Frederick A. Warner, Adirondack / Appalachian Composer
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 Wilmington, 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.
A while back, in the year 2011, after studying the area intensely on the internet, on May 31st, 2011, Mary and I moved to eastern Tennessee for me to continue writing my second volume of banjo instruction. (My true love is classical music and my "hobby" music is "Bluegrass" and "Old Time"). Having to do with my "hobby", 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. I've also started writing a book of 40 fiddle breaks to popular Bluegrass and fiddle tunes such as "Ground Speed", "Shucking The Corn", "Earl's Breakdown", "Southern Flavor", "Old Dangerfield", "Red Wing", etc.
Not limited to just banjo pickers and musicians in general, everyone Mary and I've made friends with here is wonderful. All the people we've been exposed to 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, Unicoi, Hampton, Valley Forge, Elizabethton, Ernestville, Temple Hill, Flag Pond, Chestoa and our community of Limestone Cove in 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.
Long about 2015, we started visiting north central Arkansas; a wonderful community called Searcy. In no time, we made lots of friends in the communities of Judsonia, Pangburn, Kensett, Heber Springs and Mountain View. Before long, I became acquainted with many musicians and started being asked to attend jam sessions and private parties throughout the area. We now travel back and forth between Limestone Cove, Tennessee and Searcy, Arkansas, visiting with our many friends and playing Bluegrass with lots and lots of area musicians.
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 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, especially photos added. 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 99.99% of the photos used here have been photographed by her. She also has been invaluable in 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 / Appalachian/ Ozark Composer
A while back, in the year 2011, after studying the area intensely on the internet, on May 31st, 2011, Mary and I moved to eastern Tennessee for me to continue writing my second volume of banjo instruction. (My true love is classical music and my "hobby" music is "Bluegrass" and "Old Time"). Having to do with my "hobby", 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. I've also started writing a book of 40 fiddle breaks to popular Bluegrass and fiddle tunes such as "Ground Speed", "Shucking The Corn", "Earl's Breakdown", "Southern Flavor", "Old Dangerfield", "Red Wing", etc.
Not limited to just banjo pickers and musicians in general, everyone Mary and I've made friends with here is wonderful. All the people we've been exposed to 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, Unicoi, Hampton, Valley Forge, Elizabethton, Ernestville, Temple Hill, Flag Pond, Chestoa and our community of Limestone Cove in 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.
Long about 2015, we started visiting north central Arkansas; a wonderful community called Searcy. In no time, we made lots of friends in the communities of Judsonia, Pangburn, Kensett, Heber Springs and Mountain View. Before long, I became acquainted with many musicians and started being asked to attend jam sessions and private parties throughout the area. We now travel back and forth between Limestone Cove, Tennessee and Searcy, Arkansas, visiting with our many friends and playing Bluegrass with lots and lots of area musicians.
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 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, especially photos added. 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 99.99% of the photos used here have been photographed by her. She also has been invaluable in 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 / Appalachian/ Ozark Composer
Click on Mary's picture to visit her Natural Lens website.
www.thenaturallens.weebly.com