All of the workshops will take place in classrooms in Wolvercote Primary School. Paul, Mel and Dave will rotate to different teaching rooms, so that each group: Improvers, Intermediate and Accomplished; have one workshop module taught by each of the tutors. A workshop module is approximately 3 hours including a break. You will need your DG melodeon with you for the workshops.
Want to play melodeon but not sure how to start, or perhaps you’ve got your first melodeon but aren’t getting anywhere with it? These accessible workshops follow a proven step-by-step tutor system to get you off to a flying start. We’ll be using an intuitive tab system to find our way around the melodeon and no music reading ability is necessary. We’ll also focus on developing foundations of good technique, equipping you with essential tools to support your continued progress.
Over three sessions, and using a range of different tunes, we’ll build upon firm foundations to help you take your playing to the next level. We’ll use Saturday morning and afternoon to focus on first the right hand, and then the left hand ends of the instrument in depth, and put into practice what we’ve learned on Sunday by bringing both hands together, and focussing on the bit in the middle (the bellows!). We’ll focus on a range of pitfalls often encountered by those at beginner level and look at some coping mechanisms and exercises to overcome these.
On Saturday morning we’ll focus entirely on the right hand of your melodeon, and playing the tune. We’ll use one or two tunes to focus in on style and technique, and share some top tips about how to move confidently around your keyboard without losing your place!
Saturday afternoon will be all about the bass! We’ll look at simple rhythms, what options we have available, and how you can start to move beyond a basic left hand rhythm. Using a very simple tune (so our right hand doesn’t get too much of our attention!) we’ll work on taking your left hand skills to the next level.
On Sunday morning we’ll bring yesterday’s learning together and work through any issues that arise with air usage, running out of air and other bellows related challenges.
Paul: Making Simple Tunes Sound Great - A look at the best "bang for your buck" ways to improve your sound - a basic technique check-up with some useful exercises and some left and right hand tricks that can easily be used to soup up any simple tune.
Dave: Extending your repertoire, building on style and techniques - Introducing a new Polska rhythm and having fun with it!
Mel: Tunes on the Outside Row - Tunes in D major and E minor. Often I find students struggle to play tunes in these keys, so let's take some time to break it down and explore the outside row and row-crossing!
Paul: Bourrées and what they can bring to your English tune playing - These lively French tunes will be accompanied entirely with block chords (no oom-pahs!). We'll also look at ideas that can be carried over from this style of playing for use in English and other tunes.
Dave: Left hand alternatives to standard bass techniques; - Tired of just playing Um-pa Um-pa? Let’s mix it up a bit… why not use all four fingers in the left hand while we’re at it?!
Mel: Harmony Hacks - Learn the musical theory for an easy, logical approach to creating interesting harmony and accompaniment lines.
Paul: Vocal style harmony on the box - We'll be using songs to look at playing vocal style harmony on the melodeon, filling out the right hand by playing two or three lines together and also playing melody on the basses. No singing required!
Dave: Groove and rhythms for tune arrangements - I love the way the beat falls with Swedish Polka’s. I’ve got a banger of a tune which I picked up while touring Scandinavia. Let’s experiment and make fun grooves and arrangements on the melodeon.
Mel: Bellows, Breathing, Dynamics and Flow - How to get your music to sing and dance! Making music that swings along nicely is all about contrast. Inject some life into your playing exploring these different techniques using some gorgeous tunes I've picked up or made along the way.
The Beginners and Absolute Beginners workshops will run independently of this rotation for the whole weekend. As experienced tutor, Vicky and Helena will tailor the workshops to meet the requirements of the groups. If you need to borrow a DG melodeon for the duration of the workshop please indicate on the booking form. These melodeons will be on loan from Acorn Instruments, who are sponsoring the event.
Notation & recordings of the tunes will be provided to the delegates at registration, however if the tutors feel that it will be beneficial for delegates to have this information before the event we will send it out by email as soon as available. This is entirely at the tutors discretion.
To ensure that you select the appropriate workshop for your playing ability please could you match your playing ability to the word models below, and indicate this on the booking form.