Irish Guitar Podcast

This tune is a slide.The time signature is 12/8, which means basically 12 quavers per bar, but more correctly 4 groups of either quavers or crotchet/quaver combinations.A traditional Irish musician would count 4 beats per bar, each count being for 3 quavers or the equivalent: so *1* 2 3,  *2* 2 3,  *3* 2 3,  *4* 2 3. Slides  are often played very fast and are used for set dancers, and are widely played around Kerry and Cork.Tony reminds us not to try to play too fast.File size is 1.82MB.Duration is 7 minutes 57 seconds.

Normally played in D, Tony’s arrangement is in C, with a capo on the second fret.The highest note is an A (5th fret, 1st string), and so the whole tune can be played from the open position. When fingering the high A note, remember to stretch the 4th finger to reach the note, and try to avoid moving the left hand.File size is 2.86MB.Duration is 12 minutes 29 seconds.

Probably originally a Scottish tune, this is a very widely played reel.The last two bars of both sections are identical.Tony reminds us not to try to play too fast.File size is 1.61MB.Duration is 7 minutes 02 seconds.

A favourite of Tony's, he plays this jig in F, although it's normally played in G.The key of F is not very common on guitar - and this is our first tune in F. Practicing the F scale is the best way to get used to it.The accompaniment includes a B flat bar chord, but the others can be played in open position, so it shouldn't present too much of a problem.File size is 2.04MB.Duration is 8 minutes 55 seconds.

Another tune by the highly influential Turlough O'Carolan.Planxty Irwin (which we had in Lesson 14, in Book 1) was another O'Carolan tune.This is in 3/4 time, with emphasis on the first beat of each bar: *one* two three, *one* two three, *one* two three.In this episode, we've also included a version with Tony playing the bouzouki and mandolin.File size is 3.92MB.Duration is 17 minutes 07 seconds.

A nice simple jig.The tune is mostly played in the open position, so you don’t have to move your hand until the last two bars.For the last two bars, you use the first finger for G – the third fret on the first string, the third finger for A (the 5th fret) and the fourth finger for B (7th fret).If you also use the first finger for D after the open B on the third last bar,  the open B gives you the opportunity to move your left hand back to the open position.File size is 2.13MB.Duration is 9 minutes 18 seconds.

In episode 9, we had this reel in the 'normal' tuning.In this episode, it's in Open D tuning. The tuning (from lowest pitched string to highest) is  D A D F# A D, .As the tune is normally played in G, the capo is on the 5th fret.The chord shapes for Open D are, of course, different to those for the ‘regular’ tuning. However, learning them is no different from learning any other chord; and having these under your belt opens up your repertoire.In the booklet (Book 2), the chords shapes for Open D are on page 43.File size is 2MB.Duration is 8 minutes 46 seconds.

A common polka, which Tony tells us has received some rough treatment.Make it easier to learn by using shortcuts: the first bar is identical to the third and fifth bars, the last two bars of the first section are the same as the last two of the second section, and bars 9 and 10 are the same as bars 13 and 14.File size is 2.59MB.Duration is 11 minutes 21 seconds.

Often played with last week's tune - Crowley's 1.The tune is in D; the sheet music in the booklet shows it in C, with the capo on the second fret (to bring it into D).In this episode, Tony also talks about combining tunes into sets.And a reminder that the booklet accompanying these tunes is available for download from www.uxpod.com for US $9.File size is 2.87MB.Duration is 12 minutes 34 seconds.

Two tunes that are often played together are Crowley’s 1 and 2.The legendary Connemara single row melodeon player Johnny Connolly plays these two on his first recording 'An t'Oileann Aerach', available on CIC Records (www.cic.ie/product.asp?idproduct=674).The tune is in D; the sheet music in the booklet shows it in C, with the capo on the second fret (to bring it into D).The highest note is the G, 3rd fret, 1st string, so you don’t have to move out of the open position.The right hand is tricky if you include triplets, as you should be if you are playing Irish music - without ornamentation the tune does not sound authentic.File size is 1.49MB.Duration is 6 minutes 30 seconds.

This is a nice lively tune in the key of D.Tony plays this tune with the high part first and the low part second, although it may have originally been played the other way around.Because it's in the key of D, there are no notes on the first fret. Use your first finger for the second fret, second finger for the third, and so on.File size is 2.18MB.Duration is 9 minutes 32 seconds.

This is a very common polka, and because of its simplicity is ideal for learners.This tune is often used when playing for dancers but it is a lovely but simple 'stand alone' tune.The left hand doesn't need to move at all; the notes are all in the first three sets on the four highest-pitched strings. Also, the last 3 bars of both parts are identical.File size is 1.85MB.Duration is 8 minutes 5 seconds.

The Banshee is a reel that's sometimes know as McMahon's.The first part is in G Major; it changes to E Minor in the second part.The last two bars in the first and second parts are identical, which will help in learning.File size is 2.96MB.Duration is 12 minutes 56 seconds.

The first of the Book 2 lessons is Andy McGann's jig.Andy McGann was born in West Harlem and composed very many tunes.There was an Andy McGann tribute on RTE in 2004 (tinyurl.com/2eputt)Although this tune is normally in G, Tony's version is in C, with the capo on the 2nd fret, putting it in the key of D. File size is 2.92MB.Duration is 12 minutes 47 seconds.

The final lesson in the series is a reel. As we are in the key of D left hand fingering is to use the first finger for the second fret, second for the third fret, third finger for the fourth fret, and fourth finger for the fifth fret.The accompaniment is a little complicated. Tony uses a lot of D/F# chords. The chord of D contains three notes D, F#, and A, in any combination and in any number.In the case of D/F# you finger the F# note on the 6th string.Tony does this with his thumb, which is a bit controversial with the more conservative music teachers.File size is 1MB.Duration is 9 minutes 03 seconds.

The Mist Covered Mountain is a very haunting piece in A Dorian.Normally it's played in the key of D, but Tony's arrangement is in the key of C, with a capo on the 2nd fret.Tony talks about trying to arrange music so that it seems as if it's naturally written for the guitar.There's a very nice version of this on DeDanann's album Mist Covered Mountain. It's available on eMusic  (http://tinyurl.com/22cr69).File size is 1.1MB.Duration is 9 minutes 14 seconds.

A slip jig.Slip jigs are in 9/8 time - think of each bar as having 3 groups of 3.The chords are very simple - just G, C and D.File size is 1.1MB.Duration is 9 minutes 35 seconds.

'Man of the House' is a 16-bar reel, normally played in Em (Dorian mode).Tony's version is in Dm (Dorian).Its name in Irish is Fear an Tí­,  which literally means 'Man of the House'.File size is 1.1MB.Duration is 9 minutes 45 seconds.

This is a finger-style arrangement of an O'Carolan tune.The tune was written in G.Tony's arrangement is in open D, with strings tuned as follows (from lowest sounding to highest): D A D F# A D.The booklet contains both the finger-style information, and a traditional version if you're not quite ready to tackle that!If you're learning the Open D version, Tony suggests learning a couple of bars at a time. It's worth the effort.This lesson runs for 10 minutes 34 seconds.File size is 1.2 MB.

This lively tune is not just a Kerry polka, Tony says, but *the* Kerry polka.Tony refers to a nice recording of this by a Connemara accordion player, Sonaí Choilm Learaí (on CIC Records).This is a tune that fits very well with the guitar.It's in the key of G.Chords for the accompaniment are G, C, A7, and D. For variation, you can play an Em in the sixth bar, and can substitute A7 for Am in the fourth bar.This lesson runs for 7 minutes 57 seconds.File size is 936 KB.