A CREATIVE CAMP FOR STRING PLAYERS

Join students at StringPlay Online, a summer camp based in Phoenix, Arizona, for a week-long exploration of musical creativity! Founded in 2013, StringPlay provides a fun, creative, and educational environment where students learn new musical skills and approach music in new ways. 

​StringPlay is open to violinists, violists, cellists, and bassists who completed grades 7-12 in the 2020-2021 school year. 
​(Put differently, it's for students enrolling in grades 8 through college this coming fall!)

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In our one-week online camp, students will:

• learn new tunes and skills through live online classes each day with StringPlay’s supportive and experienced staff
• participate in a community of like-minded students who are also curious about expanding their musical abilities
• develop the necessary skills for a virtual end-of-camp jam session to celebrate hard work and creativity in our favorite way – playing music! ​
  
  

Material and skills to be covered include:

• tunes from a variety of genres (e.g., pop, fiddle, etc.), all taught and learned by ear
• jam skills, including chopping, shuffling, and chords
• improvisation, in clear, simple ways (don’t worry, nobody will be forced to take a solo!)
• music theory, including chord structure, progressions, and voicing
• ​...and more!

To attend StringPlay 2021 Online, students need access to a stable internet connection (on a phone or computer) and access to Zoom (a free video software). We also strongly recommend that students use headphones during camp, which makes playing along with instructors much easier! For families with multiple children participating in camp, we ask that each child participates from a separate device.

All students who submit their tuition payments by May 31st will receive a camp t-shirt!

To watch student performances from previous years of StringPlay, check out our YouTube channel!

Online Daily Schedule

At StringPlay Online, we've been working to condense our students' favorite aspects of camp into a remote learning experience held through Zoom, which will build the musical skills necessary to participate in an end-of-camp virtual jam session. The two-hour daily structure of each day at camp will follow a general pattern:

Daily Learning Experience
Led by StringPlay Director Taylor Morris, students will learn tunes by ear, as well as various accompaniment techniques that will allow the students to participate in an end-of-camp jam session.

Supplementary Classes
Throughout the week, StringPlay Faculty will lead break-out classes to develop students' individual musical creativity, covering various topics and tunes from different genres.

Daily Small Group Time
To build our online community, students will be placed in small groups that will meet daily. Each group will be led by a dedicated faculty member, who will do their best to ensure that all students' questions are addressed throughout the camp. Students will also participate in community-building activities to meet and connect with their fellow campers!

Optional "Office Hours"
It's common for students at our in-person camp experience to hang out for a little bit after camp, chat with the faculty, and have an opportunity to ask any questions that they didn't get answered during the day. In our online camp, faculty will stay on the Zoom call for a little bit extra each day to increase opportunities for students to connect, hang out, and ask questions!

What have past participants said?

"...[StringPlay] renewed the excitement for music that I lost..."

"Music is supposed to be shared and that's what we got to experience with everyone."

"I learned so many things. Probably the most valuable is how many different ways to play."

"My favorite part was the totally chill, super-supportive atmosphere."

"Before this, I was so scared and nervous playing and performing in front of others. Now, I know that it's ok to make mistakes and that all you need to do is have a good time!"

For more updates, photos, and videos, like our pages on Facebook and Instagram!