The Repertoire Spa

Paul Hutchinson and John Dipper invite you to indulge your repertoire in a little musical pampering!

Are you stuck learning endless new tunes but not feeling you’re getting the best out of them? Has your playing of some old favourites lost its sparkle? Would you like to get better as a musician and creator, rather than just squeezing more notes into your brain?

If you answered yes to any of the above, The Repertoire Spa might be just the thing to get your 2027 creativity into shape and juzj up the tired tunes in your musical closet.

Working as a group, you’ll focus on some tunes that your esteemed tutors consider to be dull, lacklustre, and uninspiring, and use these to explore how different approaches and techniques can change and nurture tunes into more beautiful and meaningful melodies.

There will also be opportunities to put everything into practice in smaller breakout sessions, so bring that tunes that’s been lurking at the back of your cupboard, dust it off, and let your fellow participants help you to spruce it up!

There will also be opportunities to put everything into practice in smaller breakout sessions, so bring that miscreant melody that’s been lurking at the back of your repertoire cupboard, dust it off, and let your fellow participants help you to spruce it up!

Our Luxury Treatments Include:

· Facelifts for Morris Jigs — restore that youthful bounce!

· Massages for Mazurkas — ease out those lingering tensions.

· Exfoliation for Dry, Irritable Polkas — smooth away the rough edges.

· Anti-Ageing & Deep Tissue Relief for Hornpipes — banish the aches and get those fingers flying!

As this course runs at the same time as our Nyckelharpa Retreat, there’ll also be lots of opportunities for tune swapping in the evening sessions.

Who is it for?

This course is open to all instrumentalists. Reading notation will be an advantage, but tunes covered in the main sessions will be repeated to give those who learn by ear the chance to get to grips with them.

You will be keen to improve your own musicality, and be prepared to work in groups of different sizes, in both tutor-led and self-guided workshops.

The Team

Paul Hutchinson studied piano and church organ before being persuaded at the age of 17 to take up the accordion and form a ceilidh band. Since then he’s become one of the best-known and in demand players on the folk scene – in the UK and beyond. Paul is a regular tutor and musician at Halsway Manor.

A respected and established performer, composer, teacher and instrument maker, John Dipper grew up steeped in the traditions of Southern England. His unique playing style and compositions convey a deep understanding and passion for indigenous culture. Playing the Viola d’Amore tuned to his own unique tuning, John composes and also rewrites melodies from manuscripts, breathing new life into tunes that have been overlooked and uncelebrated for too long. As an experienced workshop leader and teacher, John’s knowledge, experience and enthusiasm combine to make him a much sought-after tutor in academic institutions, festivals, music-camps and academies.