I'm trying to find a way to go to East Durham this year. finances are an issue, so I'm considering Van camping. Has anyone camps there before? (not in my van, in East Durham) ? I'm not finding campsites besides Blackthorn. I don't need a meal plan and all that, just a legal place to park (a plug would be nice too) that's still stumbling distance from a few night sessions. Any help is appreciated.
My second question is how basic is "beginner"? I began fiddle lessons a year ago. Twenty or more years prior to that I was a decent classical violin student. I now have 20ish songs, and will most likely add 10-20 by July. I don't really feel confident in calling myself an intermediate student, but how are these things judeged? I can play some tunes on a tune whistle, but would that be enough to get much out of even a 'beginner' class?
Thanks for any help. My apologies if this post is a repeat, I asked the question a while ago and the computer went blank on me, and my post has not appeared on the board.
There are two other campgrounds that I know of... One is called Lynch's Pot O' Gold. The other, I don't remember the name, but it's out past/near Shamrock House.
It sounds like you have a decent musical background, but I think as far as your current skill level, you would be best off in the beginner class. Speaking from personal experience, what tends to happen a lot in these type of workshops is that people overestimate their ability to learn in a group setting, and it ends up slowing the whole class down. It's easier to learn a slightly challenging tune one-on-one or in a small group than in a large workshop. It's better for you, the teacher, and the other students if you are in a class that's on the easy side than if you're in a class that's too difficult. You won't learn anything if it's too hard, whereas you'll only reinforce and build on your current abilities in an appropriate level class, even if it's on the easy side. Even if you would be able to handle the tunes and/or technique taught in a higher level class, it is much harder in a group of possibly as large as 25 people. If the class is a little to fast-paced for you, the teacher is not going to be able to stop and explain every few minutes. A beginner class is usually for people who have basic knowledge of their instrument, know a few tunes, and can learn a tune fairly well by ear.
If you're still not sure, you could take one beginner class to really learn and play tunes, and and an intermediate class as well, more to listen and sit in. You might pick up more by just listening in a harder class than by trying to play everything. Take a tape recorder to both and record the whole thing. It seems like a lot but you'll be able to go back later and learn it all at your own pace.
Also consider who's teaching the class. Get some opinions on the teachers and their teaching styles. Classes of the same level with different teachers might be totally different, so keep that in mind as well.
fyi, the website has been updated with the 2008 faculty and there is a discount for folks who register before March 1.
The Blackthorn campsite is on the grounds of one of the better Inns that East Durham has and so the facilities are very good there and it is the closest to town and the classes.
Lynch's Pot of Gold campsite isn't that far away and is situated on nice grounds with a great view of the mountain.
Numbers for both can be found on the website at www.east-durham.org.
Also Photographer Marilyn Stern organizes a pretty good house B & B arrangement in Round Top that is very reasonable for folks who want at least a roof over their heads. A group of CIAW regulars return there year after year but the name of it escapes me right now.
The "plan c" at Blackthorn looks fairly reasonable, but I think they'll charge more than posted for me being alone. I'm hoping to drag in some aquaintace to camp with me, I'm a being a ninny but I am a little reluctant to camp out alone.
Has anyone stayed in the Weldon House motel units? A freind who's going for part of the week claims it's quite cheap. If they have room, maybe I ccould camp during the week and book in the family on Friday night.
I came across the 2007 ad for the Woodlands which is a very inexpensive option for CIAW visitors over in nearby Roundtop. Rates are for last year and it would be up to organizer Marilyn Stern to confirm what availability and rates will be there for 2008.
Need comfortable, clean low-cost housing for Catskills Irish Arts Week? Come stay with fellow musicians & dancers at The Woodlands, a private Victorian guesthouse in Roundtop, a 15-minute drive from East Durham. Low rates as follows:
ADULTS
Full week special: $200 per person for 7 nights
Daily rates for stays under a week:
5-6 days @ $30
3-4 days @ $35
1-2 days @ $40
KIDS
Kids through age 14 staying in same room as adults are FREE.
For kids staying in separate rooms, please inquire for rates.
Most rooms with private bath; all with sink. All-you-can-eat breakfast each morning. In-ground swimming pool, refrigerator & microwave in dining room, piano, tv, wrap-around veranda, BBQ. Located on peaceful 8+ acres with wooded hiking trail and stream. Pets welcome.
CONTACT: Marilyn 212-475-8070 days/eves or mstern@sternhphoto.com
if it is a hot, humid july in the catskills, (and it ALWAYS is, the question is, beastly versus apocalyptic)....you will not survive in your van. i'm not kidding. if shopping for cheap rooms, even a cheap room will HAVE to have air-conditioning. i know someone who burst into tears when they walked into their cheapie-sans-a.c., and this was NOT a melodramatic reaction! this is the best irish music week in the u.s., but there are some very serious survival/minimal comfort issues!
