Tuneworks

Join us in the Goldfinch for music workshops for all levels and skills!

There are sessions for beginners and improvers and we also offer some focusing on specific instruments. If you want to take your first steps to playing with others or just enjoy a session, Tuneworks is for you. Please download the Tunebook from the Tuneworks website – see the link below.

Please don’t forget to bring your own chair or stool! The timetable has been programmed with 15 minute gaps to allow for safe exit and entry so please adhere to this for the safety of yourself and others.

Introductory Session | Friday 15.30-16.45 with tunes from both the beginners and improvers books. A chance to meet the tutors and get into some early festival tunes. Beginners tunes will be at a speed to suit everyone with improvers tunes going a bit faster.

Improvers Session | Saturday 14.30-15.45 tunes from our improvers book. Features a good range of popular session tunes played at a relaxed speed for players with a bit of experience.

Beginners Session | Sunday 14.30-15.45 tunes from our beginners book. Played at a very steady speed.

Full Speed Session | Monday 14.30-15.45  playing tunes from the improvers session book, tends to be about “Ceilidh Speed”. A great chance to get some tunes in on the last day!

Tuneworks Tune Practice | Saturday and Sunday 19.00-19.45
Led by John Hinton with some help from the rest of the Tuneworks crew. A great chance to practice your way through tunes at a steady pace. Lots of reps and a chance to really get those tunes under your fingers!

Playing for Ceilidhs| Friday, Saturday and Sunday 18.00-18.45
If you haven’t attended this series of workshops before, it’s a great way to get playing with a big ceilidh band led by local legends This Way Up.

Welsh Tune Sessions | Saturday and Sunday 16.00-16.45
Since introducing these sessions in 2015, they have really gone from strength to strength. Our proximity to Wales means that there is a strong local community of traditional Welsh tune players. The taster and full session give you a chance to play some brilliant tunes in great company! Led by Charlotte Goodwin and Jem Hammond.

Irish Tune Sessions | Friday, Saturday and Sunday 20.00-23.00
Led by Vince Jordan and his family who are members of the Reel Note ceili band based in Birmingham. Vince is a widely respected piano accordion player and ambassador for Irish music, having been world president of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. The sessions are held in typically relaxed style and you will usually find many of the tuneworks tutors here!

Our instrument workshops generally come in threes and most are aimed at players with a bit of experience who might play the occasional session and would be comfortable in the Tuneworks improvers’ session. We do however have two sets of workshops aimed specifically at beginners on fiddle, and on flute and whistle. These would suit players who are perhaps in their first year of playing or are trying to get their first few tunes flowing.

We also have two one-off workshops specifically for rhythm players – Bodhran and DADGAD guitar for backing tunes.

Note: Please don’t be offended if the class is too advanced for you – we have lessons at different levels and the tutor will aim to teach at the right level for the class. Everyone has a slightly different opinion on what makes you a beginner/improver/advanced player, but the tutor is in charge! On flute/whistle and fiddle, you have the option to change between the two levels of classes.

Mandolin | Diana Buckle
Saturday, Sunday, Monday 08.30-09.15

Irish Fiddle | Karen Lacy-Roberts
Saturday, Sunday, Monday 09.30-10.15

Flute and Whistle | Mark Priestley
Saturday, Sunday, Monday 10.30-11.15

Beginners Fiddle | Kitty Greenwood
Saturday, Sunday, Monday 11.30-12.15

Piano Accordion | Ed Moseley
Saturday, Sunday, Monday 12.30-13.15

D/G Melodeon | George Garside (Sat,Sun), Mel Biggs (Mon)
Saturday, Sunday, Monday 13.30-14.15

Beginners Flute and Whistle | Amy Hardy
Friday, Saturday, Sunday 17.00-17.45

Bodhran | Steve Bentley
Friday 14.30-15.15

DADGAD Guitar for backing tunes | Izzy MacLachlan
Friday 19.00-19.45