NEFS 2026 Block 5: Sept/Oct 2026
NEFS 2026 Block 5 will run from Wednesday 16th September to 14th October. Stewart Hardy and Grace Smith will be teaching live on Zoom, and we are delighted to welcome Sophy Ball who will join us for a couple of Wednesday evening Zoom calls. We will be focusing on fiddle practice and techniques in the first half of each meeting, and learning tunes together to build up our shared repertoire in the second half.
The Online block runs for five weeks, with live Zoom calls on Wednesday evenings. These are also available as recordings on-demand, and there are video tutorials published weekly for you to work through at your own pace.
In this block, we will be looking at articulation – both with the bow, and with left hand ornaments. Articulation can help our tunes come alive, and vary the sound of our playing. We will have a brand new video tutorial from Stewart, and there will be a chance to revise a wonderful tune from Grace.
Our Saturday Workshop will be on Saturday 3rd October, with Stewart and Sophy, in Wylam. This is always a very enjoyable day, filled with tunes and techniques, and we end the day with a chance to play through our favourite Live Tunes in the session.
Visit the NEFS Shop to book
Online – Zoom calls and Video Tutorials
with Stewart Hardy, Grace Smith and Sophy Ball on Zoom, and video tutorials from Stewart and Grace
Weds 16th June – Weds 14th October
£80
- 5 week course of fully-online fiddle tuition, accessible on Zoom and YouTube from anywhere and at any time, with Stewart Hardy, Grace Smith and Sophy Ball
- Two in-depth Video Tutorial series, which include elements of technique or a tune taught by the phrase with a detailed look at bowing, ornamentation or stylistic interpretation.
- Wednesday evening live Zoom calls, including Fiddle Practice and Tune Learning in the Zoom workshop, plus we play through previous tunes which form our core repertoire.
- Recordings of all Zoom calls available for catch-up on demand.
In-person – Saturday Workshop
with Stewart Hardy and Sophy Ball
Saturday 3rd October
£55
- In-person tuition focusing on developing fiddle technique and learning new repertoire
- Tunes and technique delivered by Stewart Hardy & Sophy Ball
- In-depth fiddle teaching aimed at competent beginners through to upper intermediate players. Not suitable for absolute beginners.
- The day includes 3 mixed ability workshops and time for a tutor-guided session
- Full access to the Live Tunes web page for session resources
- Tuition, resources and refreshments for the morning & afternoon breaks are included
Book for both the Online Block and the Saturday Workshop for £120. The discount will be applied in your basket.
Details of the Online Block option:
Fiddle Practice Calls are available to all participants on a Wednesday evening (7.00 – 7.45 pm). These are held on Zoom and are an extra, regular way to practice along with learning the tunes in the video tutorials. They are a chance to play along with a tutor-led practice session, giving you 40 minutes of fiddle practice and ideas to take away for your own practice. There is also a Tune Surgery Q&A event which is held from Week 2 onwards at 6.45 pm (before the Fiddle Practice Call) to address any questions raised from the video tutorials, or fiddle playing in general. A recording of every call will be available on YouTube, and is included in the cost.
The Live Teaching calls will be on a Wednesday evening following the Fiddle Practice Call, running from 7.50 – 8.30 pm for the 5 weeks. These will focus on core repertoire using fundamental fiddle techniques, and will aim to be accessible to all from competent beginners upwards. This will include revision of the tunes previously taught, with full resources and recordings of past calls provided for those new to the Live Teaching element. There will also be new tunes to add to your core repertoire, taught by ear with full supporting resources available. Recordings of the Live Teaching calls will be available each week if you miss one, have technical difficulties, or prefer to work from YouTube and not Zoom.
All course materials are provided via your NEFS account webpage. Worksheets (pdf files) and audio files (mp3 files) are available to view/listen online or download. Video Tutorials and Recordings of live calls are provided as links to unlisted YouTube videos. New resources will be added each week, and then all materials will be available for you to access in your own time for as long as you need them.
NEFS workshops are aimed at improving fiddle players, and are not suitable for absolute beginners. We aim to introduce tunes that are accessible for a wide range of players (from Level 2, those able to play a simple tune steadily – see the Ability Level Guide for reference) for the melody and bowing suggestions. We then explore the tunes in greater stylistic detail and with suggestions for ornamentation for Level 3 players.
Please use the contact form if you have any queries. Payment (by bank transfer, cheque or PayPal) is required to confirm all bookings and can be selected through the Shop. Details for bank transfers and cheque payments will be sent to you after the booking is made.