Class Details/Timetable:

Once again we embark on another year of tuition across our usual instrument range. We will begin tuition on Tuesday 12th January in the 'Flame' Gasworks in Carrickfergus at 7pm. Click on map below for directions.

In common with many Arts groups, this year, we are without the benefit of funding to subsidise our activities and as a consequence we have no option but to reflect this in our scale of charges.

In order to provide accessibility and affordability we have decided to include some small group lessons which are appropriate for some instruments when sufficient levels of competence are achieved.

One of the major headaches we have experienced in the past has been the prompt payment of fees.  This year, because we have no subsidy, we will not be able to tolerate the late payment of fees and it will be expected that all participants will pay their fees on day one. 

I regret that if any student does not have payment at this time they will be refused tuition. 

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Martin Shane

Anyone unsure of the class or classes they would like to take or would like to enquire about hiring an instrument should contact Martin or the tutor concerned. Please contact the Music School if you are interested in learning an instrument that is not currently listed and we will endeavour to run a class for it.

We run three sets of ten week terms per year, each term consists of ten thirty minute classes for most instruments, with some classes being of sixty minute duration.

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EATMS Sessions: The different levels of EATMS Sessions are fun and challenging for those new to playing music with others and provide help to budding traditional players. They also give confidence to players to move on to more demanding and varied live sessions.   Session dates are on the Noticeboard link and for directions double click on this map.

Based on requests for change, after some discussion and consultation, and in the interests of 'continuous improvement', we have made some small changes to the "Slow Session" in terms of format and dates:

1) The Session will run every other Friday. i.e. every two weeks beginning Friday 8th January 2010 at 8pm;
2) There will be no distinction between sessions with regard to pace or range of tunes,
Previously we ran an Intermediate and an Advanced session. This will no longer be the case; All will still be very welcome.
3) The first hour or so, up until the tea break, will be based on the EATMS Tune book and the tune tempo will be adjusted to accommodate all present. This will be the "Slow or Intermediate" part of the Session";
4) After the first hour or so, after the tea break, we will run as a standard session. All will still be very welcome, however the tempo will not be constrained and the tunes will range beyond the EATMS Tune Book.

So for early 2010 the dates will be: 8th Jan, 22nd Jan, 5th Feb, 19th Feb starting at 8.00pm.

We may have to adjust the dates as we progress to facilitate attendance at other sessions. Any changes to the running schedule will be communicated by this distribution list and posted on the Notice Board of the EATMS Web site.

School Session Tune list in word format.            School Session Tune list in PDF format.

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We recommend you visit this site! Brian Pundyke is in the process of developing a great new website called Traditional Irish Music / Learning Resource Centre. His site has been created to provide a source of learning materials for those wishing to extend their knowledge of Irish traditional music. The materials are free. His site will try to present an ever increasing number of  tunes, (Reels, Jigs, Hornpipes, Slip Jigs, Marches etc), in a variety of electronic formats that have proved useful in the learning of Irish Traditional tunes.

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Harping Back to 1792:

The historic Assembly Rooms (formerly the Northern Bank, Waring St. Belfast) was the setting for a performance by harpers ofThe historic Assembly Rooms (formerly the Northern Bank, Waring St. Belfast) was the setting for a performance by harpers of 

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The event, organised in conjunction with the J B Vallelly Retrospective Art Exhibition was a unique opportunity to see and hear some of the countryThe event, organised in conjunction with the J B Vallelly Retrospective Art Exhibition was a unique opportunity to see and hear some of the country’

The Belfast Harp Festival arranged, to coincide with the 1792 Bastille celebrations, entranced audiences of “Ladies and gentlemen of the 1st fashion in Belfast and its vicinity”. Some 10 harpers attended including the Blind Arthur O’

Inspired by the Festival, Edward Bunting, assistant organist of St. AnneInspired by the Festival, Edward Bunting, assistant organist of St. Anne’s church spent the remainder of his life touring Ireland collecting songs and Airs, many copies of which were placed in the custody of The Linenhall Library.  In1797 Bunting published his first collection which included 66 Airs never before printed. This was followed by further publications in the early 19th century. The Bunting Manuscripts are now housed in Queens’

The Belfast Harpers Festival of 1792 was important both culturally and politically in the history of Belfast. The music that Edward Bunting collected became an important well from which many musicians, from within the traditional idiom, sought to quench their cultural thirst. The original Building was not only the venue for the Harpers Festival but also some years later the location for the trial of Henry Joy McCracken.

““It was here in rationalist, Presbyterian Belfast that the renaissance of Irish Music took place” explained historian Dr. George Holmes “We are indebted to Brian Vallelly for facilitating this musical addition to his Artistic Exhibition”

Speaking about the event, Mr. Martin Shane, Director East Antrim Traditional Music School Speaking about the event, Mr. Martin Shane, Director East Antrim Traditional Music School www.eatms.co.uk  commented, “The popularity of harping has been increasing dramatically over the last 20 years, in no small measure due to the efforts of Janet Harbison. Consequently we are now blessed with many exceptionally gifted solo performers who also play as a magnificent corps and have a facility on this instrument which is envied by many around the world. In an effort to give focus to the growing number of local harpers and significance to the location, five of the leading traditional harpers participated in a lunchtime recital in the old Northern Bank Building.  This, we hope, will act as a precursor to the establishment of an annual Belfast Harpers Festival reflecting the importance of the original in the cultural pantheon, not only in Belfast, but also Internationally.

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Purpose of the School:

Based in South Antrim (Northern Ireland) the ambition of the School is to contribute significantly to the regeneration of the culture of playing traditional music in this area. In particular the School hopes to address the mistaken notion among some within our communities that this aspect of our culture belongs to only one side of the religious and political divide.