SJFAC Events and Workshops

Workshopping
by Dave Penny

The St. John’s Folk arts council hosted another successful and entertaining “Young Folk at the Hall” concert on February 22, 2004. The workshops that lead up to the concert give the performers a chance to arrange sets of songs and tunes. The purpose of these workshops, facilitated by seasoned musicians, is to give young musicians an opportunity to share their talents with other young musicians in an informal setting; to develop musical relationships among the young musicians; and primarily, to foster the idea that playing music in a "session" setting is an enjoyable and fulfilling activity. One of the things people noticed during the workshops this year was that there was some repetition of material. The stellar young players came up with different arrangements of these familiar tunes, but it was clear that people would appreciate learning new tunes and songs.

The premise of the Tune Repertoire Workshop was to teach eight lesser-known, relatively easy-to-learn tunes over four Sunday-afternoon sessions. In preparation, we made an instruction-style CD containing the eight tunes, each one recorded up-to-speed, and then slowly. Facilitators, Rob Brown, Christina, Stan Pickett, and myself recorded the CD in Chris Brookes' studio at Battery Radio. Musical notation and accordion tablature for the tunes was also prepared and handed out in the first class.

Seventeen people attended the workshops, with a range of ages, instruments, and skill levels. The focus of the workshop was on melody, not accompaniment, on instruments ranging from guitar to concertina.

Accomplished fiddle player and teacher, Christina Smith, hosted the first session, April 25th. She taught Kitty's Rambles, an old-favorite and seldom-played jig, and Mrs. Belle Fennelley's Cotillion Tune, a single jig she learned from Katie Belle Fennelley in Port Kirwin. Rob Brown, primarily a uillean piper and guitar player, hosted week 2 with his wife, flutist Michelle Brophy. They taught The Merry Blacksmith, a classic Irish reel, and Red Island Tune, a single jig named after Red Island in Placentia Bay. Rob recorded and taught the tunes on tin whistle. Stan Pickett's choices were Sally's Jig and Herb Reid's Tune, tunes once often played by accordion greats Minnie White and Herb Reid. I chose a couple more tunes from Minnie's repertoire, The MicMac Square Dance (I) and her version of Green Grow the Rushes-O.

Students were eager to learn and found the CD very helpful. A couple of the more experienced players learned all of the tunes from the CD prior to attending the latter sessions, so Stan Pickett, who taught the fourth week, was clever in having a back-up tune ready for those who had mastered the tunes before even showing up! In some cases, people were broken-up into groups, and other times they practiced alone while the instructor(s) went around assisting and answering questions. By the end of the last session, most people had mastered eight new tunes. Those who weren’t able to pick them up from the CD did most of their learning at the actual workshop sessions and found that the CD was good for practicing at home.

People who did not attend the workshop contacted Erin and Jeannie about getting a copy of the CD so that they could learn the tunes on their own. CD’s are available through the office at no cost. The SJFAC hopes to have these tunes on the website soon and, as space allows, to create an on-line library empire of Newfoundland tunes.

On May 15th, Greg and Ray Walsh of the Walsh family hosted a workshop called Traditional Music of Bay de Verde. A CD was recorded in preparation for this workshop as well and is also available from the SJFAC. The St. John's Folk Arts Council website may even provide access to the tunes for downloading directly from the site. With the success of the traditional tunes workshops, the SJFAC has decided to host a Song Repertoire Workshop in the fall of this year. You can check here for dates.

"Fools for the Banjo" - Banjo Workshop
by Rik Barron

It was great to see so many people come out to the Crow's Nest for the Fools for the Banjo workshop on April 1, 2004. I always enjoy hearing and being in the company of Neil Rosenberg and Mike Hanrahan; both are masters of their craft. Over the years, Neil has both presented and kept the bluegrass-style banjo alive in this end of the province. He has made many scholastic and musical contributions. His three-finger, five-string banjo versions of local tunes and songs, along with his original work were worth the price of admission. Mike works non-stop with the IRISH DESCENDANTS, and the time behind the microphone is evident in his approach and technical ability. He chose great tunes and allowed the workshop participants to see close-up how the Irish Tenor banjo should be played.

The participants at the workshop ranged from the very experienced to the absolute beginner and included a few non-players. A number of people brought their instruments but the evening wasn't set up for audience playing. It would be great to do a day-long workshop where people could go to the instructor of their choice and leave the workshop with a couple of new tunes and some new ideas about where to go with their playing.

I had just returned from Europe and a concert tour with Dave Panting. I normally tighten all the bits the airlines loosen when I come home but had forgotten to do so that afternoon; I know better, too, and am well-schooled in the art of managing those noises. Late in the workshop, a banjo repair question arose, and Neil said "Rik is your man for that." Needless to say, that was greeted with much laughter, as I had added all sorts of racket to the proceedings with my un-maintained banjo. After all the the unbanjo-like noises that had come out of my banjo that afternoon, even I was skeptical of Neil’s choice of technicians.

We all had a great time doing the workshop; it reminded me of the wondrous capacity of the instrument and of the people who play it. The evening included Bluegrass, Newfoundland, Irish and American tunes and songs played on the Tenor and five-string in a variety of styles, tunings and tempos. The banjo is often viewed through a narrow lens but an event like this can broaden that scope immensely; you may not like “this,” but you like “that.” If you're lucky, like me, you like all the styles.