Feb
23
Fri
February Workshops 2024
Play-along Session in Harmony for Mixed Instruments
This will be a Zoom call open to intermediate players (and above) of any instrument. Notation will be provided in advance for all the tunes, together with suggestions for basic chords and a harmony line, but feel free to join in by ear! You can play the tune along with Stewart, play an accompaniment with a bass line, chords or a harmony (your own or follow the suggestions) or enjoy playing the tune whilst Stewart plays a harmony. If you wish to join in on an instrument with a different range from the fiddle, or with specfic key requirements, please get in touch before booking.
Zoom Workshop
Friday 23rd February, 19:00 – 21:00
£20
February Workshops 2024: £20 each.
Buy any two for £35 or all three for £50. The discount will be applied in your basket – visit the Shop.
If you haven’t attended a music workshop on Zoom before, here is a page of Zoom Workshop Tips to get the most out of your experience. A strong and reliable internet connection, plus headphones or an external speaker are recommended. A recording of the live call will be available for those who experience technical difficulties, or who find themselves unable to attend the live Zoom call.
Feb
24
Sat
February Workshops 2024
Fiddle Workshop 1
Zoom Workshop
Learn a tune steadily, taught phrase by phrase with detailed instruction for any useful techniques that can be taken away for use in all your fiddle playing.
Saturday 24th February: 10:00 am – 12:00 noon
Johnny and Dorothy Livingstone’s March (Mairi Campbell)
Written by one of Scotland’s finest fiddlers, it is no surprise that this beautiful and lyrical tune fits the instrument like a glove.
Aimed at Competent Beginner to Upper Intermediate level
£20
February Workshops 2024: £20 each.
Buy any two for £35 or all three for £50. The discount will be applied in your basket – visit the Shop.
If you haven’t attended a music workshop on Zoom before, here is a page of Zoom Workshop Tips to get the most out of your experience. A strong and reliable internet connection, plus headphones or an external speaker are recommended.
February Workshops 2024
Fiddle Workshop 2
Zoom Workshop
Learn a tune steadily, taught phrase by phrase with detailed instruction for any useful techniques that can be taken away for use in all your fiddle playing.
Saturday 24th February: 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Sunshine Schottische (Grégory Jolivet)
This joyful tune was picked up in a JSArts session and it was an instant hit. It swings, it sings and there is so much that can be done with it.
Aimed at Intermediate to Advanced players
£20
February Workshops 2024: £20 each.
Buy any two for £35 or all three for £50. The discount will be applied in your basket – visit the Shop.
If you haven’t attended a music workshop on Zoom before, here is a page of Zoom Workshop Tips to get the most out of your experience. A strong and reliable internet connection, plus headphones or an external speaker are recommended.
Feb
28
Wed
North East Fiddle School returns with another block of fully online materials, plus a single day workshop in-person that will be held this block on Saturday 16th March.
Technique and tunes are taught through Video Tutorials which are added to weekly and can be accessed indefinitely after that so you can work at your own pace. Stewart Hardy and Grace Smith will each be providing a Video Tutorial for this block.
For those who enjoy the live engagement, there are weekly Fiddle Practice sessions and tunes taught live on Zoom each Wednesday evening for the five weeks of the block, plus a play-along session on Weds 3rd April. These are great fun, and a good way to keep up with playing your fiddle regularly, whilst improving your technique and learning some core repertoire tunes. Join Stewart Hardy and Grace Smith for the Fiddle Practice and Live Teaching Zoom calls.
Check out the NEFS website for full details and you can book via the NEFS Shop: http://www.northeastfiddleschool.org.uk/
Mar
1
Fri
Stewart Hardy and Mary Tyers are delighted to have been asked by Phoenix Folk to play at concert at the Watch House in Cullercoats on Friday 1st March at 7.30 pm.
Tickets are £12.00 and available from the Phoenix Folk website:
https://phoenixfolk.co.uk/events/folkwatchhouse-hardytyers/
Phoenix Folk are running a series of intimate folk concerts at Cullercoats Watch House, a unique and quirky venue in the heart of Cullercoats.
