Monday:
Fast-paced session with Màiri Chaimbeul & Neil Pearlman
Relaxed session with Laurel Martin & Dan Faiella

Wednesday:
Fast-paced session with Ray Lambert & Keith Murphy
Relaxed session with Anastasia DesRoches & Susan MacLean

Friday:
Fast-paced session with Laurel Martin & Matt Heaton
Relaxed session with Hanz Araki, Charles Whitney & Dan Faiella

Monday: “Songs of Ireland and Beyond” with Liz Hanley
Let us sing!  Bring your favorite song(s) to share, either solo or with a chorus that we can all join in on!  Any instruments are welcome to accompany songs too, if you like.

Wednesday: “Harmony Singing” with Armand Aromin
Tired of only ever singing melody and wistfully looking at your fellow singers, wishing you too could vocalize your inner second fiddle?  It’s not as difficult as you might think, and it might surprise you to know that most of my harmonies are just recycled remixes of a handful of phrases.  We’ll go over the basics, teach some useful and reusable riffs, how to disguise laziness for tasteful voice crossings, and more!

Friday: “Acadia ‘Pub’ Sing” with Keith Murphy
Come and share a song you like to sing that has a good (and maybe not too hard) chorus. Sea songs, drinking songs, songs of love and community. Anything goes as long as it has a chorus. Keith will be ready to lead with songs of his own but this is a chance for you to try a song of yours. It’s preferred that you have spent a little time with your song and are not relying on looking at your phone while you sing!  Feel free to bring a beverage of choice to ease your vocal cords. (Please note: all of our workshops are family friendly and we ask that everyone keeps this “pub” alcohol-free!)

Dance & Play: Cape Breton Steps and Tunes  (Sabra MacGillivray & Susan MacLean)
Monday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
Dancers and musicians will collaborate in an exploration of Cape Breton tunes and dance steps.  A thoughtfully selected medley of tunes will be taught by Susan MacLean, and a choreography will be created by Sabra MacGillivray to compliment these tunes.  For the first part of the workshop, musicians and dancers will separate into different rooms to learn your part of the piece, and then both groups will join together to try out the whole thing together in collaboration!  Through this process, you will learn how the musician and dancer play off one another and how they complement each other.  Come discover how to play with “lift” and how to dance the tunes with your feet.

Breaking out of the Box – Hip Rhythms for Trad Backing  (Matt Heaton)
Monday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
Want to get a bit more style in your strum?  Some groove in your guitar?  Get busy on your bouzouki?  Matt Heaton will lead this workshop on NON-traditional backing styles and rhythms – very UN-session ready.  Syncopation, borrowing from other styles, percussive muting and more – all the hip & trendy tools you need for your next trad fusion project!

Acadian Step Dance for All  (Anastasia DesRoches)
Monday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
In this workshop, we’ll explore basic dance steps from the Acadian tradition on Prince Edward Island, including “la danse assise” (sitting down dance) and the first steps most dancers learn.  There will be a little storytelling and history to explain why dancing is integral to Acadian culture.  No dance experience necessary; everyone is welcome!

Playing for Dancers  (Frank Ferrel)
Monday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
Playing for dancers can mean playing for solo step dancers, New England contras, or Cape Breton / Maritime quadrilles or “square sets.”  Each style relies on distinct rhythms and patterns, medleys, or specific melodies.  In this workshop, we’ll briefly cover each style, with an emphasis on crafting the music to fit the dance.

Songs Are People Too!  (Hanz Araki)
Tuesday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
Singing is a very different beast in Ireland.  It is traditionally unaccompanied, can happen at the drop of a hat, at the pub or at home.  Most incredibly, people actually listen!  It can be an intimidating prospect, and virtually impossible to initiate in North America where it simply isn’t built into session culture.  So, let’s get together and sing some songs.  Let’s talk about how we learn them, how we transmit them, and why it’s important.  Let’s talk a bit about why singing in sessions is so aberrant in America – and let’s also de-stigmatize being “just a singer.”

Scottish Waulking Melodies  (Màiri Chaimbeul)
Tuesday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
Waulking songs make up a huge body of the songs of Gaelic Scotland, and were sung by women as they worked to shrink the tweed.  Màiri will show you some examples from archival and contemporary recordings of Gaelic waulking songs, teach one or two of these beautiful and unusual rhythmic melodies by ear, and work through an accompanying part that emphasizes and supports the melodic phrasing.

