Below are some frequently asked questions regarding this year’s 10th Richter Camp:

  • What do I need to know about housing?
    • Your tuition to camp covers all camp activities, but does not cover housing. You will need to book your own housing.
    • I highly encourage staying the Grant Street Inn as it is the center of all activities. Everything other than the faculty concert this year is held at the Inn (classes, private instructions, meet & greet, jams, etc.). The Grant Street Inn is in the heart of Bloomington and within a couple of blocks of world class eateries. It’s also a couple blocks from the Indiana University campus. The Inn gives campers a special discounted rate of $119 plus tax per night (typically this is around $200+). Please tell them you’re there for Richter Camp. The Inn also provides an incomparable breakfast.
    • BUT, you do not need to stay at the Inn. If you’re local, you can drive in for activities every day. If you wish to stay at another lodge/hotel, it is your choice to do so and campers have. Unlike other camps where you have to stay at a particular location, I want to make sure you have convenience (the Inn) but also choice.
  • What do I need to know about food?
    • Your tuition to camp covers all camp activities, but does not cover dining.
    • If you stay at the Grant Street Inn, a very large breakfast is provided every day.
    • For our Wednesday night Meet & Greet/Bourbon Tasting, a light meal/snacks will be provided. During jams throughout the week, we will have snacks out.
    • The Grant Street Inn is within a couple block walking distance of a variety of high quality eateries (e.g., New Orleans, Thai, Greek, Korean, Pub-food, Irish, etc.).
    • Because we cannot access the training room till noon each day, lunch will is typically 11A-12P. We will break for 30 min at around 2P. Some people grab a light lunch during this time. Our dinner break is typically 5:30/6P to 7:30P. Jamming or evening concerts happen around 8P.
  • If I leave the training room is my mandolin safe?
    • In 20 years of hosting activities at the Inn, we’ve never had an instance of theft. I’ve left my own mandolins there and stepped away. However, if you’re going to dinner and concerned about your instrument, I’m happy to lock in my room as it is typically close to the training room.
  • What about if I get sick and can’t make camp?
    • Your tuition cannot be returned if you’re within a week of camp. However, you are allowed to apply 100% of it as credit to the next year’s camp. This has been done on several occasions and seems to work out well. If there is an increase in tuition, you’d only need to pay the difference.
  • Can I video/audio record lessons and the concert(s)?
    • Typically this has been ok. Please verify with the faculty at time of camp. Starting in 2022, we began to videotape camp. All of last year’s videos are posted on the camper page. It’s sometimes easier for someone in the front to video record, so wanted to make sure that everyone had access to video. Camp will be recorded again this summer.
  • Will we get camp books?
    • At this time this is not certain. They may be made available at an additional cost if desired. We will provide all music/tabs/instruction to students a week ahead of time through the camper page. We have killed forests of trees in the past making very thorough camp books so have endeavored to avoid this the last few years. We will have some sheets of music available if you haven’t had the opportunity to print out beforehand.
  • Why did you move the faculty concert to a different and larger venue?
    • The venue allows for up to 60 people to attend. For camp this year, we will have 25 students. Many students will have partners with them. This makes an already crowded space at the Inn. Because this is the 10th year of camp, I want to open the concert up to mandolin enthusiasts in central Indiana. It’s not often mandolin events happen in this area and want to continue the mission of increasing regional mandolin consciousness (so I’m not the only one putting forth the effort). This also gives everyone an expanded opportunity to get their music out, etc.
  • I haven’t been playing long. Is this camp for me?
    • Richter Camp has been an inclusive setting for everyone, regardless of experience. Even for the person with some salt to their playing, the deconstructionist approach to camp (returning to fundamentals of why we play) puts everybody on equal footing. Music shouldn’t be a shouting match or contest–it should be a conversation and everyone has something to say. Also classes aren’t tab heavy, so through a oral/show/tell approach, everyone can pick up what we do.
  • What kind of camp is this?
    • Richter Camp started out as a blues and rock camp (with some jazz and choro thrown depending on who the co-instructor has been). It remains this, but it has become something more over time. Though focused on rock/blues, it embraces an immersive teaching approach that facilitates adult learning. Everyone learns together through a cohort approach. Instead of a deductive approach that takes the written page and then breaks down into its elements, we use an inductive approach that looks at the individuals elements and builds up to the written page. We try to teach people how to do a lot of this for themselves (like strategies for jamming and transcription, etc.).
  • If the camp is blues/rock focused (in terms of genre), is it anti-bluegrass?
    • This camp has never been anti-bluegrass. It has been a safe place for people to come and not have to know bluegrass/fiddle tune repertoire. However, we still always come back to tunes like Angeline the Baker or Soldier’s Joy because they teach us a lot about our instrument. Jam sessions find their way into traditional mandolin and song repertoire. It’s not uncommon to hear the Rolling Stones “Angie” song right before JD Crowe’s version of “Rock Salt and Nails.”
    • There is no one better than Mike Compton in interpreting any manner of tune with his own unique and signature voice. Whether playing straight bluegrass with the Nashville Bluegrass Band, old-time with John Hartford, or classic new wave tunes with Elvis Costello, Mike is always genuine and plays through his singular voice. Our camp is about how to discover that voice, how we create a sound that is our own. I personally started my musical performance journey through bluegrass as a teenage banjoist, then to classic and southern rock, and then to blues. Even though I consider myself a blues guy, you can’t weed all that other stuff out, as it informs who we are. This 10th anniversary camp is to look at 4 big genres–blues, rock, jazz, and traditional–and examine the commonalities, rather than focus on differences. Mike taught me how to talk on the mandolin, but I’ve got my own voice. That’s our focus in year 10–the development of that voice.
  • My mandolin is not that fancy or expensive. Does that matter?
    • As long as your mandolin can stay in tune, it has a place here.