FLOYD JAM

The Floyd "Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM)” program is a Crooked Road/JAM program that teaches students banjo, fiddle, or guitar in the style of old-time music from our region.
 

JAMS is held on Mondays from 3:30 to 5:50 p.m. for students in grades 3rd through 12th. Bus transportation is provided by the Floyd County Public School System from all five schools. The program is also available to students that are in private school or homeschooled. Students are allowed to choose from either a fiddle, guitar, or banjo to learn on. All instruments are provided to enrolled students, which is included in the program tuition. The tuition fee is on a sliding scale based on household income; ensuring that no family is turned away.

There is thirty-minutes of enrichment time, which introduces children to additional Appalachian culture and history. This is provided by visiting artists each week. Students then have an hour and a half of music instruction.

Floyd JAM follows the “JAM program model,” which is to provide children with opportunities not only in learning traditional music, but to also perform in small and large groups. Each JAM program is encouraged to foster musical traditions by teaching local styles of traditional mountain music and dance to children. Instructors are also encouraged to teach students to learn music by ear, as to preserve oral traditions as much as possible.