Irish Tunes

 Hare's Paw tutorial video from Eoin Stan O'Sullivan A Swedish Irish music class play The Famous Ballymote/ The Hare's Paw and Rainy Day. Somebody shouts "Whoo!" during the tune. That sort of behaviour should be illegal if you ask me. Good stuff though. Remember you can slow down You Tube vids by using the "flower" button Notes on the Session https://thesession.org/tunes/1462 The first version of this tune on the Session doesn't seem to quite match with the way  Eoin O'Sullivan plays it. Probably best to learn by ear from the vid, with help from the notes if needed. And here's the Famous Ballymote   notes on The Session. This is nearly the way it's played by the Swedish class. They put a little twiddly bit in extra.

Click on the pic for a cracking version of Paddy Ryan's Dream. Jimmy Power (1918 - 1984) was an Irish fiddle player who lived in Scotland and England for a long time working as a carpenter on building sites. He  recorded some albums as a solo artist and is also on compilations with titles like "Paddy in the Smoke" and "Music from The Favourite" (the Favourite being a famous Irish pub in London during the 60's and 70's). I had one of his records in the early 80s and used to struggle along trying to play some of the tunes. Here's one  Whelan's/ The Trip to Sligo    ( on here the title of the second tune is given as The Old Lark in the Morning. That may be its more common name, but on the record I'm sure it was The Trip to Sligo) Whelan's is very similar to Morrison's and very difficult to play without getting them confused. I tried these tunes out using the You Tube slowing down facility and it worked really well. More

Cooley's on Mandolin Peak Fiddler's version. I've been playing along with Peak with the speed at .75 - it's nearly playalongwithable at that speed.   Changing the speed of You Tube videos - you can change the speed by using the button that looks like a flower at the bottom right part of the screen. The notes of the tune still sound the same just slower. If you slow it to .25 it sounds positively spooky! This is a link to MandoLessons.com This is the website of an American guy giving free mandolin lessons. He does a lot of Irish stuff that seems to be OK - (some tunes get changed a lot in US). - Good for learning. Slow, regular rhythms. Also does some jazz mandolin lessons for the dedicated mandolin player.

Rattling Bog Also known as The Old Bog Hole apparently.  I prefer that title. Turns out this is a rumbustious song.  The song is just the first part of the tune.

Dots on The Session Tune Tune

Peak Fiddler Version of Rakes of Kildare Laurel Swift version Dots on the Session

The Geese in the Bog   good learner video. He goes through the tune many times at a moderate speed and then quite slowly at the end. Don't forget, you can slow down (or speed up) You Tube videos by using  the Settings button on the right of the picture. It looks a bit like a flower and says "Settings" when you pass the cursor over it.

Pipe on the Hob/ Hag at the Churn by the Bothy Band

Merry Blacksmith/Silver Spear/ Star of Munster from somewhere in Germany, I think This video seems part of a Classical Music festival. But bear with it till "Handel Goes Pub" Mountain Road/Merry Blacksmith/ Silver Spear Tutorial vid for Merry Blacksmith     If the Read More button is showing, it means there's more content! Played on mandolin Merry Blacksmith Slow Tutorial . By Red Desert Violins. This tutor has a lot of good videos. Link here I've got a copy of the Pete Cooper book that she takes the bowing from. The Silver Spear  by Red Desert Violins. Again the version she plays is directly from Mel Bay's Complete Irish Fiddle Book by Pete Cooper    Another Silver Spear Tutorial. This one from University College Dublin Traditional Music Society. A useful, if limited, site. The sheet music appears alongside someone playing the tune on a fiddle or a whistle.