Building Ease & Fluency with Learning by Ear  (Anastasia DesRoches)
Tuesday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
Come learn how to hone your ear so you can pick up your favorite trad tunes without ever seeing a note!  We’ll unveil some nifty tricks to boost your memorization skills, making those elusive tunes stick like a catchy jingle in a commercial.  But that’s not all — we’re also on a mission to train our brains to recognize patterns in music, turning what seems like a complex web of notes into a familiar path we can walk blindfolded.  Whether you’re a seasoned reader who struggles with memorization or still figuring out which way round a treble clef goes, this workshop is your backstage pass to becoming the listener you’ve always wanted to be.  Come for the fun, stay for the skills, and leave with your ears sharper than ever.

Cape Breton Piano from the Ground Up  (Susan MacLean)
Tuesday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
Yes, even you can chord — let’s give it a try!  You’ll have access to some great takeaways in this session, where Susan will show you how to identify the key and basic chord progression of a tune when playing by ear, how to build your own chord chart, and then — best of all — how to actually PLAY it using common chording patterns and popular trad rhythms from Cape Breton and beyond!  It all starts with finding the right timing and pulse to the music, while recognizing that there are also other beats to stress and embellish to help establish beautiful rhythms.  Come and dive in!

Bodhrán Exploration: Rhythms from the Dance to the Drum  (Sabra MacGillivray)
Tuesday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
This bodhrán class is designed for all levels.  Students will develop musicianship skills and dynamics using a variety of foundational techniques in jig and reel rhythms.  We will explore how Sabra’s perspective as a dancer can inform how we approach the bodhrán, how rhythms on the drum translate to the feet, and vice versa.  Please bring your own drum … if you don’t have one, a pizza box works too!

The Voice as an Instrument: How it Works and How to Take Care of It  (Liz Hanley)
Tuesday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
In this workshop we will talk about how the voice works and the different parts of the body (mouth, nasal cavity, throat, chest, head) that create various tonalities, timbres, volume control, articulation, ornamentation, and anything you could think of that an instrument can accomplish.  Through warmups, we will wake up these different areas and talk about how to protect our voices from damage in the process.  No previous experience as a singer or musician required — all you need is a voice!

Let’s Dance Some Sean-nós Jigs  (Kieran Jordan)
Tuesday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
In this energizing class, we will tap into our intuitive response to moving in 6/8 time.  Traditional Irish jigs have a distinctive swing and flow that invite us to improvise with ease and abandon!  Learn some of Kieran’s favorite grooves in a playful, less-is-more approach!

Fun with “Crooked” Tunes  (Keith Murphy)
Tuesday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
Learn a few great ‘crooked tunes’ from French Canada.  If you have never tried the asymmetrical phrasing of these tunes, this will be a great place to start.  But more advanced players will enjoy these tunes also.  The session will also include a short tutorial on foot percussion.

Keeping Your Fiddle Healthy  (Jacob Brillhart)
Tuesday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
This class will focus on what a player should look for to keep their violin healthy and happy.  Together, we will cover how to look for and identify common issues that could keep a violin from sounding its best or else cause damage to the instrument if not addressed.  We will also cover topics such as how to straighten your own bridge.  There will be plenty of time for questions and answers on anything related to violins or violin-making! 

Québécois Step Dance  (Pierre Chartrand)
Wednesday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
What is “gigue québécoise”?  Does it consist of following the rhythm with a strong accent?  Or dancing to crooked tunes, or even better, 3/2 tunes, mixed with crooked ones?  We’ll explore some Grondeuses (2/4 and 3/2) in the Eastern Québec style.  Come along for the ride and everything will become clear!

Cracking the Code: Traditional Irish Ornamentation  (Laurel Martin)
Wednesday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
Ornaments in traditional Irish dance tunes add detail, nuance, and rhythmic lift to the music.  They are among the techniques fiddle players use to give tunes their uniquely Irish flavor!  In this workshop, we’ll explore the mechanics of rolls, grace notes and triplets, and will unlock the secret of where they do (or do not) belong in a tune.

