BRIMS is pleased to announce that fiddle student Leah Marshall and dance student Chloe Hellerman are recipients of the 2013 youth scholarships to the Swannanoa Gathering Celtic Week. The Susan Fletcher Tansey youth scholarship is made possible by a generous donation from Interpretive Simulations.
Congrats Leah and Chloe!! Have a great week and bring back some new tunes and steps to our community! Sue would be so happy for you.
In this rapidly changing world, is it any surprise that we can now join a MOOC (Massive Open On-line Course) on Irish Identity? Here is the link and below that is a description from their website. Looks like it will be an interesting 8 weeks – anyone care to join me in a virtual study group?
This year, the year of the Gathering, communities throughout Ireland are showcasing and sharing the very best of Irish culture and tradition. Hibernia College, in association with the Gathering, is taking this online by launching the first Irish massive open online course (MOOC) on the theme of Irish identity in April 2013.
The Exploring Irish Identity MOOC is available to everybody completely free of charge, no matter where you are in the world. All you need is access to the Internet and a desire to find out more about Ireland’s culture and heritage. Designed and created by Hibernia College, Ireland’s leading online educator, with contributions from prominent Irish academics and cultural icons, this course seeks to discover the threads of identity that weave through Irish history, culture and society.
Through an exploration of Irish history, literature and poetry, theatre and film, language, art, sport and landscape, this open online course aims to start a conversation that will continue in cities, towns and villages across the globe. Each week of the 8-week course will embrace one of the themes above. You can discover how each aspect is permeated through Irish identity; how they are interpreted and perceived.
Tunes
Cliffs of Moher (jig in Am)
Tobin’s Favorite (jig in D)
Wise Maid (reel in D)
Wise Maid (slower version from Alex – note that she only plays 1 A part and 1 B part even though they do repeat)
Maid Behind the Bar (reel in D)
Maid Behind the Bar (slower version from Alex – note that she only plays 1 A part and 1 B part even though they do repeat)
Kid on the Mountain (5 part slip jig in Em/G/Em/Em/G – pretty close to notation)
Kid on the Mountain (Erin’s version – missing 4th part, but lovely variation!)
Musical Priest (3 part reel in Bm/D/Bm)
Lilting Banshee for Emily (2 part jig in Am)
Galway Hornpipe (2 part hornpipe in D)
Kitty’s Wedding (2 part hornpipe in D)
Kitty’s Wedding played by Pio Ryan (banjo – some nice variations)
Spootiskerry fiddle version on Youtube (Reel in G)
Spootiskerry in a set with Flowers of Edinburgh (2nd tune)
Resources
Comhaltas Archive THIS IS AN AMAZING COLLECTION!!!
How to Talk Like an Irish Musician
Playing in Sessions
The Session.org a great way to lose 3 or 4 hours.
Here are the two tune compilations from O’Flaherty’s Retreat in Texas.
O’Flaherty’s Retreat Tune List #1
O’Flaherty’s Retreat Tune List #2
9th Class
Heard lots compliments on our group’s playing after the recital – great job everyone. Thank you for being there! So on to our last tune for this Spring – Spootiskerry which is a Scottish tune and a rollicking reel. Here’s the sheet music and I’ve linked to a couple of youtube videos that should give you a good sense of the tune.
Did you all wonder where the name came from? Me too… here’s what I found (gotta love google).
From the Introduction to “Spootiskerry. Music from Shetland” by Ian Burns
“Spootiskerry – the croft belonging to my late great aunts Bella and Joan Nicholson, situated between the village of Sullom and the new town of Brae. Originally spelt Spootskerry, but as the years have passed, an “i” or an “a”, and sometimes an “o” have been added. The croft took its name from the skerry that lies offshore. Usually the house on a croft has the same name, but in this case the house is named Southness.” He adds that it was his first composition. and, it dates from 1980, and is a reel.
