Workshops (60–120 minutes)

Accessible, focused, and adaptable to festivals, conferences, or classrooms.
 

• Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar Bootcamp – Build solid rhythm foundations through classic bluegrass and old-time grooves. Focus on timing, right-hand technique, phrasing, dynamics, and drive.

• Soloing Without Scales – Learn melodic improvisation using song-based ideas rather than abstract theory.

• Bluegrass Singing 101 / 201 – Explore bluegrass singing styles and skills. From singing lead to duet and trio harmonies on classic songs. Focus on expression, blend, phrasing, and arranging. 

• Arranging a Fiddle Tune for Band – Turn a simple melody into a dynamic group arrangement using structure, harmony, and interaction.

• Writing the Folk Song – A participatory songwriting workshop exploring narrative, place, and tradition in contemporary songwriting.
   

Courses (Multi-Week / Hybrid)

Structured classes designed for continuing education, university settings, or community programs.
 

• Progressions: Bluegrass Guitar – Offered through Swallow Hill Music Association. This is a 16-week course developing rhythm, tone, and ensemble awareness through repertoire-based study.
  Progressions: Songwriting – Offered through Swallow Hill Music Association this is a 16-week guided songwriting curriculum blending tradition and originality, with lectures, peer feedback and live performance elements.

• Folk Music History & Culture – Offered through the University of Denver Enrichment Program. These lecture-and-discussion-based courses explore the history and evolution of American folk and roots music. Topics have included The History of Cowboy Music, The Development of the Bakersfield Sound in Country Music, The Beginnings of Country Music: The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, and The Story of Bluegrass. Each course examines how musical traditions developed through migration, technology, and cultural exchange, connecting the stories of artists and communities to the broader American experience.

• Bluegrass Ensemble Lab – A performance-based ensemble class emphasizing arrangement, listening, and communication between players. Groups learn and perform a set repertoire of music.
   

Residencies (1–5 days)

Immersive programs ideal for schools, universities, or arts organizations.
 

• Bluegrass Jam Camp – Offered through Wernick Method Jam Camps. Martin is a certified Wernick Method teacher and can lead structured jam camps for players at any level, emphasizing collaboration, timing, musical community and the joy of music.

• Build-A-Band Residency – Students form small ensembles to learn, arrange, and perform traditional songs and tunes by the end of the residency. Excellent for ensembles of any size or skill level. 

• Songwriting Intensive – Participants write collaboratively, exploring melody, lyric, and storytelling techniques.

• Roots of American Music Residency – A historical and musical journey combining lecture, demonstration, and performance across multiple genres. Students learn, arrange, and perform repertoire of traditional artists, as well as the history and culture of where that music came from.
   

Clinics & Masterclasses

• Performance Coaching – Helping individual performers and ensembles refine tone, phrasing, and stage presentation within American roots music styles. Martin draws on his extensive experience as a bandleader and educator to guide groups in ensemble direction, arrangement, and communication, as well as one-on-one coaching for individual performance technique, expression, and repertoire development.

• Repertoire Deep Dives – Genre- or artist-specific sessions (e.g., the Carter Family, Bill Monroe, or Jimmie Rodgers) combining history and practice.