Instructor: Mac Morin
The Cape Breton piano accompaniment style has become an inseparable sound to the traditional music of the island. This class is to point out some major aspects of the style with some examples of how it has evolved over the last 50 yearrs. Participants will be able to learn the Cape Breton approach of accompaniment to a small medley of tunes.
Instructor: Greg Boardman
I love talking with people about the incalculable value of experiencing acoustic music in its raw state, both voice and instruments, without the aural distraction of sound equipment.READ MORE
Instructor: Troy MacGillivray
Cape Breton Piano is a distinct accompaniment style. Learn what makes this music so dance-able from a master!
Instructor: Troy MacGillivray
Troy will open the floor to questions and answers on the nuances of Cape Breton Fiddling. Bring a tune to share for a session portion of the class.READ MORE
Instructor: Neil Pearlman
All levels, All Instruments
At sessions it’s not uncommon to be have a fiddler call out a key and start playing, but how does the accompanist follow along if they don’t already know the tune? Do guitarists and pianists have to develop an encyclopedic repertoire of tunes just to survive? Happily this is not the case.READ MORE
Instructor: Andrea Beaton
Jigs and Reels are what we dance our square sets to in Inverness County, as well as the rest of the island. We’ll focus on the rhythm of the bow as it pertains to the Cape Breton dance style, and where we can place ornamentation and other things that aren’t commonly found “on paper” to give the tunes a lift.READ MORE
Instructor: Lauren Rioux
All levels, All Instruments
A crash course on easy ways to figure out keys and their key signatures, scales, arpeggios and chords so you can JAM and play music with people and be the best musician you can be. A good class for people who always groan when they hear the words ‘theory’ and ‘chords’, or people who are interested in how to teach this stuff in a fun, practical, hands-on manner.
Instructor: Lauren Rioux
Level: Intermediate-Advanced
Learn how to fill space when the vocalist isn’t singing. We’ll use the Flatt & Scruggs’ song “Don’t this Road Look and Rocky” to work on the conversational, emotional, rhythmic and theoretical components of supporting the vocalist.READ MORE
Instructor: Lauren Rioux
So you can play the melody, and you even know the chords, now what? Learn fiddle vocabulary and see how fun it is to come up with your own versions and solos for a standard tune. This is a gentle way to dip your toes into this process.
Instructor: Lauren Rioux
The mystical magical bouncing bow of Old-Time fiddle. I’ll help unlock the pattern for you to unleash the beast.READ MORE
Instructor: Barry Saunders
All levels, All Instruments
In this class we will cover how to use scales, keys and chords to build improvisations and comping for tunes.
Instructor: Barry Saunders
All levels, All Instruments
This class will dig a bit deeper into covering forms and structures when improvising. More fun improv games and the blues form will form the basis for this class. We will also cover community improv and sharing the joy of music.
Instructor: Barry Saunders
All levels, All Instruments
This class will go over some of the fun ways to get your feet wet and create your own sounds! We will cover creative improv games and getting through the tinge of anxiety that can be there for some. We will also cover community improv and sharing the joy of music.
Instructor: Matt Shipman
Backing up tunes in a session or in a band can really help lift the music. In this workshop we will work on skills to help us be a better backer of tunes. We will go over right hand technique in various time signatures such as 6/8, 9/8, 4/4 and waltz time.READ MORE
Instructor: Wendy MacIsaac
You will learn how to play a strathspey and reel in the Cape Breton style, learn about why the strathspey is almost always followed by a reel, and how to transition from one to another.READ MORE
Instructor: Cindy Roy
Have you ever wanted to try stepdancing but the time is never right? In this class, you’ll learn very basics of steps to a simple routine you can use at a party or anywhere the music lifts you. It’s easier than you think! We’ll work on simple mechanics and you’ll be dancing in no time!!
Instructor: Andrea Beaton
We’ll focus on the timing of the steps and the bounce/hop using a more relaxed body. We’ll also look at the neatness of the feet, which helps tremendously with the timing aspect of the dance style.
