Oct
19
Sat
Oct 19 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
I’m really looking forward to this afternoon at The Lit and Phil Society in Newcastle with two great friends who I had the pleasure of working with at HISS for many years. In the first concert, I’ll be playing fiddle to Mary Tyer’s collection of recorders and flutes as well as backing some of her terrific renditions of traditional ballads. Mary is such a fine story teller in song! Straight after that, I’ll be providing musical examples on the fiddle for the wonderful Dr Amelie Addison during her fascinating talk on William Shield and his connections with folk music. It promises to be a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon, so if you can make it, come along and say hello.
Oct 19 @ 2:15 pm
William Shield and his Folk Music Connection
Talk by Dr Amelie Addison with Stewart Hardy~
I’m really looking forward to this afternoon at The Lit and Phil Society in Newcastle with two great friends who I had the pleasure of working with at HISS for many years. In the first concert, I’ll be playing fiddle to Mary Tyer’s collection of recorders and flutes as well as backing some of her terrific renditions of traditional ballads. Mary is such a fine story teller in song! Straight after that, I’ll be providing musical examples on the fiddle for the wonderful Dr Amelie Addison during her fascinating talk on William Shield and his connections with folk music. It promises to be a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon, so if you can make it, come along and say hello.
Nov
1
Fri
JSArts Fiddle Technique
1st – 3rd November 2024
Rydal Hall, Ambleside LA22 9LX
3.00 pm start and finish time.
£398 fully inclusive (except bar drinks)
Join Stewart in the beautiful surroundings of Rydal Hall in the Lake District for a weekend of intensive fiddle tuition. The workshop will take a maxiumum of around 14 participants and will run from 4 pm on Friday until 4 pm on Sunday afternoon.This course can accommodate a broad range of experience and ability, ranging from competent beginner to upper intermediate, but is not suitable for absolute or early beginners. All tuition, resources, accommodation, food and daytime refreshments are included. Accommodation is in single occupancy rooms, almost all of which is en suite. Sheet music and mp3 files of the tunes covered are sent out in advance, detailed worksheets are provided, and recordings of exercises from the course are sent on to you afterwards.
These courses are centred around the technical issues that come with playing fiddle music, with as much emphasis on the how, as there is on the what. Focusing on left-hand and bowing technique, with stylistic interpretation of the music a key feature, these workshops delve deep into the tunes, extracting exercises to improve technique and allow its application to a wider repertoire. Tunes are carefully selected for their technical or stylistic content whilst also baring in mind practical considerations such as their usefulness in folk music sessions or as dance repertoire. The tunes are taught ‘as if by ear’, meaning they are taught phrase by phrase at a tempo and with sufficient repetition to enable learning without recourse to reading notation, but with notation available at any point should that be desired or necessary. This encourages the development of aural pattern recognition and general musicality, enhancing musicianship and the enjoyment of playing music in social settings.
For information this or future courses, please email Ali (music@stewarthardy.co.uk)
**Covid-19 Update
This course will be run in accordance to our Covid-secure Music Workshop Guidelines, and is subject to any restrictions applicable at the time, and any coronavirus protocols from the venue. Please do not travel to the venue if you feel unwell or have cold-like symptoms.
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Standard Level courses are aimed at fiddle players with a broad range of experience and ability, from competent beginner to upper intermediate, but please note they are not suitable for absolute or early beginners. We would expect players to have most of the following skills:
- – playing simple dance tunes at steady to mid tempo (e.g. reels and jigs at 50-80 beats per minute)
- – able to clap in time to a tune
- – have basic control of the bow on the string
- – able to slur notes together
- – comfortable in the keys of G,D and A major and familiar with their note names
- – familiarity with C major
- – able to play basic scales without notation
- – able to play at least 2 tunes without notation
In addition fiddlers who attend these courses often have some of the following experience:
- – attend other fiddle workshops
- – play with a community folk music group
- – join in folk music sessions
- – receive tuition on the fiddle/violin
Recordings
Facebook Feed
I’ve been a little slow on The Tune Vault recently. There is so much going on! Still time to mess about with a few favourite tunes, however. Borthwick Riddell’s Hornpipe came up recently on one of our JSArts courses at Rydal Hall in the Lake District. The weather was fab, the setting was gorgeous and the people were wonderful… happy days!Borthwick Riddell’s Hornpipe
A fabulous tune probably originating in the Scottish Borders which can be found in the Jack (‘Kielder Jock’) Davidson Manuscript, housed in the Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum, and which was first introduced to me by the wonderful Matt Seattle. There are no sharps in the key signature in the original but most people play it in the Dorian mode which is how Matt published it in The Northumbrian Pipers Pocket Book - Green Book. There is also a lovely A major reworking of the tune by the border fiddler Bob Hopkirk known as The Borthwick Reel. Borthwick Riddell was a celebrated nineteenth century piper from the Scottish Borders.
Borthwick Riddell's Hornpipe | The Tune Vault
youtu.be
Borthwick Riddell's Hornpipe- The Tune Vault by Stewart HardyA fabulous tune, probably originating in the Scottish Borders, which can be found in the Jack (...
🎻 Advanced Fiddle players! Would anyone else like to join us on Sunday for a full day's workshop of fiddle technique and tunes? If you are a proficient fiddle player who is up for a bit of a challenge, not put off by a few more sharps or flats, and keen to experience a faster pace of learning and playing, this workshop could be for you!Contact us via Facebook, the website contact page, or email Ali for a booking form.
www.facebook.com/events/1319426489028612
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Preparations are going very well for our November concert, when Tyneside Fiddle Alliance will be joining forces with the Phoenix Chamber Folk Ensemble (Phoenix Folk Ltd.)Tickets are on sale now and we would love to see you there!
Music in Our Roots – Tyneside Fiddle Alliance & Phoenix Chamber Folk Ensemble
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