Running workshops

Subject: Running workshops
From: Diva
Date: 09 May 08 - 05:40 AM

I ran my first workshop last weekend on traditional singing. Scarey....but folk seemed to enjoy it and the jannie (caretaker) had to throw us out cos we were still nattering. I wondered if you lot had any hints and tips...just incase I ever do it again

Subject: RE: Running workshops
From: GUEST,Vic at work
Date: 09 May 08 - 08:18 AM

Did a harmony workshop at a festival once. Underwear changeing time until we got them singing. Couldn't stop them! So as much singing by them as you can get.

Best of luck if you do it again.

Subject: RE: Running workshops
From: Mr Red
Date: 09 May 08 - 08:34 AM

Like minds, likeable discussion. It doesn't always work. I remember a songwriting workshop where the appointee turned up before time, saw two people and walked away saying no-one wanted the thing. I found that person, reported a healthy queue and after an hour he grudgingly turned-up. His opening gambit was "You can't teach songwriting". Clearly wrong on two counts, 1) you can teach anything, 2) it was a workshop not a masterclass. The attendees contributed in lieu of the appointee's efforts, but he concurred or not with opinions and contributed eventually.
His divorce was about that time. And a Job he didn't like.

I like the guy still, and a damn good songwriter when he was writing.

The moral is - let the attendees say something and it runs itself.

Subject: RE: Running workshops
From: Leadfingers
Date: 09 May 08 - 08:56 AM

I still do the odd (Sometimes VERY Odd) whistle workshop ! You really DO need to get the attendees DOING something , NOT just talk at them and show off your technique !!

Subject: RE: Running workshops
From: Diva
Date: 09 May 08 - 03:31 PM

Yep thats what I tried to do.....started with basic intro..who are you? where from? and fav song. It was entiltled "The trick is to keep breathing"..quote from Janice Galloway. Ridiculous as I'm just after a nasty cold and could breathe to save myself

We had a nice blethr about the learning of songs, what attracts you to a song....I kept asking them questions and explainig to them some of the stupid things i'd done while singing over 30 years. But best of all was the wonderful Sylvia Barnes who has had far more experience than me and is a far bettr singer and was happy to be my resource for the hour and a half.

Subject: RE: Running workshops
From: the button
Date: 09 May 08 - 03:48 PM

I attended a good 'un with Mally a few years back -- where he (just about) successfully introduced a dyed-in-the-wool push-puller to the black art of playing the melodeon across the rows. Any man prepared to sit in a room with 10-15 melodeons going with varying degrees of skill has to be a saint, I reckon.

Subject: RE: Running workshops
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 08 - 02:26 PM

Workshops require follow-up and continuity. A one-shot deal may act as an incentive but a learning situation requires consistent times met with a teacher.

The most important aspect of a workshop is to make it a class that meets consistently.

Subject: RE: Running workshops
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 10 May 08 - 03:04 PM

The best guitar workshop I ever went to, was run by Ken Nicol at Fylde a few years ago.

I sort of agree -its nice to have an active component for the students. But that day changed my guitar playing forever - just Ken showing us some of the places we could take guitar playing. Stuff that never occurred to me before.

This year as I'm playing at Fylde, I have volunteered to do a workshop - on a farly narrow subject - ragtime guitar in the key of C - making a start. i really hope I'm not insulting people by choosing such a narrow subject. I did this because I wanted to have an active component in the seminar. I don't think I can be fascinating like Ken was - just talking about different tunings and less obvious ways of playing them.

I guess you have to work to your strengths as a teacher!

Subject: RE: Running workshops
From: the button
Date: 10 May 08 - 03:10 PM

A one-off workshop can change the way you think about your instrument & its possibilities, WLD says. I've never had a lesson on any of my instruments (some would say it shows), but I imagine -- and clearly I could be wrong -- that it's hard not to become a clone of your teacher. Some of the things I've heard about Noel Hill's concertina schools (and the fierce devotion of some of his pupils to "the system") would tend to confirm this.

A truly great teacher can teach you to attain a higher level than their own -- whether its in school or out.

Subject: RE: Running workshops
From: Leadfingers
Date: 10 May 08 - 04:05 PM

A 'One Off' workshop as at a Festival is great for passing on tips for Easy Ways to do certain things !

