Jump to content

Swannanoa


CZ in AZ

Recommended Posts

Hi, I am considering going to Celtic Week at Swannanoa this summer, and Grainne Hambly is teaching anglo concertina. Has anyone gone and taken from her in the past, either at this camp or elsewhere. Can you tell me a bit about her teaching style, what it might be like, and if she is a good match for a beginner player. I have about 2 years of experience and can play up to 100 bpm comfortably on the tunes I know (for reference about what "beginner" means in my case. Does she tend to teach tunes or style and what is it like to take in a group setting?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I have not had the opportunity to take classes with Grainne, I have attended the Celtic Week at Swannanoa for several years and each has been an outstanding learning and musical experience. I also have concertina playing friends who have taken Grainne's class, and they have had nothing but good things to say about her class. You should also know that instructors are critiqued by the students and instructors receiving bad ratings aren't asked back. Grainne has been teaching concertina there for a number of years.

 

In addition to the daily 1-1/2hr +/- class sessions, there are lots of other playing and learning opportunities at Swannanoa. Each evening from 6-7PM, there is a slow jam session hosted by one of the instructors. The hosting instructors change each evening. These are great learning sessions with opportunities to play with other instruments and not just concertinas. For later in the evening, there are usually several sessions going on at different locations around the campus. Near the session tents, they have a beer tent and pizza is delivered each evening around 9 PM or so for those who need a little more sustenance. To say that someone has lots of playing, learning (and eating) opportunities at Swannanoa is still understating it. And to top it off, there is a dance -- normally on Thursday -- that features a number of the instructors and top students as the band. You can dance if you wish, or just enjoy listening to the music.

 

Hopefully you will get your specific questions answered, but I feel comfortable in telling you that you will have a great time if you go.

 

Regards,

 

Ross Schlabach

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I had a single workshop with Grainne (about 2 hours). I was a beginner at the time. I would highly recommend her as an instructor. She taught a couple of tunes in the time available. She would play the tune a few times slowly, then work through the tune phrase by phase. After the class was comfortable playing through the tune, she would go back over it indicating where to put appropriate ornaments, and how to play the ornaments. She included dynamics, octaves, rhythm, etc. Then she would lead the class in playing the tune complete with ornaments, etc. I never felt lost or over my head. Other more advanced players were also able to get lots of good tips on playing. She was very responsive to student questions and explained everything thouroughly. I can only imagine how much one could learn from her over the course of a week. It is an opportunity not to be missed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...