November 11, 2023 Workshop Recap
Karen leads everyone in a warm up stretch
Molly Reay’s Dream and Sandy & Ethel MacDonald’s Golden Wedding March.
Karen Steven and Alastair MacDonald delivered a delightful, engaging workshop. Karen asked us to turn over our music and listen, learning by ear. She actually played quite differently from what was on the page, noting that the written music was effective as a guide, but it was more important to hear how a fiddler might be interpreting it at a given time.
First, we worked on Molly Reay’s, and she taught many nuances, particularly for the fiddles. The techniques she discussed are listed below.
Rall
Full use of Bow
Soften change of bow direction
Listen to the orchestra
Follow the leader
Arrangement
Open String Drone
Hammer-on
Pull-off
Octave leap
Hammer-on slurs
Irish Roll
4th Finger vs. Open String Double Grace note
Meanwhile, Alastair went around to the rhythm players, suggesting chords and harmonies. After learning the tune by ear, we put it together, first with simple chording, then with harmonies. The flutes were given a harmony line, guitar, bass and piano did chords, and fiddles and accordions played the melody. The result was pretty spectacular!
We then moved on to the march, written by Alastair. An upbeat D major tune, it had a definite Scottish flavor with its dottedness. We also learned it by ear and talked about march tempo (the swing of the kilts).
Karen stressed that listening is learning and played the tunes through for us, having us simply listen to get the feel of the tempo and rhythm. Both tunes should be added to next year’s concert music, as we all enjoyed both immensely.
After the tea break, Karen and Alastair jammed with us. It was an informative and fun afternoon.
Resources
The Notes for Molly Reay’s and Ethel McDonald’s
Molly Reay’s with Harmony Part
Molly Reay’s - narrated breakout
Listen to Molly Reay’s (audio)
Listen to Ethel and Sandy MacDonald’s Golden Wedding March (audio)