Subject: RE: Running workshops
From: Kiss Me Slow Slap Me Quick
Date: 10 May 08 - 04:09 PM

I enjoyed seeing and hearing Sylvia Barnes at last week's Girvan Fest. I am listening to her, Colour Of Amber CD right now. Sorry I missed your workshop, Diva, I was likely up at the Charity shops. I am never sure what one off workshops hope to doo. I allways like to hear others ideas and songs. Although I am often ammazed and dissapointed at how little background and history many singers know about their material. Which often leads to strange interpretations and some hiarious mondegreens. So mabe this is one point to be brought up in workshops - go deeper into a song than the CD you pinched it from. Diva,I don't know if you made Moniaive this week end, work scuppered my plans, but I'm sure you'll have made yourself heard.

Subject: RE: Running workshops
From: The Sandman
Date: 10 May 08 - 05:23 PM

well, I have run quite a few concertina workshops.
a lot depends on how many people there are present,and what standard they are at.
Ithink it is better to hve clear categories ,Beginners,intermediate,Advanced.
or have specific subjects Song accompaniment:Irish ornamentation,PartPlaying etc.
when there are only few people,the clients normally benefits,as you can really get to grips with the problems they may be having.
I very much enjoy doing workshops.http://www.dickmiles.com

Subject: RE: Running workshops
From: reggie miles
Date: 10 May 08 - 06:57 PM

This year will be my 6th musical saw workshop. The last three years it has been very well attended. I'm very pleased that my workshop has begun to attract so many folks, 50-100 per session in the last few years.

The room offered by the folks at the Folklife Festival has simply been too small in previous years to comfortably contain those who have come. There weren't enough chairs. So, folks had to sit on the floor. This point has really bothered me. I have been to other workshops that have been offered much larger rooms and there were far fewer in numbers attending them.

After years of requesting a more adequate space, this year, I have received what I hope is a larger room. I've not been there yet to look it over. So, I don't really know for certain if it will actually be a bigger and better space or not. I am hoping for the best.

I don't think that just because a workshop represents something beyond the mainstream folk arts that it should be considered less than anything in the mainstream and therefore relegated with less space. Of course, who knew how well that my workshop would catch on with folks? I was stunned when nearly 100 folks were seated in front of me three years ago for 80 minutes all wanting to learn the secrets of playing music with a hand saw.

It is not difficult to learn the basics of how to play the saw. Like every other musical pursuit it does require practice to gain a mastery of the concept. I offer those basics in my workshop.

In the course of my presentation I also demonstrate at least one song for everyone to observe my technique. This is how I learned how to play the saw. It was passed down to me from another individual player. I observed him playing for just a few seconds.

This method of learning to play the saw (one person showing another) is how the idea of playing music with a saw has been handed down to new players for many generations and one that I feel is important to continue to offer in my workshop. While I'm certain that I could make a video or DVD of the class, I feel compelled to keep this folk tradition alive.

I also offer the background of where this folk art form is supposed to have come from. It's a folk art and as such, no one really knows for certain where the idea originated but some have tried to trace its origins.

I include my tips, that I've learned from more than 15 years of hacking away at the art form. Then, after my initial presentation, I offer to answer any questions that folks might have regarding the subject. I think that in my 15+ years I've been 'sharp' enough to have answered them all. So, this part is actually not difficult for me to 'handle'.

In the last half, I turn the workshop into a hands-on session. I give fair warning that I don't have insurance and that many body parts lost in the process don't grow back. Oddly, after listening to me lecture on the subject for about 40 minutes, I find that folks are still awake and eager to jump right into this portion of the workshop.

I bring saws and bows that participants can use to play, while I offer specific suggestions as I observe their approach. This is something that I never had when I was learning how to play and my progress was greatly hindered because I had no one to offer help in this regard.

Knowing that not everyone learns the same way, this year I will also offer folks a pamphlet that I'm preparing of my tips. It will feature both photos and text. It will contain info about where folks can purchase musical saws or which regular saws are good candidates for playing and where folks can purchase supplies etc. In short, it will contain my workshop in a more concise form. Many, but not all, of my bad puns will be excluded from this offering.

So, in my workshop I cover the subject on a variety of levels. Visual, verbal, hands-on, and text methods will all be used to ensure that those attending will be able to get the best possible method to suit their personal style of learning the basics of how to play the saw. I also provide almost two decades of my personal tips and offer each person the opportunity to contact me further with any further questions they might have. In a one hour class one can hardly learn what a more in depth and advanced examination of the concepts will reveal. That, only time and practice can provide.

Sawwwwwwwwwwwwwww ya later, Reg vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv