Noel Hill"s Concertina Classes

[Mary Ann Robison]

I am brand new to the Concertina and was interested in any feed-back from anyone who may have attended any of Noel Hill's week long teaching seminars? He offers one here in Ohio and I'm quite interested.Thank you in advance for any responses. Mary Ann

[Alan Miller]

Mary Ann: I have been to two of Noel's workshops (2004 & 2005 in the Catskills) and recommend that you attend at your first opportunity. I attended my first workshop when I had "played" for approximately one-half year. Noel breaks his classes down to separate beginners, intermediates, and advanced players. He will be demanding and give you personal attention but he will also be considerate. You will be frustrated (or, at least I was) but you will learn a lot, and have a huge amount to work on when you get home.

 

Most importantly, he was quite insistent on using his fingering system. He used to consider the system proprietary, but I think it is a fairly common accross the rows system in use today, and I think that Noel has become a bit more flexible is using alternate fingering. Fortuantely a very considerate member of this group prepared me for what I would have to do, and that helped.

 

I could not attend his workshop this year because of family conflicts. I do intend to attend Noel's workshop again next year, and will also attend the Irish Arst Week in the Catskills which has great teachers but might be a little less instructive than Noel for beginners. Good Luck, Alan

[CaryK]

I am brand new to the Concertina and was interested in any feed-back from anyone who may have attended any of Noel Hill's week long teaching seminars? He offers one here in Ohio and I'm quite interested.Thank you in advance for any responses. Mary Ann

 

 

Mary Ann,

I was fortunate to be able to attend Noel's class in Ohio this year. It was my first time. The venue at the Jesuit retreat house is very comfortable and the other students were great to get to know. Lots of different playing levels and backgrounds were present. This was the first time I had seen a concertina played in person (other than watching myself in a mirror).

 

I had been playing for about 15 months prior to attending. Noel is a wonderful teacher, very,very patient with the beginners' group. His fingering techniques made a lot of sense to me, but required me to unlearn quite a bit. It wasn't till the end of the week that I began to "catch on." If your learning "along the row" fingering, which most of the tutor books use, it is useful at first, though perhaps ultimately limiting for some. I would recommend becoming as familiar as possible with your note locations on your concertina though. The greater your abillity to "read the dots" the faster your initial progress in the class. Ultimately, the goal though is to learn to play by ear with minimal use of the notation other than as a guide to get started with a new tune. But that skill can take many years to develop well.

 

Hope you can make it to one of his classes. I hope to get back next year, but won't know for awhile yet if I can.

[Ken_Coles]

Good comments so far. I attended NHICS three times, but it's faster for me to refer you to the Learning page. Read Paul's account there for an amusing story about our original digs nearly a decade ago.

 

[repetitive mode]Everyone can finds lots interesting to read on the static, "old" side of Concertina.net. And at the concertina FAQ, and ....[/repetitive mode]. Have fun.

 

Ken

[Mark Stayton]

Mary Ann,

 

I am a five-year veteran of Noel's Ohio school (2001-2005) and wholeheartedly recommend his seminars. It's a focused, intent environment, and you're brain will be full by the end of the week, but you'll come away with more than you imagined and have plenty to work on until the next Noel Hill school!

 

Medical issues kept me from attending this year, but he's giving a workshop 2-1/2 hours from me in early December, and you can bet I'll be there!

 

Jack Mullen wrote a report on the 2003 Ohio school from the beginner's perspective; it's on the Noel Hill website at: http://www.noelhill.com/nhics_2003_oh_mullen.html

[dwinterfield]

Ad me to the list with another yes vote. I was in the Catskills this year as an absolute beginner. It worked out fine. Go for it.