Oct
3
Fri
Ensemble Playing for Mixed Instruments
3rd – 5th October 2025
Shepherds Dene, Riding Mill, Northumberland NE44 6AF
4.00 pm start and finish time.
Join Stewart in the beautiful retreat venue of Shepherds Dene, for a weekend of ensemble playing. This course are open to players of any instrument (including transposing instruments) and is aimed at a broad range of abilities from intermediate to advanced. Workshops focus on learning interesting tunes and harmonies to expand your repertoire, improve your skills in ensemble playing, and enjoy the delights of playing harmonies. Accompanying instruments are welcome and we will explore different way of accompanying the tunes using the instruments available on the course. The workshops will be taught “as if by ear”, with the phrases broken down into recognisable motifs, and with enough repetition for those learning by ear. Notation will be provided and can be used as a remider after the course, or at any point for reassurance.
All tuition, resources, accommodation, food and daytime refreshments are included in the course fee. Accommodation is single occupancy bedrooms, with some en suite rooms available. Sheet music and mp3 files of the tunes covered are sent out in advance, full worksheets of the tunes taught are provided, and any recordings from the course are sent on to you afterwards. The course will run from 4 pm on Friday until 4 pm on Sunday afternoon.
For further information or to express your interest in this course, please email Ali (music@stewarthardy.co.uk)
Recordings
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🎶 One of my favourite Scots (aka ‘Scotch’) measures is heading for The Tune Vault!I taught 'The Farther ben the Wilkemar' at the last JSArts Advanced Fiddle course to a lovely group of players. It’s an absolute cracker and significantly different from the currently better known Shetland version. Well worth a look, particularly for fans of Nathaniel Gow’s 'Lady Mary Hay’s Scotch Measure'.
The Farther ben the Wilkemar
The Farther ben the Wilkemar | The Tune Vault
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The Farther ben the Wilkemar (Further Been the Welcomer / Da Farder Ben da Wylcomer)- The Tune Vault by Stewart HardyI was first introduced to this tune by ...
Niles Krieger is joining us on Saturday for the North East Fiddle School Summer Workshop Weekend. He’s a great guy and an outstanding fiddler. One of his projects is playing with my old pal Jed Grimes, who was a musical partner and mentor of mine back in the 1990s. He taught me a great deal and shared some fabulous tunes, not least Carolan’s 'Baptist Johnston' which is heading for The Tune Vault 🎻🎧Baptist Johnston [Planxty Johnston] (Turlough O’Carolan)
A beautiful, lively tune written for the one-time High Sheriff of County Monaghan, who went on to be the MP for the borough of Monaghan. I learnt this version from Jed Grimes, who, in turn, had it from Mick Doonan, from his days playing with Hedgehog Pie and The Doonan Family Band.
Baptist Johnston [Planxty Johnston] (Turlough O’Carolan) | The Tune Vault
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Baptist Johnston [Planxty Johnston] (Turlough O’Carolan)- The Tune Vault by Stewart HardyA beautiful, lively tune written for the one-time High Sheriff of C...
☀️ Happy mid-summer weekend - it looks set to be a scorcher!Tyneside Fiddle Alliance, Phoenix Chamber Folk Ensemble, Hexham Village Band and The Redheughers are getting together on Sunday to share their music with each other. We are really looking forward to it. A big shout out to Robin Dunn who is stepping down as the leader of The Redheughers after what must be nigh on thirty years. He is one of the great servants of the North East folk music community and we are all lucky to have him. Cumberland Nellie is a tune I learnt from him and taught to TFA. We’ll be sure to play it on Sunday but in the meantime, here it is for The Tune Vault.
Cumberland Nellie | The Tune Vault
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Cumberland Nellie (Cumberland Nelly)- The Tune Vault by Stewart HardyHere’s a very old English tune dating back to at least the latter half of the seventeen...