Classes & Workshops
Clas s Description
Spring 2020
Quarantine Classes
Dates: April 15th through May 20, 2020
Hello musicians,
“Social distancing” is definitely not a term you’d think of in conjunction with Irish traditional music.
We’ve been wrestling with how the music school can keep our tight-knit music community engaged even while we are each sitting in our solitary kitchens.
Here’s our idea: We’ll offer teaching recordings and exercises, exactly as we had planned to in class, but using e-mail and Google Drive.
Each week we’ll send out the assigned tunes and supplementary recordings, as well as video clips and background information on the music. But instead of coming to Waterbury, you can work away at home, on your own schedule.
Essentially, we are offering the class to you Vermonters the way we have offered it to the distance students who have joined in the past.
It’s not ideal, since the experience of playing with others as a community has been the whole point of our classes. But when all of this is just a memory, we can leave our kitchens knowing the same tunes as others, and having had the time to improve our own playing through various exercises.
To help reimburse us for the time we put into creating the recordings and the class assignments, we’d suggest a reduced registration fee of $100. However, if you are experiencing difficult economic times,
just send what you can.
If this appeals, email us at benedictandhilari@gmail.com to register. We’ll send out the first assignment and recordings on April 15th.
Our Goals
Our goal is to help nurture an Irish music community that will serve musicians who want to play in Vermont sessions, or who also might want to join an Irish session elsewhere in the world. Irish traditional music is social music. People get together, trade stories, have some laughs, and enjoy the satisfaction of playing music with others. Social groups come together; new friends are made.
Like a flowing stream, traditional music is not fixed; it is a living thing handed down from generation to generation and each player in turn puts his or her subtle stamp on the music.
Class Options
Group 1 (relaxed pace) 6:00 - 7:15 pm
For all melody instruments
How competent on my instrument do I need to be? Intermediate beginner through advanced intermediate
How much should I know about Irish music? Students who are new to Irish music, as well as more experienced musicians who want to learn at a slower pace, are all welcome.
Class description: Students receive one fairly easy tune per week. Recordings of the assigned tunes are provided. There will be information on how to join a session, different tune types, and video clips.
Group 2 (challenge yourself) 7:30 - 9:00 pm
You will receive two tunes per week, plus an exercise to try to help improve your playing and/or your confidence in playing.
Theme for this Spring
Martin "Junior" Crehan
and fiddlers of West Clare
Because he was strongly influenced by players who lived in the 19th century, Junior Crehan’s contribution to the flowing stream of Irish music has great importance.
Junior was a “character” in the best sense - a fiddler, concertina player, storyteller, and singer. His playing was sweet and emotive, and many of his compositions remain in the bedrock of Irish traditional repertoire. Because his own repertoire was influenced by uilleann pipers, as well as by fiddle and concertina, his music is widely played on all instruments.
This spring, in addition to learning tunes and gaining a deeper understanding of traditional music, we plan to put particular time into addressing roadblocks that many musicians encounter when playing - either in informal sessions or in performance situations. We had several encounters with musicians in Ireland last fall which gave us some perspectives and strategies we hope to pass along.
Registration deadline: April 14th
E-mail benedictandhilari@gmail.com to register.
Please specify which group!
A note about out-of-state students
We have occasionally offered the class to interested musicians who do not live in Vermont. During the quarantine we will accept registrations from outside the state, on the condition that the recordings are not shared with anyone outside the class.
Tuition during the quarantine
$100 suggested.
If you are experiencing financial challenges, just pay what you can.
Instructions on payment will be sent when you register by email