8th Class
What happened to the 7th class? Must have been really good (thanks again for covering, Erin!). Everyone sounded lovely on Tuesday. You may not realize it, but the progress you've made this semester has been fabulous. And it isn't like we're playing easy tunes - really impressive, everyone! In particular, we're doing a much better job playing together and steadily. Way to go guitars for keeping a solid rhythm section going, but guitars can't do it without melody players listening well to each other too.
Remember that Sunday, April 28th at 2pm will be the recital. Please let me know if you will NOT be able to come. We decided that the two sets to consider will be the jigs (Tobin's and Cliffs) and the Maids (Wise and Behind the Bar). We'll make the final call on Tuesday, but I thought both sounded good this week. I've requested to Lori that we play right before Brock's class, so that we can get a circle set-up for the two classes.
Here's the notation for Kitty's Wedding for Emily and others! Julie and Jim, take a listen to Pio's version of Kitty's from our class last summer - some excellent examples of triplets and variations, especially the F natural lead-in to the 2nd phrase in the A part.
6th Class
Remember, BRIMS isn't having classes this week b/c of Spring break.
Here's the notation for Galway Hornpipe - our tune for next class.
5th Class
Thanks to Alex and Joe for sitting in on Kid on the Mountain, especially since we were missing Erin and Scott. That's a really fabulous slip jig - and sounded pretty darn good that last time through. So, those of you who know a couple of slip jigs, be thinking about what you might want to pair with the Kid. Too bad there's not a slip jig called Cassidy's.
This week's tune is a 3 part reel called Musical Priest. Seems like an appropriate tune to learn the week of St. Paddy's, yes? It's also in Bm (two parts anyway), so it is good to get the patterns for a Bm tune in your fingers if you haven't learned any before. They are somewhat rare, but very nice to put with D tunes - such as, haha, the Maids! As I mentioned in class, this was the most popular tune in the Claire sessions I listened to a few years back - played at 6 of the 7 sessions. The most difficult part of Musical Priest, especially for banjo players, is the reach on the 3rd part from the high B coming down. That will take a bit of practice to master. Note that I played it on mandolin - perhaps for Jim - or perhaps because the stretch is just so darn difficult on octave mandolin. Anyway, my apologies for the dishes clanking in the background. Sounds almost like we're at a pub... we're not, really... I swear. Speaking of recordings in pubs, a really fine CD that captures the feel of a session is "Live at Mona's" featuring Patrick Ourceau on Fiddle and Eamon O'Leary on guitar. Lots of great tunes as well. Speaking of Patrick, he's been the Irish fiddle teacher at Alex's summer fiddle camp. For you fiddle players in class, that is an amazing opportunity to take some classes (and be treated to some fabulous playing) over a weekend in August. Yes, a blatant plug.
4th Class
Okay, enough of the dark, rainy evenings. Hope everyone made it back from the concert without any incidents. Started snowing quite a bit earlier here than expected. Just a couple of quick comments for this week as we lost power yesterday and I'm behind something awful. First, the Maids sounded quite good - you all are to be commended on your practice. 2nd, as I mentioned in class, I won't be here this coming week, but the classroom is available, so I'm encouraging you to meet and play this week as well (I mean, come on, it is St. Paddy's week). 3rd, our tune for the following week will be Kid on the Mountain, a 5 part slip jig. Though I knew the tune well, I hadn't learned it. But was able to get it down reasonably well in a couple of days. So, even though it is a 5 part tune which sounds rather daunting, it isn't as technically difficult as say, The Maids! Anyway, best to get the tough ones out of the way first so we'll have the opportunity to practice them more in class. Here's the notation:
3rd Class
It was a dark, rainy evening - perfect for Irish tunes - but we were missing a few folks. I'm counting on the fact that it was the weather (or other commitments) and not the difficulty of the tune that kept people away. Those who were there all agreed that Wise Maid was a challenging tune, but we decided to work on Maid Behind the Bar this week and we reassured ourselves that we'd have 8 weeks to work on the Maid Set. As I mentioned in class - I first "learned" these tunes a year or more ago, and I still don't have them down solidly. I can play them at home 50/50 on my own, but in a group setting I rarely make it through without an error. My point being not to be hard on yourself with the Maids. They are very popular tunes, but also of a higher order of challenge. Those who kind of know them will benefit from working more on them, and those who are new to them will begin the process. No worries. Tobin's sounded solid, but I think we could all stand a bit more work on the Cliffs, especially as part of a set.