On the reservation sheet, it says a beginner (or basic) player should have played less than two years, know a handful of songs and be mostly self-taught. It says an intermediate player should be playing between 2 and 5 years and know 50 tunes.
Regarding weather, I had friends go there last year and they said it was cold.
I'll be there. The 2008 schedule just posted. I signed up for Kevin Burke in the morning and Patrick Ourceau in the afternoon. Hope it works out. See you all there!
I agree with ceemonster. I've always taken cheap rooms in the area and have yet to get one that met the minimum standards for air quality (mold and mildew on very old walls & carpets). I mostly found them on the Internet, though once I had a recommendation from a friend that turned out equally bad.
in terms of the skill level labels for the classes, they are fluid to say the least. i find it best to ask oneself if it is worth it to go just to be in the same room observing a master player for a few hours during the week (i am one of those who find that worth it, at least for a couple more years)----if it clears that bar for you, then you will be ok, because expecting anything beyond that is touch-and-go. mileage may, and will, vary.
i honestly see just about zero difference between "intermediate" and "advanced" in terms of who takes these classes. i took two advanced classes one year where there were a couple of people in each class who literally could not play their instruments or learn the tunes. they seemed to feel that because they were adults who had taken numerous courses with a famous player/teacher, they should be in "advanced" classes, but the actual skill level was not even intermediate. conversely, i have gone into intermediate courses when i can technically handle advanced (not virtuoso, now, not at all , just to get the exposure to a player i admire, and have found no loss in the level.....
to continue that thought, sometimes somebody i'm dying to spend time with up close is not teaching an advanced class for whatever reason, and i've found it totally worth it to go into the intermediate. some people take both an intermediate and an advanced with one person just to spend all their time with that player, which is i believe what i am going to do if i can manage to go this year.....
Castskills Irish Arts Week questions
Castskills Irish Arts Week questions
I'm trying to find a way to go to East Durham this year. finances are an issue, so I'm considering Van camping. Has anyone camps there before? (not in my van, in East Durham) ? I'm not finding campsites besides Blackthorn. I don't need a meal plan and all that, just a legal place to park (a plug would be nice too) that's still stumbling distance from a few night sessions. Any help is appreciated.
My second question is how basic is "beginner"? I began fiddle lessons a year ago. Twenty or more years prior to that I was a decent classical violin student. I now have 20ish songs, and will most likely add 10-20 by July. I don't really feel confident in calling myself an intermediate student, but how are these things judeged? I can play some tunes on a tune whistle, but would that be enough to get much out of even a 'beginner' class?
Thanks for any help. My apologies if this post is a repeat, I asked the question a while ago and the computer went blank on me, and my post has not appeared on the board.
Tracy
# Posted on January 29th 2008 by tracywag
Re: Castskills Irish Arts Week questions
Hi Tracy,
There are two other campgrounds that I know of... One is called Lynch's Pot O' Gold. The other, I don't remember the name, but it's out past/near Shamrock House.
Good luck,
See you there!
Brian
# Posted on January 30th 2008 by browndog
Re: Castskills Irish Arts Week questions
It sounds like you have a decent musical background, but I think as far as your current skill level, you would be best off in the beginner class. Speaking from personal experience, what tends to happen a lot in these type of workshops is that people overestimate their ability to learn in a group setting, and it ends up slowing the whole class down. It's easier to learn a slightly challenging tune one-on-one or in a small group than in a large workshop. It's better for you, the teacher, and the other students if you are in a class that's on the easy side than if you're in a class that's too difficult. You won't learn anything if it's too hard, whereas you'll only reinforce and build on your current abilities in an appropriate level class, even if it's on the easy side. Even if you would be able to handle the tunes and/or technique taught in a higher level class, it is much harder in a group of possibly as large as 25 people. If the class is a little to fast-paced for you, the teacher is not going to be able to stop and explain every few minutes. A beginner class is usually for people who have basic knowledge of their instrument, know a few tunes, and can learn a tune fairly well by ear.
If you're still not sure, you could take one beginner class to really learn and play tunes, and and an intermediate class as well, more to listen and sit in. You might pick up more by just listening in a harder class than by trying to play everything. Take a tape recorder to both and record the whole thing. It seems like a lot but you'll be able to go back later and learn it all at your own pace.
Also consider who's teaching the class. Get some opinions on the teachers and their teaching styles. Classes of the same level with different teachers might be totally different, so keep that in mind as well.
# Posted on January 30th 2008 by FidDLe01
Re: Castskills Irish Arts Week questions
There isn't a campground near Shamrock House. The closest is Blackthorne. Pot O'Gold is a bit of a drive, like 10-15 mins from East Durham.
# Posted on January 30th 2008 by rob_handel
Re: Castskills Irish Arts Week questions
fyi, the website has been updated with the 2008 faculty and there is a discount for folks who register before March 1.
The Blackthorn campsite is on the grounds of one of the better Inns that East Durham has and so the facilities are very good there and it is the closest to town and the classes.
