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30 Years Collection Advanced Advanced Fiddle Technique Advanced Style & Repertoire (Mixed Instruments) Andy Craig Arrangement Techniques (Mixed Instruments) Bill Elliott Bottle Bank Band Bryan Jackson Competent Beginner February 2023 workshops Fiddle Day Fiddle Technique Fiddling Three Frank McLaughlin Geordie Night George Welch Halsway Manor Hardy Tyers Harmony Historically Informed Summer School Holly & Ivy Intermediate James Hill Jan 2022 Workshops Jimmy's Fiddle JSArts July 2022 Workshops Laura Connolly Lee Maddison Maddison's Thread Mar 2022 Workshops Mar/Apr Workshops 2023 May 2022 Workshops May Tour 2017 May Workshops 2023 Mick West Trio Mixed Instruments Morpeth Community Strings Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering NEFS SWW North East North East Fiddle School Northumbrian Ranters November 2022 workshops November Workshops Phoenix Folk Repertoire & Music Skills (Mixed Instruments) Repertoire for Mixed Instruments Residential TFA William Shield Wisewood Folk Woolsington Strings Zoom
Bottle Bank Band is delighted to be heading to The Hearth in Horsley, where the acoustics of the church are absolutely wonderful.
Tickets £12.50 / £7.50 (under 19s) from website.
The Hearth Cafe will be open for evening meals from 5.30pm, please book on 01661 853 563
Four exceptional musicians collaborate to create a new, exciting take on traditional fiddle music.
Bottle Bank Band brings together the fiddling talents of Sophy Ball, Chloe Jones, David Jones and Stewart Hardy. The glorious sound of these four fiddles, rich in harmony and captivating arrangements, is underpinned by an instinctive understanding of traditional playing, which gives voice and space to the musicality and talent of the individual players.
Their repertoire is firmly rooted in, but not limited to, the North East of England and its centuries’ old tradition of fiddle playing. Individually the members of Bottle Bank Band have all established reputations as outstanding musicians, and by coming together in this combination they have created a new, exciting musical landscape.
Arrangement Techniques (Mixed Instruments)
28th Feb – 1st Mar 2020
Ushaw College, Durham
3.00 pm start & finish time.
Join Stewart in the beautiful surroundings of Ushaw College in Durham for a weekend workshop exploring arrangement techniques for mixed instrument ensemble. Courses are open to players of any instrument (including transposing instruments) and are aimed at a broad range of abilities from intermediate to advanced. Workshops focus on techniques for arranging tunes for the combination of instruments to hand, using tools such as tempo, texture, dynamics and harmonic structure to create a musical narrative. To enjoy the full benefits of these courses, participants should be able to read notation or confidently and quickly pick up tunes and musical ideas by ear. We will aim to create well-mixed groups by monitoring the instrumentation as participants sign up for the course.
The workshops typically take between 8 and 12 people from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. The residential weekend fee of £335 covers all food, tuition, daytime refreshments and overnight single occupancy, en suite accommodation. The non-residential rate is £250 and includes everything except bed & breakfast. Sheet music and mp3 files of the tunes covered are sent out in advance, and recordings of arrangements created during the course are sent on to you afterwards.
For further information or to book your place on this course, please email Ali (jsarts@stewarthardy.co.uk)
“Jimmy’s Fiddle” launches a new mini-tour at the wonderful Coquetdale Music Trust, in Thropton, near Rothbury.
Tickets £10 available from Tully’s in Rothbury
or email lesleyhallcoquetdalemusictrust@mail.com
Join us for a night of music, dance, songs and humour as we delve in to a story of Georgian/Victorian Tyneside through the eyes of James Hill, “The Geordie Paganini”.
James Hill was probably the most famous fiddler on Tyneside during the late Georgian and early Victorian period. He wrote more than 40 tunes, mainly for hornpipes, inspired and informed by the places and characters he came to know.
This story is a reflective account of his life, told through ‘Jimmy’s ghost’ and set in and around The Hawk public house, which was owned by his future father-in-law. The narrative unfolds to a back-drop of James Hill’s own compositions, clog dancing and songs from the time, incorporating some newly commissioned pieces.