One last thing that I don't want to forget. We will have class this coming week (March 5th), but March 12th I will be out of town, so that will give all of us a solid 2 weeks of practice time before we meet again after St. Paddy's Day. Hopefully, I shall be fully recovered by Tuesday 
Here's the notation for Maid Behind the Bar:
2nd Class
So we're taking on the Maid Set - or at least Wise Maid. Both of the Maids are challenging tunes, so we'll see how you all feel about it next week. But Wise Maid was at top of the "want to learn" list. For those of us who kind of know the tune, we'll no doubt benefit from working on it some more. Guitars, Wise Maid can either be done very simply or you can have a blast with backing variations. We'll start simply (single finger) but then will show you a few fun variations. Here's the notation (and chords) from O'Flaherty's. But again, I encourage you to learn primarily by ear and refer to the notation only for guidance or when you are stuck on a part. There are two recordings of the tune provided, one by Erin that moves along at a pretty good clip and slow version from Alex that I had recorded back when I learned the tune. Melody instruments may find Alex's easier to learn from at first while guitars may find it easier to play along with Erin.
You all sounded very solid on the two jigs. Frankly, I was planning on working on Tobin's for this week, but you eager beavers all were ready to move on. We will play the two jigs again next week, so keep practicing them, especially as a set.
Generally, we will follow a similar format for the coming weeks. First thing we'll do is play the "tune of the week" (Wise Maid for this week) together at a measured pace. Then we'll review any tricky parts or variations of interest and play it as part of a set. After that, we'll do other tunes and we'll mix in tunes that a majority of the class knows, or tunes that some people know and others have mentioned they'd like to learn. That way, even if one of those tunes isn't chosen as "tune of the week", you'll still have a chance to hear it and possibly pick up a few bars (and notice who does know it, so you can accost them later!) At the end of class, presuming there is time, we'll play the tune of the week once more as part of a set, but this time as the 2nd tune, which is generally more difficult for a new tune. Hopefully, this sounds like a good approach and will help you get mentally prepared for the format of the class! I do reserve the right to throw in a surprise or two along the way
First Class
Welcome everyone! Great to be starting up our class and to have both familiar and new faces. Based on the first class, I think everyone is in the right place, but if you have any concerns about that or anything else, please let me know. Our goal will be to learn one tune each week. I will pass out sheet music for the tune each week and we'll have a recording on this site for reference. We won't be learning the tune in a note by note, phrase by phrase way in class, but we will play the tune slowly in class together multiple times. If you can learn it that way, great, but I expect most of us to spend some time during the week to learn the tune on our own either from the sheet music or the recording. Also, if you have one of those weeks, and you can't find the time to learn the tune, no worries. We'll be playing most of the tunes we learn every week (yes, that means 10 weeks of Cliffs of Moher!), so there will be ample opportunity to catch up if you'd like.
This weeks' tune is Cliffs of Moher, but I've also given you Tobin's Favorite (next week's tune) to work on if you already knew the Cliffs. The tune recordings will always be at the top of this post and each week I'll post a few notes / thoughts about what we covered in class.
We will spend most of our time in class playing tunes rather than chatting and I promise not to have quite so much coffee next class Thanks for being willing to introduce yourselves and try out a few tunes. I hope to have a better sense of people's repertoire as time goes on, and we'll try to find some common tunes that people already know to try out each class, but if not, we'll work on the tunes that we cover in class in more detail.
