Workshops

Please return October 2010 to view the details of the 2010 Festival. Below are some of the 2009 Festival workshops

A Capella Singing Exciting a cappella harmonies and rhythms from everywhere accessible to everyone, so come along and travel the world by song with Beat Lehmann, the 2009 Woodford Folk Festival Choir conductor! This is a two hour workshop in the superb acoustics of the Village Chapel – Sat 9 am

Balkan Dance With over 25 years experience, and performances in 21 countries, Mara and Llew Kiek bring a wealth of experience to bear in teaching you the basics of Balkan Dance. Enjoy the wonderful timber dancing surface in the heritage listed Community Hall – Sun 10am

Balkan Voice, Harmony and Vocal Health Mara and Llew Kiek give expert tuition on the production of the Bulgarian singing voice and an insight into the general workings of the vocal mechanism and vocal health for all singers – Sat 11 am @ Village Chapel

Bodhran Basics Trouble in the Kitchen band member, Ben Stepheson, will cover the basics of bodhran playing. Even if you can’t play a note, you can still join in with the stimulating rhythms of the Celts! – Sun 12pm @ CWA Hall

DADGAD Guitar Learn the skills of accompaniment for Celtic music with one of Australia’s best Irish Guitarists, Kate Burke from Trouble in the Kitchen – Sat 2pm @ CWA Hall

Flamenco Dance with the Saruzu Quartet Experience the fiery passion of flamenco in this Introduction to Flamenco Dance, with renowned Brisbane tutor and professional dancer, Simone Pope, together with the Saruzu Quartet. This inspiring workshop is brought to you with assistance from Festivals Australia. – Sat 10am @ Community Hall

Home Brew Skills Discover the history of Homebrew in Australia, and learn how easy it can be to brew your own beer at home. Learn some of the pitfalls to watch for, and garner some clues on how to improve the taste of your favourite drop, with help from some dedicated brewers of our region – Sat 1 pm in the friendly ambience of Nick’s Restaurant

Introduction to Flamenco Guitar Get an introduction to Flamenco guitar and rhythms from professional Brisbane guitarist, Andrew Veivers. Andrew performs with the Saruzu Quartet, and Jaleos Flamenco, and will inspire you with his passion for music. This workshop is brought to you with assistance from Festivals Australia – Sun 2pm @ CWA Hall

Making Gourd instruments Penelope Swales from Totally Gourdgeous will discuss the techniques she used to make all of the band’s instruments, and talk about simple gourd instruments you can make at home. Participants will get to see the band’s instruments close up and handle them – Sun 11 am @ CWA Hall

Six String Bliss Explore with Josh Notting from Swoon, chords, keys, scales, techniques and rhythms on the guitar and how to manipulate these to add colour and texture to your playing – Sun 1pm @ CWA Hall

Slide Guitar (Level 2-4) with Kristina Olsen Come learn the seductive sound of the slide guitar! Long time exponent Kristina Olsen will focus mostly on blues and mostly on slide played in open tunings. Slide guitar is a great class to take when your left hand fingers are sore, no calluses needed! You don’t need any previous experience playing slide, but you do need fundamental knowledge of the guitar – Sun 11am @ Community Hall

Songwriting for Guitar and Voice Join Josh and Angie from Swoon, as this fresh young duo share their thoughts and techniques on a number of aspects of songwriting including dynamics, lyrics and arrangements – Sat 3pm @ CWA Hall

Standup Comedy Alan Glover introduces standup comedy using his 26 years of international comedy experience. The safest way to get started in standup. (over a hundred people turned up for this workshop at the National Folk Festival) – Sun 10am @ Pavillion Stage

Traditional Irish Dance Learn the steps of Traditional Irish dance. Hosted by long time Tablelands dance tutor, Joanie Byrnes. Please wear a hard sole shoe and comfortable outfit – Sat 4pm @ CWA Hall

Vocal Exploration with Mal Webb Around the world and into your gob, vocal explorer and songwriter Mal Webb takes you on a lip to lung global vocal journey through the physics, physiology and phrivolity of all the sounds a face can make. Beatbox and beyond. – Sat 3pm @ Quincan Cottage