiddle Pal Camp
Fiddle Pal Camp Philosophy
lt's all about connections - person to person, teacher to student, ideas to skills, and learning to fun. We think the journey is just as important as the final destination. Our teachers get just as giddy as the students when the light bulb turns on. Together we learn, try new things, and push the boundaries of our skills.
Our classes are designed to nourish an adventurous spirit, fuel a passion for discovery and spark innovation. Based on Brian Wicklund’s best-selling, American Fiddle Method, FPC motivates and inspires students of all ages and abilities to play together and grow as musicians.
Learning at Fiddle Pal Camp
Students of the violin, viola, cello, guitar and mandolin learn tunes and techniques from a variety of traditions such as Bluegrass, Scottish, Jazz, Appalachian, Irish, and blues in classes from master teachers who make even complicated skills understandable and fun.
Campers learn in groups with others of similar experience levels. The instructors teach by ear but also offer downloadable sheet music for those who would like it. The entire camp learns a core repertoire of tunes and how to play them in a jam session. On the final day they show off what they’ve learned for friends and family in an all-camp recital. Days include well-spaced breaks for snacks and outdoor play.
Evening activities include a traditional Barn Dance and an awe-inspiring staff performance called the Fiddle Masters Concert.
Registration Rates
$485 June 1 - camp
History
Fiddle Pal Camp is a four-day music camp for kids and adults in Stillwater, MN founded by Brian Wicklund and Marty Button in 2008. Violin, viola, cello, guitar and mandolin students learn to play bluegrass, Celtic, old-time and other genres together.
Brian has been a sought-after instructor for many of the top folk music camps in the US, Canada, UK and Sweden. He borrows the best ideas from those camps and cherry picks colleagues who he knows are fun, virtuosic and fabulous teachers.
Camp coordinator Lisa White’s daughter took lessons from Brian and was a Fiddle Pal Camper. Lisa and her husband host fly fishing trips to Alaska and Argentina, and live across the creek from Brian in Marine on St. Croix, MN.