A couple of things about playing in Sessions that we were kind of covering:
New folks If you're part of an open session and someone new comes to join in, it is nice to ask them for what tunes they'd like to play or to ask them start a set of tunes. You may have noticed that I was asking 3 or 4 people in particular what tunes they knew or what they'd like to play - this was because they were new to the class / group.
Starting tunes If you are asked (or want) to lead a set - meaning 2-4 tunes played in succession - it is helpful to play a few bars of each tune that you're planning on playing. It's also helpful to the guitarists if you happen to know the key of the tunes. Last, it is important to let folks in the group know when your planning on switching from one tune to the next by either sticking your leg out or saying "hup" or "here we go" or doing that Irish thing where you look around at everybody with that knowing glance that says, "we're about to change to the next tune". You can also say "one more time" to indicate that you'd really like another go at it. Personally, I'm a stick my leg out person, probably left over from old time playing days. I believe the tradition of sticking one's leg out was actually due to one's leg cramping uncontrollably after playing an old-time tune 15 times in a row, though I could be wrong.
Tunes and Songs Not the same! Silly, I know, but a tune is a tune and a song has words and is sung.
Craic Pronounced crack. Irish for having a really great time as in, "ah, the craic was mighty last night". Not to be confused with any of the other ones.
One last goody thanks to John F. from class. Great interview with John Doyle – when you get bored practicing what we covered in class, check out this interview / lesson!
John Doyle Article in Acoustic Guitar
Last Class
The new topic for our last class was capo challenges. Drowsy Maggie was a good example to explore as the A part is clearly Em and the B part is clearly D major which requires playing the tune without the capo. It is also a good example as to why you ultimately need to know the tunes. If you quickly recognized it as an Em tune in the A part but didn’t know the tune, put the capo on and played, you’d find yourself in a difficult position when the B part came around. Whereas if you recognized, “ah this is Drowsy Maggie, that tricky D / Em tune that is a single reel,” you’d be ready for the B part.
The other capo challenge comes from playing sets of tunes where the first tune might be in the key of G and the second in the key of D and the 3rd in the key of Am. Basically, there are 4 approaches to how to manage this long-term. First, when the tune changes, drop out for the A part of the new tune and come in on the B part (or the 2nd time through). This is actually a very lovely musical effect as the melody players kind of get the tune going (and can hear each other slightly better) and then guitar comes in to add another layer of sound. With this approach, I’ll often start to strum a bit (muted) to get my own internal rhythm in synch before coming in on the B part. I also think it is very effective opportunity to build the accompaniment. For example, come in softer and simpler, and increase the dynamics (volume, rhythmic variation, chord substitution) as the tune progresses. The second approach is to hit the first chord (root chord) of the next tune at the beginning to get the transition to feel strong, then move the capo quickly and be there for the beginning of the next phrase. Basically, a strong first beat and then silence for the rest of the phrase (other than misc. capo moving sounds… hahaha). This takes a bit of practice and I would say it works best when going from D to other keys. Third approach is if you’re very good with a sliding capo (like I have), you can actually keep the rhythm going while changing the capo in a single beat (without a sliding capo, the equivalent approach is probably to drop out right at the end of the previous tune and move the capo quickly). The last approach is to play all the tunes out of the D position (no capo). This generally requires you to be very good at choosing the particular strings to play/strum and/or muting particular strings. There are some sets (for example, sets that go D-G-D or D-Em-D or D-Am-D) where I’d encourage you to consider it. Long-term, it is a good skill to work toward as it also helps (ummm… is required) on tunes that change keys between the A part and the B part.
The last point I made in class is the importance to continue playing with people. You’ve been introduced to all of the basic tools you need for accompaniment in this class (regardless of tuning chosen). If you can find a group of folks to play tunes with on a weekly basis, and struggle through the gaining experience part of accompaniment, you’ll get to the point where you have a better sense for the structure of tunes and your role in the session/group. And, I’m here to tell you, when you get there, it’s a bunch of fun!!
Many thanks for taking the class and supporting BRIMS! Hope we’ll have the chance to play together again in the near future!
