Tutors

Mel Biggs, Matt Quinn, Frankie Insley, Vicky Cooper and Helena Painting.

Mel Biggs

Mel Biggs
Mel Biggs is a musician, performer and melodeon teacher based in Derbyshire, England.
Renowned the world over for her perceptive, patient and mindful manner in teaching groups and individuals, Mel is a leading light in the world of melodeon teaching; both on and off-line.
Having been teaching since 2009, Mel has an ever expanding toolkit of techniques at her disposal which she adapts to every new teaching scenario. You can expect a bespoke blend of learning-by-ear, call and response playing, analogies, visualisations and pattern recognition, tune deconstruction and notation in moderation.
Mel is a consummate performer, vocalist and accompanist wracking up a wealth of experience in trio Moirai with Jo Freya and Sarah Matthews between 2014-2022, playing for various Morris and traditional dance sides, and most recently as an actor-musician in the 2022-2023 UK & Canada tour of Fisherman's Friends: The Musical.

Matt Quinn

Matt Quinn
Matt Quinn is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and podcaster. Through his work solo and in bands, has played everywhere from small folk clubs to Glastonbury & WOMAD and abroad to The Netherlands, Iceland and Canada. He currently performs with harmony trio Culverake, in a duo with George Sansome (Granny’s Attic) and is the host of In The Roud – A Folk Song Podcast. When solo, Matt sings and plays melodeon, concertina and mandolin and performs traditional folk songs, with a few surprises thrown in for good measure.

Frankie Insley

Frankie Insley

Frankie is an absolute force for community folk music and dance! After discovering the melodeon through morris dancing as a teenager, she has become a passionate advocate of the joy of folk! She is the founder of DIY Ceilidh, a chaotic, joyful and hugely popular monthly ceilidh event In Newcastle Upon-Tyne that is volunteer-run and queer friendly. She also regularly runs friendly and welcoming folk sessions in Newcastle.

Frankie’s melodeon playing is full of rhythm, drive and danceability, owing to many years both playing for and dancing in ceilidh, bal, morris and rapper. As well as playing two row instruments, Frankie is a keen advocate for the one row melodeon, loving the unique sound and groove this instrument can produce! She plays in variety of folk styles including English, balfolk, Cajun and old time and loves to help and encourage players to explore and develop their own melodeon sound.

Frankie is also heavily involved with Newcastle’s punk scene, performing in her band Bitchfinder General. She also performs with the Newcastle drone folk collective Powtes and is a ceilidh caller.

Frankie is a warm, welcoming and generous teacher who is keen to help others find their own joy within music.

Vicky Cooper

Vicky Cooper
Vicky is relatively new to all things folk, but has played a variety of instruments in other genres for many years. She has previously taught at North East Playgroup, Derbyshire Playgroup, Whitby Folk Festival and Melodeons in Wensleydale, and is an active morris musician for Silkstone Greens North West Morris. She also co-hosts a Slow and Steady Session in her home town of Sheffield. Vicky primarily plays D/G and G/C melodeons, with a particular soft spot for European tunes, and would like nothing better than to encourage others to take up the melodeon in the hope they love it as much as she does!

Helena Painting

Helena Painting
Helena is a keen advocate for adults beginning their musical journey, teaching Absolute Beginner melodeon workshops at melodeon events and folk festivals since 2018. Helena is a regular tutor at Melodeon Playgroup, and has taught at folk festivals including Towersey, Sidmouth, Shrewsbury and Chippenham, working solo and alongside Ed Rennie as part of their Squeezebox from Scratch project. A lover of folk dance and music, Helena runs supportive steady-speed sessions, with a particular focus on English tunes.