Hobbit House Sessions
Cape Breton-style Teaching Sessions
• Build CB tune repertoire
• Learn and apply CB style elements
• Explore CB accompaniment (esp. basslines)
WHEN:
First Sunday of each month, in-person & on Zoom, at 11am-1pm Pacific.
= 12-2pm Mountain
= 1-3pm Central
= 2-4pm Eastern
= 3-5pm Atlantic
= 7-9pm UK & Scotland
= 8-10pm Continental Europe
COST:
• Included with Patreon subscription at $10+ tiers.
• Otherwise US$10/Cdn$13 (payment options). You can pay afterwards if you're not sure you will attend.
• The Review Tutorial videos are also available from my Patreon at the $15+ tiers, or $5 per tutorial à la carte.
Next Meetings:
• Sunday April 6, 2025 (Zoom Link for Apr 6th session)
• Sunday Maya 4, 2025
Email me if you would like to be on the notification list for future sessions or for the in-person address.
April 2025
Teaching Tunes (strathspey & reel in G major):
Stumpie strathspey (trad)-The Highland Plaid reel (trad) PDF
Big Set on G:
Miss Mariane Oliphant air-Stumpie strathpsey-The Highland Plaid reel-Gin I Had a Bonny Lassie reel-Paresis reel-Lord MacDonald’s reel-Jenny’s Dream hornpipe PDF (3 pages)
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
March 2025
Teaching Tunes (strathspey & reel in A major/mixolydian):
Keep the Country Bonny Lassie strathspey-Ann MacQuarrie’s Reel PDF (1 page)
Original settings of Keep the Country Bonny Lassie PDF (1 page)
Big Set on A:
Trip to Mabou Ridge march-Keep the Country Bonny Lassie strathspey-Calum Crubach strathspey-Muileann Dubh reel-Ann MacQuarrie’s Reel PDF (2 pages)
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
February 2025
Live sessions will resume in March 2025
January 2025
Strathspey & Reel in E-dor:
Live sessions will resume in March 2025
December 2024
Teaching Tunes (march-strathspey-reel in E dorian):
Grand Étang march-The Brig O’ Potarch strathspey-Mains of Gartly reel PDF (1 page)
The Big Set on E & G:
Grand Étang march-The Brig O’ Potarch strathspey-Bog An Lochan strathspey-Flora MacDonald reel-Prince Charlie reel-Mains of Gartly reel-Green Grow the Rushes reel-She Put Her Knee on the Old Man reel PDF (3 pages)
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
November 2024
Jig in A-dor:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle & piano
October 2024
2 Reels in D & E gapped/dorian/minor by Kate Dunlay:
Sara’s Sojourns / Dearcmhara — single-page PDF — two-page PDF with stories
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
September 2024
2 Reels in E-dor:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
August 2024
Strathspey and 2 Reels in E-dor and G:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
July 2024
Slow Air and Clog on F:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
June 2024
3 Reels on A:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
April 2024
Strathspey and 2 Reels on A:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
piano alone
March 2024
Strathspey and 2 Reels on C & Am:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
February 2024
Jigs on D:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
January 2024
This was a review session, and looked at these sets again:
• Compliments to Cameron Chisholm set
• Rodney’s Glory set
In the HH Summary video, I cover these techniques:
• Earth-and-air balance • Popped/percussive notes • Loop-into-treble bowing • Varied rhythm and slurring (for pairs of notes in a reel) • Cuttings • Drones • 4-note flourish (with rhythmic alteration) • Wild note • Back-string substitution • Transition from strathspey to reel (timing shift in footwork and body mechanics; tempo stays the same at moment of transition) • Twiddles: Pull-ins, Warbles, Flicks, Unison-flicks • Stubby-syncop combo • Drones.
…and a few Irish-style ideas for Rodney’s Glory hornpipe:
• Cross-beat slurring • Filling in the third (making a scalar triplet) • Sliding into a higher note (going up a scale) • Self-accompaniment (adding a second voice using barred notes and drones).
December 2023
Hornpipe, Strathspey, & Reel on A:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
November 2023
Strathspey & Reel on A:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
piano alone
October 2023
Jigs on F:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
piano alone
August 2023
Strathspey & Reel on G:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
piano alone
July 2023
Strathspey & 2 Reels on E:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
piano alone
June 2023
Strathspey & Reel on D:
TUNE-LEARNING:
WHOLE SET:
fiddle alone
fiddle & piano
piano alone