Geff Crawford and Masha Goodman Crawford teach traditional old-time music and dance.

Masha plays and teaches traditional old-time clawhammer banjo, flatfoot clogging, and calls barn dances.
 
One of the original founders of the Chicago Barn Dance Company, Masha has been performing and teaching banjo and clogging and calling for over 30 years. Now a resident of Northern California, she is best known in this region for many years of performing with the "Yeow!" show, and many years of calling the dances at the Strawberry Music Festival. She is particularly good at working with beginners and making their introduction to old-time music and dance fun and welcoming. Festival/group workshops only (sorry, no private lessons).


Masha teaching - UCSF / PBS News Hour
Click to enlarge

Geff teaching
California Bluegrass Association Music Camp
Click to enlarge

 
Geff Crawford plays and teaches traditional old-time fiddle, clawhammer banjo, and old-time back-up guitar.
 
Geff has played old-time music with kids almost every working day for the past 30+ years. He teaches traditional old-time fiddle, banjo, and guitar to all ages and abilities. An accredited and experienced teacher, he understands music theory and chord structures, and is wonderfully patient and encouraging. Private or group lessons.

 
    Masha plays & teaches:
  • Old-time banjo styles including frailing, clawhammer, drop-thumb, double-thumb, Galax style, Round Peak style and the traditional two-finger up-picking style known as "seconding". (Old-time only, sorry, no bluegrass)
  • Traditional dance styles including flatfooting, clogging, buckdancing, improvisatory percussive American stepdance. She can teach almost anyone from little kids on up how to clog. She knows how to break steps down into simple component parts, and give you the tools to continue learning and improving and improvising.
  • Dance calling including contras, visiting couple sets, early Western squares. She can help you learn timing, patter calling, chant calling, planning an evening, and how to teach others.

 
    Geff plays & teaches:
  • Traditional old-time fiddle including numerous bowing styles. He has himself studied and played with notables including John Hartford, Tom Paley, Melvin Wine and others. Geff has a wide repertoire of tunes drawn from many regions.
  • Clawhammer banjo: Geff's clawhammer banjo playing has a clear, steady style with a nice balance of rhythm and melody. He can teach clawhammer, frailing, and chord structures.
  • Backup guitar: Geff teaches the good, strong, basic old-time boom-chuck guitar backup with simple bass runs which are so essential for that traditional stringband sound.

 

Masha calls traditional Barn dances including Contra dances, Square dances, Kentucky Running Sets, Visiting couple dances, Circassian circles, Mixers, etc. She is known as one of the finest callers today for festival dances and large groups of dancers with all levels of experience - she loves beginners!
 
Geff and Masha have performed and/or taught at venues including:
  • Festival of American Fiddle Tunes,
  • Strawberry Music Festival,
  • The Chicago Folk Festival,
  • Old Town School of Folk Music,
  • Wheatlands Folk Festival,
  • Dunelands Folk Festival,
  • Fox Valley Folklore Society,
  • Libertyville Friends of Old-time Music,
  • California Bluegrass Association Music Camp,
  • WBBM television,
  • The Crest Theater in Sacramento,
  • The Palms Playhouse, Winters, CA,
  • Woodland Opera House Theater,
  • Sutter Creek Theater ,
  • Eastbourne Folk Festival,
  • Cecil Sharpe House,
  • Chippenham Folk Festival,
  • Cheddar Folk Festival,
  • Priddy Folk Festival,
  • Dun Laoghaire Fraochan Festival,
  • London Singers' Club
... and many more.



Geff & Masha leading the Old-Time jam
California Bluegrass Assoc. Music Camp
Click to enlarge

Masha calls the Birch Lake Barndance
Strawberry Music Festival
Click to enlarge


Patient, fun instruction for all ages
Strawberry Music Festival
Click to enlarge

 

 

 For our CBA Music Camp students, we promised we'd put the recordings from our afternoon workshops online. So here are a few:

Spotted Pony
Booth Shot Lincoln
2010 Music Camp Tunes: -- Shoes and Stockings -- Liberty
2011 Music Camp Tunes: -- Walking in the Parlor
2012 Music Camp Tunes: -- Barlow Knife -- Buck Mountain