Ed, I'm glad you have asked some good questions. And since I'm older by three years, I'll be gentle in my response. Ha, ha.
First you (and all of these younger folks) need to understand that chords in Traditional Irish Music are
not part of the tradition. Only in the last 90 years or so have chords become an aspect of the music.
Others will challenge that statement, however my point is that it is primarily a solo style played by a bunch of soloists.
The 'chords' that surface in this polyphonic mess come from occasional extra notes made (and copied by others) by the Irish piper.
I'm glad that so many others are 'jumping in' and offering suggestions but the basic situation needs to be mentioned.
As for chords. (As a fiddler/mandolinist, I'm working on
Matt Heaton's Irish guitar lessons via youtube coincidentally.) Chords have a huge effect on how a tune sounds. It is the sonic backdrop of a melody, making the sound go this way, or that. And it also involves the rhythm, which is a big deal in dance music.
Adding a little extra note here and there is fairly harmless - it's not adding chords. It is making ornaments.
The '
guidelines and rules' are quite complicated; once you look closely. It is prudent to learn a few tricks now and learn
why they work later.
Work on that technique and learn lots of tunes. That's where the fun is. All the best. Doug
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