Lynch's Pot of Gold campsite isn't that far away and is situated on nice grounds with a great view of the mountain.
Numbers for both can be found on the website at www.east-durham.org.
Also Photographer Marilyn Stern organizes a pretty good house B & B arrangement in Round Top that is very reasonable for folks who want at least a roof over their heads. A group of CIAW regulars return there year after year but the name of it escapes me right now.
# Posted on January 30th 2008 by clareman
Re: Castskills Irish Arts Week questions
The "plan c" at Blackthorn looks fairly reasonable, but I think they'll charge more than posted for me being alone. I'm hoping to drag in some aquaintace to camp with me, I'm a being a ninny but I am a little reluctant to camp out alone.
Has anyone stayed in the Weldon House motel units? A freind who's going for part of the week claims it's quite cheap. If they have room, maybe I ccould camp during the week and book in the family on Friday night.
Thanks for the great advice!
# Posted on January 30th 2008 by tracywag
Re: Castskills Irish Arts Week questions
I came across the 2007 ad for the Woodlands which is a very inexpensive option for CIAW visitors over in nearby Roundtop. Rates are for last year and it would be up to organizer Marilyn Stern to confirm what availability and rates will be there for 2008.
Need comfortable, clean low-cost housing for Catskills Irish Arts Week? Come stay with fellow musicians & dancers at The Woodlands, a private Victorian guesthouse in Roundtop, a 15-minute drive from East Durham. Low rates as follows:
ADULTS
Full week special: $200 per person for 7 nights
Daily rates for stays under a week:
5-6 days @ $30
3-4 days @ $35
1-2 days @ $40
KIDS
Kids through age 14 staying in same room as adults are FREE.
For kids staying in separate rooms, please inquire for rates.
Most rooms with private bath; all with sink. All-you-can-eat breakfast each morning. In-ground swimming pool, refrigerator & microwave in dining room, piano, tv, wrap-around veranda, BBQ. Located on peaceful 8+ acres with wooded hiking trail and stream. Pets welcome.
CONTACT: Marilyn 212-475-8070 days/eves or mstern@sternhphoto.com
# Posted on January 30th 2008 by clareman
Re: Castskills Irish Arts Week questions
if it is a hot, humid july in the catskills, (and it ALWAYS is, the question is, beastly versus apocalyptic)....you will not survive in your van. i'm not kidding. if shopping for cheap rooms, even a cheap room will HAVE to have air-conditioning. i know someone who burst into tears when they walked into their cheapie-sans-a.c., and this was NOT a melodramatic reaction! this is the best irish music week in the u.s., but there are some very serious survival/minimal comfort issues!
# Posted on January 30th 2008 by ceemonster
Re: Castskills Irish Arts Week questions
On the reservation sheet, it says a beginner (or basic) player should have played less than two years, know a handful of songs and be mostly self-taught. It says an intermediate player should be playing between 2 and 5 years and know 50 tunes.
Regarding weather, I had friends go there last year and they said it was cold.
I'll be there. The 2008 schedule just posted. I signed up for Kevin Burke in the morning and Patrick Ourceau in the afternoon. Hope it works out. See you all there!
# Posted on January 30th 2008 by nofrets
Re: Castskills Irish Arts Week questions
I agree with ceemonster. I've always taken cheap rooms in the area and have yet to get one that met the minimum standards for air quality (mold and mildew on very old walls & carpets). I mostly found them on the Internet, though once I had a recommendation from a friend that turned out equally bad.
# Posted on January 30th 2008 by Molly-Mo
Re: Castskills Irish Arts Week questions
in terms of the skill level labels for the classes, they are fluid to say the least. i find it best to ask oneself if it is worth it to go just to be in the same room observing a master player for a few hours during the week (i am one of those who find that worth it, at least for a couple more years)----if it clears that bar for you, then you will be ok, because expecting anything beyond that is touch-and-go. mileage may, and will, vary.
i honestly see just about zero difference between "intermediate" and "advanced" in terms of who takes these classes. i took two advanced classes one year where there were a couple of people in each class who literally could not play their instruments or learn the tunes. they seemed to feel that because they were adults who had taken numerous courses with a famous player/teacher, they should be in "advanced" classes, but the actual skill level was not even intermediate. conversely, i have gone into intermediate courses when i can technically handle advanced (not virtuoso, now, not at all
, just to get the exposure to a player i admire, and have found no loss in the level.....
# Posted on January 31st 2008 by ceemonster
Re: Castskills Irish Arts Week questions
to continue that thought, sometimes somebody i'm dying to spend time with up close is not teaching an advanced class for whatever reason, and i've found it totally worth it to go into the intermediate. some people take both an intermediate and an advanced with one person just to spend all their time with that player, which is i believe what i am going to do if i can manage to go this year.....
# Posted on January 31st 2008 by ceemonster