Get off on the right key … with our musical workshops

This year’s festival programme boasts 14 free workshops, including dance taster sessions, introductory sessions to learn new instruments and jamming sessions for more experienced musicians. Here is an overview of the music related workshops.

More information, including times, dates and venues will be published soon….

Folk Workshop

Learn to play some traditional tunes with Scottish fiddler Claire King. This class isn’t just for beginners – experienced fiddlers are welcome to come along and join in! Fiddles, accordions, whistles, flutes, guitars, djembe drummers etc. all welcome.

Ukelele Workshop

This workshop, led by Gary Kelly, is aimed at beginners. The session will will teach the basic chords, building up from the 2^nd chord to something a bit complicated.

Accordion Workshop

Andrew Rother’s workshop provides an opportunity for experienced piano accordion players to play together as a group. Participants will arrange folk music tunes into different parts with melody, rhythms, and harmonies and divide up the group to cover each part. These different strands will then come together when everyone plays. Broadly aimed at adult players, but the age range is “12 years plus”, as long as participants can play the accordion to at least a basic standard and are able to read music.

Sound Sequencing Workshop

Ever considered using computers making music? Perhaps you are a budding Beethoven or an unsigned Skrillex. This beginners workshop will give you an opportunity to explore using modern computer based software or an iMac workstation equipped with music keyboard and logic 9 software. This will give you a basic overview of how to explore the creative side through MIDI and Audio.

Drumming Workshop

Come along and join Tim Scarbough’s drum circle, in which people of all ages, abilities and experience improvise together. This session is about making music in the moment using hand drums and a range of hand-held percussion instruments. This workshop has been designed so that people can start at their own level, gradually progressing through activities which enable them to build confidence and complexity.

Drum Clinic Workshop

Led by drummer Jim ArnoldThe idea of this workshop is to have an event with demos, battles, jams with other musicians (bass players) all to show the foundations of drumming and getting together in a band scenario and starting to play music with the intention to spark young people’s interest off for drumming and live music generally.

Fancy strutting your stuff at one of our dance workshops?