February Gathering Recap
We continued experimenting with seating arrangements - this time having fiddles / winds facing accordions (of which there were many) guitars and percussion - the goal being to all hear each other better. This arrangement mostly seemed to work, but we’ll continue to fine-tune it. We played through about two-thirds of the concert program, not drilling down too deeply, but making detailed notes on what to work on.
Click here to see the rehearsal notes.
Alistair MacDonald and Karen Steven
After our tea break, we welcomed two Scottish musicians from Ontario. Karen Steven had contacted us two days earlier to see if she and Alastair MacDonald could stop in. We enthusiastically said Yes!
Karen, on fiddle, and Alastair, on accordion, graciously turned our jam session into a fun workshop. Karen taught us an original strathspey, Matty’s Appeal, totally by ear, while Alastair went over chords and comping for guitars, accordions and other rhythmic instruments. It was a lively hour with two very talented musicians. What’s more, Karen followed up with a custom video, and provided the music for the tunes she taught (see below).
We look forward to having them back for a proper workshop next fall.
Enjoy a visit to Karen’s website, where you’ll find more information and resources.
Karen sent the following in an email after the workshop:
“Regarding what tunes to teach, Alastair left that entirely up to my own choice. I decided to teach a strathspey that I composed, 'Matty's Appeal', as I find that this is an opportunity to focus on lots of Scottish music techniques, too. I teach 'by ear' but also give out the sheet music and notes on my techniques, to help musicians afterwards when practising and revising. My strength is in teaching melody, style and techniques, while Alastair's expertise is in his knowledge of theory, chords and harmony. It was a great combination, I think, as I am so used to teaching by myself, but also with just fiddlers in the class. We noticed there was quite a diverse mix of instruments so it enabled both Alastair and myself to deliver the teaching, even in the one space. I think it allows one half of the group to focus on the learning, while the other half can listen and hopefully learn passively for a bit, surrounded by the sound of the other instruments, but at the same time, allowing them to soak up the sound of the tune being repeated.
“We had just over one hour of teaching and I feel that the group coped tremendously. We even managed to make a little time towards the end to link the techniques to existing tunes in the NHSMC repertoire. So when practising individually at home, or in the group setting, players can focus on the techniques without the additional pressure of having to remember brand new melody. This will help in making the music have the Scottishness.”