NEFS 2024 Block 5: Sept/Oct 2024

2024 Block 5 Online will run from Wednesday 18th Sept to 16th October. We are delighted that Grace Smith will be teaching with us again, both on Zoom and with an in-depth video tutorial. She and Stewart will have more exercises to help us improve our fiddle playing; developing better intonation, dexterity, tone and technique.

We also have a Saturday Workshop taking place on Saturday 12th October at Wylam Methodist Church, when Chris Meredith will be joining Stewart to share some great tunes and fiddle technique with us.

The Online block runs for five weeks with Zoom calls on Wednesday evenings, which are also available as recordings on-demand, and video tutorials are published weekly for you to work through at your own pace.

Online – Zoom calls and Video Tutorials
with Stewart Hardy and Grace Smith
Wednesday 18th September to 16th October
£75

• 5 week course of fully-online fiddle tuition, accessible on Zoom and YouTube from anywhere and at any time with Stewart Hardy and Grace Smith.
• In-depth Video Tutorials, which include elements of technique, a tune taught by the phrase and 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 playing through previous tunes which form our core repertoire.
• Recordings of all Zoom calls available for catch-up on demand.

Saturday Full-day Workshop
with Stewart Hardy and Chris Meredith
Saturday 12th October, 10.00 am – 5.00 pm at Wylam Methodist Church, Chapel Lane, Wylam NE41 8AA
Cost £50
Tea/coffee included, bring your own lunch.

• In-person group fiddle tuition focusing on developing fiddle technique.
• Workshops on both tunes and technique.
• In-depth fiddle teaching aimed at competent beginners through to upper intermediates.
• The day includes 3 mixed ability workshops and a tutor-guided session.

Buy the 2024 Block 5 Online Option as well and receive a discount for booking both.

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Details of the Online Block option:

Fiddle Practice Calls are available to all participants on a Wednesday evening (7.00 – 7.40 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 be 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 a password protected 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.