Third Class
We spent most of our time just playing in the last class and that will be the plan for week 4 as well. I did throw in a few items along the way which are explained in a bit more detail below.
1) Because we’re in DADGAD, the root chord (if you’re playing with the capo) will typically be played neutrally – that is, without the 3rd note of the scale being played. For example, for the one finger D chord, the notes that are played are DADAAD – no Fs or F#s (the 3rd note of the D scale which is what determines if the chord is Dmaj or Dmin). Therefore, when you play that D chord in a D tune, it will work for a D tune in any mode (or more generally, in major or minor modes). This buys you a little time to get your bearings, but it does make the 2nd chord choice an important one because then you are making more of a commitment to the mode. What you’ll generally find is that for tunes in the Major (Ionian) mode, that 2nd chord will likely be a G or an A shape. In the other 3 modes, the most likely chord will be a C shape. So, as you listen and try to figure out accompaniment, think about that 2nd chord choice. While there may be many other substitutions that work, that 2nd chord shape goes a long way toward determining a workable accompaniment.
2) I also mentioned (almost in passing) about an alternative rhythm for jigs to consider once you feel really comfortable with first one we did. This rhythm goes down (quarter note) – up – down – up – down (all 8th notes). This emphasizes the first downbeat in a jig phrase more than the other pattern we used, but still has the same underlying down-up-down-down-up-down rhythm.
3) Our new tune for the week, Drowsy Maggie (reel), threw us two curve balls to be aware of in session playing. One is that there is a clear change of key between the A part and the B part. So, again, in DADGAD we have to make a choice about capo position and work around the fact that in one of the parts, we’ll be working “against” our capo position choice a bit. The second curve ball is that it is a single reel, meaning that you only play the A part and the B part once each, so it goes by twice as fast. While most tunes follow the AABB pattern, some are AB (single reel, for example) and others have more parts (AABBCCDD or ABCDE, etc.) Ultimately, you have to know the tunes, but the structure of the tune is something to listen for!
Here’s Erin playing Drowsy Maggie, a very popular session tune.
Since I’ve been pounding you with theory… a little something to lighten the mood thanks to Facebook and multiple friends sending it on. And it is “relatively” accurate. Enjoy.
C, E-flat, and G go into a bar. The bartender says, “Sorry, but we don’t serve minors.” So E-flat leaves, and C and G have an open fifth between them. After a few drinks, the fifth is diminished, and G is out flat. F comes in and tries to augment the situation, but is not sharp enough. D comes in and heads for the bathroom, saying, “Excuse me; I’ll just be a second.” Then A comes in, but the bartender is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor. Then the bartender notices B-flat hiding at the end of the bar and says, “Get out! You’re the seventh minor I’ve found in this bar tonight.” E-flat comes back the next night in a three-piece suit with nicely shined shoes. The bartender says, “You’re looking sharp tonight. Come on in, this could be a major development.” Sure enough, E-flat soon takes off his suit and everything else, and is au natural. Eventually C sobers up and realizes in horror that he’s under a rest. C is brought to trial, found guilty of contributing to the diminution of a minor, and is sentenced to 10 years of D.S. without Coda at an upscale correctional facility.
Second Class
Modes:
Ionian (major), Mixolydian (majorish), Dorian (minor), Aoelian (minor)
For those that are interested, there’s a nice introduction to modes here.
How to find modal scales:
Start with major (Ionian) scale
Mixolydian – flat the 7th note of the scale (in D major scale, make the C# a C natural)
Dorian – Mixolydian scale except flat the 3rd (in D, make the F# an F natural)
Aoelian – Dorian scale except flat the 6th (in D, make the B a Bb)
Generally, moving from Ionian to Aoelian goes from “happy” sound to “intriguing” sound (think movie soundtracks!)
With this in mind, note that both the Dorian and Aoelian modes have a “flat” 3rd which is what makes them considered minor. In other words, the primary chord (1 chord) for D is D minor rather than D major. In DADGAD many of the D shapes are major/minor neutral, meaning there is no F note (3rd) played at all in the chord (no F# – major, or F natural – minor). Very handy (and forgiving)!
