Ok, after 20 something years of playing I think I’d like to make some real headway into my playing. Looking for someone who can meet with me individually (online) and help me move from kind of intermediate to more advanced. Stylistically, I tend to enjoy the more laidback Mike Rafferty, Jack Coen type playing over the super fast, ornaments everywhere approach. Can anyone recommend an instructor?
Thanks,
Marco
Shannon Heaton gives on line lessons. Excellent player.
My instructor has been Christina Dolphin in Dublin whose excellence I can testify about. Web site is:
https://christinadolphin.com/
Another person recommended Shannon Heaton who I have heard play and I am sure is excellent as well. In brief: "Christina Dolphin … has performed and taught music in Ireland and further afield for over a decade. She holds several All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil honours, and has travelled extensively, playing music in Ireland, the UK, the US, Canada, Europe, and … Asia. In 2015, she moved to New York for three years, where she taught tin whistle at the Irish Arts Center and performed as a substitute winds specialist on Broadway’s Come From Away." If you choose her say "Brian sent me."
Christina Dolphin - I second that! Great tutor to advance your playing
Lots of people listed here:
https://www.irishflutestore.com/pages/instructors
and here:
https://irishtradmusic.org/teach-ir/
At the first link it’s possible to sort by location, if you ever want to continue in person after things are safe again… someday.
Some more options for you:
Mike Walsh (https://www.michaelwalshmusic.com/teaching-workshops). (Sheffield)
Sarah Markey (https://sarahmarkey.com/) (Glasgow)
Tom Oakes (http://www.tomoakesmusic.co.uk/education.html) (Edinburgh)
Claire Mann (http://www.clairemann.com/traditional-fiddle-flute-whistle-tuition.asp) (Newton Stewart, southwest Scotland)
Sean Gavin is also an outstanding flute instructor who does Zoom/Skype lessons. Example of his playing here https://journalofmusic.com/news/listen-back-sean-gavins-winning-set-sean-o-riada-competition
He’s currently located in Detroit, MI. No web site that I know of but I can forward an email address if interested.
Thanks to all for the suggestions! Plenty to work with here.
I strongly recommend Turlach Boylan, in the Kansas City area. He is a master player and a wonderful teacher. You will get a different approach, with Turlach.
At 20 years of playing I suspect you’re more than intermediate! I’m curious at what stage people recommend to start with a tutor. I’m working my way through Clare McKenna’s tin whistle book—I started with whistle and have been going through it on flute now for about six months, interspersed with the Common Tunes sessions from the Minnesota Centre for Irish Music. I have Fintan Valleley’s book for next and Conol O Grada’s book on order. But I worry about unknowingly starting bad habits now that I may have to undo when I do start working with a teacher. And of the people listed here, do you have to have a minimum level of proficiency before they’ll take you on, or would they work with beginners too?
Thanks,
Andy
"I’m curious at what stage people recommend to start with a tutor."
I’m not sure there’s a threshold there, until you get to the point where you’re ready to tutor other people yourself. Every step along the way could use some outside perspective.
I’m completely self taught up to this point, using printed material like the tutors from Conal O’Grada, Fintan Vallely and Grey Larsen, along with a few months’ subscription to OAIM for canned videos. But I’m sure I could have used some personal instruction at different points all along the way since I started on flute around seven years ago. Unfortunately there were no Irish trad flute teachers in my area, and even the Boehm/Classical teachers were a day trip away and I never managed to get in touch with one.
Right now I still consider myself an advancing beginner, aiming for "journeyman" status where I’m more comfortable with extended playing. I mainly need help with breathing at this point, so I’m considering some Zoom or Skype lessons. I haven’t been set up for that until now, but lately I’ve been helping my fiddler S.O. get the gear together for attending a remote, Zoom-based Scottish/Cape Breton fiddle workshop in a few weeks. Once that’s over, I’ll start looking for some online instruction. Maybe not regular lessons, but just to get a little feedback on a few areas I know I need to work on.
Thanks, cb. I wondered about that myself—not starting regular lessons so much as getting some pointers on specific aspects of playing then continuing on my self-taught journey. We’ll see.
Not surprisingly, many tutors prefer regular lessons over an extended period, both as a way to develop continuity in their teaching input and a steady income. However, several of the current Zoom events offer one-off private lessons with outstanding teacher/performers (e.g, the Pipers Gathering in March with the aforementioned Sean Gavin, or the recent Shepardstown Pipers Weekend) where you might focus on specific issues where you have concern as well as getting an assessment of possible issues that you, as a player, might not be aware of.
Shannon Heaton was mention early in this thread as an excellent player (which she is). She was my teacher for a few years when we lived in the same town. She’s an outstanding teacher - warm, funny, wise, patient. You can check her out at shannonheatonmusic.com.