Elderly Instruments Lesson Instructor

Karrie Potter

Patient and cheerful, Karrie is great with children and hesitant learners of all ages. Guitar:beginning and intermediate level guitar in fingerstyle or flatpicking styles, including folk, bluegrass, country, blues & some roll on electric guitars, regardless of age or sex! Banjo: Clawhammer banjo through intermediate level. Teaching style:

Karrie has taught guitar, mandolin, bluegrass and old-time banjo at Elderly since 1977. Karrie teaches to the student, using her own materials developed over the past 29 years as well as working up songs that the student wants to learn. Typically, beginning students learn the fundamentals for playing music at home or with friends, including how to care for the instrument, tuning, common chords in at least 4 keys, basic rhythms for accompanying self and others when singing, sounding out chord structures by ear, playing simple melodies in tablature, and, using books, song sheets and materials downloaded from the internet. Basics of music theory are introduced in simple ways from the first lesson on. Advanced beginners and intermediate players work on improving techniques, expand repertoires in backup and leads, and learn to develop their own arrangements of songs. All skill levels learn performing skills.

Karrie plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, octave mandolin, autoharp, piano and cello. She is a founding member of the Pretty Shaky Stringband and the Looking Glass Arts and Music Association, and was active with the Ark and the Ten Pound Fiddle coffeehouses during the 1970s. In the late 70's and early 80's, Karrie toured the U.S. and Canada with the Bosom Buddies String Band, playing on NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion" and performing at major festivals in both countries. Since then she's been part of other roots and old time bands, including Lady of the Lake and Edna's Stretch Limo.