Summer School Courses

There has been some confusion that the College provides instruments for students and to clarify this please be advised of the following: To avoid disappointment, and be assured of full participation in a class, students should provide their own instruments for all disciplines. Limited number of instruments available in classroom. The College cannot guarantee the instrument will be available to everyone who registers.

BAGPIPES: BP5 New Beginner - No experience necessary; BP4 Advanced Beginner -Beginning to blow on pipes, have learned fundamentals (doublings, triplets,grips, burls), basic sight reading skill, beginning to play common mass bandtunes on pipes; BP3 Intermediate -on pipes for 1 or 2 years, ability to play mass band tunes by memory, competingat Grade 4 level with some exposure to Grade 3 competition, ability to playcompetition 2/4 marches, strathspeys, reels and jigs; BP 2/1 Advanced - Grade1 and 2 competitive pipers. Limited number of practice chanters available in class room.

BODHRAN: B5 New Beginner - No experience necessary; B4/3 Advanced Beginner/Intermediate - basic jig and reelrhythms or have taken courses at the College before, some basic variations ofthe rhythms. Student must provide own instrument.

CAPE BRETON FIDDLE: F5 NewBeginner - No experience necessary, no official or very few lessons taken; F4 Advanced Beginner - student should be able to play tunes at a slow to moderate pace. Reading music is an asset but not a prerequisite; F3 Intermediate - student should have a good knowledge of tunes in the keys of A, D, G, E with minors in each key. Student should have some sight-reading or ear training ability. Student should be able to play tunes at a moderate pace; F2/1 Advanced - Student in this level should have the ability to read music, play in all keys and to play in 3rd position. Student should be able to play at a medium to advanced tempo. Instructors at this level will be focusing on bowing techniques, ornamentation, phrasing, learning tunes by ear as well as by note and placing sets together in terms of complimentary keys.

CAPE BRETON STEP DANCE: S5 NewBeginner - absolute beginner who has no training (often those who think they have learned it from someone else learn it incorrectly); S4 Advanced Beginner - confidence in 3 strathspeys, 3 reels and a few jig steps; S3 Intermediate - confidence in 5 strathspeys, 5 reels and 3 or 4 jig steps; S2/1 Advanced (Only offered if sufficient registrations received - at least 5 students must be registered) - Student who has a number of steps and three or four routines would be taught more steps to enhance their repertoire.

CELTIC HARP (Only offered if sufficient registrations received - at least 5 students must be registered): HP5 NewBeginner - No experience necessary; HP4/3 Intermediate - Hasprevious experience; able to play tunes with simple left hand accompaniment;basic understanding of keys, time signatures and chords; HP2/1 Advanced (Only offered if sufficient registrations received - at least 5 students must be registered) - solid technique, an understanding of keys and harmony, ability to play a variety of tunes and learn quickly by ear or tosight read is a necessity. Limited number of harps available - new beginnerlevel only. Students taking harp at the Intermediate or Advanced levels should provide their own instrument.

GAELIC: G5 NewBeginner - No experience necessary; G4 Advanced Beginner - Understands basics of word order, verb"to be", common greetings and partings and vocabulary relevant tosame, numbers 1 - 20, has a working knowledge of Gaelic orthography (includinglenition), and pronunciation. Can readbasic texts prepared for Beginner students. Can carry on simple conversations; G3Intermediate - understands all tenses of verb "to be", assertiveverb, prepositional pronouns for most common prepositions, prepositionalphrases, introduced to past, future and conditional tenses of regular verbs,irregular verbs. Possesses basicrepertoire of idiomatic expressions. Can read basic texts with the aid of adictionary. Can participate inconversation and express themselves in a variety of settings.G2/1 Advanced - Functionallyfluent. Understands and can useprepositional pronouns, prepositional phrases, regular and irregularverbs. INTRODUCED TO possessive case ofnoun, defective verbs, and passive voice, comparative and superlative ofadjectives. Possesses a reasonable repertoireof idiomatic expressions. Can read complex texts with the aid of adictionary. Can converse (with somedifficulty) with native speakers. This advanced level is not offered in allsessions but instructors will attempt to accommodate advanced studentsregistered in any session.
TIP/GAB IMMERSION: TIP/GAB LEVEL 1 - the beginner level, does not employ reading, writing, or explanations of grammar for the course. Learning is completely oral and Gaelic will be the only language employed or allowed in the classroom. Learning is activity based, making extensive use of props and creative play in a relaxed and fun setting. Curriculum concentrates on the home environment and day-to-day activities. TIP/GAB LEVEL 2 is available to students once they are able to comfortably carry on simple conversation about day-to-day matters. At this level, we combine reading and writing with oral learning and practice to deepen and broaden knowledge and ability. In addition to broadening abilities in regular conversation, we will work with assigned readings (involving both narrative and poetry), story creation and interpretation, and more structured oral discussion and presentation. Gaelic will be the only language employed or allowed in the classroom.
Please email our Gaelic Director,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  for any information on these courses.

