Old Long Island was a hotbed of tunes, and there are at least two collections to prove it: William Sidney Mount (1807-1868), the famous painter of The Banjo Player and The Bones Player, was also a fiddler; his collection spans music from English marches, Irish jigs, to tunes learned from the minstrel stage and from black fiddlers. The collection of Bellport’s Captain Isaac Homan (1816-1901) — recently uncovered by Dave Ruch — also contains a huge variety of tunes—reels, hornpipes, cotillions, waltzes, and much more. Both reflect the intense swirl of influences upon fiddlers living near the growing vortex of New York City in the mid-Nineteenth century.  This workshop is brought to Old Songs by the Folk Music Society of New York, Inc.

One of America’s most respected collectors and interpreters of traditional music, Jeff Davis has traveled far to visit “source singers”–farmers and miners who remembered the old songs and tunes — and closer at hand to libraries and archives, always looking for the best of the music that was once common in our towns and villages. Jeff plays fiddle, banjo, mandocello, guitar, spoons, jaw’s harps and a few instruments hand-made by folk craftsmen. His repertoire includes New England ballads sea songs, African-American banjo tunes, cowboy ditties, rare Yankee fiddle tunes and more. jeffdavismusician.com

You must Pre-register for this Workshop. To register for this Workshop: please send an email to joy@oldsongs.org with “Steve’s Songwriting Workshop” in the subject line.

Steve Gillete is a successful songwriter with many gold and platinum recordings to his credit. He wrote the book, “Songwriting and the Creative Process” which is published by the Sing Out press.

Take a look at Steve’s songwriter blog at aboutthesong.com for more complete articles on many of his songs and songwriting principles.

Our aim is to have five people sign up and show up for the Zoom session ready to perform a song and receive expert (and gentle) guidance from Steve, but also ideas and encouragement from the other participants. We plan for an hour, but we may need to exceed that time to make sure that everyone is heard from and has been reduced to tears. (Just kidding about the tears part.) We’ve found that listening to songs is the best way to bring up many of the issues that are faced by all of us, and hearing each other’s songs is inspiring. Plan to send along a lyric sheet for the song you will sing since the Zoom platform is not always great for critical listening. It might be a little rough and ready, but I’m sure we’ll have fun.

Whether you’re a budding or experienced songwriter you’re sure to come away with some good feedback.

It’s first come, first served, so sign up soon!

For more than forty years, Magpie has brought its unique sound and breathtaking versatility to audiences everywhere. From traditional songs to vintage blues, from swing and country to folk classics to contemporary and stirring original compositions, they cover a lot of musical ground. They bring to the stage powerful voices and harmonies and excellent instrumental arrangements on guitars, mandolin, harmonica, dulcimer, and concertina. Songwriters, musical historians, and social activists, Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner promise a presentation that is highly entertaining as well as provocative and deeply moving.

https://magpiemusic.com