Welcome to my web site. I lived in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York for 60 years. My father, his father and his father all lived there throughout their entire lives. Earlier generations came north from Comstock, NY and over from Vermont prior to that. Adirondack towns I've lived in are: Upper Jay, Jay, Keene, Keene Valley, Wilmington, Black Brook, Saranac Lake, Hadley, and Lake Luzerne. I've also lived outside of the Adirondack Park in Fort Edwards, Glens Falls and even Ithaca, NY for a brief college experience. I've made my home in the Adirondack Mountains since birth in 1950, living mostly in and around the communities of Upper Jay, Jay, Keene and Keene Valley. Be sure to check out the early histories of these towns by clicking on the drop-down tabs under the "Home" page and then clicking the "My Northern Hometowns" drop-down page after that.

Recently, after studying the area intensely on the internet, on May 31st, 2011, I moved to eastern Tennessee to continue writing my second volume of banjo instruction. There are many banjo pickers in this area and their styles vary widely. Volume 2 will continue my focus on 3-finger Scruggs-style playing. Not limited to just banjo pickers and musicians in general, everyone Mary and I've made friends with here is wonderful. All the people here are so kind and considerate. It's truly a joy to live among them in the beauty of the mountains. We're in the "Bible Belt" and hearing a swear word or observing anyone drinking to excess is almost non-existent. If we're walking up to an entrance to a store and there's anyone around, they'll race ahead of us to get the door and hold it open ...people are just that kind and considerate. The kind folks in the communities of Erwin, Hampton, Valley Forge, Elizabethton and our community of Unicoi have welcomed Mary and me with open arms. We've been made a part of a big family of Southerners and it sure feels great.

I am a composer member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) having been voted in by it's membership and hold 38 copyrights registered with the United States Library of Congress. Here, throughout this website, I attempt to provide an overview of the musical genres I work within and provide a means to listen to a few of the pieces within each classification. Under the "Hobby Music" tab, several pages focus on the differing styles of rural music I am involved with and other information that may prove useful or enlightening. I've recently included information covering fundamental music theory, especially as applied toward Bluegrass music, under the "Music Theory" tab as well as a few theory tests for fun.   Check back often for updates to the various pages. I truly hope you will find something to your taste.

Thank you for stopping by. I want to thank all my many friends and fans who stop by this site so often and drop me emails regularly. Also, I extend my warmest welcome to new visitors and ask that you make yourself comfortable here and stop back as often as you like. I also wish to thank Mary for her excellent photos used throughout these pages. Probably 99.9% of the photos used here have been photographed by Mary. She also has been invaluable in her design ideas and in keeping up my computer. She has started a website of her photography at www.thenaturallens.weebly.com so be sure and stop by and check out her photos. Please feel free to email me at adirondackcomposer@hotmail.com or adirondackcomposer@gmail.com

Frederick Warner,
Adirondack Composer