The Festival Guests will be conducting "Educational and Entertaining" workshops

Fergal Scahill: Bodhran : Sun 11am Tui Lodge Hall

All-Ireland Bodhran Champion Fergal Scahill will teach beginners the fundamentals of good technique (strokes, grip,  hand position) for backing jigs, reels, and songs.  For intermediate and advanced players Fergal will cover left hand positioning, tonal control, more advanced rhythms, and the broad range of sounds to be used.

Fergal Scahill: Fiddle : Sat 11am Tui Kitchen

All-Ireland Fiddle Champion Fergal Scahill will teach intermediate and advanced players Irish ornamentation and phrasing. Fergal will cover bowhand ornaments (scratch triplets, slurs, dynamics, doublestops, shuffle patterns) and fingering techniques (cut notes, rolls, hammer-ons, slides, vibrato). He will then dissect a tune to show how it all fits into the rhythmic structure.

Michael Martin: Guitar: Sat 10am Tui Lodge
Hall
Join Micky for an introductory class in DADGAD guitar. He will cover basic chord structures, finger exercises, and scales, plus rhythms for jigs and reels. For those who back songs and always wanted to add some lead guitar to their strumming, Micky will demonstrate a few simple tricks to get you started. (anyone without a guitar is welcome to join in the exercises)

Sean McCarthy: Whistle : Sun 10am Tui Kitchen

7x All-Ireland Uilleann Pipes Champion Sean McCarthy will teach beginners scales (including half-holing), tonguing, and ornamentation (taps, cuts, rolls, slides). Internmediate players will be shown more advanced ornamentation (triplets, triple rolls, crans, finger vibrato, double taps) in addition to stylistic variations. Take note that whistle is often recommended by other music teachers (fiddle etc) to help you start phrasing a tune without wrestling with your technical limitations on the instrument, and to understand how the phrasing can tie into breathing.

Joel Fafard: Guitar: Sun 10am Tui Lodge Hall

jump start into finger style guitar in dadgad tuning. It would be aimed at anyone who could play through a basic chord progression up to intermediate.

Mark Raffills: Poetry: Sun 10am Training Centre

Nikki Berry: Vocal: Sat 10am Training Centre

Reclaim Your Voice – For people who think they can’t sing, or are too shy to sing in public!

This workshop is for all those people who mime in the back row, who have been labelled tone deaf, or just feel really shy about singing. In two hours, we aren’t going to transform you into fabulous singers, but you will have a chance to learn about singing in tune and get comfortable using your voice, and be ready to join the Festival Choir! Confident singers are not allowed!

Nikki Berry: Festival Choir: Sat and Sun 1pm Training Centre
This year, our Festival Choir will be led by Nikki Berry, who is hoping to entice all those who identify as ‘non-singers’ to join those of us who love to sing, as we explore four part harmony from around the world, and create a joyful, exuberant, funky sound. Nikki, along with Gary Easterbrook will be leading a workshop for the ‘non –singers’ the day before the choir begins.

Delgirl: From the kitchen to a Tui and how to keep your soul intact: Sun 11am Training Centre

Delgirl formed ten years ago and played their first gig to friends in the kitchen, where they still enjoy practising. After drifting around for a few years playing gigs here and there they took a break to decide what they wanted to do. In 2005 they got themselves a manager, worked out a five year plan and developed a strategy that led them beyond the Kilmog to their debut album "two, maybe three, days ride" winning the Tui Folk Album of the Year 2008 and their second album "Porchlight" charting at no. 11 in the IMNZ charts. In this workshop the band will talk about management, distribution, promotion, funding, the music industry and other aspects of the way their band works.

Wires & Wood: Bluegrass: Sun 11am Tui Kitchen

How to arrange and perform bluegrass music

Denny Stanway: the Confidence to Compere
: Sat 10am Main Hall
Well I can't guarantee you confidence but I can share some observations and tips to help make MCing enjoyable and even fun!! And theres opportunities to put some of those into practise as I help match compares to concerts for this years festival and beyond we hope! Absolutely no previous experience required...the greener you are the better!!!! ;

Lori-Ellen Grant:Release and Relax with Massage and Acupressure: Sat 3pm Training Centre


Learn some basic acupressure points and massage techniques to relieve and release your neck & shoulders. This will be catered to the participants, just like a good piece of music – some improvisation! Be prepared to relax, be refreshed and to have learnt something useful. And of course, these tools are guaranteed to make you friends – everyone loves a good massage!

Peter Mayes: Dance: Fri 6-15pm

Three left feet for would be dancers (beginners dance
)
I do not like to go into a completely new situation with a fixed programme as there are so many variables and I like to be flexible in what I do to suit the numbers, abilities and mix of genders. The main message will be that dances will include English Dances with the names of places with some American Squares and longways I have all my books with me so several hundred to choose from

Dance Workshops with Peter Mayes: Sat and Sun 11am main Hall