Wednesday Workshops – 2024
€ 100.00
I will be offering another series of workshops running from January to May 2024, with separate series offered for elementary, intermediate and advanced levels. I will also be offering a new workshop series ‘Ireland meets Scotland’, exploring the musical connections between the 2 countries (suitable for mixed levels) – you can find out more about that below.
Participants sign up for a course of 4 workshops at their chosen level/topic, one per month, for a fee of €100. Workshops take place on Wednesdays 8.00-9.15pm Irish Standard Time (3.00-4.15pm Eastern)
An audio recording will be sent to participants in advance so you can familiarise yourself with the tune ahead of each workshop. The workshop itself will be taught by ear, live on zoom and will be video recorded with an access link sent afterwards so you can review at your leisure or catch up if you couldn’t make the live workshop. Sheet music will also be provided.
See dates and further details below.
The dates for each series are as follows:
Elementary Level:
Dates: Jan 10, Feb 7, March 6, April 24
This workshop is intended for elementary level players who know the basics of playing, but want to focus on technique and learning easy tunes at a slower pace. We will work on some easy Irish tunes, incorporating elements of technique, style and basic arranging skills, as well as tips for effective practising etc. More advanced players are welcome to sign up, but tunes will be chosen to suit the elementary level players in the group so we might end up working on tunes you know already! [not suitable for complete beginners]
Intermediate Level:
Dates: Jan 24, Feb 21, April 10, May 8
In these workshops we will learn some intermediate-level Irish tunes (of various types) and work on adding ornamentation (including cuts, triplets and trebles) to a basic melody. Ideas on how to develop your left hand arranging skills will be discussed. We will also look at how the written music differs from how tunes are played and other elements of Irish style.
Advanced Level:
Dates: Jan 3, Jan 31, Feb 28, April 17
These workshops are for anyone already familiar with learning by ear and playing Irish traditional music. We will work on more advanced ideas for ornamentation, adding variations and arranging ideas as well as adding some new tunes to your repertoire!
Ireland meets Scotland (all levels):
Dates: Jan 17, Feb 14, March 20, May 1
This workshop series will explore the close musical ties between Ireland and Scotland which have existed for centuries, focusing both on the old Gaelic harping tradition of the two countries and the transfer of dance tunes and songs between them. A number of Irish melodies have their origins in Scotland, or exist in different versions in both countries. We will learn about some of these connections and learn a selection of tunes (in their Irish or Scottish version, or maybe even both!)
Additional information
| Course | Elementary Level, Intermediate Level, Advanced Level, Ireland Meets Scotland |
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