Sep
24
Fri
September Workshops 2021: Play-along Session @ Online - on Zoom
Sep 24 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

September Workshops 2021
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 24th September, 19:00 – 21:00

A single workshop is £20, attend two for £35 or all three for £50.
Bookings open now

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.

Sep
25
Sat
September Workshops 2021: Fiddle Workshop 1 @ Online - on Zoom
Sep 25 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

September Workshops 2021
Fiddle Workshop 1

Zoom Workshop
Saturday 25th Sept: 10:00 am – 12:00 noon
Competent Beginner to Upper Intermediate level

The Peacock’s Feather

In this morning workshop there is an opportunity to learn a classic Irish hornpipe, The Peacock’s Feather, which Stewart fell in love with the moment he first heard it on Frankie Gavin and Alec Finn’s classic eponymous 1977 LP.

A single workshop is £20, attend two for £35 or all three for £50.
Bookings open now

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.

September Workshops 2021: Fiddle Workshop 2 @ Online - on Zoom
Sep 25 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

September Workshops 2021
Fiddle Workshop 2

Zoom Workshop
Saturday 25th Sept: 14:00 – 16:00
Intermediate to Advanced level

Farewell to Chernobyl (Michael Ferrie)

In this afternoon workshop we’ll be looking at a wonderful dark and driving reel by Michael Ferrie, Farewell to Chernobyl. This has some great syncopation and is a popular storming session tune.

A single workshop is £20, attend two for £35 or all three for £50.
Bookings open now

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.

Nov
5
Fri
Fiddle Technique @ Rydal Hall
Nov 5 – Nov 7 all-day
Fiddle Technique @ Rydal Hall | Grantham | United Kingdom

Fiddle Technique

5th – 7th November 2021
Rydal Hall, Ambleside LA22 9LX

This course is currently fully booked, but please get in touch if you would like to go onto the waiting list.

 

**Covid-19 Update

This course will be run in accordance to our Covid-secure Music Workshop Guidelines, and is subject to any government restrictions applicable at the time, and any coronavirus protocols from the venue.

~ ~ ~

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 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)

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
Nov
26
Fri
November Workshops 2021: Play-along Session @ Online - on Zoom
Nov 26 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

November Workshops 2021
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 26th November, 19:00 – 21:00

A single Novemberworkshop is £20, attend two for £35 or all three for £50.
Bookings open now

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.

Nov
27
Sat
November Workshops 2021: Fiddle Workshop 1 @ Online - on Zoom
Nov 27 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

November Workshops 2021
Fiddle Workshop 1

Zoom Workshop
Saturday 27th Nov: 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 open now

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.

November Workshops 2021: Fiddle Workshop 2 @ Online - on Zoom
Nov 27 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

November Workshops 2021
Fiddle Workshop 2

Zoom Workshop
Saturday 27th November: 14:00 – 16:00
Intermediate to Advanced level

 

A single workshop is £20, attend two for £35 or all three for £50.
Bookings open now

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.

Jan
28
Fri
January Workshops 2022: Play-along Session @ Online - on Zoom
Jan 28 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

January Workshops 2022
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 28th January, 19:00 – 21:00

A single January workshop is £20, attend two for £35 or all three for £50.
Bookings open now

For more information, please visit the January 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. 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.

Jan
29
Sat
January Workshops 2022: Fiddle Workshop 1 @ Online - on Zoom
Jan 29 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

January Workshops 2022
Fiddle Workshop 1

Zoom Workshop
Saturday 29th Jan: 10:00 am – 12:00 noon
Competent Beginner to Upper Intermediate level
Parnell’s March
– a Northumbrian version of a lovely Irish tune which was popularised in the North East of England by ’The Shepherds’ (Willie Taylor, Will Atkinson and Joe Hutton). This gives us a chance to look at some articulation and bowing techniques used in the playing of jigs in the Northumbrian tradition.

 

A single workshop is £20, attend two for £35 or all three for £50.
Bookings open now

For more information, please visit the January 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.

January Workshops 2022: Fiddle Workshop 2 @ Online - on Zoom
Jan 29 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

January Workshops 2022
Fiddle Workshop 2

Zoom Workshop
Saturday 28th January: 14:00 – 16:00
Intermediate to Advanced level
Tich’s Reel – one of Willie Taylor’s fabulous compositions. He didn’t write many, but the ones he wrote are all good and invaluable additions to the Northumbrian fiddle repertoire.

 

A single workshop is £20, attend two for £35 or all three for £50.
Bookings open now

For more information, please visit the January 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.