Instructor: Wendy MacIsaac
You will learn how to make steps sound percussive to match the tunes and then apply them to the Inverness Square set you will also learn. You’ll leave being able to attend the next dance in Cape Breton with confidence!
Instructor: Bill Olson
All Levels
There are few better ways of building a musical community than to start a local dance, either regular or occasional. We’re talking a community dance or “barn dance” where everyone is welcome regardless of age or experience. To make this happen in your community you need musicians, a place to do it, and most of all a dance leader to teach and call the dances. READ MORE
Instructor: Pam Weeks
All levels, All Instruments
Are you used to trying to figure tunes out by ear but have no idea how to read music notation? Or you can sort of use the ups and downs of the dots music to jog your memory of a tune, but there’s a lot you don’t really understand? We will start at the beginning of what it all means, with the goal of sending you home with the understanding and tools you need for practicing and improving your music reading skills!
Instructor: Pam Weeks
All levels, All Instruments
A class to exercise our “rhythm muscles”. We’ll be clapping, tapping, stomping, strumming, drumming, creating polyrhythm with the whole class, learning how to entrain our bodies with the beat of the music. We will explore rhythmic notation, how to count accurately using subdivision, and how to translate that to our instruments.
Instructor: Pam Weeks
This class is designed to get you past whatever roadblocks are preventing you from improving your playing. We will start at the beginning with improving (LH) fiddle and (RH) bow holds, then will work on both LH and RH technique, using exercises and simple tunes to encourage body awareness while playing. Our goals will include improving tone, intonation, flexibility, speed, and ease in the body, working towards creating expressive playing at any tempo
Instructor: Pam Weeks
All levels, All Instruments
For folks who have been playing for a while but primarily from sheet music. Folk music is, at heart, an oral tradition, and it’s important to become comfortable learning by ear. This class will break down and de-mystify the process!
Instructor: Pam Weeks
All levels, All Instruments
There’s a method to the madness of being creative that can give you greater success at writing your own music. We’ll take a little time analyzing common tune and chord structures, and and then spend the session brain-storming techniques to open up your creative well We’ll also check out alternatives to conventional music notation so you can remember what you’ve just composed!
Instructor: Pam Weeks
In 1755 French people were expelled from Canada when the English gained control of Quebec and New Brunswick. Those who settled in SW Louisiana are the source of the vibrant, passionate Cajun music of today. We’ll learn a Cajun two-step and/or waltz and how to “second” (chordal accompaniment), concentrating on the markers that separate this music from other fiddling styles.
Instructor: Greg Boardman
All levels, All Instruments
How might we come together as instrumentalists and singers of all levels of playing and singing ability, and of experience in this form of music, and then ply them all together in a grand chorus of gratitude, praise and lamentation? This session will attempt to answer this question by an active involvement in that direction. One hoped-for outcome would be a sense of the possibility of organizing similar gatherings at home, as might meet the needs of the local community.
Instructor: Greg Boardman
All levels, All Instruments
This session will explore the various approaches to coming up with new tunes in the old style, suitable for old-time country dancing, and putting one’s own lyrics and music together in straight forward folk style.READ MORE
Instructor: Rob Flax
All levels, All Instruments
The most direct way to foster “creativity” is through “creating!” This workshop is designed to foster courage for improvisation and composition using the abstract musical structures fiddlers already know, and encourages participants to embrace simple constraints as strategies for inspiration. When creating new music there are no answers, only better questions.
Instructor: Rob Flax
All levels, All Instruments
This is a 2-part class: Part 1 focuses on unpacking the underlying structure of the jazz standard “Ja-Da,” a simple melody from the pre-bop era, which features a ii-V-I progression that pops up in thousands of jazz tunes (and many other places).READ MORE
Instructor: Rob Flax
All Instruments
Multi-instrumentalist Rob Flax has a Masters degree in Contemporary Improvisation (“C.I.”), from the New England Conservatory, and in this workshop he shares secrets and insights from the C.I. program plus concepts developed over many years of performance. Participants will focus on deconstructing what makes a solo “compelling,” learning compositional strategies and exploring the importance of the human voice to craft better solos. Each participant will also have the opportunity to take a solo and receive feedback, masterclass style (but this is not required to participate!)