Stewart Hardy and Mary Tyers convert a long-time friendship into a joyful musical collaboration, weaving their way through the varied musical threads they share to assemble a delicious smorgasbord of musical styles and genres. Celebrated in their respective worlds of folk music and early music, the pair bring decades of professional experience at the highest levels to present an intimate, engaging and inspiring performance that leaves no boundaries untrodden. Expect fiddles, flutes, recorders and Mary’s gorgeous voice, all combining for a unique and entertaining jamboree of musical indulgence.
Mar
6
Wed
North East Fiddle School returns with another block of fully online materials, plus a single day workshop in-person that will be held this block on Saturday 16th March.
Technique and tunes are taught through Video Tutorials which are added to weekly and can be accessed indefinitely after that so you can work at your own pace. Stewart Hardy and Grace Smith will each be providing a Video Tutorial for this block.
For those who enjoy the live engagement, there are weekly Fiddle Practice sessions and tunes taught live on Zoom each Wednesday evening for the five weeks of the block, plus a play-along session on Weds 3rd April. These are great fun, and a good way to keep up with playing your fiddle regularly, whilst improving your technique and learning some core repertoire tunes. Join Stewart Hardy and Grace Smith for the Fiddle Practice and Live Teaching Zoom calls.
Check out the NEFS website for full details and you can book via the NEFS Shop: http://www.northeastfiddleschool.org.uk/
Mar
13
Wed
North East Fiddle School returns with another block of fully online materials, plus a single day workshop in-person that will be held this block on Saturday 16th March.
Technique and tunes are taught through Video Tutorials which are added to weekly and can be accessed indefinitely after that so you can work at your own pace. Stewart Hardy and Grace Smith will each be providing a Video Tutorial for this block.
For those who enjoy the live engagement, there are weekly Fiddle Practice sessions and tunes taught live on Zoom each Wednesday evening for the five weeks of the block, plus a play-along session on Weds 3rd April. These are great fun, and a good way to keep up with playing your fiddle regularly, whilst improving your technique and learning some core repertoire tunes. Join Stewart Hardy and Grace Smith for the Fiddle Practice and Live Teaching Zoom calls.
Check out the NEFS website for full details and you can book via the NEFS Shop: http://www.northeastfiddleschool.org.uk/
Mar
16
Sat
This full-day workshop forms a part of the North East Fiddle School’s 2024 Block 2 offering, along with video tutorials and Zoom calls.
The in-person Workshop Day on Saturday 16th March will run from 10:00 until 17:00 at Wylam Methodist Church. There will be three workshops run by Stewart Hardy and Niles Krieger, with a session to finish the afternoon.
Check out the NEFS website for full details and book your place now. A discount is available if you book both the Online option and Saturday workshop
http://www.northeastfiddleschool.org.uk/
Mar
20
Wed
North East Fiddle School returns with another block of fully online materials, plus a single day workshop in-person that will be held this block on Saturday 16th March.
Technique and tunes are taught through Video Tutorials which are added to weekly and can be accessed indefinitely after that so you can work at your own pace. Stewart Hardy and Grace Smith will each be providing a Video Tutorial for this block.
For those who enjoy the live engagement, there are weekly Fiddle Practice sessions and tunes taught live on Zoom each Wednesday evening for the five weeks of the block, plus a play-along session on Weds 3rd April. These are great fun, and a good way to keep up with playing your fiddle regularly, whilst improving your technique and learning some core repertoire tunes. Join Stewart Hardy and Grace Smith for the Fiddle Practice and Live Teaching Zoom calls.
Check out the NEFS website for full details and you can book via the NEFS Shop: http://www.northeastfiddleschool.org.uk/
Mar
22
Fri
JSArts Fiddle Technique
22nd – 24th March 2024
Shepherds Dene, Riding Mill, Northumberland NE44 6AF
4.00 pm start and finish time.
£398 fully inclusive (except bar drinks)
Bookings for this course are open – please email Ali (music@stewarthardy.co.uk) for a form.
Join Stewart for a weekend of intensive fiddle tuition at this beautiful location in Northumberland. 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, 8 of which are en suite and these are allocated as required, and then in order of booking. 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.
Shepherds Dene is a small retreat centre, situated not far south of the A69, about 20 mins drive from the A1 with free parking at the venue. Riding Mill railway station is the closest, and transport can be arranged for those needing a lift to or from the station.
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.
~ ~ ~
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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