SCHOOLS’ SECONDARY WORKSHOPS – DR FRED FREEMAN

NOW OFFERING FROM S1 – ADV HIGHERS

*WORKSHOP 1 SCOTS LANGUAGE – HISTORY & USAGE : S1-S6

The workshops provide an introduction to Scots Language, uniquely using the medium of music to explore Scots language, past and present. The concentration is on: (A) BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SCOTS TONGUE (place names, relation to Gaelic, the language of theAngles, Vikings, Flemings, N. French) (B) SCOTS WORDS FOR FOODS, WEATHER CONDITIONS, PARTS OF THE BODY, NUMBERS, DESCRIPTION AND MORE (building upon children’s own knowledge) (C) BURNS SONGS / TANNAHILL SONGS, drawn from my CD series, used for vocabulary and examples. Each workshop lasts approximately one hour.

*WORKSHOP 2 ROBERT BURNS : S1-S4

The workshops provide a musical introduction to Burns through singing, tapping-out rhythms, listening and questioning. Much of the workshop concentrates on: (A) BURNS’S LIFE AND INTERESTS (his broader Scottish interests – in the Northeast, Borders and Gaelic culture) (B) BURNS AS A FOLK MUSICIAN (his vocation as a fiddler & his use of mouth music & traditional dance forms – jigs, slip jigs, reels, hornpipes, etc.) (C) HIS USE OF LANGUAGE (various dialects of Scots & registers of English) (D) THE STORIES BEHIND THE SONGS

*WORKSHOP 3 ROBT BURNS : HIGHER/ ADVANCED HIGHER ENGLISH

This is, as one would expect, a much more technically based workshop. The session focuses on : (A) THE LINGUISTIC/ LITERARY TRADITION BURNS INHERITED – from the medieval makars through to the ascendancy of English in the 18th-century (B) BURNS’S RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM OF LANGUAGE – the use of language as sound rather than meaning (e.g. diddling in the songs); his mixture of a conflation of Scots dialects + various registers of English (C) AN ANALYSIS OF A COUPLE OF SONGS - Again, song and rhythm are used to demonstrate the various points under consideration.

*WORKSHOP 4 A TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF AULD LANG SYNE : ADVANCED

Burns’s use of Rhetorical Repetition (Anaphora); Interlocked Alliteration & Rhyme Patterns; Poetic Language; Scots & English Language. Ideal preparation for learning to analyse Scots texts.

*WORKSHOP 5 ROBERT TANNAHILL – WEAVER POET OF PAISLEY (1774-1810) S1-S4

A review in song of the great weaver song-writer & poet who, in many respects, was Burns’s natural successor. In this connection WORKSHOP 4 is a complementary session to WORKSHOP 2; again, using singing and rhythm. The workshop focuses on: (A) TANNAHILL’S VOCATION AS A WEAVER & LIFE IN A WEAVING TOWN (a graphic example of the 18th-century weavers’ life) (B) TANNAHILL THE FOLK MUSICIAN (he played whistle & flute; composed his mouth music to the rhythm of the loom – again jigs, strathspeys & reels (C) ‘ONE NATION SCOTLAND’ THEMES (sympathy for Irish immigrants & slaves) (D) EXCELLENT USE OF PAISLEY SCOTS LANGUAGE – with a good measure of Ayrshire Scots as Tannahill’s parents were from Kilmarnock & Beith.

* WORKSHOP 6 A’ ADAM’S BAIRNS: S1- S4

The workshop is based upon my National Library of Scotland project which was awarded Heritage Lottery Funding in 2007. Again, song and rhythm are used to convey the children on a journey through the centuries as a multicultural Scotland rises from a population of Picts, ancient Welsh, Scotti from Ireland, Vikings, etc We consider the sectarian and racist nature of much of our history, and also look at the various waves of settlers and their struggle for recognition. The whole subject is set against various positive Scottish myths (or beliefs): all are equal in the eyes of God (The Declaration of Arbroath); ‘we’re a’ Jock Tamson’s bairns’ (Burns, etc). Hard hitting but necessary.

SHORT BIOG

Fred Freeman is author of a book on the18th-century Edinburgh poet, Robert Fergusson (EUP 1984), and a children’s book on the Paisley poet, Robert Tannahill (2009); has published over 100 articles on Scottish literature, folk music and history. He is also on the official Live Literature Scotland authors’ list for grants.

Over the past decade he has drawn upon his extensive musical background, producing over 40 (internationally acclaimed) CDs – amongst them: “THE COMPLETE SONGS OF ROBERT BURNS” (13 Cds, 12 vols, Linn Records 1996-2003); (for Scottish Borders Region) “BORDERS FIDDLES”, “BORDERS SANGSTERS”, “BORDERS BOXES”, “BORDERS PIPES”; “BORDERS YOUNG PIPERS” (1999-present); “A’THE BAIRNS O’ ADAM – A TRIBUTE TO HAMISH HENDERSON” (Greentrax 2004); “A’ ADAM’S BAIRNS” National Library of Scotland, 2008); numerous solo CDs – “YONT THE TAY” (Jim Reid) which won BBC’s ‘Best Singer of the Year 2005’; “THE COMPLETE SONGS OF ROBERT TANNAHILL” – Vols I, II & III (with 2 vols still to come). [email protected]