Learn folk songs and singing from the comfort of your home with our online course.
Would I recommend it? Yes, absolutely – Folk London reporter Paul Sudnik, June 2024
These weekly sessions are suitable for singers of all abilities. All material is taught by ear.
If you arrive feeling grumpy, you definitely leave smiling!
Who is it for?
These sessions are suitable for adult singers over the age of 16 and for all abilities, without the pressure and commitment of public performance. All material is taught by ear.
I come away feeling great – it’s wonderful to feel my voice soar in a supportive environment. Many of the other participants have become friends
What can I learn?
Each term, you will have the opportunity to learn repertoire, arrangements and folk style singing from an established folk singer and educator. All material is taught by ear.
The online course will make the most of the benefits of learning online. You will learn songs from our tutor’s extensive repertoires as well as harmonies that you can sing with others, but focus will be less on multi-part arrangements and more on developing as folk singers (at any level) in a supportive environment. You will get to listen to different interpretations of songs, see examples from archives and field recordings and learn about the tutor’s approach to their singing and folk songs.
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the Monday workshops. I was so glad I signed up, it was something to look forward to every Monday.
When and where does it take place?
Mondays, (weekly online classes) at 7–8.30pm.
Summer Term: 20, 27 April | 11, 18 May | 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 June | 6 July
Classes will be run using Zoom and Google Classroom. NB: You will need a Google account to access Google Classrooms.
Who teaches the class?
The Summer 2026 class is taught by Maz O'Connor.
Described by The Observer as ‘a highly individual singer-songwriter’, Maz O’Connor is a truly unique artist. Known for her haunting, emotive vocals and her poetic lyricism, her songs are most often short stories inspired by her love of literature, folklore and mythology.
Winning a BBC Performing Arts Fund Fellowship in 2014 (once won by Adele) brought Maz to wider attention, and later that year she was nominated for a BBC Folk Award for her first album, ‘This Willowed Light’.
Maz has since released 3 further albums, toured the U.K., Europe and Canada, played live sessions on BBC Radio 2 and 3, and appeared at major U.K. festivals, including Glastonbury and WOMAD. She has also written book, music & lyrics for the folk musical 'The Wife of Michael Cleary', which won the Stiles + Drewe Prize 2023 and is currently in development with West End producers.
The Autumn 2026 class will be taught by Jennifer Reid.
Jennifer Reid performs Industrial Revolution work song in the Lancashire dialect and Manchester street song. Sixteen years in, she moves between worlds with ease. She plays Barb in Shane Meadows’ The Gallows Pole, has opened for Pulp and John Cooper Clarke and performed for Chanel’s Metiers d’Art. She’s toured with Eliza Carthy for 18 months, and in 2025-6, took her songs to Aotearoa and Australia for four months to critical acclaim. She was awarded the Dennis Dubetz Award for her contributions to Cygnet Folk Festival in Tasmania in February 2026. Rooted in archives and oral histories, her work braids nineteenth-century music with the present.
She studied at Oxford, specialising in the ballad collections of Manchester and has shaped sound for radio, stage and screen. She is published by DIY organisations and academia. Her research has taken her from Venice to Dhaka via New York, where she asked whether the Industrial Revolution ever really ended. She’s spoken on weaving songs in Bangladesh and Manchester, worked with scientists, poets, musicians, historians and universities and still finds time to sing stories that refuse to be forgotten.
Fee
Term fee: £112 | £90 concessions
Adult learning concessionary rates are available for people in full-time education, or in receipt of an Income-Based Benefit (such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit.)
For more information, please visit our Terms & Conditions
A serial participant since lockdown in March 2020, Jill kept thinking: oh, I won't do it next term, but they keep on getting more and more interesting tutors – Folk London, June 2024
How to get the best from joining the workshops online
Classes will be run using Zoom and Google Classroom. NB: You will need a Google account to access Google Classrooms.
For the best possible experience you will need a computer with a webcam, microphone and ear/headphones. You will also need a stable home Internet connection or 4G-mobile connection (Note that using a mobile internet connection can be costly, check your mobile phone tariffs before choosing this option).
The weekly workshops will be taught using Zoom, with some additional material distributed via sound and video files. You do not need a Zoom account to join the course and will be able to access the sessions via your browser and our web links. A free basic Zoom account will, however, get you access to additional sound settings, which could be helpful if not essential for the course. You can also use the Zoom app on a tablet or even a mobile phone; however, a larger screen will give you a better overall experience of the course
I really value learning and practising folk songs in such a friendly environment and learning how to harmonise tunes
If you’re keen to perform, you should also consider the Cecil Sharp House Choir.
