Hurdy Gurdy Weekend
Guaranteed to be one of Halsway’s noisiest weekends, our popular Hurdy-Gurdy Weekend runs alongside our Bagpipe Weekend, with masterclasses, workshops, sessions and a Saturday night concert/dance. A frenzy of reeds, drones and buzzing things! Early booking advised.
The weekend is hosted by Claire Dugué, hurdy-gurdy maker and repairer, and she’ll be available to help people get the most out of their instruments with tips for maintenance. Our international tutor team includes:
Lucy Laigle and Iván Abal (Intermediate/Advanced Hurdy Gurdy Workshop – one group each)
Scott Marshall (Beginner Hurdy Gurdy Workshop).
Discussions are welcome before the course to adapt the content to the students. Each tutor will dedicate themselves to a specific group for the full weekend allowing for maximum learning and progression. You will need to decide which tutor you wish to work with and tell us when booking; numbers in each group are limited.
Want to make a long weekend of your trip? For an extra £65, you can stay until Monday morning, including supper and B&B. Please enquire when booking your place.
Additional course notes
Iván Abal’s class - Playing Galician bagpipe tunes on Hurdy-Gurdy
In this workshop, we will explore the main rhythms of traditional Galician music, typically played on the bagpipes, and examine their application on the hurdy-gurdy. We will focus on aspects such as fingering adaptation, ornamentation, variations, and how to create rhythms with the right hand based on traditional percussion.
Additionally, we will also discuss the different phases of repertoire study and how to acquire resources to improve our technique on the instrument.
Lucie Laigle’s class - Making the Hurdy-Gurdy Dance: Variations, Cadences, and Arrangements
First, we will focus on hurdy-gurdy interpretation. Making the hurdy-gurdy dance means highlighting the cadence through both melodic and rhythmic playing. We will therefore dissect certain melodies in order to make them danceable, working on left-hand ornamentation and right-hand wrist techniques.
Next, making the hurdy-gurdy dance also involves creating arrangements that serve the dance. In the second part of the workshop, we will invent additional musical elements together to accompany the melody (modal harmonies, loops, exploring different playing styles of the hurdy-gurdy). The goal will be to create one or several beautiful arrangements designed to make people dance! The repertoire will be quite varied, ranging from traditional tunes from Centre France to more recent folk melodies.
Because course places are limited, we aren’t able to take bookings from those not wishing to fully participate in one of the workshop groups (unless you’re coming as the friend or partner of a participant, and sharing a room).
Who is it for?
This course is for players of the hurdy-gurdy who already have their own instrument (including beginners).
Beginners/Improvers Class with Scott Marshall
This class is for the beginner who has a hurdy gurdy (or has borrowed one from a friend) and wants to spend some time to check out if playing the instrument is for him/her.
It is also for the player who has been playing for a few years but hasn’t yet progressed far, and needs to strengthen his/her ability to play tunes/use the trompette.
Intermediate/advanced classes with Lucie Laigle or Iván Abal
On both these classes, we expect players who are in control of their instruments, can set them up and tune them. They need to have a repertoire of tunes under their belt and master the trumpet techniques to a coup de quatre minimum.
The Team
Iván Abal began his piano studies and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Bagpipes, Music Theory, and Musicology. He has taught Galician bagpipes at the Professional Conservatories of Vigo, Vilagarcía, Ferrol, and Ourense (Spain).
He is currently a member of the Musicology Department at the Higher Conservatory of Music of Vigo, where he teaches hurdy-gurdy. He has participated in the Erasmus+ TUNE project (Traditional Music Undergraduate
Network in Europe), teaching at universities in Greece, Estonia, France, and Norway. He has taken hurdy-gurdy lessons with Germán Díaz and Anxo Pintos, and has attended masterclasses with Gilles Chabenat, Patrick Bouffard, Matthias Loibner, Valentin Clastrier, and Tobie Miller, among others. He has been a member of various groups, with which he has made several recordings, including Sondeseu, Nao d’Ire, MetalXis, Musgafol, Sanfonices, and Dúo Abal&Bellas. He has also performed at festivals in Spain, Portugal, France, and Great Britain.
Lucie Laigle has been passionate about the hurdy-gurdy and dance music since childhood. She learned the instrument at Bourges Music School, earning her DEM (Diploma of Musical Studies), and then at Cefedem AuRA where she obtained her teaching diploma (DE) in traditional music. The music of central France, especially from the Berry region, plays a central role in her life as a musician and teacher. On stage, she plays in balfolk with the groups Cosmos Chocolat, Duo Azare, and Amassà, as well as in concert settings with mounes. Lucie teaches hurdy-gurdy in Lyon and leads the EDMT of Bourges (ensemble of traditional music).
Scott Marshall (UK) beginner hurdy-gurdy has been playing hurdy-gurdy since 2005. He has been a regular festival and workshop tutor for the last decade. In 2017 he recorded his first solo album Gurdymania, followed in 2018 by Gurdymania 2, using multiple hurdy-gurdies and effects units. He is currently recording the third and final Gurdymania album before moving onto new folk and metal projects. He will be teaching the beginners class at Halsway focusing on good habits, solid playing skills and creating musical exercises for practice.