Learn with me

WORKSHOPS WITH MONIQUE CLARE

Monique Clare is a Brisbane-based cellist, songwriter and one of Australia’s leading educators and innovators in the field of folk and non-classical string styles. Since completing a Bachelor of Music at the QLD Conservatorium in 2015, a career of touring and ongoing professional development has taken her to fiddle camps and festivals around the world. She co-founded Tree Folk Music in 2018, and has organised string camps, retreats and workshops under this banner since that time. She has taught in diverse settings including fiddle camps and festivals around Australia (Sunshine Fiddle Camp, Stringmania and the National Folk Festival), youth music camps (Young Music Society Summer School, Rockhampton Winter Music School) and institutions (Afghanistan National Institute of Music, Coffs Harbour Conservatorium, Brisbane Girls Grammar, Bellingen High School and Queensland Academy of Creative Industries).

She is passionate about helping classically trained players explore different avenues of music making, venturing into improvisation, singing & playing, and learning traditional fiddle styles. Building and nurturing community is woven through her teaching practice. She encourages musicians to find intrinsic joy by playing together in non-competitive settings.

As a performer she has toured internationally as a member of The Maes, and is in demand as a session musician, having worked with artists including Emma Dean, Kate Miller-Heidke, Katie Noonan and Eminem. Her debut solo album ‘Sight’ was released in 2022.

Testimonials

“Thank you so much for the amazing performance and for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us on Saturday. The students are still buzzing about your session this morning!”

-Queensland Academies Creative Industries

“Your generous contribution to the learning experiences and community talks were rich and affirming and so soul nourishing. Thank you for sharing your expertise and joy so generously and with rigour and candour.”

- L. King, Cello Dreaming

“Thank you SO much for your dedication and amazing musical input over the weekend. The students had an absolute ball and are already asking when it’s happening again.”

- P. Brearley, Coffs Harbour Regional Conservatorium

“Just wanted to say thank you again for the workshop. You are truly amazing. Everyone loved what you did. You are a massive inspiration to our young musicians at BGGS. Thank you!”

- M. Patterson, Brisbane Girls Grammar School

“Monique has been contracted to Stringmania as a tutor in cello and voice repeatedly and we have received nothing but positive accolades for her professional knowledge and inclusive, explicit and inspiring teaching skills.”

- M. O’Meara, Stringmania Camp

Thank you very much again for your time and for all you did for the students. We hope to see you back in ANIM again soon.”

- A. Boggess, Afghanistan National Institute of Music

WORKSHOPs

String workshops

  • Chords, rhythms and grooves for string instruments

  • Learn a Folk Tune by Ear (focus on Celtic, Scandinavian or Americana traditions)

  • Singing and Stringing

cello workshops

A more specific workshop just for cellists, where we delve a little deeper into techniques, chord patterns and tunes that work particularly well on cello. Due to the reduced number of players, it’s possible to work as one group, so long as all players are able to play on all strings and can manage extensions. These sessions are often really fun and a great bonding opportunity for the cello section - cellists tend to get really excited when we get together on our own!

CLASSROOM SESSIONS

  • ‘A Million Ways To Be A Musician’ (music careers discussion)

  • Q&A session

  • Western folk music exploration

  • Learn a song by ear

  • Improvisation games

other topics

Please get in touch if you’d like to organise workshops to include topics other than the above listed. Sessions could involve:

  • Songwriting

  • Tunes for all instruments

  • Arranging tunes and songs for groups

  • Improvisation

  • Music industry preparation

Performance

We can incorporate a short set of my solo music into the schedule or as a standalone concert.

FORMAT

The format can be very flexible. I will work with you to arrive at a schedule and plan that suits their circumstances and students. Some examples include:

  1. An all-day event: folk string sessions alternating with repertoire rehearsals lead by the students’ regular teachers/conductors.

  2. Workshops held during the students’ regular ensemble rehearsals throughout the school week.

  3. A weekend intensive: taught in collaboration with other music tutors to form a schedule of simultaneous classes covering different topics.

  4. Sessions held during classroom music lessons

    String workshops will usually involve the following:

  • Ideally, students are divided into two or three groups, according to their playing level

  • Tunes or songs are taught by ear, without sheet music

  • We arrange the music as a group, learning how to play chords rhythmically and think about notes “vertically” rather than “horizontally”

  • We can organise to perform the arrangement at the end of the workshop (for example to parents of the students if after school hours, or to other students if during school hours)

  • We can organise to give students audio to listen to in advance, to feel more familiar with the content before learning it aurally.


COST

My fees are negotiable if your school/institution doesn’t have sufficient funding - please don’t hesitate to ask.
As a guide, my full rates are:

1-2 Periods: $200
Half day: $400
Full day: $800
Weekend: $1200
Standalone Performance: $300

The total cost may vary depending on the scope of the workshops, and may need to be adjusted to include travel costs if necessary.


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VIDEO REEL