GUIDELINES: ARE YOU ADVANCED, INTERMEDIATE AND BEGINNER?

NOTE to ALL: Many of our beginner classes are in the afternoon. One reason for this is that the afternoon session is shorter which will, hopefully, allow you to concentrate and take in what seems like a firehose dose of information. A LOT of what traditional Irish music is about, however, involves a huge amount of listening and absorbing not only the music but also the culture. Time in a workshop, even if over your head ability wise, is not wasted. So if you’re wondering what to do for a morning class, attend one of the more advanced classes and soak in as much as you can. You never know when some nugget will come back to you.

Advanced Instrument: Appropriate for advanced musicians, and those that feel somewhere between intermediate and advanced. Have a goodly repertoire and can play at reasonable speed. Looking for technique, stylizations and variations, and direct improvement in problem areas of playing traditional Irish music as well as more advanced/complicated tunes.

Intermediate Instrument: For those who’ve been playing for a while and have a good few tunes or for someone experienced in other types of music who wants broader knowledge of traditional Irish music; or feel the need for more instruction/support in critical areas such as embellishing a tune.

Beginner Instrument: Little or no experience with the instrument and or a limited repertoire.

Instruments:

Instruments are NOT provided.

Music Folk in Webster Groves is a good source for folk music instruments.

Geoff Seitz at Seitz Violins is one of several shops specializing in string instruments.

Accompaniment -

Session Accompaniment

AM Jim Murray

Class will focus on playing accompaniment with melody players.

Song

Pat Broaders

Class will work on specific issues of accompanying a singer or yourself while singing.

Double drop D Tuning

PM - Jim Murray

Lower the first and sixth strings and enjoy the magic

Ballads

AM - Pat Broaders

“make your song your own” - how to put your personal stamp on your singing.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

AM - Liz Knowles

Learn some surprising tricks to get more out of the listening experience that will teach you new tricks and techniques to enhance your playing.

DUETS -

PM - John Skelton & Kieran O’Hare

John Skelton & Kieran O’Hare reprise their two iconic collections of flute tunes and will discuss the issues arising when playing with another person. Variations and harmonies will be discussed along with a plentiful supply of mighty craic. Comments and discussion will apply to duet playing in general

The Practice of Practice

PM - Liz Knowles

A two-fold workshop: part presentation and part discussion. I will introduce some different ways to think about the Mind/Body connection in playing a musical instrument, access technique (for any instrument) in interesting and engaging ways while designing a practice that fits with your goals of tune learning, particular stylistic direction, or otherwise. I will show the class how to use the melodies of Irish music as the only etude book they’ll ever need.

The Holy Trinity - Coleman, Morrison & Killoran

AM - Cait Finley

This workshop will explore the highly detailed ornamentation and technique of the fiddlers Michael Coleman, James Morrison, and Paddy Killoran, who made some of the first commercial recordings of Irish music in New York City. We'll examine how fiddlers of the era used rolls, bowed triplets, slurred triplets, grace notes, and more.

The Fiddling of James Morrison

PM - Cait Finley

Sligo fiddler James Morrison was a prolific recording artist in the 1920s and 30s, whose virtuosity and attention to detail resulted in some of the best recordings of Irish music of the era. We'll learn a tune from one of Morrison's recordings, paying particular attention to the characteristic bounce, lift, rhythm, and ornamentation that make his playing unique.

Piping Technique of Early American Pipers

AM - Will Woodson

Major American cities like Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia were centers of Irish piping in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and many recordings of fantastic pipers from this era survive to the present day. In this workshop, we’ll listen to a few old recordings and study the unique techniques and ornamentation that made the music of pipers like Patsy Touhey, Michael Carney, Michael Gallagher, Bernard Delaney, and others so special.

Music Of The Harpers For All Instruments

PM - with Grainne Hambly

ALL melody instruments welcome. So much of the music we think of as harp music goes very well on other instruments. Join Grainne as she explores a few of these tunes and provides some background on them.

Uilleann Pipes - Regulators

AM - with Kieran O’Hare

The goal of this class will be to help students to play the regulators in an effective, musical, and enjoyable way. Topics covered will include how to approach playing the regulators both physically and musically; some ergonomic considerations; and some stylistic directions to consider. This will be a practical, participation-only class—attendees should be able to play dance music and slow airs on the chanter, have functioning, in tune, regulators, and be prepared to participate and try out whatever lessons or techniques might come up.

Uilleann Pipes - Fox Chase

AM - with Pádraic Keane

The Fox Chase is an iconic piece of music in the lexicon of traditional uilleann pipe music and has been a featured part of many distinguished pipers over the years. It is an intricate piece and none better to open up its mysteries than Pádraic Keane.

Uilleann Pipe Reeds

Familiarity with the rudiments of reedmaking is assumed so that you can spend time on the issues that will help you achieve a higher success rate with your reeds. You are encouraged to bring along a few of your reeds for individual attention. Spruce will be discussed as a material.

Polkas & Slides

In this workshop we will examine some of the techniques we can use to bring polkas and slides to life, paying particular attention to rhythm and phrasing, and looking at what we can do to give them true lift. We'll talk about the music and dance tradition of Sliabh Luachra, and what resources are available to those who want to learn more about the musical tradition of the region, then we'll spend some time learning new tunes, and looking at some old favourites. All material covered in the workshop will be made available online for further study.

Whistle - Int/Adv - AM

AM - Class with John Skelton

Explore advanced topics and techniques on the tin whistle.

Whistle - Beginner - PM

PM - Class with Frank Claudy

This class focus on the basics of getting good sound, good rhythm and proper breathing on whistle, and we will apply that some songs and maybe a polka.