Can I bring my partner/family?

The facilities for the camp at the lodge offer lovely accommodation and common areas that we will use for classes. Being within a confined location like this is conducive to an immersive learning experience.

However, the lodge has very few facilities available for entertaining non-participants, or common areas that don’t impact on classes. The lounge area is often available for reading or craft projects, but your peace may be interrupted at any time by a class spilling over into it, or a session on the piano.

A partner/family member who is happy to entertain themselves reading, knitting, going for bush walks or engaging in similar self-entertaining activities will most likely find the lodge relaxing.

A partner/family member who wants lots of social engagement, electronic or other diversion, will most likely be bored.

For these reasons, we ask that those who are not enrolled in classes be aged 16 or older.

I have no experience learning by ear.  Will I manage the classes?

In both fast and slow classes, tutors will break tunes down into sections, going over the phrases a number of times, indicating starting notes, and giving clues and cues about what to do next. In the slower class, the tutors will teach in shorter phrases, give more information and repeat phrases more times as needed.

There is no pressure from teachers or other participants to get everything right. Classes are not geared towards learning tunes for performance, only for enjoyment. We do expect that you know your instrument; the workshops aren’t for beginners.

Below are some sound files of the Kesh Jig being taught by ear. If you are able to pick up some of this tune, you should be able to learn tunes this way in the camp environment.

The Kesh Jig played slowly all the way through, with count in:

Part A played slowly, and then looped 4 times (so you can try it over and over):

Part B played slowly, and then looped for 4 repetitions:

At full speed, twice through: