Building on the Essentials for Fiddle Players

This is a "next steps" course designed by Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith to build on the essential foundations of fiddle playing, and is designed to follow on from the Essential Fiddle Technique courses that Sam ran a number of times in 2024-5. The course will aim to build your instrumental confidence, so you leave with a plan, sense of purpose and lots of things to practice!

Instead of an introduction to the essential elements of making music, this course aims to take all aspects of your playing - rhythm, groove, intonation, fluency etc. - up a level, helping you to become the fiddle player you want to be. The tutors will help you to find and build your confidence, so you can leave with a plan, sense of purpose and lot of things to practice.

Sam and Grace are both experienced teachers with a real passion for helping people hone their skills. Whether you're at the lower or upper end of the Intermediate ability bracket, you will plenty in this course for you.

Who is it for?

This course is designed for fiddle players who consider themselves to be working at an Intermediate level. See our Instrumental Workshop Levels page to find out if this is you. This course will be especially suitable for graduates of Sam’s ‘Essential’ courses, but all intermediate fiddle players with an ambition to enhance their skills and technique will be most welcome.

Guided learning will take place mostly in smaller groups, but the whole group will work together with both tutors in some sessions.

You do not need to be able to either read music or learn by ear. Sheet music and audio recordings will be provided by the tutors in advance, and some amount of advance preparation will be required.

The Team

Sam Sweeney is one of the UK’s most captivating and innovative folk musicians. A master of the English fiddle, he is known for his deeply emotive playing, bold compositional voice, and a career that has consistently pushed the boundaries of traditional music.

After rising to prominence as a member of the award-winning Bellowhead, Sam went on to forge a distinctive solo path. He is also a founding member of the acclaimed trio Leveret and has collaborated widely with artists such as Eliza Carthy, Fay Hield, The Full English, Jon Boden, and many others.

In addition to his performance career, Sam is an inspirational educator and was the inaugural Artistic Director of the National Youth Folk Ensemble, where he helped shape a new generation of English folk musicians. His commitment to sharing and evolving the tradition is a defining part of his work.

“Britain’s Premier Fiddler” - Songlines

“The fiddler with the Midas touch… an English equivalent of the great Irish fiddle player Martin Hayes.” - The Guardian

“One of the defining English fiddle players of his generation” - Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2

Grace Smith is a fiddle and viola player. Her band, the Grace Smith Trio, released their debut album Overleaf in Autumn 2023 which has had a great critical reception. In their review of Overleaf, Folk Radio UK said; “If you’re looking for the exciting future of instrumental folk music, you need search no further.”  Since 2025 she has played in a fiddle duo with Sam Sweeney, and with string quartet Methera. She is also part of French-inspired dance band, Cri du Canard, and plays with Katie Doherty & the Navigators.

Grace is a dedicated music educator and is in high demand as a tutor. She has led Folkworks Summer Schools since 2023, and has taught in many settings for a wide range of ages and abilities, including for National Youth Folk Ensemble, Newcastle University, Greater Manchester Youth Folk Ensemble, Fosbrook Folk Education Trust, North East Fiddle School, Cambridge Folk Festival Hub Band, Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company, Band on the Wall, and music hubs across the country. She has a PGCEi in Group Instrumental Teaching from Music Masters, and has since gone on to mentor on the course, and is committed to always developing her teaching practice through learning.