Our classes for Juniors run from 6.15 - 7.15pm on Mondays & Wednesdays as follows:

Monday

• Guitar

Wednesday

• Fiddle

Classes for adults run from 7.30 - 9.30pm (except Tuesday) as follows:

Monday

Various levels depending on demand

• Accordion
• Bodhran
• Cello
• Guitar
• Harmonica
• Mandolin
• Tenor Banjo
• Ukulele
• Whistle

Tuesday

Intermediate & above (7 - 9pm)

• Mixed Instrument

Wednesday

Absolute Beginner - Advanced

• Fiddle
• Gàidhlig song

Slow sessions are held from 7.00 - 7.30pm on Mondays and Wednesdays for players of all instruments and abilities to join in. Everyone welcome.

Please Note: this is not the very slow session.

Absolute Beginners: Lynsey Tait G16

This class is for people who have never played the fiddle before. You will be taught how to hold the fiddle and the bow and learn to play some simple tunes by ear. Everything will be explained assuming no prior knowledge.

Beginners: Finlay Allison G18

This class is for those who have already completed the Absolute Beginners class and/or those who have played a little before. You should know how to hold the fiddle and bow and be able to play a couple of simple tunes at a slow pace. This class will work on simple tunes with an emphasis on creating good tone, tuning and confident playing.

Improving Beginners: Daniel Thorpe 1/32 and Gillian Frame 1/31

This class is for those who have completed the two previous standards and have moved to being able to play a few tunes with reasonable confidence at a medium pace. This class will continue to work on simple tunes with an emphasis on creating good tone, tuning and fluency of playing. You may also be introduced to some basic bowing and simple ornamentation.

Intermediate 1: Simon Moran 2/19 and Ruairidh MacMillan 2/20

This class is for those able to learn simple tunes comfortably by ear and play them fluently with simple bowing and good tuning. This class will work on tunes in a wider variety of tune types and keys. You will look at bowing and ornamentation in more depth.

Intermediate 2: Fiona Cuthill 1/33 and Tricia Mullan 1/12

This class is for those who feel comfortable with the previous classes and can play a wide range of tunes with confidence, in tune and with fluent bowing style. The class will assist in developing a traditional style of playing, increasing knowledge of ornamentation and repertoire. You will learn a variety of tune types and look at some of the more difficult key signatures.

Advanced: Sandy Forbes 2/18

This level is for students who have a wide knowledge of techniques and repertoire specific to Scottish traditional style. You should be able to learn easily by ear and have some reading ability. This class will focus on advanced tunes from the solo fiddling repertoire and will assume good technical knowledge.

Technique - Douglas Lawrence 2/21

For those of standard Intermediate 2 and above. Students should ensure they have a good basic knowledge of Scottish fiddling techniques and some music reading ability before joining this class. Work is based around tunes but with emphasis on different techniques within tunes rather than building a repertoire.

PLEASE NOTE

It is not expected that students will automatically move up a class level each year/term. Students should remain in the same class until they feel ready to move up to the next level. Speak to either your own tutor or a senior tutor for advice on which level would suit you best.

Slow Session

Each week a slow session runs from 7:00 until 7:30 when classes start. This is open to players of all levels to join in or just listen. The session is lead by a tutor who will play tunes at a slow pace several times so people can join in with it or try out chords and harmonies. This is very informal and tunes will not be ‘taught’ but even if you don’t know the tune you can have a go at joining in. If you attend the session regularly and hearing the same tunes frequently you may find it becomes easier to pick them up by ear. Tunes played will be from the general traditional music and GFW repertoire but you are welcome to start any tune or suggest a tune for the tutor to play.