Weekend Intensives are a great opportunity
for remote students to get in-person instruction in the company of a
small group of players looking to take their playing to the next level,
and have some fun in the process!
We've selected the weekend of November 8-10, 2024,
which coincides with the 30th Annual Ennis Tradfest, so there will be
lots of additional fun to be had in the form of special concerts, album
launches, céilís, and loads of sessions.
The Mando Weekend Intensive includes:
* 8 or 9 group classes (75-90 minutes each) over two and a half days
* A 30-minute private lesson for each participant
* Lunch on Saturday and Sunday, coffee, tea, and snacks are included!
* Price: $300
Classes
will start Friday afternoon, followed by a full day of instruction on
Saturday, and a shorter day on Sunday, ending in the mid-afternoon for
those who need to travel that day.
Classes focus on
understanding and developing techniques for playing the many forms of
Irish dance music on the mandolin - jigs, reels, slip jigs, hop jigs,
polkas, slides, hornpipes, waltzes and barn dances. Recordings and
transcriptions of the tunes will be provided well in advance so that we
can focus on advanced techniques rather than on tune-learning.
Develop the necessary skills for playing Irish music on the mandolin...
We work on both picking and fingering techniques to express the
distinctive rhythmic forms, deliver the pulse of the music, and improve
tone production and sustain on our instruments. We'll highlight the
unique things that the mandolin brings to the music.
Explore phrasing, ornamentation and variation...
We focus on musicality, doing some listening as well, developing a
tool-kit approach for giving life and lift to the tunes you learn,
learning how to take them from a series of notes into joyful, gratifying
expression in Irish music!
Enrollment is limited to 9 participants - intermediate level and above. Email me (mfibish@gmail.com) if you're interested in attending.