Accompanying Songs on a Melodic Instrument  (Liz Hanley)
Wednesday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
In this workshop, we will talk about the various roles a melodic instrument can take when arranging a song.  As a singer and fiddle player, Liz likes to explore how to accompany herself with her fiddle while singing.  We will also discuss various ways to support another singer and their song with a melodic instrument so the song really shines!  We’ll talk about some basic music theory, drones, rhythmic ideas, song arranging, and also when not to play.  Sometimes less is more.  All melodic instruments welcome!

GROOVE!  (Mari Black)
Wednesday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
It’s that “thing” we’re always trying to capture…the hallmark of great trad playing, and the word we use to describe the energy, the drive, the “magic” that makes this kind of music feel irresistible to anyone who hears it.  It may sound like magic when you hear it, but figuring out how to put it into your playing isn’t magic!  Let’s get into the nuts and bolts of GROOVE — what it really is, and how to use it to infuse your playing with the lift, energy, and sparkle that’s at the heart of all trad music.  Come explore concrete skills that will help you create the kind of sound to make your listeners forget their worries, tap their toes, and holler “WOO!” along with the tune!  ALL instruments welcome; melody and backers.

New Old Songs: Songwriting in a Trad Style  (Matt Heaton)
Wednesday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
Every songwriter wants to write something timeless.  In this workshop we’ll discuss what makes a song sound traditional by looking at some timeless ballads (both traditional and newly composed.) We’ll discuss the aspects of traditional songs that make them sound…well, traditional, and how to bring those tools to bear on your own writing.

Cape Breton Step Dance for All  (Neil Pearlman)
Wednesday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
Learn some fun steps for the three main dance tunes in the Cape Breton tradition — jigs, reels and strathspeys.  You’ll come away from this workshop with a deeper understanding of the rhythm behind the tunes, and with all the tools you need to jump into a square set the next time you visit the island.  No dance experience necessary; wear closed-toe shoes if possible.

The Music of Jean Carignan  (Frank Ferrel)
Wednesday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
A deep dive into the musical styling of one of Canada’s greatest violoneux, Jean Carignan.  Working on transcribed examples of his music taken from the seminal work of folklorist Carmelle Bégin, we’ll break down – note for note – Carignan’s interpretation of some classic fiddle tunes, to better understand what makes his music so unique, through his use of ornamentation and stunning bow work.

Tunes I Learned in Dingle  (Hanz Araki)
Wednesday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
I’ve been very fortunate to spend a lot of time in one of the world’s most perfect places: Dingle, Co. Kerry.  One of the best parts about West Kerry is that the polka is king.  So if you’ve always loved polkas — or maybe more importantly if you don’t — come inoculate yourself with a few of these humble yet infectious tunes.

The Resonant Guitar: Intro to Backing in DADGAD Tuning  (Dan Faiella)
Wednesday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
Favored for its resonant, unified sound, DADGAD tuning has become one of the most popular alternate tunings used in the accompaniment of traditional Celtic music.  This workshop will introduce guitarists of all experience levels to the basic concepts, chord shapes, and rhythm patterns used to back up tunes in DADGAD tuning.

Tune Arranging  (Màiri Chaimbeul)
Wednesday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
Màiri will lead you through a range of ways to develop and enhance your expression of traditional tunes.  We’ll work through ideas on structuring and building full arrangements, looking at how phrasing, groove, and chord choices can affect the way a set of tunes makes us feel.

Where the Songs Live: Finding & Collecting Beautiful Songs  (Liz Hanley)
Thursday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
“Those in power write the history, those who suffer write the song” — Frank Harte.
There are many noted collectors throughout Irish music history.  Liz will lead us through a chat about the collectors who influenced her repertoire, including Mick Moloney, Frank Harte, Francis Child and the Irish Traditional Music Archives.  Why do we collect songs?  How do we find songs?

The Humors of Madake  (Hanz Araki)
Thursday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
The shakuhachi does not historically appear in any music from any of the Celtic Nations whatsoever.  So what role does an instrument like the shakuhachi — a Japanese bamboo flute — play in the music of Ireland, Scotland, and so on?  None!  But that doesn’t mean it can’t.  Furthermore, the same can be said for any instrument across any genre.  To this end, let’s look at a beautiful 17th-century Irish tune called Eibhli Gheal Chiúin and Japanese folk song Hamabe no Uta written by Narita Tamezo in 1916.  These two tunes, separated by time and distance, share some surprising melodic similarities.

