Transatlantic workshop takes off for Caithness fiddler
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A transatlantic Zoom workshop has taken off for Caithness fiddler Karen Steven in a bid to promote her new book overseas.
Reviews for the two-hour online tuition hosted by North West Scottish Fiddlers in Seattle, Washington, have been very positive with requests made for another session.
In an attempt to promote her book – Karen Steven's New Scottish Fiddle Tunes – the well-known local fiddler contacted the Seattle group to see if it would be interested in a workshop for its members and guests.
"A fantastic 53 fiddlers ranging in ability, including fiddle teachers, attended my two-hour Zoom fiddle workshop, on September 20, where I taught some tunes from my new book," Karen said.
"As well as teaching the melodies by ear, I also focused on style, bowings and ornamentation techniques. Feedback from the fiddlers who joined from Seattle, Los Angeles, and Oregon, as well as from other US regions and the UK, was very encouraging."
There was no set fee for attending the workshop, with participants invited to "tip" the tutor. Anyone paying $25 for the online session also received a copy of Karen's book.
The book includes a number of tunes written during lockdown, and, although the musician has lived in Aberdeen for the past eight years, the publication has a strong Caithness connection.
All those taking part in the workshop also received access to MP4 movie files containing a recap of the session, audio recordings of all tunes taught, revision notes relating to the detail of style and techniques taught and printed versions of the music.
Links were also provided to the musicians SoundCloud page and website with access to all tunes from the book and practical demonstrations of style tips.
Karen explained: "I began with a brief introduction for fiddlers, saying that I find it important in a workshop that players get to play as much as possible.
"I mentioned briefly, my music and dance background and how my style has been influenced by highland dancing, Cape Breton, Canada, step dance and the main players who have inspired me – Alasdair Fraser, Buddy MacMaster, Jerry Holland, Aly Bain and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh.
"I quickly made sure that everyone was in tune, and did some warm up exercises to help prevent aches and pains, and any stiffness in the longer term."
The participants then learnt how to play two of the fiddler's own pieces – the two-part march, Mr and Mrs Allan of Drumossie and the Strathspey, Matty's Appeal.
"I discussed discipline and how, the longer we spend on learning a tune, the more it is likely to stick in our minds," Karen said.
"After teaching the whole tune, I reminded players of the detail of bowings – how much bow to use, which parts of the bow and the effects of using the different parts of the bow, including the influences in my playing from the bagpipes, Highland dance, Cape Breton and what makes a tune sound Scottish."
Karen added: "Hopefully, there will be future opportunities to bring these workshops to other groups."
The organiser of the workshop in Seattle, Marcia Thumma, told Karen: "I think a lot of folks would be very happy to see you come back, including myself – you did a terrific job, and you'd be welcome back.
"You are a truly fine player and teacher. Your attention to detail regarding ornaments reminds me of David Greenberg's approach."
Numerous messages of thanks were received after the online session with one participant stating "I absolutely love this workshop" while another said "thank you Karen for the gift of your talents".