HIGHLAND DANCE: All dancers should be taking proper dance levels. Dancers, not taking proper levels, will be placed in proper classes by their instructors. Dancers needing stamps should remain in their PROPER levels and not be bumping up levels even if they only need a stamp or two. Dances will be worked on according to up-coming competitions. Please be in proper category: H5 - New/Bare Beginner: Has NO Highland Dance experience, or has only taken a week or two in the past at summer sessions. These students are and Fling & Sword Dance in full. H3 - Novice: MUST KNOW Highland Fling, Sword Dance, Seann Triubhas, Lilt , Flora. These are the required dances for this level, and if the student does not know all 5 Novice dances in full ~ they should take the H4 level. H2 - Intermediate: MUST KNOW at least: Fling, Sword, Seann Triubhas, Lilt & Flora and should have some good knowledge of the Barracks, Laddie, Jig & Hornpipe. H1 - Premier: MUST KNOW at least the same as above. MUST be competing in the Premier Category competitively.
Please review the following Dress Code:
Bare Beginner Class: Shorts, Fitted Tee, Knee Socks. Hair neatly pulled back.
Beginner/ Novice /Intermediate/ Premier: Bodysuit, Fitted
Shorts, White Knee Socks, Dance Slippers, Hair pulled neatly back, Practice
National Skirt, Jig Shoes, Notebook.
ALL Highland Dancers should bring AT LEAST their Full Kilt Outfit to all sessions for performance use. If dancers have Aboyne, Jig and Hornpipe costumes, these should be brought as well.

PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT: P4 - Advanced Beginner class is a basic overview of Cape Breton Piano Accompaniment, teaching basic chord patterns and techniques, introducing the '1-4-5' and '1-3-7' chord patterns, and beginning ear training for impromptu accompaniment. P3 – Intermediate - Building on the basic chord patterns and rhythms from P4, the P3 class refines basic rhythms and introduces the fundamental playing techniques for Cape Breton piano accompaniment (ie. jig and reel patterns; bass lines and 'runs'; chord inversions and substitutions). P2/1 – Advanced - Experience in playing (ie. accompanying) in all (rudimentary) keys and in playing (accompanying) in all types of Cape Breton tunes (ie. strathspeys, jigs, reels, etc.), particularly in the Cape Breton style of accompaniment. Basic familiarity with the jig and reel patterns from P3; knowledge of some basic bass lines and basic chord substitutions (ie. relative minors and majors Solid understanding and experience with the '1-4-5' and '1-3-7' methods for impromptu accompaniment. Experience in accompanying 'by ear' (the advanced class will focus largely on developing skills in accompanying by ear, unless the majority of student are interested in refining technique. It will be an asset (but not absolutely necessary) to be familiar with the flat keys (particularly B and E). Limited number of pianos in classroom.

PIPEBAND DRUMMING: D5 NewBeginner - no experience necessary; D4 Advanced Beginner - has the fundamentals (singles, doubles, rolls, etc.), holdsticks properly, introduced to basic scores; D3 Intermediate - play on drums, know mass band scores, Grade 4level competition standard with some exposure to Grade 3 competition, playsjigs, reels, 2/4 marches; D2/1 Advanced- Grade 1 or 2 competition level. Limited number of drum pads and sticks available.

SMALL PIPES: (New Beginner Level 5 and Advanced Beginner Level 4 are not offered in this discipline) SP3 Intermediate - Highland Pipes experience with no small pipes experience; SP2 Advanced -Highland Pipes experience with small pipes experience. Limited number of small pipes in classroom.

WEAVING (Youth students must be 9 years old to participatein weaving): W5 New Beginner - Has no previous weaving instruction. Required to take at least two classes per day; W4 Advanced Beginner -Has someprevious instruction. Required totake at least two classes per day; W3 Intermediate/Advanced - plans a project from three choices set by instructor.