GEORGE — George Elementary students get an earful of something new Thursday. 

“They’re getting a different genre of music that they might not choose to listen to otherwise,” said Principal Lora Villalpando. “I don’t know if they’ve ever been to a live concert before. It’s a great experience.” 

Last week was the George Bluegrass Festival, and amateur musicians from all over the Northwest came to camp at the park and jam. As they’ve done annually since 2007, the students from George Elementary – all 106 of them – walked over to the park from their classrooms and some of the musicians put on a show.  

The impromptu band – none of them have performed together before, said guitar player Laurie Silcher – consisted of four guitars, a mandolin, a banjo and an upright bass. They started with a familiar song, “Old McDonald,” and moved through classic bluegrass, a sea shanty and an Irish folk song. 

Between songs, they showed the children the instruments they were playing and explained what they were and how they’re played. 

“This is a five-string banjo,” said Bob Martin, holding up his instrument for all to see and playing a lick to demonstrate. “It’s basically like a drum constructed with the instrument neck ... When you see one of these, run for your life.” 

Steve Showell explained to the students the difference between a violin and a fiddle. A violin, he said, plays Bach and a fiddle plays “Turkey on the Straw,” which he did. 

Monique Larsen had a mandolin, which she told the kids is tuned to the same notes as the fiddle.  

“But we have more strings, which means we’re the best instrument,” she said. 

Larson and bass player Steve McMahon showed the kids how the two instruments complement each other. 

“They play on opposite beats,” Larson said. “He plays on the one and I play on the two. The only downside of playing on the secondary beat is that I don’t know how to clap in time anymore.” 

The kids were more than happy to clap along with all the songs, and when it came to the sea shanty “The Wellerman,” the students punctuated every verse with a raised fist and a loud “huh!” 

“I hope they’re getting a cultural expansion in their thinking and developing a love for different music than they’re exposed to at home,” said Debby Kooy, one of the organizers of the bluegrass festival. “It’s one of the very best parts of our festival.” 

Forming a band on the spot isn’t all that difficult with bluegrass music, Martin said, because of the genre’s casual nature. 

"One of the musicians standing by you might be a professor, and the other one might be a farmer, or a fisherman,” he said. “You get a chance to rub shoulders with people from different (walks of life). But they’ve got the music in common.” 

    George Elementary School students clap along with a bluegrass song at the George Bluegrass Festival Thursday.
  

    Steve McMahon (left) and Monique Larsen demonstrate how the bass and the mandolin play together.