Fiddling up a Scottish storm

The rollicking sounds of the Scottish fiddle filled the Hypatia creative precinct on Saturday 8 August, with the first of a series of monthly workshops targeted at children aged between eight and 14 years old, under the tutelage of Ockham Collective resident Emily Roughton.

“The focus of these group workshops is on fun and learning to play with a group of people”, says Roughton. “To learn to listen to each other and enjoy playing music together”.

Roughton has plenty of personal experience of the joys of playing as part of a group, having toured the UK with former band Fiddlelore as well as performing at various local festivals and conducting the Auckland Folk Festival Youth Orchestra.

During the workshops, scheduled for the second Saturday of each month, participants learn to play both traditional and modern fiddle tunes and are introduced to the techniques and ornamentation used in the Scottish fiddle. The only prerequisite for attendance is that the children should be comfortable in first position and be confident to try learning a tune by ear.

Click here to book for the next workshop.