Jul
23
Sat
July Workshops 2022
Fiddle Workshop 1
Zoom Workshop
Saturday 23rd July: 10:00 am – 12:00 noon
Competent Beginner to Upper Intermediate level
Joy Together (S. Hardy)
– a lyrical triple time tune written for Stewart’s wife, Tine, which Frank McLaughlin and Stewart recorded on the CDs Root 2 and Compass.
A single workshop is £20, attend two for £35 or all three for £50.
For more information, please visit the July 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.
July Workshops 2022
Fiddle Workshop 2
Zoom Workshop
Saturday 23rd July: 14:00 – 16:00
Intermediate to Advanced level
Wedding Bells (S. Hardy)
– a reel written in 2001 in anticipation of the big day. This tune was recorded by Alistair Anderson and Northlands on their eponymous CD.
A single workshop is £20, attend two for £35 or all three for £50.
For more information, please visit the July 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.
Sep
16
Fri
Fiddle Technique
16th – 18th September 2022
Shepherds Dene, near Riding Mill, Northumberland, NE44 6AF
Join Stewart for a weekend of intensive fiddle tuition. The workshop will typically take a maxiumum of 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. 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 request a booking form, 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. 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
Sep
21
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.
This block we are delighted to present a special video tutorial by NEFS friend and guest tutor, Kevin Lees.
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 15th October 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/
Sep
28
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.
This block we are delighted to present a special video tutorial by NEFS friend and guest tutor, Kevin Lees.
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 15th October 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/
Oct
5
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.
This block we are delighted to present a special video tutorial by NEFS friend and guest tutor, Kevin Lees.
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 15th October 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/
Oct
7
Fri
Arrangement Techniques for Mixed Instruments
7th – 9th October 2022
Shepherds Dene, near Riding Mill, Northumberland, NE44 6AF
This course is currently fully booked, but please get in touch if you would like to go onto the waiting list.
Join Stewart in the beautiful retreat house of Shepherds Dene in Northumberland, for a weekend of exploring new tunes and creating arrangements. The workshop will be limieted to 8 people and will run from 4 pm on Friday until 4 pm on Sunday afternoon. It is 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 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. 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 any recordings 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)
**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.
Oct
12
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.
This block we are delighted to present a special video tutorial by NEFS friend and guest tutor, Kevin Lees.
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 15th October 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/
Oct
15
Sat
North East Fiddle School returns with a new block of fully online materials, plus a single day workshop in-person.
The in-person Workshop Day on Saturday 15th October will run from 10:00 until 17:00 at Wylam Methodist Church. There will be three workshops run by Stewart and Melissa, with a session to finish the afternoon.
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/
Oct
19
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.
This block we are delighted to present a special video tutorial by NEFS friend and guest tutor, Kevin Lees.
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 15th October 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/
Recordings
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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!