Featuring two top virtuoso fiddle players Tom McConville (BBC Musician of the Year) and Stewart Hardy, this show provides fantastic entertainment for all the family. Tom and Stewart will be joined by two of the North East’s finest singers Alan Fitzsimmons and Jim Mageean and clog dancing champion Natalie Reid.
“Jimmy’s Fiddle” heads to the Davy Lamp Folk Club in Washington.
Join us for a night of music, dance, songs and humour as we delve in to a story of Georgian/Victorian Tyneside through the eyes of James Hill, “The Geordie Paganini”.
James Hill was probably the most famous fiddler on Tyneside during the late Georgian and early Victorian period. He wrote more than 40 tunes, mainly for hornpipes, inspired and informed by the places and characters he came to know.
This story is a reflective account of his life, told through ‘Jimmy’s ghost’ and set in and around The Hawk public house, which was owned by his future father-in-law. The narrative unfolds to a back-drop of James Hill’s own compositions, clog dancing and songs from the time, incorporating some newly commissioned pieces.
Featuring two top virtuoso fiddle players Tom McConville (BBC Musician of the Year) and Stewart Hardy, this show provides fantastic entertainment for all the family. Tom and Stewart will be joined by two of the North East’s finest singers Alan Fitzsimmons and Jim Mageean and clog dancing champion Natalie Reid.
Tyneside Fiddle Alliance will be in St George’s Church, Jesmond on Saturday 14th March for a celebration of traditional music from Northumberland and beyond. They are delighted to be sharing the concert with The Northumbrian Ranters, a fantastic group of young musicians who meet regularly to rehearse in Morpeth. The evening promises to be full of energy with a variety of traditional tunes from both groups.
All tickets £5. Doors open 6.30 pm.
Tickets will be available on the door, or in advance online.
Reservations can be made via the Contact Form, email or the TFA Facebook page.
Fiddle Technique
20th – 22nd March 2020
Rydal Hall, Ambleside LA22 9LX
3.00 pm start and finish time.
Join Stewart in the beautiful surroundings of Rydal Hall in the Lake District, for a weekend of intensive fiddle tuition. The workshop will typically take between 10 and 15 people from Friday evening until 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. Sheet music and mp3 files of the tunes covered are sent out in advance, 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 further information or to express your interest in this course, please email Ali (jsarts@stewarthardy.co.uk)
- – 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
- – attend other fiddle workshops
- – play with a community folk music group
- – join in folk music sessions
- – receive tuition on the fiddle/violin
Advanced Fiddle Technique
1st – 3rd May 2020
Parcevall Hall, Appletreewick, Skipton, N. Yorks BD23 6DG
3.00 pm start and finish time.
Join Stewart in the beautiful surroundings of Parcevall Hall in North Yorkshire, for a weekend of intensive fiddle tuition. The workshop will typically take between 8 and 12 people from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. The residential weekend fee of £335 covers all food, tuition, daytime refreshments and two nights single occupancy accommodation, some of which is en suite (for medical reasons, then first come first served). The non-residential rate is £250 and includes everything except bed & breakfast. Sheet music and mp3 files of the tunes covered are sent out in advance, and recordings of arrangements created during 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.
This Advanced Fiddle Technique course is aimed at proficient players with good to high technical competence, who are comfortable with their instruments and their repertoire and who may have some of the following experience and skills:
- – Playing folk tunes at dance tempo
- – Comfortable in key signatures of up to 3 sharps and 1 flat
- – Familiarity with key signatures of up to 4 sharps and 3 flats
- – Attending folk music sessions and joining in with the tunes
- – Leading sets of tunes in sessions
- – Playing in ceilidh and/or concert bands
- – Teaching violin and/or fiddle
Places on Advanced Fiddle Technique courses are available on application. For further information or to express your interest in this course, please email Ali (jsarts@stewarthardy.co.uk)
Repertoire & Music Skills (Mixed Instruments)
12th – 14th June 2020
Parcevall Hall, Appletreewick, Skipton, N. Yorks BD23 6DG
5.00 pm start and finish time.