Harmonic Possibilities in Celtic Music  (Neil Pearlman)
Thursday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
If you find yourself stuck in a rut playing the same basic chords over and over with Irish, Scottish and other Celtic tunes, this class is for you!  The role of the accompanist in these genres is very open-ended and that can be daunting after you’ve learned the initial chord basics.  In this class we’ll look at a variety of strategies and techniques that can expand your musical “toolbox” and breathe new life into your favorite tunes.

Compose Your Own Traditional Tunes  (Frank Ferrel)
Thursday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
Having composed well over 400 fiddle tunes, Frank will explain traditional tune archetypes, and work with participants to craft their own brand new old time tunes, through a better understanding of the basic elements of tune crafting: melody, harmony, rhythm, and form.

The Lovely Goat: Getting to Know Your Bodhrán  (Matt Heaton)
Thursday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
Ever been curious about the bodhrán?  Bewildered by all the talk of different regional styles, stick holds, tuning systems, humidity and all the rest?  Matt Heaton breaks it all down in one afternoon! Open to both current and prospective bodhrán-owners. (Bring a pizza box if you don’t have a drum…it actually works great as a stand-in bodhrán.)

Lilting Jam  (Armand Aromin)
Thursday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
Hey, you!  Non-instrumentalist that probably has tunes buzzing through their head!  Don’t skip this ad just yet, because this is for you (along with anyone else who has a desire to vocalize tunes.) This class will be free of any instruments and actual lyrics, so just bring yourself and a willingness to lilt, scat, hum, whistle, and any other melodic expression that your face will make.  Plans to audition for Diddley Idol?  Join us!  Never done such a thing before?  Even better. Join us!

Dance & Play: Irish Set Dance  (Laurel Martin & Kieran Jordan)
Thursday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
In the Irish tradition, a “set dance” is both a tune and a dance — a musical composition with a specific set of solo steps designed to match.  Kieran will teach a solo set dance choreography in one room, while Laurel will teach the corresponding tune next door, with attention given to the form and tempo that is needed for accompanying dancers.  At the end of this class, all students will gather in the same space to bring the dance and music together!

Gaelic Airs & Ballads  (Màiri Chaimbeul)
Thursday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
Learn some beautiful old Scottish Gaelic song airs by ear, with ideas from Màiri on phrasing, ornamentation, and harmony to make it your own.  You’ll learn about the background of the tunes, and how the language impacts the rhythm of the melody.

Integrating Chords into Your Melodic Playing  (Dan Faiella)
Thursday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
Learn how to “accompany yourself” by weaving subtle chordal enhancements into your interpretations of traditional melodies.  We’ll select a tune and discuss ways to think about harmony, timing, texture in the context of melody playing, and how all these concepts can come together to help develop a personal take on a classic melody.

Body Percussion  (Armand Aromin)
Friday, Period 3 (1:15 – 2:30 p.m.)
Looking in the mirror, what do I see?  Very likely a real need for caffeine.  But also prime real estate for percussive possibilities of a corporeal persuasion!  Music can emanate from more than just our instruments, vocal cords, and feet; and what better way to include more of ourselves in the music than by engaging other parts of our body?

Music for Healing  (Anastasia DesRoches)
Friday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
We’ve all experienced loss and grief; in this workshop, we’ll explore the relationship between music and healing.  The workshop will be in the form of a healing circle.  Participants will be invited to share music if they choose.  It is a session where you can listen, play, or share a story.  A quiet time for reflection in a busy week!

French Bourrée on Three Beats  (Pierre Chartrand)
Friday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
The three-beat Bourrée can be found in Auvergne as well as in the plains of Berry and Limousin. The movements vary from region to region, but the basic step is basically the same.  We’ll start with this, and then go into more detail on certain Berrichonne figures, either in squares of two couples or in two lines. And if time permits, we’ll also try some Auvergne versions.

The Blank Canvas  (Vincent Crotty)
Friday, Period 4 (2:45 – 4:00 p.m.)
Come enjoy a live painting demonstration in which artist Vincent Crotty will explain how he translates the visual world onto canvas.  The subject will be a live musician.  Participants are welcome to ask questions and watch the process unfold.