Melodeon workshops for Absolute Beginners and beyond
Aside from writing his melo
deon tutor books, Ed has taught his learning system (aka “Rennie tab”) at festivals up and down the land for many years – since 2005 in fact. Ed’s had a real blast bring squeezy joy to the masses, starting countless beginners on their musical adventures.
In recent times, Ed’s teamed up with friend and former student, Helena Painting and together they offer a range of workshops for melodeon players from absolute beginner to improver level as well as sessions covering complementary skills such as learning by ear..
You’ll find them under the ‘Squeezebox from Scratch’ banner, teaching at a range of festivals and events, including major folk festivals such as Sidmouth Folk Festival, Shrewsbury Folk Festival & Chippenham Folk Festival. Helena also teaches solo at events such as the annual Melodeon Playgroup in Evesham, using the notation system devised by Ed.
Squeezebox from Scratch travel the land with a wagonload of loaner Hohners for you, yes you, to borrow so you can give it a go. They offer friendly and accessible workshops to get you started, there’s no need to read music and you don’t need any previous playing experience – the SfS philosophy is all about making music accessible.
Check out the SfS Facebook page to see their latest exploits and please do get in touch if you’d Squeezebox from Scratch to teach at an event.
Being naturally shy and retiring creatures, Ed and Helena shy away from bigging up the SfS workshop experience, so here’s what workshop participants say:
“I went to squeezebox from scratch at Chippenham and enjoyed it so much I bought a melodeon on my way home! Looking forward to learning more. Thanks for doing what you do!”- Milly
“As a non-music reader this simple system made perfect sense and unlocked melodeon playing for me.” – Kay
“Heehee such fun! I squeaked’n’squeezed. Thank you. Looking forward to the next workshop” – Sue