Instrumental and singing courses are offered to adult students and invited youth including:
Anglo Concertina | Bodhrán | Bouzouki | Button Accordion | Fiddle | Flute | Guitar | Harp | Mandolin | Dancing | Singing | Tenor Banjo| Uilleann Pipes | Whistle
Anglo Concertina
Anglo Concertina (Fundamentals) — Lexie Boatright
This course is for students who are needing to learn basic skills for playing the Anglo concertina. Attention will be given to fingering choices, bellows management and beginning ornamentation.
Photo by Andrew Simmons.
Anglo Concertina — Niamh Ní Charra
The course centers on good rhythm, timing along with a specific focus on the fingering choices and musicality of the tune. Also covered in the course will be discussing about some of the composers of the tunes and origin of the tunes where possible. As the course progresses, suggestions on how to develop and enhance the tune by adding ornamentation and phrasing and a look at how this may adjust your fingering as a result with specific emphasis on ornamentation placement and how to do this most effectively. Before enrolling, please review GUIDELINES for this course.
Bodhrán
Photo by Andrew Simmons.
Bodhrán (Fundamentals) — Rick Holt
This course will introduce the rudiments of Irish music as applied to the bodhrán . An overview of the main tune types including jigs, slip jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, slides, etc., will be included. Emphasis will be placed on variations of rhythm and style and using both stick hand and back hand to accompany the melody. Lessons will include topics such as session etiquette, care of the bodhrán, different tipper grips, and learning to find your own style. Melodies will be provided for accompaniment by fiddler TBA.
Bodhrán — Amy Richter
Students will learn how to further enhance tune accompaniment with ornamentation, tonal variation, and develop both space and energetic tension between melody and rhythm in the music. The lessons will explore elements of tune accompaniment, session playing, and modern style bodhrán playing. The goal of the course is to help students become versatile, creative, and sensitive players who are able to accompany tastefully in whatever style they choose. Before enrolling, please review GUIDELINES for this course.
Bouzouki
Photo by Louvain Guiomard.
Bouzouki — Brian Miller
The bouzouki course will cover techniques of tune accompaniment, song accompaniment and melody playing in the GDAD tuning. Eamon will explore chord shapes, strumming patterns, basic counter-melody and a versatile method for choosing what chords to play and how to add interest. The lessons will also address tunings, capo use, and choosing an instrument.
Button Accordion
Button Accordion — Dermot Byrne
This course will explore the button accordion played in the Irish style. The focus will be on maneuvering over the keyboard, bellows control, fingering, ornamentation, phrasing, dynamics, chording, etc.
Dancing
Sean-Nós Dancing (All Levels) — Maldon Meehan
Sean-nós (“old style”) Irish dance is a joyful expression of movement and sound. Considered to be one of the earliest forms of Irish dancing, sean-nós is an improvised solo style, with footwork danced close-to-the-floor, a relaxed upper body, and a playful dialogue between the dance and the music. In this course, students will enjoy listening and responding to traditional Irish music while gaining confidence as percussive dancers. The lessons will focus on timing, technique, building a body of basic steps, and developing a personal style.
Fiddle
Photo by Andrew Simmons.
Fiddle (Fundamentals) — Katie Geringer
This course is intended for fiddlers who are already familiar with their instruments and comfortable playing tunes. It is not for students new to the fiddle, but rather, those who may be new to Irish music or want to become more proficient in the fundamentals of Irish fiddling. The lessons will focus on holding the fiddle and bow, playing in tune, controlling the bow and keeping the rhythm steady and taking technique to the next level. The lessons will also cover learning tunes by ear and the specifics of the Irish style (slurring patterns, bow and finger ornamentation.) Students will learn several tunes of various types.
Fiddle (Intermediate) — Yvonne Casey, Haley Richardson
This course is intended for fiddlers who are familiar with Irish style fiddle playing and are at an intermediate level of ability. Students will learn Irish fiddle technique including ornamentation (rolls, grace notes and bowed triplets), tone, rhythm and the more common bowing patterns used in Irish style playing. Before enrolling, please review GUIDELINES for this course.
Fiddle (Advanced by Invitation) — Brian Conway
This course is intended for fiddlers who have significant familiarity with Irish style fiddle playing and are at an advanced level of ability. The lessons will focus on getting beyond just playing the notes, to rendering the music with good style and rhythm, by exploring in depth the technical challenges of bowing, fingering and ornamentation. Before enrolling, please review GUIDELINES for this course.
Flute
Photo by Andrew Simmons.
Flute & Whistle (Fundamentals) — Norah Rendell
At the beginning level, this course will combine whistle and flute because of the similarity in fingering and ornamentation. Using a “D” pitched whistle and/or wood or metal flute, students will learn easy tunes using basic fingering and ornamentation. The lessons will examine breathing and explore strategies for creating breathing places in tunes.
Flute — Nuala Kennedy
This course is for flute players who already play tunes in a variety of rhythms (jigs, reels, etc.), with good technique and at a reasonable tempo. This lessons will expand on the skills and topics introduced in the fundamentals class, with more attention given to ornamentation, breathing, style and repertoire, while continuing to emphasize rhythm and phrasing in the music. Tunes will be taught using a D flute. Before enrolling, please review GUIDELINES for this course.
Photo by Andrew Simmons.
Guitar
Irish Guitar (Fundamentals) — TBA
This course will focus on accompanying Irish music in its many forms — jigs, slip jigs, reels, hornpipes, slides, polkas, and more. Primary attention will be given to executing the proper rhythms and strumming techniques. Various tunings will be demonstrated. This is not designed to be for those who are just picking up guitar. Knowledge of chording, strumming, tuning and picking is needed. Melodies will be provided for accompaniment by fiddler ???? .
