Ireland is alive to the sound of music during the summer months with traditional music festivals taking place in many towns and villages. Its a great opportunity to meet other musicians, find sessions catering to all abilities and partake in group lessons.
Most schools offer lessons in all instruments with different classes for beginnners, improvers and experienced musicians. The standard of teaching is very high often some of Irelands best trad musicians share their knowledge in small class sizes. Usualy there are also pop up music instrument shops from instument makers and suppliers.
Just down the road from us here in County Leitrim, we have the Joe Mooney Summer School in Drumshanbo in July, a week long school of lessons and sessions, South Sligo Summer School in Tubbercurry, County Sligo also in July and a week of sessions and lessons and the O Carolan Harp Festival and summer school which takes place in Keadue, County Roscommon. O Carolan has a week of trad music workshops with a renowned international harp competiton on the August Bank holiday Saturday, finishing on the August Bank Holiday Monday with the world famous door dancing competition.
A recently added school to the calendar is the Leitrim Dance week held in Carrick on Shannon and Drumshanbo which offers workshops in Percussion dance followed by the Lough Allen Dance Weekend. If dance is your thing then Leitrim is the place to be in April.
For Bodhran afficionados, the Junior Davey Bodhran Academy in Gurteen, County Sligo offers intensive workshops in Bodhran styles with some of Irelands finest Bodhran players.
Throughout the year there are various weekend workshops all of which offer lessons and sessions.
