Folk Group FAQs

When is it?

Every Monday during term time from 7:30 to 9pm on Zoom (you need a ticket to access the online session).

Where do I find the music/tabs/MIDI files for this week?

we’re currently on term 29, so have a look here: https://benfarmer.co.uk/folk-group-term-29/

How do I sign up?

simply go here and sign up for the weeks you can make, or pay per 1/2 term: https://www.trybooking.co.uk/WAH

Who is it for?

We mostly cater to beginners/ intermediate players, but we have some advanced players come too to extend their repertoire and try new things.

Ben is a multi-instrumentalist. Although best know as a melodeonist/accordionist and ukuleleist, he provides tablature for Guitar, Mandolin, Ukulele, 5-string Banjo alongside the Treble and Bass clefs. If you’re wanting to come along and your preferred tablature isn’t currently available, please let us know and we’ll see what we can do.

What would a typical session look like?

We go very slowly for those who prefer to learn by ear or are new to their instruments, and offer suggestions on extending the tunes, ornamentation, or instrument specific ideas as we go. We also vary the origins of the tunes a lot – one night a 4 part Irish jig, next week a Klezmer song/tune or an old English 3/2 hornpipe.
  
The format at the moment (whilst on covid zoom), is as follows:  we learn a new tune (with the sound off); scores, tabs and midi files posted the night before here: ttps://benfarmer.co.uk/folk-group-term-29/; Then we revisit a related past repertoire piece. We’re currently on year 9, term 29 i.e. 700+ tunes to choose from. We finish by asking group members to suggest tunes they’d like to play (from past sessions), and we all have a go playing along. 

Will there be a chance to perform?

Once things are back to normal we may go back to spending a fair bit of time preparing for gigs – ceilidhs/festivals/concerts for More Music (e.g. Catch the Wind), local charities or private functions, but for the moment it’s nice just to be playing together. We may well do another video compilation thing like this one we did last term: https://youtu.be/vjyeX-XSKsY

Where can I find more tunes?

You can look back through this group’s past repertoire here: https://benfarmer.co.uk/workshops/ or find these tunes and more at https://benfarmer.co.uk/tunes/folk-tunes/

Who do I contact for more information?

Me 🙂 ben.farmer@moremusic.org.uk