Dropped-D Guitar — John Doyle
In this course, students will learn to accompany Irish traditional music on guitar using the Dropped-D tuning. The class will explore a variety of types of tunes, dynamics through syncopation and emphasis, chord substitutions and common progressions. Students should be comfortable with basic strumming. Melodies will be provided for accompaniment by fiddler Tess Hartis.
Harp
Photo by Louvain Guiomard.
Harp — Gráinne Hambly
In this course, students will learn a variety of Irish melodies. The lessons will include learning different ways of approaching both ornamentation and accompaniment for the music covered. The music will be taught by ear. Sheet music may be provided by the instructor as a tool for some of the tunes learned. This course is for all levels – from beginners (with some harp experience) to professionals.
Mandolin
Mandolin & Tenor Banjo (Fundamentals) — Jim DeWan
This course for mandolin and tenor banjo will focus on the stylistic elements of playing melodies (not chords) in Irish traditional style and the techniques to produce them, plus how and when to incorporate them into any given tune. The idea is that students come away with a box of tools that they can apply to all the tunes they already know and the tunes they have yet to learn, to produce a traditional Irish sound. The lessons also feature how to get the best tone and volume from the instrument while avoiding painful problems, by holding and fingering the instrument and picking in the best manner. The classes apply equally to tenor banjo, mandolin, tenor guitar and octave mandolins and the similarities and differences of approach are included.
Mandolin — Baron Collins-Hill
This course is to help mandolin players get the the feel, pulse and flow of Irish music into their playing. We’ll discuss and build on the fundamental job of the picking hand to express the various meters of Irish dance music – jigs, reels , polkas , slides , slip jigs and more. We’ll talk about phrasing and musicality, develop and practice techniques for ornamentation and variation, and for building speed to play in sessions. Recordings of tunes will be provided in advance of the workshop, so that we can build on the basics, developing each tune together in class as a springboard to a deeper understanding of the music in its many forms. Before enrolling, please review GUIDELINES for this course.
Photo by Andrew Simmons.
Piano Accordion
Piano Accordion (All Levels) — TBA
This course will explore piano accordion technique as applied to traditional Irish music. The various dance and song/air forms will be explored as well as fingering technique, ornamentation (triplets, grace notes), basses and bellows. Chording and variation tips will also be covered as well as looking at taking non-accordion tunes (e.g. fiddle or flute tune/song settings) and making them work lyrically on the piano accordion.
Singing
Singing — Shay Black
The Gaelic translation of “sing a song” is “Abair Amhrán” … literally “tell” a song. The incredible story of Ireland is written in song, and this course will help students explore the importance of song in the Irish music tradition. There are no prerequisites, and if you simply want to sing in private or public, then this courses is for you. A variety of songs in English will be covered. Topics will include appropriateness of song choice. What do you sing at a pub session when there are a lot of musicians wanting to back you? What about a singing session? Maybe you would like a performance piece? How do you make a song your own? These and other topics will be incorporated into the songs taught. The aim of the lessons is to develop enough confidence to feel comfortable singing with others and/or performing solo and being exposed to some wonderful songs.
Tenor Banjo
Photo by Andrew Simmons.
Tenor Banjo & Mandolin (Fundamentals) — Jim DeWan
This course for mandolin and tenor banjo will focus on the stylistic elements of playing melodies (not chords) in Irish traditional style and the techniques to produce them, plus how and when to incorporate them into any given tune. The idea is that students come away with a box of tools that they can apply to all the tunes they already know and the tunes they have yet to learn, to produce a traditional Irish sound. The lessons also feature how to get the best tone and volume from the instrument while avoiding painful problems, by holding and fingering the instrument and picking in the best manner. The classes apply equally to tenor banjo, mandolin, tenor guitar and octave mandolins and the similarities and differences of approach are included.
Tenor Banjo — Éamonn Coyne
This course will focus on the four-string banjo tuned in Irish style – GDAE and is for students who already play tunes in a variety of rhythms (jigs, reels, etc.), with good technique and at a reasonable tempo. Students will learn plectrum techniques, ornamentation, chord enhancements and, most importantly, melodic variation. Students will also learn simple playing styles, rhythm and syncopation, and pick tricks. Before enrolling, please review GUIDELINES for this course.
Uilleann Pipes
Uilleann Pipes — Patrick Hutchinson
This course will cover everything from basic fingering and working with your bellows to advanced phrasing and staccato triplets. The uilleann pipes as an instrument has particular ornamentation, repertoire, and style different to the other “woodwinds” in traditional Irish music. In the lessons, students will learn what those differences are and how to apply them to their own playing. Additional topics covered will include uilleann pipe tuning (including the chanter, drones, and regulators) and airs in piping as well and traditional music in general. We’ll also take some time to analyze great pipers throughout history, and discuss tips for listening to older styles of piping.
Whistle
Photo by Phil Wirth.
Whistle & Flute (Fundamentals) — Norah Rendell
At the beginning level, this course will combine whistle and flute because of the similarity in fingering and ornamentation. Using a “D” pitched whistle and/or wood or metal flute, students will learn easy tunes using basic fingering and ornamentation. The lessons will examine breathing and explore strategies for creating breathing places in tunes.
Whistle — Brian Hughes
This course is for whistle players who can play tunes in a variety of rhythms (jigs, reels, etc.), with good technique and at a reasonable tempo. This course will expand on the skills and topics introduced in the fundamentals class, with more attention given to ornamentation, breathing, style and repertoire, while continuing to emphasize rhythm and phrasing in the music. The course will also explore the use of low whistles. Tunes will be taught using a D whistle. Before enrolling, please review GUIDELINES for this course.