Academic Probation is a trio of FSU faculty members, Woody Getz, Fritz Kessler, and Gerry Snelson, who get together weekly to have fun playing string music featuring guitar, banjo, fiddle, and mandolin.  Each time they play they bring new songs and tunes to share and to hear how each instrument adds a specific musical texture.  This music ranges from “old timey" [Appalachian Mountain and other historical and traditional music often written by “A. Nonymous”] to tunes and songs often called “roots” or “Americana” music, which is more recently composed and/or sung by Norman Blake, Jay Ungar, Tim O’Brien, Gillian Welch, and others.  The group members enjoy trying different instruments on each piece.  Each plays at least two instruments, and Fritz plays more. Woody, who has been playing acoustical guitar music for forty years or so, teaches in the Computer Science department.  When he is not doing that, he likes to work on environmental issues.  He also enjoys movies, bike riding, running, and walking with his wife and their chocolate Lab, Hershey. Fritz, who has been playing banjo since he was in the eighth grade, is a member of the Geography department specializing in cartography, and is the race team manager for the Western Maryland Wheelmen, a local bicycle team which participate in various races in WV, MD, OH, and PA. Gerry, who had a few fiddle lessons a few years back, is Associate Chair of the English department and builds fiddles, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles, and lap dulcimers when he is not building ventriloquist figures or model railroads.