| Monthly zoom meeting - 17 May |
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What are we doing this month?
2:00-3:00 - Section 1 -New tunes
Our very own fiddler and cellist extraordinaire, Rachel Bugeja, will teach an awesome tune.
-Rainbow Socks by Canadian fiddler Oliver Schroer.
Have a *feeling* this will quickly become a new fiddle club favourite. Rachel's tunes tend to...
3:00-3:30 - Section 2- Jam Session A
We had some workshops with the incredible Patsy Reid via Zoom recently, and she taught us some awesome tunes. I've woven them into some sets for 'Jam Session A' with some classic MSFC and Scottish tunes. The Patsy tunes are up in the Members' music library already (these are also accessible to online subscribers), and we'll add in dots for the full sets to make it easier to prep and play along on the day.
-Lees of Luncarty / Mary Gray / Hughie Shorty (Jack to lead - will prerecord piano)
-Who will dandle my Mary / Drummond Castle / Mill of Tynet (Jack)
-Sandy is my Darling / Brenda Stubbert / High Road to Linton (Jack)
Afternoon tea (20 mins)
Feedback from last month was that a break in the middle would be good to give our brains and fingers a chance to rest and recuperate, so it's back in the middle! What will you be baking for afternoon tea? Go all out, show us on your camera what you've got and make us all jealous with your delicious creations!
3:50 - 4:30, Section 3-- Break Out Rooms
Here, like last month, we're going to split up into smaller groups. You've got the choice between a few different options. More details to come, and perhaps more options:
- Young people jam session and hang
- Ornaments and bowing tricks for jigs and reels with Jack - How to make your playing sound more fiddle-y
- One other option, possible, tba.
4:30-5:00 - Section 4 -- Jam Session B
- McKechnie's Farewell / Inisheer - (David and Mary)
- Teenager go nuts / Jack's Jigs / Fiddles and feet -(Sirocha)
- Applecart / reel de roberval - (Katy/Tess/Lulu)
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| Thursday and Friday peer led sessions |
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I haven't missed an opportunity to join these weekly get togethers.
The relaxed tune sharing with Roz on a Thursday evening has provided members to play something or lead a tune that you wouldn't normally do at a MSFC meeting. Roz has created a new section in the music library to put all of our shared tunes. You can search under "Tune Share Club"
Other sessions led by fellow fiddle club members
Sirocha Bruckard taught us the tunes she wrote on the Homecoming Album - Farewell to Fife / The River Tay - I just love these tunes. She also played for us The Fields of Brooklyn and promises to come back and teach some time.
Jack Wilsons Canada session - They posted 10 sets for us to review! So very advanced playing and was also fun to just watch. Thanks Jack, it was an eye opener
Cathy Blake and Bill Martin slow session - I enjoyed this immensly not just because the tunes were within my reach but it was such a gorgeous selection of music - Thanks to you both, it was a delightful evening
So if you have missed out on the above there are more to come so join up or just pop in for a bit of a look. We would love to see you
Cheers
Maggie
Coming up
Thursday 14th May Tune club (Roz)
Friday 15 May fast session (Alex)
* Details on these to follow soon..
Friday 22.May Special Guests (Judy Turner and Neil)
These are going to be great, and is also a nice chance to chat with everyone between tunes...
Future attractions..
Mid week masterclass, and lessons from special guests, Jack will announce soon...
See you soon, one way or another!
Jack, Katy and Bill.
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| Album review - something different .... take a look |
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“The Lost Words: Spell Songs”
This 2019 album was designed as a musical companion piece to The Lost Words: A Spell Book, a book by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris. The book responds to the removal of everyday nature words from a widely used children’s dictionary as a metaphor for the loss of the natural world from modern society.
The album uses the book’s poetry with the help of eight significant Scottish musicians - Karine Polwart, Julie Fowlis, Kris Drever, Rachel Newton, Beth Porter, Seckou Keita, Jim Molyneux and Kerry Andrew.
It is full of beautiful complex layered arrangements, nature driven poetry and songs, and nature sounds. My personal favourite is The Snow Hare, which is a haunting song sung in unison by Karine Polwart and Julie Fowlis. Acorn performed by Rachel Newton is also a complete stunner. This album is perfect for a rainy day, a bushwalk or just an escape from lockdown reality.
Cheers
Hannah
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| Online Scottish Fiddle jam sessions and workshops with the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club. |
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If you're hungry for some tunes, there's a great online session run by Katie McNally and Neil Perlman from our comrades at the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club. Great tunes, some classics and some more obscure ones, at a reasonable tempo. Check it out if you're keen to play a few iso tunes.These take place on the 1st and 3rd Wendesdays of each month.
Sessions run live on Facebook at 9am our time, BUT the vids stay up for hours after so you could easily join in that evening - https://www.facebook.com/groups/www.bsfc.org
The Boston Scottish Fiddle Club offer a great value online subscription, and they're hosting some workshops with amazing Scottish fiddlers in the upcoming weeks and months including Bruce McGregor, Jenna Reid, Maura Shawn Scanlin, Mairi Rankin , Judi Nicolson, Anna Massie and Jenna Moynihan.
Might also be worth including the link to join the Boston Scottish Fiddlers:
http://www.bsfc.org/about-us/how-to-join/
Special Discounted “Social Distancing” Memberships - Valid to end of August 2020
Youth 25 & under USD $15.00 (+1.50)
Individual USD $25.00 (+1.50)
Family USD $40.00 (+1.50)
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| Patsy Reid - what did we miss .... |
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It was a privilege and a pleasure to have a lesson with Patsy Reid. She made it very non threatening with her warm manner. She puts a lot of thought into her teaching, including her impressive setup for online teaching. We explored Yester House and strathspeys in general, because I never feel confident playing them. She provided an alternate notation to better reflect the timing as well as some ideas about strathspeys in general and the different styles. We also focussed on bowing, including getting my fingers working and the whys of bowing. The hour went by very quickly and productively, leaving me with plenty of food for thought as well as things to practice.
Maybe you think you don’t play well enough for visiting tutors to spend an hour teaching you. Or what can a single lesson teach? But I found both Margaret and Patsy so encouraging and accepting and able to provide ideas I have been able to put into practice straightaway. As my last violin lesson was when I was 12, a one to one lesson was definitely daunting, but the reality was both informative and enjoyable.
Thanks for the opportunity, MSFC!
Mary Perry
Feedback from the zoom workshop with Patsy Reid
Here is some feedback on the workshops so far:
- "Wow, those camera angles! Is it wrong to say her online method might be even better than learning in-person....?! Great tips and I loved how she's documented all the ornamentation so we can go back and remember it later. Let's have more Patsy!"
- "Patsy was awesome - so interesting to listen to her technique and terminology - even for a non-fiddler!"
- " It was was really good, particularly the bowing"
- "Absolutely LOVED it. Got so much out of it in terms of ornamentation and the way she broke things down. Also, as I said before, seriously impressed with her tech set up."
- "Fantastic work. Good to see the detail in the playing. Certainly just as good if not better than in person"
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