What modes are in play in various keys?
D tunes – All modes are in play – most tunes, however are major and mixolydian
Em tunes – Minor modes (both dorian and aoelian)
G tunes – Mainly major (ionian)
A / Am tunes – All modes are in play
Bm tunes – Minor modes (mainly dorian)
The modes of tunes are the last piece of theory / information you need to consider in tune accompaniment. And again, your ear is your best ally (but a little theory is helpful to understand the reason why certain chord patterns work).
So, the quick list of questions for tune backing is:
1) What is the rhythm? (reel, jig, hornpipe, polka, slip jig, slide, waltz, etc.)
2) What is the root key or tonic? (D, Em, G, A, Bm)
3) What is the mode? (Ionian, Mixolydian, Dorian, Aeolian)
4) What chords do I choose to play?
First Class
Welcome back! Let’s review what we covered in our first class of 2013:
How to find the key. Use the bass note (low D) or two bass notes together (low D and A) on your guitar to find where the tune sounds in synch with the underlying root chord or tonic (key). Usually most effective to find during the first phrase of the A or B part, but watch for tunes (about 10-15%) where the first phrase is not the 1 chord. Finding the key (and, of course, the rhythm) is the first step in creating your accompaniment for a tune.
What bass notes do I try? 98% of the tunes will be in D, Em, G, A or Am, or Bm, so try the D (open), E (2nd fret), G (5th fret), A (7th fret) and B (9th fret).
Alternative approaches: Move your capo to each of those frets and use the single finger version of the D chord, or, if there are other guitarists in DADGAD tuning, check out where their capo is placed (not always effective as we’ll later see, btw). While you can also usually find the key on-line, it is REALLY important to develop this skill by ear, and practice is the only way to get there!
Be careful: If you happen to catch a phrase that strongly suggests a chord that is different than the underlying key, you may get a “false positive”, hence the reason to try to catch the first phrase. Also, on many guitars, as you move up the neck or possibly bend the strings a bit, you may find yourself slightly out of tune (or if you weren’t in tune with the melody player to begin with) and your ear will pick up on that and perhaps think it that didn’t sound “in synch” when, in fact, the issue was being slightly out of tune.
When I slap the capo on, how do I know what chord I’m playing? As I so deftly described in class, just count up the scale from the chord in D position by the number of frets where you’ve placed your capo. So, starting with D, here are the notes in a chromatic scale:
| D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D |
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
Interestingly enough, that also corresponds to the capo position, right?
So, if you’re playing D position with the capo on the 2nd fret, you count up the scale 5 places from the chord form you’re playing – D (D#, E, F, F#, G), then you’re playing a G chord. If, as we discovered in class, you’re playing a G form chord with the capo on the 5th fret, count up 5 notes on the scale from G (G#, A, A#, B, C), and voila, you’re playing a C chord. Note that the scale repeats after the C# going back to D, D#, etc. So, if you’re playing a Bm chord form with the capo on the 5th fret, count up 5 notes from B (C, C#, D, D#, E) and you’re playing an Em chord.
This is called “transposition” in music theory and is also very important to understand when backing up a singer (or perhaps yourself, if you sing). For example, you might look up your favorite Irish song, write down the chords, and then try to sing along with it and realize it doesn’t work so well for your voice range. This is when your trusty capo comes in handy. Instead of learning new chords, you can just put on the capo and try a different key.
For our purposes in class, when I make chord notation on a tune, I will generally make the notation based on key of D fingerings (forms) even if the tune is in a different key. Thus, if a tune is in G and the first chord is G, I will show it as D, but because we have the capo on the 5th fret it will be a G chord. That probably sounds somewhat confusing right now, but you’ll find it is easier to refer to the chord forms that way (e.g. play Em form with your capo on the 5th fret (which is an Am), rather than having to figure out in your head how an Am chord would be fingered with the capo on the 5th fret).
