Mar
19
Sat
March Workshops 2022
Fiddle Workshop 1
Zoom Workshop
Saturday 29th Jan: 10:00 am – 12:00 noon
Competent Beginner to Upper Intermediate level
A single workshop is £20, attend two for £35 or all three for £50.
Bookings opening soon
For more information, please visit the March Workshops 2022 information page.
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.
March Workshops 2022
Fiddle Workshop 2
Zoom Workshop
Saturday 19th March: 14:00 – 16:00
Intermediate to Advanced level
A single workshop is £20, attend two for £35 or all three for £50.
Bookings opening soon
For more information, please visit the March Workshops 2022 information page.
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.
Mar
23
Wed
North East Fiddle School returns with another block of fully online materials, plus a single day workshop in-person.
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.
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. 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.
There is a full day’s workshop on Saturday 5th March which is taught in person at Wylam Methodist Church and can be booked separately – a discount is applied if you book both.
Check out the NEFS website for full details, see which tunes are being taught this block by myself and Melissa Whitehead, and you can book online through the website: http://www.northeastfiddleschool.org.uk/
Mar
25
Fri
Fiddle Technique
25th – 27th March 2022
Rydal Hall, Ambleside LA22 9LX
There is just one place left on this course, so please get in touch if you are interested.
Join Stewart in the beautiful setting of Rydal Hall in the Lake District, for a weekend of intensive fiddle tuition. The workshop will typically take a maxiumum of 14 participants and will run from 3 pm on Friday until 3 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. 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)
**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.
~ ~ ~
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
Mar
30
Wed
North East Fiddle School returns with another block of fully online materials, plus a single day workshop in-person.
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.
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. 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.
There is a full day’s workshop on Saturday 5th March which is taught in person at Wylam Methodist Church and can be booked separately – a discount is applied if you book both.
Check out the NEFS website for full details, see which tunes are being taught this block by myself and Melissa Whitehead, and you can book online through the website: http://www.northeastfiddleschool.org.uk/
Apr
6
Wed
North East Fiddle School returns with another block of fully online materials, plus a single day workshop in-person.
To round off Block 2, there will be a social evening on Zoom in which we will play through the video tutorial tunes taught this block, as well as many of our favourites from our Live Tunes repertoire. The event is included in the price of the Online Block or the In-person Workshop, and will be a lovely way to finish up the block.
Check out the NEFS website for full details, and you can book online through the website: http://www.northeastfiddleschool.org.uk/
Apr
13
Wed
George and I will be returning to the fabulous Cramlington Folk Club again this year, on Weds 13th April. Join us for some more of George’s moving songs and hilarious stories. I’ll be doing my best to keep up! This is the postponed gig from 23rd February due to storm damage at the venue. Please note the new venue for Cramlington Folk Club, and keep an eye on their website and Facebook page for any updates.
Once you have heard George perform his songs, accompanied by his guitar playing with Stewart’s fiddle, there is no doubt that the success of this highly entertaining duo is built on solid musical foundations
Apr
27
Wed
North East Fiddle School returns with another block of fully online materials, plus a single day workshop in-person.
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.
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. 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.
There is a full day’s workshop on Saturday 21st May which is taught in person at Wylam Methodist Church and can be booked separately – a discount is applied if you book both.
Check out the NEFS website for full details, see which tunes are being taught this block by myself and Melissa Whitehead, and you can book online through the website: http://www.northeastfiddleschool.org.uk/
May
4
Wed
North East Fiddle School returns with another block of fully online materials, plus a single day workshop in-person.
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.
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. 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.
There is a full day’s workshop on Saturday 21st May which is taught in person at Wylam Methodist Church and can be booked separately – a discount is applied if you book both.
Check out the NEFS website for full details, see which tunes are being taught this block by myself and Melissa Whitehead, and you can book online through the website: http://www.northeastfiddleschool.org.uk/
May
6
Fri
Advanced Fiddle Technique
6th – 8th May 2022
Shepherds Dene, Riding Mill, Northumberland NE44 6AF
Join Stewart at the beautiful retreat centre of Shepherds Dene, in the heart of Northumberland, for a weekend of intensive fiddle tuition. The workshop numbers will be limited to 10 and it will run from 4 pm on Friday evening until 4 pm on Sunday afternoon.
This 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
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 by ear, 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. There will also be two evening sessions, allowing participants to play common repertoire together and to exchange tunes, picking new ones up by ear.
Places on Advanced Fiddle Techniques courses are available on application. For further information or to express your interest in this course, please email Ali (jsarts@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.
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🎧🎻🎹 Our next set of Zoom workshops is this weekend, on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th April. Each workshop can be booked individually, and all will be available on-demand after the weekend. Book now on the website!There will be lots of favourite tunes with harmonies and chords provided for the Friday evening play-along session. All instruments are welcome, and alternate clefs or keys for transposing instruments can be provided on request. Then on Saturday in the fiddle workshops, we'll be looking at a fabulous north east tune by Geroge Mitchell of the Cheviot Ranters, call Geordie's Rant, in the morning. In the afternoon, it will be the turn of Shrewsbury Lasses, one of the classic country dance tunes of the English repertoire. Full resources including audio files and a worksheet are provided.
Visit the website for more info and bookings 😃
There will be lots of fascinating facts and insights into the life and times of William Shield, presented by Dr Amélie Addison on Saturday afternoon, illustrated with a few fiddle tunes! We'll be at the Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum at 4pm.Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering
(Disclaimer: more recent photos are available!)
It was lovely to play this tune again with Grace Smith Music. Thanks for the invitation to be a part of this fabulous project!