From Scratch 2026
From Scratch weekend is a workshop designed for true beginners. If you’re interested in learning a new instrument or craft, this is the weekend for you! With more than 1,140 acres of forest consisting of breathtaking canyons, waterfalls, miles of hiking trails, and glistening streams, there’s plenty of exploring to do during your free time.
Registration Coming Soon!
Workshop Prices range from $225.00 for music workshops up to $275.00 for craft workshops. This includes materials fees which are described with each workshop description.
Lodging Prices Range From:
- Lodge Room & Meals for 2: $390.00
- Lodge Room & Meals for 1: $320.00
- Cabin Bunk Bed & Meals for 1: $160.00
- Commuter Fee & Meals for 1: $70.00
- From Scratch is made possible in part by grants from Alabama State Council on the Arts.
Beginner Mandolin with Jason Bailey
Are you looking to get better at the mandolin? Perhaps you have never played any musical instrument before and thought the mandolin would be nice? Maybe you already play some but need help with chord voicings, music theory or you just wanna learn a few fiddle tunes? Regardless of your aspirations, Jason can help!
Mandolinist Jason Bailey has been performing and teaching professionally for 25 years. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Jason relocated to Nashville shortly after completing his third solo album release, Mandolbug in 2010. This record, produced by mandolinist extraordinaire Matt Flinner, expresses Bailey’s talents in new grass, jazz and celtic inspired genres. Bailey currently has five album releases. Jason is a long-time instructor and friend of the Alabama Folk School.
Beginner Banjo with Bailey Hill
Most folks don't realize that the hidden key to human happiness is simply playing the banjo. This may seem counterproductive, as the banjo is heavy, and you're probably used to hearing family members complain about how darn loud they are. In Beginner Banjo, you will learn to be one of the loud ones! We will dive into the basics of clawhammer technique, some beginning fingerstyle work, and by the end, you'll have the skills you need to have a grand old time on the 5 string.
Things you need for the class: A 5 string banjo that can stay in tune and a recording device.
Bailey Hill is a multi-instrumentalist and experienced songwriter based out of Fultondale, Alabama. He got his start learning mandolin at The Alabama Folk School at Camp McDowell, and soon expanded his horizons to banjo and guitar. Bailey specializes in American Old Time and Bluegrass music but has a firm grasp on contemporary acoustic styles as well. His experience in the world of teaching includes directing the Alabama Folk School at Camp McDowell, Banjo instructor at The Alabama Folk School’s Youth Camp, Ukulele Instructor for the Magnolia Nature Preschool, Youth Songwriting Workshop instructor for The Alabama Folk School, and Private lesson teacher since 2016.
Bailey is also an experienced performer. He has performed at The Acoustic Cafe, Artwalk Birmingham, The Birmingham Museum of Art, Samford University’s Children Week, FOOTMAD of Birmingham’s Monthly Contra Dances, Bluegrass on the Rim, and many more. Bailey’s passion for teaching and performing comes from a fundamental drive of wanting more music in the world. Bailey views music as not just a great hobby or job, but an excellent way to build community and fellowship.
Beginner Fiddle with Gretchen May
Gretchen Priest was born in Indiana and has lived in Nashville since 1995. She played and recorded with contra dance band, “Carnival Knowledge, recorded and toured with Celtic rock band, “Ceili Rain” and progressive bluegrass band, “Crucial Smith”, and performed on the Grand Ole Opry with Mike Snider. She's also performed with various artists including Kathy Mattea, Joy Lynn White, Manhattan Transfer, Lyle Lovett, Moody Blues, and Charlie McCoy. She even once played for the Pope! Gretchen has taught at many camps over the years including Acoustic Alaska Camp, Texas Acoustic Music Camp, Nashcamp, CO Roots Camp, Steve Kaufman’s Camp, Alabama Folk School, and Mark O’Connor’s Fiddle Camp. She is the founder, Director, and one of many Music Educators at the Musical Heritage Center (AKA the Fiddle & Pick) since 2008. The instructors there are Nashville professionals with different areas of expertise who teach a variety of styles. MHC hosts traditional roots music events including performances and workshops by guest instructors. Gretchen teaches private lessons and leads inclusive multi-level jams, sessions and classes. Gretchen’s long-time band and brand, “PLAIDGRASS” highlights her fiddle skills in Bluegrass, Old-Time fiddle & Irish fiddling. Her most recent recording release, “Roadside Distraction”, with mandolinist Emily Wilson features Old-time, Irish, and modern wacky tunes! She plays with The Nashville Irish Trio with Piper Eamonn Dillon from Ireland and Guitarist Robert Johnson from Memphis. In March of 2024, Gretchen received the Old-Time Music Heritage Award presented by the Nashville Old-time String Band Association (NOTSBA) for her many contributions in preserving and sharing Old-Time music.
Beginner Mountain Dulcimer with Laurie Alsobrook
Whether new to the mountain dulcimer or getting started again, Dulcimers From Scratch is the weekend for you! During our weekend, you will experience the joy of making music on a mountain dulcimer while learning the basic skills to set you on the right path. Playing the mountain dulcimer is easier than you think...and more fun than you could imagine! Loaner dulcimers will be provided or bring your own!
After a full career in elementary education, Laurie Alsobrook has found a perfect blending of her two passions, teaching learners and playing the dulcimer. Laurie has participated in a variety of festivals, online and in-person. Festival credits include QDF, Black Mountain, Nonsuch, Dulcimer U, NGFDA, Dutchland, and Dulcimer Daze. She also served as co-host/organizer of the Stephen Foster Dulcimer Retreats, digital and in-person events.
Beginner Guitar with Mac Spencer
This course will cover the fundamentals of guitar and the practical application of music theory. Students should expect to learn chord progressions, scales, and exercises to practice and blend these skills in a jam group setting. If you are learning your first chords, or are beginning to dive into improv, this course if for you!
Mac Spencer is a guitarist of 14 years, and an instructor for the past 5. Having a childhood filled with folk and bluegrass, he spent his high school and college years in Birmingham studying classical guitar while performing in punk rock circles for a well-rounded skillset to accommodate students from all walks of life. Mac’s passion for teaching extends from spreading the love of music and helping students develop the skillsets to flourish.
Aaron Sanders Head
Aaron Sanders Head is a Southern, Alabama-based textile artist. Aaron was raised in rural Grady, AL and Hope Hull, AL, as the youngest of three children from an artist mother and an agricultural worker father. His grandparents were both rural mail carriers, and the times Aaron spent accompanying them on those trips cemented early on a fondness for rural areas and the importance of connection however it can be found. That learned sense of observation combined with inherited family traditions of textile and agriculture inform the unique visual language Aaron works in today, that exists in the worlds of quiltmaking, handwork and natural dyes. Aaron creates quilts and hand-stitched, naturally dyed textiles that explore the lived experiences of rural Alabamians.
Blacksmithing - Forge Your Own Tools with Quinn McKay
Quinn McKay’s creative energies are rooted in a love of Architecture from an early age, blended with a deep connection to nature. Elements of his designs are inspired by the clean lines we surround ourselves with and the natural forms outside of that. Throughout much of his work, the use of nature’s proportions are present. Attending the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, SC solidified Quinn’s love of forging metal. He celebrates the material in his pieces by preserving its natural displacement when forged, leaving the evidence of each manipulation of the material. Acting with this sense of preservation is his homage to the tradition of forging. Through his time spent here, Quinn explored many different styles within his ironwork taking the most influence from Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts movement. Quinn is currently working as an artist blacksmith and fabricator at Iron Horse Metalworks in Birmingham, AL and independently as McKay Forged Metals.