Last, I’ve asked that you try to figure out your own accompaniment for Out on the Ocean (a jig) and bring that to class next week. This is likely to be a struggle, but a worthy one! Long term, your goal is to be able to figure out fairly quickly what sounds good with a tune and trust me, most people can’t memorize all the chords to all the tunes (and plus, you’ll want to throw in a few variations), so you have to start on the journey of gaining the experience of recognizing patterns that work.
So without further ado, here’s Erin!
Out on the Ocean
And if you figure that one out and are now bored, here’s another one!
Father Kelly’s
Between Weeks
Here are some tunes that you can work on over the holidays if you feel inspired. Probably won’t be the ones we work on in class, as I’ve just compiled some tunes that were already available on the website and what I’d like to do in January is work up tunes that we’ll also work on in Session I class (but those are yet to be decided). Anyway, without further ado, are some practice tunes:
Mountain Road (Reel in D) Fast Slow
Silver Spear (Reel in D) Fast Slow
Wise Maid (Reel in D) Fast Slow
Maid Behind the Bar (Reel in D) Fast Slow
Lilting Banshee (Jig in Am) Listen
Tommy Mulhair’s (Jig in G) Fast Slow
Cliffs of Moher Listen
Also, the KGB Practice links have a ton of good tunes – maybe slightly out of tune, but also played in sets of 2 or 3 (though only 1x each).
Week 3
Will post more soon, but for now, quick reminder. Practice the 2 and 3 finger chord progressions in both reel and jig rhythms. If you find you have mastered that, then change chords every 2 beats instead of every 4.
Jig Backing Exercise: For the tune, Connaughtman’s Rambles, work on the alternative backings that I passed out in class. Note that I provided 3 for the A part and 3 for the B part. This link is nice and slow and very steady, so it should allow you to work through both the chord changes and the jig strumming pattern safely.
Here’s are a couple of jigs on guitar that I ran across this morning – just to get you into the jig modd. Some fabulous picking. The Monaghan Jig (first one) is one that KGB often plays. Great minor jig.
Monaghan Jig / Tipperary Temptress (Note: I’m pretty sure the 1st tune that is listed in the description was cut off)
Week 2
First! Two items for your calendar – BRIMS session at C’ville Coffee Thurs, Dec 6th at 7pm. First hour is played at a measured pace, 2nd hour pace is appropriate for the group as a whole. I will at least be there for the first hour and if you’re interested, we can sit together a little away from the group and talk through some of the accompaniment.
Second item is that John Doyle is coming Wed, Dec 12th at C’ville Coffee. John is one of the finest guitarists in the world and it is a real treat to have him coming back to Charlottesville. He’ll be playing solo, so the emphasis (perhaps entire?) will be on song. Sure to be enjoyable (and probably crowded, so come early!)
Okay, on to class topics…
In the email to you, I’ve sent an updated intro to the course that includes an additional page of chord charts that have the D / Em / F#m / G / A walk up that I quickly introduced in class. It also has the basic minor chord shapes that we’ll go over in class next week.
This week spend time going over the exercises we introduced in class:
Rhythm Exercise: 4 measures on first beat followed by 4 measures on 2nd beat followed by 4 measures on 3rd beat and 4 measures on 4th beat. Repeat until you’re bored. Then go to exercise 2!
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 etc.
Can also try emphasizing beats 1 and 3 and then 2 and 4.
This rhythm exercise is good to practice regardless of which tuning you ultimately choose to pursue. It helps you learn control the emphasis in your strumming hand and it is not easy to do for most people!
Chord Shapes Exercise: For whatever chord progressions you want to practice, do 4 beats with the 1st chord, 4 beats with the 2nd chord, etc. For example:
D1 D1 D1 D1 A1 A1 A1 A1 D2 D2 D2 D2 G2 G2 G2 G2 A2 A2 A2 A2 D2 D2 D2 D2
Where 1s represent the single finger chords, and 2s are the two finger chords moving up the scale (note that the 2nd D2 is the one just above the two finger A chord). Make sure to practice the “jump” back to the 1st D shape. Try it going up the scale and then practice going down.
