Blas is a two-week intensive music, song and dance programme, combining the familiar concept of masterclasses in instrument/voice-specific technique and repertoire, as found in many summer schools, but with small class sizes and the unparalleled level of student interaction with tutors that this can offer.
Blas centres its teaching around the traditional instruments and the disciplines of dance and song. The full list of instruments and disciplines on offer will be announced shortly.
Concept
Blas runs using a teaching structure developed over many years and used by most summer schools in Irish music.
It focuses its teaching around masterclasses given by leading experts and performers on a specific instrument.
True to its name, Blas gives its students a taste of different styles with most students having more than two different masterclass tutors per study area (music/song).
This means Blas teachers rotate every day or two, giving students the chance to work with different masters of the tradition.
A unique learning experience
As Blas is an intimate summer school, individual instrument classes are kept as small as possible.
Blas tries to create an inclusive learning atmosphere and as such tutors dine with students and stay in the same accommodation apartment blocks.
Some of the tutors also lead the evening music sessions on campus on nights when there isn’t a headline concert to attend.
All of this is supplemented by lectures, illustrated talks, workshops and other activities that help to give the broadest possible understanding of the tradition as well as advance practical skills.
Accreditation
Therefore the programme has ample content and contact hours that it can be accredited with three points (or 6 ECTS credits) towards an international degree course (but only to institutions that recognise University of Limerick summer school accreditation).
This makes Blas unique within the world of traditional music summer schools in that the study of Irish traditional music, song and dance can count as a percentage towards a university degree.
Learn more about accreditation
Prerequisites
For musicians and singers, we welcome people familiar with Irish music and who have been playing for several years or more, and people with a musical ability in music of other genres and traditions who wish to learn more about Irish music.
Blas always has an interesting mix of students with different musical backgrounds, each coming together to learn more about Irish music but also learning from each other as someone from a different musical background can approach the same music in a different way and offer new insight.
Blas does not suit complete beginners on any instrument. However percussion classes will accept people with a percussion background who are only starting to play the bodhrán. For all other instrument classes, potential students should already have a good familiarity with the instrument and be ready to learn new stylistic techniques and repertoire rather then learning the basics of the instrument itself.
Classes are often mixed ability, but where ability levels are too disparate, extra classes will be laid on for beginners/intermediate players where possible. Even in a mixed ability class, the small number of students per class means that each student gets specific individual attention from the tutor to the level of their ability.
Flute classes will be taught featuring the Irish wooden flute and not the Boehm system silver flute. Musicians playing silver flute are welcome to these classes and indeed many prominent Irish traditional flute players use the Boehm system.
However you should bear in mind that not all technique on the wooden flute, as the instrument to be taught in class, will translate to the silver flute. Potential students for song classes should have some previous experience of singing whether this is traditional or folk song or more classically trained.
What to expect in a masterclass
The teachers of masterclasses bring with them a wealth of experience which is shared with the students in an organic way rather than using set curricula.
Actual methods are dependent on the given teacher of the class.
Classes most often feature learning by ear through repetition of new tunes and songs broken up into small segments.
This can be supplemented by written aids in standard notation and in versions of ABC (a highly individual basic notation system using the letters of the notes of the scale with tick marks and underlining to denote octave differences and note length).
Technique on the individual instrument featured in the class is usually taught through the medium of the tune rather than as a technical exercise of itself.
Students are encouraged to bring a recording device to record the tunes and songs being learned in class so that an aural source can be used when practicing at home rather than relying solely on a written version.
However, please note that permission to use recording equipment during class is at the tutor’s discretion and should not be assumed.