Hearing the Archive

Hearing the Archive is an online Tune Supply workshop led by Cleek Schrey that explores how contemporary traditional musicians can learn from historic audio and digitized field recordings. The session focuses on listening deeply to archival sound, identifying what counts as musical information, and translating older styles into present-day playing.

Participants will take part in shared listening, close analysis of specific historic performances, and practical discussion of the technical, technological, and aesthetic challenges of working with archive recordings. The workshop is designed for players of all melody instruments and all levels, and it is presented in a way that welcomes both new and experienced participants.

Attendees receive a curated roadmap of historic performances, a resource guide for finding online traditional music archives, and a framework for turning style, tone, and inflection from old recordings into usable ideas in their own music-making. Registered students also receive the class recording after the session, so they can revisit the material later.