Alternative Backing Exercise: For the tune, My Love is in America, try at least the first 4 alternative backing approaches that we did in class. Feel free to give the last two a whirl as well, but definitely practice the first 4. Make sure you feel really comfortable with knowing where those chord changes occur. The link above is to a recording of the full tune, you can just reset each time or try playing along with both the A and B parts. See if the same backings work for both parts! What do you think?
If you’re still with me – give the jig rhythm a try (pick direction also in the email). Down up Down Down up Down. Yep, that should keep you busy this week!!
Week 1
It’s great to be teaching guitar again after a lengthy layoff while getting the session classes underway. Seems like we’ve got a group with a fairly common set of backgrounds and knowledge and I appreciate everyone being willing to play a little yesterday so I have a better understanding of where we are and where we might go together.
To review some of the key points from yesterday’s class:
#1 – Rhythm. Lots of different types to keep it interesting – Reels, Jigs, Polkas, Hornpipes, Slides, etc.
#2 – Rhythm. It is THE priority in backing Irish music.
#3 – Rhythm. Examples from some of the best! Listen!
Reels: (Note not all play DADGAD – doesn’t matter)
Arty McGlynn
Arty McGlynn (great melody work on guitar on the 1st tune)
John Doyle (Drop D)
Dennis Cahill
Owen Marshall (note how the tunes sound with / without guitar)
Eamon O’Leary
Pat Egan (Standard)
Josh Dukes (great view of strumming hand – rock solid steady!)
#4 – Communication. Listening and coordinating with the melody players. Verbally prior to playing the tunes, but more importantly, once the set begins. Let your instruments and natural rhythms get in synch with each other. Support one another musically. If you don’t believe me, check out this article!
If you are willing to explore beyond the confines of our local Charlottesville area, there are some great sessions to be found. Here are a couple of links to tempt you in a new direction.
Jeff Willner, a fellow SwannyG regular, has a fabulous website that lists the on-going sessions (and some recordings) from the NRV – Irish in the New River Valley.
Erin Murphy and Cheryl Tobler, both lovely players of the flute (and whistle and pipes) host this weekly Sunday session at Corgan’s Publick House in Harrisonburg. On the site it says 8-11pm, but I believe they’ve moved it up to 7-10pm.
And remember BRIMS’ session on the 1st Thursday of each month at C’ville Coffee, led by Brock Napierkowski from 7-9pm. First hour is slow to moderate. Second hour is all out.
REMINDER: I (Brock) will not be here for this week’s class – I will be having a double session next week from 7-9pm.
That said, I would like to introduce our first jig set: The Maid On the Green / Anthony Frawley’s
These are classic jigs and just wonderful tunes. The set comes from a recent release from two wonderful players Willie Kelly and Mike Rafferty – ‘The New Broom’ is the name of the album.
Maid on the Green Discography:
irishtune.info
Anthony Frawley’s Discography:
Youtube links:
Anthony Frawley’s at 1:04 by the young band The Ivy Leaf
Decent version of Maid on the Green by San Francisco whistle player Ceri Garfield played fast (she speeds up though) and then slow.
Here is a great example of just how international irish music now is: Maid on the Green played by a south korean group that the band Bard taught as part of their ‘bard project’.
A nice flute version with lark on the strand played by Tomoyuki Koshi.
Full Orchestral version, marching fife and drum version (interesting, but not very good).
And I might take a bit of heat for this, but here’s a great example of WHAT NOT TO DO!
Start teaching yourself that O’Callighan’s – by ear if you can. Learning by ear is frustrating at first but please try it – it gets easier each time. Use the audacity program that I listed in my last post – and if you have been giving the tune a good listen over the last week, the playing part should come easier than you might expect.
This last week’s session was great fun. We had tunes, stories, and everyone played well together.
More to come…
brock
