This course is a great introduction to playing folk music, learning by ear and is open to players of all folk instruments.

The course is really sociable and good fun and often people on the course arrange to meet up in between sessions to play tunes together.

Over the six weeks we’ll learn six tunes  from the old time American and English repertoire.   We’ll work on phrasing, style, playing for dances, playing for sessions and musicality.

We’ll learn a tune a week and we’ll look at a different type of tune and how to play them. Over previous courses we’ve looked at reels, a jigs, slip jigs, hornpipes, polkas, old time tunes, waltz, step dancing tunes, a bouree and a 3/2 hornpipe.

The classes are open to players of any instrument capable of playing tunes in the keys of G and D. Teaching will be by ear, so no music reading is necessary.

The course will be taught by Nick Hart and Ed Hicks (some weeks both and other weeks individually).  Nick and Ed are both multi-instrumentalists so there’ll be moments for specialist advice on most types of instrument (squeeze boxes, strings, wind instruments etc.).