Schedule and Classes

Below you will find the final schedule for Freezer Jam 2020. A map of the rooms is available on the second page of the schedule. You can access the schedule by clicking on the link and/or image below.

If you would like a copy of the slides shared by the Freezer Jam 2020 instructors, please contact Claire Stirm (claireefrist@gmail.com).

Click here to open schedule and location map

Class Descriptions

Fife, Drum, Bagpipe Tracks

  • Warm-Up Jam – This session offers an opportunity to play music with your friends, warm up your instruments and chops, and activate your musical brain process. All musicians are welcome, but it will be tailored to intermediate and advanced players. Billy will lead you through a list of old favorites and perhaps offer a challenge or two for some pieces.
  • Beg. / Int. Fife, Snare, Bass – These classes are designed for musicians who are relatively new to their instruments, still working on basic skills but have some tunes under your belt; these classes will be followed by small group classes where specific skills will be improved. Beginner fifes will have a chance to continue working on skills instead of attending the ensemble if the musician feels like they would like to continue practicing.
  • Adv. Fife, Snare, Bass – These classes are designed for musicians who have been playing for some time and are working on applying advanced skills to more difficult music. Advanced snare musicians will have a chance to continue working on skills instead of attending the ensemble if the musician feels like they would like to continue working on their playing dynamics.
  • Int. / Adv. Bagpipe – This all-day class will cover intermediate to advanced methods of playing the highland bagpipe.
  • Fife & Drum Ensembles – Coming back together, the fifes and drums will have several sessions throughout the day to run through the music and continue practicing the new songs taught in the morning.
  • Tuning Rope-Tension Snare & Bass – Learn how to tune a rope-tension drum. Attendees are encouraged to come with a new top head if they need to replace the head of their drum.
  • East Coast Tunes Fife Jam Session – Come learn some tunes typically played on the East Coast during fife and drum jam sessions. This course is highly recommended for fifers planning to attend the Deep River Ancient Muster (DRAM).
  • Composition Class for Drums & Fife – “I give you permission to write new music”. These two classes will walk attendees through strategies on developing new music for their corps and discuss music notation
  • Celtic Ornamentation (Celtic Flute & Fifing) – Irish Flute ornamentation is used as a way to add a percussive sense of rhythm to a melody, interest, and personalization to one’s playing. This class will be an introduction to five common ornaments used in Irish Flute playing. The goal would be to understand how the ornaments are used as a rhythmic convention, as opposed to melodic, the quirky fingerings and, how they could be applied to fife music. We will use the tune, Blackthorn Stick, a common tune, to see how the ornaments can be applied.
    Requirements: Bring a fife or, preferably a penny whistle. We will have a handful of extra penny whistles that Cooperman’s has provided for this class in the event that someone needs one.
  • Celtic Bodhran – This class will offer attendees an opportunity to learn a new playing style or improve performance on their bodhrans.
  • Joint Celtic Session – This 30-minute class will bring together the Bodhran class and the Celtic Ornamentation class, to give everyone a chance to play in a session-like environment.  This is an excellent opportunity to get in some practice before the Irish Session later that evening.

Guard / Color Guard Track

  • Color Guard Class – Led by the Lewis & Clark Color Guard, the purpose of this class is to review and discuss maneuvers and specialized commands that each corps uses for different occasions. Discussion and demonstration will be based on historical provenance of commands vs. modern necessity for different scenarios and/or showiness. Members of the class will discuss their equipment and its purpose or significance as it pertains to their corps and will be given an opportunity to demonstrate and showcase their command for the benefit of the group. Each corps is asked to come to class with a two or three movement maneuver put together that showcases both historical use of commands and their own show-corps flair! These maneuvers will be learned by the group as a whole and combined to create one master movement during the later class segment and will be presented during the evening concert.
  • Mass Bands Color Guard Practice – Requesting all guard members from all present corps participating in the mass bands ending of the concert to meet and practice a joint formation.

Corps Directors (Mgmt) and Parents Track

  • Cloud Tech & Marketing for Corps – In this session, participants will learn ways to use technology to streamline a corps’ volunteer hours. This session will cover specific technologies such as group web meeting spaces, graphic design tools, and digital presence through websites and social media. Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop or tablet to follow along with some of the demonstrations.
  • Historical Clothing – Learn about how fashion has evolved between the French and Indian War and the Lewis and Clark era. This class will focus on quick tricks to identifying to which time period historical clothing belongs, including elements such as fabric, cut, and accessories for both ladies and gentlemen and a review of how the fashions developed. If time permits, there will also be an overview of the changes in military coats and accouterments over the years.
  • Camp Logistics – A discussion around the best practices of managing set-up, maintenance, and tear-down of corps’ camps at historical events. Malcolm Duncan will lead the discussion by sharing Tippecanoe Ancient Fife & Drum Corps process and how they divide the work across all the members.
  • Director’s Round Table – Round table description: “An open forum discussion focused on the topics, concerns, or questions of corps directors, participant leaders, and instructors. Keystone topic: “Examining our collective culture to make sure we are keeping Freezer Jam relevant to each of our corps and if we are keeping our corps relevant to our communities.”
  • Ouiatenon – A presentation about the preservation of Fort Ouiatenon, home of the Feast of the Hunter’s Moon, by Colby Bartlett.
  • Drum History – Led by Jim Smith, come learn about the history of traditional drumming in the United States. During this session, you will learn the nomenclature of the drum, the sound of the drum, and the historical perspectives.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to the  Freezer Jam committee at midwestfreezerjam@gmail.com.