Béla Fleck made another of his periodic visits to The Berklee College Of Music in Boston last week, a visit chronicled on the school’s web site.

He was in Boston as a part of the publicity tour for his documentary film, Throw Down Your Heart, a date which coincided nicely with the official kickoff of Berklee’s new American Roots Music Program. B?©la, along with program director Matt Glaser, spoke with a group of students at the school.

From the Berklee report by Danielle Dreilinger:

Fleck started off by giving them practical advice. “There’s a lot more to being a good musician than sitting in a room by yourself,” he said. Even practicing should be tuneful, he said: “Play scales in a musical way.”

He soon segued to bigger questions, urging players to follow their instincts. He cited his old friend Andy Statman, who turned from bluegrass mandolin to klezmer clarinet.

“When you hear something that really turns you on, that’s a cue,” Fleck said. “It’s probably something you’ll be good at. Because usually your inner voice is right.”

Fleck’s inner voice has led him to bluegrass, progressive fusion, jazz, classical and, now, African genres.

“I’m a bit of a dabbler,” he said. Because few forms of music use the banjo, he said, “I feel there are some opportunities I have to do some things that haven’t been done.”

You can read the full reoprt at berklee.edu.

Chris Pandolfi has sent along the second video installment in his Infamous Stringdusters travelogue, chronicling the band’s ongoing tour of the western US.

It’s a fun look at the way the guys interact with each other off stage, and shows some of their day off adventures in Colorado.

See the first installment here.

Here’s some unfortunate news about one of the giants of folk and traditional American music.

Mike Seeger has been in treatment for leukemia this past few years, and has just recently been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Though therapies exist, this sort of blood cancer (plasma cell myeloma) is considered incurable.

It is Mike’s decision to forgo treatment and enter hospice care.

We are told that Mike would love to hear from his many friends in the music world. Email messages can be sent to him via Folklore Productions (his booking agency), where you can also send cards.

Here’s a video of Mike from a happier time.