8521 Allentown Pike - Blandon - PA 19510

Betty Druckenmiller

 

Teaches at Meadowood: Alternate Saturdays

Betty is a rock solid old-time fiddler who teaches her art at Meadowood Music. While Betty can teach beginning violinists with written notation, she strongly prefers to play and teach in the aural tradition of the Appalachian mountains.  In that tradition, she plays tunes for and with her students and records lessons as her primary teaching methods. She's studied under Dave Bing, Bill Hicks, Bruce Molsky and Mike Bryant; the late Wilson Douglas of West Virginia was also one of her mentors. 

With her family band, The Druckenmillers, she has recorded six CDs: The Road Home, ‘Til the Clouds Roll By, Harvest Time, Morning Star, Bound to Change and Back Home. The Druckenmiller family has shared the stage with Beausoleil, Byron Berline, Bill Hicks, Jones & Leva, Brad Leftwich, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer. Venues include the stage at Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, West Virginia, Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem and the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.

Teaching beginning to intermediate old-time fiddlers, Betty emphasizes listening to traditional string band music of the past – especially styles that combine fiddle and clawhammer banjo. She employs and teaches older tunings characteristic of the old-time style. Betty accepts students of all ages. As someone who began playing fiddle as an adult, Betty has unique insight when she teaches adult beginners. With decades of professional experience working with young children and formal training in early education, she also has special skills to offer the very young student. Meadowood is delighted to have Betty as one of its teachers.