Classes and Schedules
Cascadia Irish Music Week offers classes in the instruments listed below. Click on your instrument for an overview of the classes on offer and the instructors for each instrument. If you have questions about the classes please email Randal Bays.
Accordion Banjo & Mandolin Concertina Fiddle Flute Guitar Uilleann Pipes Tinwhistle Piano Accompaniment
Daily Classes
The daily schedule for Cascadia Irish Music Week will consist of:
Four 75-minute class sessions focusing on particular instruments and technique;
Most people leave a period open for practice, rest, etc. so don't feel you have to take a class during each session.
We will limit class size and require registration so sign-up early! Drop-ins are not allowed.
Tune learning sessions open to all instruments;
We will have a variety of special, one-day classes in Session 3, to be announced at camp (e.g. "Fiddle maintenance")
Song learning sessions; open to all.
Lecture/group discussions by members of the teaching staff.
Session 4 offers intro classes in concertina and set dancing, song learning, and tune learning, open to all.
We rent a limited number of concertinas for the intro class.
Evening Activities - Sessions, Concerts, Dancing
We want everyone to get to play in sessions as much as possible, so we offer lots of session possibilities:
GUIDED SESSIONS will be led by teaching staff.
Tempos will be slow to moderate
Repertoire will be chosen from our list of around 50 CIMW 2024 Guided Session Tunes.
We will post recordings of some of the tunes on the list
"FREE RANGE" SESSIONS will also be led by teaching staff but without constraints on tempos and repertoire.
OPEN SESSIONS: We'll have several spaces where spontaneous sessions can happen.
LISTENING SESSIONS: On some evenings we'll have "listening" sessions featuring only the teaching staff.
More about sessions at CIMW from Randal Bays, Artistic Director.
The Aural Tradition
The Irish musical tradition is an aural tradition, so we put a high priority on learning by ear, a developable skill that's important no matter what kind of music one plays. Some teachers may offer written music in their classes, but others will not. It's a good idea to bring an audio recording device. (Please note: No video recording is allowed in any classes. Audio recording allowed if the teacher permits it.)
Playing Levels
New for 2024, instead of labeling classes “Advanced” or “Intermediate”, all classes in the first three periods will be “Advanced/Intermediate”. This means that there are no beginner offerings except in the fourth period. To take part in the “Advanced/Intermediate” classes you should have basic competency on your instrument and know a fair number of Irish traditional tunes. If you're not sure if a class fits your level of playing, email Randal Bays.
We reserve the right to reassign students to specific classes in order to balance the number of students in each class. Dropping in on classes for which you're not registered is not OK. The exceptions are the "tune learning”, “set dancing” and “song learning” classes in Session 4, which are open to all students regardless of which instrument you play, also the "Special Classes" in Session 3, which will be announced at camp.
Schedules
Use the weekly schedule for an overview and the daily class schedule below when selecting your classes.
