"Mari is an extraordinary musician. Her sound is musical enthusiasm personified."
— Dr. John Turner, 10-time U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion

Photo By Dale Rempert

Workshops & Teaching

Mari loves sharing tunes and ideas with fiddlers all over the world! She teaches frequent workshops at fiddle camps, on tour, and in her home town of Boston. You can book Mari for a workshop via her Booking page, or find upcoming workshops to attend on her Calendar page.

Mari’s workshops cover a broad range of subjects, including:

  • Bowing and ornamentation techniques
  • Improvisation
  • "Comping" (accompanying) for fiddlers
  • Playing for dances
  • Twin and trick fiddling
  • Classes on specific regional styles of fiddling, i.e. Scottish fiddling, Irish fiddling, swing fiddle, klezmer fiddling, etc.
  • More special topics available on request
Workshops are open to all bowed string players (violin, viola, ‘cello, bowed string bass). All workshops will focus on learning tunes. Tunes will taught by ear, and Mari will send all participants home with recordings and sheet music to practice with. Mari also specializes in all-level workshops that will challenge, excite, and engage fiddlers of any age, experience level, or stylistic background.

Past workshop and camp teaching includes:

    Jink and Diddle School of Scottish Fiddling
    Acadia Trad School workshops
    Julian Family Fiddle Camp
    South East Regional Folk Alliance Conference
    Make Music Day, San Diego
    Austin Celtic Festival
    Yachats Celtic Festival
    Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp
    School for Strings, New York
    Yale School of Music, Interdisciplinary Seminar on Rhythm
    Boston University, College of Fine Arts
    Kinhaven Music School
    American String Teacher Association Conferences
    ...and more!

Hear from some workshop organizers and students:

Of all the musicians we’ve hired over the years, Mari Black stands out not only as a great fiddler, but as a highly innovative and effective instructor. Mari has boundless energy and an ability to spirit a diverse class of fiddlers on to greater levels of challenge and expression. Mari Black is a bright light that can’t help but ignite and fan the flame of musical expression in others.
       — Avery Ellisman, Director of the Julian Family Fiddle Camp

Mari is an incredibly dynamic and enthusiastic teacher. She listened carefully to my goals and continually adapted her teaching to help me meet them. Her love of music is infectious, and she has ignited in me a passion for fiddling that I'm sure will be lifelong. Mari is energetic, warm, and fun to work with -- all on top of being an extraordinarily talented musician.
       — Cooper Lloyd, fiddle student


Lessons with Mari

When she is not on tour, Mari teaches private lesson in her hometown of Boston, and via Skype for those further away. Lessons are available to students of all ages and experience levels. Mari welcomes everyone, from brand new fiddlers to experienced musicians looking to explore new styles or polish their playing at the highest level.

Private lessons will focus on your individual musical interests. Mari believes in learning by doing, so you will do lots and lots of playing. You will learn tunes, improve your fiddle technique, build your improvisational skills, gather supporting theory knowledge, and expand your repertoire. Mari teaches a variety of musical styles, including various types of folk fiddling, jazz, Western Classical, tango, klezmer, and improvisation. She is happy to work on whatever types of music most interest you — they all contribute to building good violin skills.

Come fiddle for fun, improve your jamming skills, or prepare for a national competition. The sky is the limit!

Contact Mari to schedule your lessons today.