Instructor: Rob Flax
All Instruments
The violin family of instruments has remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years, a feat unmatched in any other realm of technology. But with the advent of instrument amplification the modern string player has access to a whole new world of sound possibilities.READ MORE
Instructor: Erica Brown
All levels, All Instruments
We will touch on a little bit of everything in this class: from exercises to improve your intonation and speed; vibrato; double stops and chords; chopping; slurs; and more!READ MORE
Instructor: Elaine Malkin
All levels, All Instruments
This is a hands-on workshop on improving technique for both hands, tone and intonation tips, and fiddler tricks to make a tune come alive.
Instructor: Elaine Malkin
We will learn a tune from Quebec with the traditional style and ornaments.
Instructors: Matt Shipman and Erica Brown
All levels, All Instruments
In this workshop we will work on the elements of playing with others in a small ensemble. Working with instruments different than your own is a great way to expand your musicianship and listening skills. We will work on arrangements, medleys and harmony.READ MORE
Instructor: Pam Weeks
All levels, All Instruments
This workshop will address habits to keep your hands healthy and strong, with the goal of increasing flexibility and dexterity on your instrument. It will include stretches, warm-ups, finger exercises on your instrument, and a discussion of general health, posture, and relaxation relating to the entire body for music playing.
Instructor: Bill Olson
All Levels
Sound amplification is often needed for a concert or a dance, maybe to play for a large audience, or a noisy one (like at a dance). Or maybe for ensemble playing, with instruments that project differently (A mountain dulcimer tuba ensemble comes to mind.) There’s SO MUCH gear out there. New, used, big, small expensive, cheap…yikes. Where do you begin and what do you really need? We’ll try to dispel some myths and point you in the right direction.
Instructor: Karen St. Clair
Have you ever felt an overwhelming feeling of fear when you’re about to walk out on stage? Come to this class and learn how you can shift that fear to excitement as you share your gifts with the audience. EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Tapping is a research-based stress relieving technique that is simple to learn and profoundly beneficial for musicians. You’ll take away a very powerful tool that you can use in your everyday life.
Instructor: Robert Miller
This workshop will cover how to care for your instrument and what you should and should not do, as well as when to see a luthier. Subjects for discussion will include (but not be limited to): basic instrument set up, types of strings, changing strings, keeping your bridge straight, re-setting your fallen bridge, when to re-hair your bowREAD MORE
Format: Panel Discussion
Designed to broaden the knowledge of traditional music by exploring subjects associated with the traditions. Learn about the history and context of the music you are learning and playing. Be introduced to some of the most important tradition-bearers of the music, and their favored tunes and techniques.
Format: Panel Discussion
How do you host a house concert? What is proper session etiquette? How do you market an event? Learn the answers to these and other questions you might have about “going public.”
Instructor: Sally Sommers Smith
Format: Lecture
This talk will focus on the evolution of Cape Breton fiddle music, and will also highlight two important themes in this musical tradition: the making of music within families, and the strong connection between the music and community-based dancing traditions.
Format: Panel Discussion
Are you frightened to perform in public? Do you get tense from being on stage? Do you jumble your words when talking into a microphone? Issues like these will be demystified by our experienced staff.
Format: Panel Discussion
Ever show a friend a new tune? You just became a teacher if you did. It’s not difficult, and our instructors will help demystify the art of teaching traditional music.
Format: Panel Discussion
How do you organize and teach a group with various abilities and experience? How are arrangements developed? How to keep all skill levels interested? How to work with beginners and integrate them into the group.
Format: Panel Discussion
What are the nuts and bolts of making a living with music? Learn how some successful players have been doing it for years. Get some questions answered on getting started like “How much do we charge” or “ How do we market the gig”. Learn some tips for negotiating a performance or event.
