Category Archives: News

FluteFling Summer Term details

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Flute players at the Flute Fling workshops

Flute players at the FluteFling workshops. (c) Ros Gasson

It’s shaping up to be a busy and exciting term. The second FluteFling Scottish Flute Day takes place on 9th of May, with workshops, sessions, a talk and concerts also taking place.

More is also being planned, so do make sure you don’t miss out on one of the flute events of the year.

Regular FluteFling classes also resume this week on Thursday 23rd April, with 5 fortnightly classes for two groups, taking us into the end of June.

Do come along and explore different techniques and expand on your repertoire of music from Scotland, Ireland and beyond. Open to wooden and metal Boehm system flutes, whistles and low whistles. Full details on the Diary and Booking pages.

There is additional good news about our regular venue of St James’s Church Halls in Portobello as the situation remains unchanged for this term at least.

Photo of FluteFling workshop particpants: (c) Ros Gasson

FluteFling Scottish flute day 2015

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Tickets are now on sale for the second Scottish Flute Day as Kenny Hadden, Sharon Creasey and myself return to Portobello in Edinburgh on Saturday May 9th following last year’s successful event.

A day of workshops and tunes focusing on Scottish traditional music on the flute, plus some sessions, a chance to meet other like-minded souls and other related events.

All details can be found on this page, which is continually being updated. Tickets can be found at the Tradfest website.

 

 

Flute and whistle workshops in Callendar

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I’m just putting together material for this weekend’s Fèis Fhoirt Adult flute and whistle workshops, which will take place 24-25 October in Callendar.

There are two single day-long workshops and there are still some spaces available in both:

  • Saturday 24 Oct: improver/ lower intermediate whistle. Low whistles are welcome to the whistle workshop.
  • Sunday 25 Oct: upper intermediate/ advanced flute. Boehm system (silver) flutes are welcome to the flute workshop, as well as the keyed or unkeyed wooden flutes that are more commonly associated with traditional music.

Both workshops will include a mix of repertoire and technique for the respective instruments. I will aim to cover a few bases, including some different tune types and probably repertoire from both Scotland and Ireland.

There are a number of other workshops also taking place, including Complete Beginners Whistle, led by Chris Ferrie. A tutors’ concert is planned and I expect some informal music sessions too.

All details, including booking, can be found on the Fèis Fhoirt web site.

More reels and October workshops

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For the next couple of weeks both Flute and Whistle classes are looking at a pair of Irish single reels with Scottish origins: The Glentown Reel and The Boyne Hunt. For most, these will be new tunes, but for everyone there will be a chance to explore some more advanced techniques with them.

I have written on The Glentown Reel previously on The Flow Music Workshops web site and also The Boyne Hunt, originally entitled The Perthshire Hunt.

With a number of people being away, it’s good to remember that it is possible to catch up on a missed class by attending one of the other ones. There is no problem with this but if you let me know that you intend to do this, I can make sure that your needs are met within the class.

Fèis Fhoirt Adult flute and whistle workshops 24-25 October

I will be leading two day-long workshops in Callendar this October as part of Fèis Fhoirt.

  • Saturday 24 Oct: improver/ lower intermediate whistle.
  • Sunday 25 Oct: upper intermediate/ advanced flute

Both workshops will include a mix of repertoire and technique for the respective instruments. Low whistles are welcome to the whistle workshop. Boehm system (silver) flutes are welcome to the flute workshop, as well as keyed or unkeyed wooden flutes that are associated with traditional music.

There are a number of other workshops also taking place, including Complete Beginners Whistle, led by Chris Ferrie.

All details, including booking, can be found on the Fèis Fhoirt web site.

Callander is situated at the edge of the Trossachs National Park and is particularly beautiful in the Autumn when the leaves turn. There is accommodation and the town is a good base for exploring the area.

Photo of Callander by Keith Yahl, some rights reserved.

Flute and whistle classes in Edinburgh this Autumn

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FluteFling classes will resume on Thursday September 4th and run into early December. There will be two groups once again, running alternate weeks for a total of seven classes each.

I have found description of classes and experience levels in traditional music settings to be limiting as people learn and acquire skills at different rates and in different circumstances. For simplification I have opted to rename them in order to show an approximate sense of progression:

  • Flute and whistle 1: for complete beginners and those with less than 1-2 years experience.
  • Flute and whistle 2: for those with about 2-3 years experience
  • Flute and whistle 3: for those with about 3-4 years experience or more.

The regular Thursday night classes will be for Flute and whistle 2 and 3 only, following on from previous years.

I am delighted to say that Flute and whistle 1 will be organised and run by the multi-talented and inspiring Amble Skuse, who works and teaches in the Edinburgh area and with Horsecross Arts in Perth. An experienced teacher in many settings, I am looking forward to liaising with Amble in this new partnership.

Update: unfortunately the Flute and whistle 1 class does not have sufficient numbers to run at the moment. If interested, please contact Amble and a new session will be organised when it will be possible to go ahead.

Photo of flutes and whistles (c) Gordon Turnbull