“We jointly develop arrangements and mould this music into a concert, where everyone has a function. No one is left out. It’s a safe secure space for young musicians to share.”
So says Darragh Quinn, from Castlebar, Co Mayo, a fiddle player and mentor assisting other young musicians at Ethno Ireland’s folk, world and traditional music workshops which took place at Lough Dan Scout Centre in Co Wicklow this week and concludes tomorrow (Sunday).
This music they produce emerges from every cranny of this beautiful spot, with workshops, side-jams and intense improvisations happening all day long, even at times among the trees. And then the night sessions start.
Ethno aims to assist musicians up to the age of 30, gathering them together to teach each other favoured homegrown tunes.
Having encountered the concept first 10 years ago in Edinburgh, Quinn says it’s become an important part of his life, “beginning as a passion and now professionally as a working musician”.
The global aspect of the attendance of 27 participants at Lough Dan (plus three player-mentors) is striking – with Japan, New Zealand, the US, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Norway, Sweden, France, Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Spain, UK, and Ireland all represented. The range of instruments is broad – several vocalists, fiddles aplenty, a soprano saxophone, flute, accordion, harp, banjos, guitars, electric piano, and electric bass, with a single percussionist.
The basic teaching method is for a participant to play a tune they choose, or segment of tune, over and over, with participants following until they can play it perfectly. For these insatiable players, this task seems a mere doddle. There’s not a hint of musical notation in sight.
There’s a tight schedule, and so the pressure to get up to speed with the tunes is quite intense. The ability of attendees to achieve this is astounding − and there’s no doubt that they are on top of playing the tunes together publicly within days.
During the sessions, participants quietly shake a single hand in the air instead of applauding, to speed things. Another hand signal in the air by a mentor demands silence.
Guitarist and mentor Ezequiel Cotton, of Buenos Aires, Argentina, says Ethno is all about “being in a very nice place, surrounded by musicians 24/7, from all over the world, learning dances, languages, ways of living and expressing ourselves”. Explaining the hand signalling further, Cotton says he uses Rhythm with Signs to conduct musicians. It is, he says, an intuitive way to communicate and transmit ideas on the spot. “We use our hands to indicate dynamics, breaks, modulations, and anything you want to do while playing. Crescendo is a good example − you raise up your hands, it means more volume; lowering of palms, pointing downwards means less.”
Natasja Dluzewska, a Swede from Uppsala, decides on teaching the Orsa Polska on fiddle, which despite having a 3/4 time signature, has an irregular beat. It’s a challenging approach, not least because, as she warns participants, some of them might be fearful of its angular nature. “I wanted to bring a piece of music that I don’t think is so often represented at these workshops. You’d usually go for fiddle tunes that are easier to ‘get’ straight away. But I think this piece of music is very essential to the Swedish tradition. It stands out as a style from the other Scandic traditions and other styles in Sweden too.”
Culture evening
One night is given over to what is described as a “cultural evening”, which turns out in part to be a tasting session for international treats brought by the participants, some with the telling of a yarn to explain their significance. Quinn, representing Ireland, gets the ball rolling with a well-known brand of homegrown crisps. Did you know that Cheerwine, which tastes of cherries and is not wine, has home-state beverage status in North Carolina. Incredibly salty liquorice is a big thing in Sweden. Norwegians love a sweet brown cheese that’s not cheese at all, but caramelised whey.
This correspondent manages to wangle his way into proceedings by volunteering in the kitchen, prepping a too-fiery gumbo on the first day and seeking forgiveness later with a more sedate soup-and-bread offering. Retreating to that kitchen proves a salve, even for a spot of intense dishwashing, when a break from all the sounds is required. Andrea Van den Block (Belgium) and Meeri Elisabeth Paltmann (Estonia) complete the kitchen volunteer complement.
For Daimon Arriagada, a fiddle player from Valparaiso, Chile, getting to Ireland was a desire he cultivated since his early years. “I love the Irish music and culture since my childhood,” he says. He brought a Chilean tune to teach from the country’s north called Socoroma, which he encountered first in a jam folk session. “It’s important for me because it represents the sounds of my ancestors of the north of Chile,” he says. This has been his third Ethno, with his first in Argentina, and the second at home. “I met a lot of people from other countries, learned from their cultures and made great friends.”
For highly motivated organiser Els Lemahieu, a Belgian living long-term in Ireland, a clear goal for Ethno is to attract greater Irish participation in future events. “As a starting organisation, working on a tight budget, people don’t know you,” she says. The mentors, for her, are critical to the event: to help the participants to teach, and to give opinions on whether tune choices are good ones, for example. “They are a support for the participants, to help with song arrangements, do warm-up games, and to bind the group together.”
Fiddler Micks Eilish, from Chesterville, Maine, US, holds that music is about deep connection on a global and local level: “When I bring tunes to Ethno [typically the US editions], I’m trying to teach people something specific that they might not know. When I bring a United States song, I’m bringing technique that you can only learn by ear, that’s kind of my goal.” Their choices of tune to teach are Blackest Crow, of the Old-Time (Appalachian) genre, and Rue Daphne (French-Canadian and Old-Time tune). “Supporting this kind of music connection at this time in the world is a beautiful thing; to build relationships around a common passion changes the world.”
And Lloyd HaMercy, of Dallas, Texas, a percussionist, wants to bridge gaps in musical cultures. “I personally love being able to learn more about a culture through its roots.” This is his fifth such event. “The greatest feeling about Ethno is, you come together not knowing anybody, and you’re in intense workshops for however long. You have to wake up, eat, stay over together, and by the time you leave, you’re family and you can find family all over the world.”
Ethno Ireland play Lynham’s of Laragh, Co Wicklow, on Saturday, August 30th, at 5pm.