Join Stewart in the beautiful surroundings of Parcevall Hall in North Yorkshire for a weekend workshop learning new repertoire and improving music skills. Courses are open to players of any instrument (including transposing instruments) and are aimed at a broad range of abilities from intermediate to advanced. This workshop will focus on “How to Learn by Ear” with tips and techniques for improving this invaluable music skill – whether for use in future workshops, learning tunes from recordings or for picking up tunes more easily in your local sessions. Repertoire will be carefully chosen to facilitate the teaching of this skill, whilst adding interesting and exciting tunes to your repertoire.
The workshop will typically take between 8 and 12 people from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. The residential weekend fee of £335 covers all food, tuition, daytime refreshments and two nights single occupancy accommodation, some of which is en suite (for medical reasons, then first come first served). The non-residential rate is £250 and includes everything except bed & breakfast. Sheet music and mp3 files of the tunes covered are sent out in advance, and recordings of arrangements created during the course are sent on to you afterwards.
For further information or to book your place on this course, please email Ali (jsarts@stewarthardy.co.uk)
Fiddle Foundation Technique
10th – 12th July 2020
Parcevall Hall, Appletreewick, Skipton, N. Yorks BD23 6DG
3.00 pm start and finish time.
Join Stewart in the beautiful surroundings of Parcevall Hall near Skipton, for a weekend of intensive fiddle tuition. The workshop will typically take between 10 and 15 people from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. The residential weekend fee of £335 covers all food, tuition, daytime refreshments and two nights single occupancy accommodation, some of which is en suite (for medical reasons, then first come first served). The non-residential rate is £250 and includes everything except bed & breakfast. Sheet music and mp3 files of the tunes covered are sent out in advance, and recordings of arrangements created during the course are sent on to you afterwards.
The Fiddle Foundation Technique workshop is a Standard Level course and is being run as an opportunity for musicians unfamiliar with Stewart’s teaching methods to look at, in some detail, the fundamental building blocks that he uses to create stylistic interpretations. He will be teaching some of the basic bowing patterns that help to bring out the distinctive flavour of the most common tune forms. For the left hand, he’ll be concentrating on hand frames and melodic motifs (those note patterns that occur again and again in folk tunes), as well as an approach to ornamentation which is designed to help players access ornaments in a way that is both natural for them and appropriate for the tunes.
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. Sheet music and mp3 files of the tunes covered are sent out in advance, and recordings of exercises from the course are sent on to you afterwards.
For further information or to express your interest in this course, please email Ali (jsarts@stewarthardy.co.uk)
- – 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
- – attend other fiddle workshops
- – play with a community folk music group
- – join in folk music sessions
- – receive tuition on the fiddle/violin
Recordings
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3 days ago
🎶 The Tune VaultWe've just had a wonderful fiddling weekend at Shepherds Dene. Many thanks to the lovely folk who came along and contributed so much to making the whole event such fun. Now I’m back home, it's time to open The Tune Vault and deposit another favourite James Hill tune. Hope you enjoy The Hunter.🎥 Link in the comments4 days ago
There are worse places to work for the weekend 😊🎻#ilovemyjob #fiddlecourseStewart Hardy Music ... See MoreSee Less1 week ago
🎶 The Tune Vault - Scant of SillerWilliam Vickers Manuscript, 1770youtu.be/RCJpVSis614Sadly, hard times have become the norm for so many these days. Contributions to my bursary fund for assisting musicians to attend the various courses and projects that Ali and I put together are always gratefully received.Scant of Siller (Wm Vickers MS, 1770)A favourite tune that leapt out during an initial perusal of Matt Seattles first edition of the William Vickers manuscript, published as The Great Northern Tunebook back in the 1980s. I suspect some development of the tune has occurred over the years. It still seems to sum up the pecuniary position of a jobbing musician! ... See MoreSee LessScant Of Siller (Wm Vickers MS, 1770) | The Tune Vault
Scant Of Siller (Wm Vickers MS, 1770)- The Tune Vault by Stewart HardyA favourite tune that leapt out during an initial perusal of Matt Seattle's first edit...Tags
30 Years Collection Bill Elliot Bottle Bank Band CD Launch Community Strings Fiddle Day Frank McLaughlin George Welch Graham Dixon Halsway Manor HISS Holly & Ivy James Hill Jimmy's Fiddle JSArts Maddison's Thread Mick West Trio Minstrelsy Morpeth Gathering North East Fiddle School Northumbrian Shop Solo TFA The Tune Vault Tyneside Fiddle Alliance