Irish Traditional Tune Recordings to Learn by Ear From

[Loretta Callahan]

Thanks for reminding me of the Virtual Session, Jim. I'd forgotten about it. What fun!

[John McGann]

Shameless plug- my newly re-released Upslide CD and accompaning transcription books contain the following, "non-jazzed " trad Irish tunes:

Bear Island Reel
Woman of the House
The Log Cabin
High Level Hornpipe/Newcastle Hornpipe (almost Irish, c'mon, Michael Coleman played it!)
plus a bunch of my original tunes in the tradition...

see signature below.

[whistler]

At a recent mandolin workshop given by Marla Fibish she suggested listening to flute players because what with the flute being a wind instrument and the player needing to take breathes at opportune times in a tune, which immediately colours how and where flautists place emphasis etc.

By extension, it can do no harm to get a whistle and learn a few tunes on it, just to gain a different perspective on them. I would not call my own playing exemplary, but I feel that playing mandolin and whistle concurrently has definitely been beneficial to my playing on both instruments.

Whilst it may be easiest to pick out tunes note-for note from recordings of solo mandolin, it is also useful to learn to 'decipher' tunes from instruments such as flute or pipes - or from ensemble recordings, where the individual players might all have slightly different interpretations of the tune. I've just bought this flute, fiddle & concertina recording: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cmcormor
The tunes are at a nice laid-back pace, with plenty of 'micro-variation', but never straying far off the path.
I also recommend this pipes & fiddle recording (the same fiddler as above) http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/raghallaighobrien - even more laid-back - and so infectious, you can't help but learn the tunes.

P.S. I linked to that particular music vendor only because it was the first I stumbled upon that offers free sound clips. I have no vested interest

[Jill McAuley]

Ah, cheers for those links, whistler - those are two recordings I've been meaning to get and it keeps slipping my mind! Also interesting, and not surprising to note that two of my favourite banjo players - Angelina Carberry and John Carty, both also play wind instruments - Angelina the whistle (and was also getting started on the pipes when I left home a few years back) and John Carty the flute. Oh and Seamus Egan plays banjo and flute as well!

Cheers,
Jill

[Jock]

I've never thought about it that way! Flute n whistle that is, but I do find myself listening to both a fair bit. Enjoying Harry Bradley's new album "a lot" at the moment.

[zoukboy]

Many years ago a piper friend from Ireland suggested learning to play a wind instrument (uilleann pipes, whistle, flute) for what it would do for my fretted instrument playing.

He said "Irish trad music is fundamentally wind instrument music." Taking his advice not only made a difference in my playing right away, it changed how I heard the music. So I share his advice whenever I can.

And playing pipes and whistle gives insight into the music that is next to impossible to get just by playing a fretted instrument.

[John McGann]

"Irish trad music is fundamentally wind instrument music."

Very interesting, considering there is so little room in the dance music (jigs, reels, hornpipes) for a wind player to breathe... pipes and harp make sense, I don't know the deep history enough to make any pronouncements other than "interesting"

[zoukboy]

Very interesting, considering there is so little room in the dance music (jigs, reels, hornpipes) for a wind player to breathe... pipes and harp make sense, I don't know the deep history enough to make any pronouncements other than "interesting"

Yeah, so it would seem, but flute and whistle players make breathing choices that are rhythmic rather than simply an interruption of the flow.

[Mickey Soltys]

I would recommend Seamus Creagh's Tunes for Practice, http://www.tunesforpractice.com , the CD is specifically designed to learn tunes from, it has a good selection of tunes that are beautifully played.

Richard

This is absolutely one of the best resources for anyone wanting to learn Irish music. I wish it was around when I was learning to play. It is the next best thing to actually learning by sitting with another player.

[JeffD]

And playing pipes and whistle gives insight into the music that is next to impossible to get just by playing a fretted instrument.

Yes I think you are on to something. Irish music is more horizontal, the single note melody line is king. I started with woodwinds, so I kind of automatically think that way - what is the tune, where is the tune. Someone from a fretted instrument tradition could easily conceive of music vertically, as chord progressions with a bunch of notes to string them on. That person isn't wrong, but that person would find his conception of music bumps up against Irish music instead of easily embracing it.

Spending time with an instrumentthat can only play one note at a time may be just the ticket to break that mold, and allow a more flexible conception of what music can be.