learning irish traditional music - Irish Traditional Music Archive

LEARNING IRISH TRADITIONAL MUSIC
IRISH TRADITIONAL MUSIC ARCHIVE
TAISCE CHEOL DUCHAIS EIREANN
LEARNING IRISH TRADI1JONAL MUSIC
Learning to sing or to play traditional music depends hot just on innate
aptitude but also on being well motivated and then on getting to hear the
music frequently and listening to it with attention .
It is never too early or too late to start to learn , and within a reasonably short
period the beginner - especially the motivated adu lt beginner - can achieve a
good degree of competency, and derive much pleasure and satisfaction from
learning. Since the unit of learning is the song or tune, the drudgery of scales
and exercises is avoided. Techniques acquired on one instrument can be
transferred to another.
Gaining listening experience, which is an essential part of learning, is dealt
with by leaflet no 2 in this series, ' Getting to Hear Irish Traditional Music '.
Attentive listening will enable you to make your own of the idiom of the music ,
and thus to perform items in a good traditional style. If possible, listen with a
view to learning in relaxed surroundings where the music is live and close at
hand rather than recorded.
Singing and playing
There are ways of learning to perform , whether solo or in combination with
others, which apply both to singing and playing:
•
By imitating live performances. This is the best method, but it has the
drawback that it is difficult to pick up by ear a ll the details of a
performance. Even if you do find it possible , slavish im itation is not
the ultimate goal, but you need to assimilate the characteristics of the
music as it comes to you before you begin to introduce your own
personal touches.
•
By imitating recorded performances. This method has the advantage
of allowing you to slow down performances, and play them over and
over, so that you can pick up details. But there are elements of a
performance that are not captured on a recording. The lack of
personal interaction with others makes it a somewhat arid way of
learning. It is however the most feasible method for very many people.
•
By teaching yourself from written versions of songs or tunes. This
method is best used for adding items to your repertory after you have
otherwise absorbed the idiom of the music and acquired sufficient
technique . It is also useful for learning details which might have
escaped your ear, or for getting ideas for variations of an item you
already know.
Playing
Other ways of learning to perform apply rather to playing only:
•
By getting individual tuition, on a regular or occasional basis, from an
experienced player. Although cases differ, this is probably the best way
to learn to play. You will be able to hear repeated renditions of a tune
at a pace sufficiently slow to resolve difficulties, get advice on fine
points of technique, and perform along with your teacher if suitable.
•
By attending a class run by an experienced player. You will not get
individual attention in this situation, at least not for any length of
time, but it will be beneficial in many ways to be with other learners,
and it will ease you into s~ssion playing.
Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann (the association of Irish musicians)
provides many classes in its branches throughout Ireland and abFoad,
and at other venues such as its annual summer school Scoil Eigse.
Details can be had from CCE's headquarters, 32 Belgrave Square,
Monkstown , Co Dublin , tel. 01-800295. Classes and workshops are also
provided at general summer schools such as Scoil Samhraidh Willie
Clancy , Miltown Malbay, Co Clare, tel. 065-84148, and specialised
schools such as that of Cairdeas na bhFidleiri (the association of fiddle
players) , Glencolumbcille, Co Donegal, details from tel. 0232-247395.
Details of classes and workshops in uilleann piping can be had from
Na Piobairi Uilleann (the society of uilleann pipers), 15 Henrietta
Street, Dublin 1, tel. 01-730093. There are also local groups such as
the Armagh Pipers Club (details from 14 Victoria Street, Armagh) and
individual teachers giving tuition in various centres. These are best
discovered by making enquiries of local traditional performers.
•
By teaching yourself from published tutors. There are several
instrumental tutors of varying quality available in music shops and
libraries, and they are best used in conjunction with recorded sound.
Among them are:
Whistle:
Eithne &John Vallely, Learn to Play the Tin Whistle 13, Armagh Pipers Club , Armagh, 7th ed . 1976; Geraldine Cotter,
Traditionallrish Tin Whistle Tutor, Ossian Publications, Cork, 1983, with
flexidiscs and cassette; L.E. McCullough, The Complete Irish Tinwhistle
Tutor, Silver Spe!lr Publications, Pittsburgh, rev. ed. 1976, with
cassette; Micheal 0 hAlmhail) and Seamus Mac Mathuna, Tutor for the
Fead6gStain [tin whistle], CCE, Dublin, 1971, with cassette.
Fiddle: Eithne and Brian Vallely, Learn to Play the Fiddle, Armagh
Pipers Club, Armagh, n.d.; Matt Cranitch, The Irish Fiddle Book,
Mercier, Cork, 1988, with flexidisc and cassettes.
Flute: Fintan Vallely, Timber. The Flute Tutor, Long Note Productions,
Clare, 2nd ed. 1987, with cassette; S.C. Hamilton, The Irish Flute Player's
Handbook, Breac Publications, Cork, 1990, with cassette.
Pipes:Denis Brooks, Irish Union Pipes. A Workbook, Brooks,
Washington D.C., 1985; H.J. Clarke, The N ew Approach to Uilleann
Piping, Clarke, Galway, 1988, with cassette; Tadhg Crowley, How to Play
the Irish Uilleann Pipes, Crowley, Cork, 1936; Leo Rowsome, Tutor for the
Uilleann Pipes, Walton, Dublin, 1936; Eithne & J.B. Vallely, Learn to Play
Uilleann Pipes, Armagh Pipers Club, Armagh, n .d.; G. de M.H. Orpen-
Palmer, Walton's Tutor and Selection of Irish Airs for the Bagpipes [war
pipes], Walton, Dublin, 1967.
Accordion: Pat McCabe, Tutor and Tunes for the Button and Piano
Accordion, Annaverna Press, Dundalk, 1980; David C. Hanrahan, The
Box. A Beginner's Guide to the Irish Traditional Button Accordion, Ossian
Publications, Cork, 1988, with cassette.
Banjo:Anthony Sullivan, Sully's Irish Banjo Book, Halshaw Music,
Cheshire, 3rd ed. n.d. , with cassette.
Harp: Sheila Larchet Cuthbert, The Irish Harp Book, Mercier, Cork,
1975; Nancy Calthorpe~ Begin the Harp, Walton, Dublin, 1987.
Bodhran: Micheal 0 Suilleabhain, The Bodhran, Walton, Dublin,
1984; Steafan Hannigan, The Bodhran Book, Ossian Publications, Cork,
1991, with cassette and video.
Useful general works which deal with several instruments are:
Eithne and J.B. Vallely, Sing a Song and Play It 1-3, Armagh Pipers
Club, Armagh, n.d.; Eamonn Jordan, Whistle and Sing! 1-2, Ashardan,
Portadown, 1988.
Singing
The problem about learning to sing is that it does not lend itself easily to any
specific method of approach. The voice expresses temperament more plainly
than an instrument, and the traditional 'rules ' of singing are better learnt by
sympathetic listening and imitation than by formal tuition. Remember that the
words take precedence over any refinement of the air.
Other
The formal education system at first and second level makes little provision for
the teaching of traditional music. But in spite of the restrictions of the official
syllabus many teachers throughout the country very successfully impart a
knowledge and love of the music to their pupils, and some schools actively
promote the music on an extra-curricular basis.
At third level, tuition in traditional performance forms part of B.Mus. and
B.A. in Music courses at University College, Cork (tel. 021-276871) and at the
Regional Technical College, Waterford (tel. 051-75934).
*
To perform traditional music to its fullest it is necessary to have some
knowledge and appreciation of its background. As well as learning traditional
music, it is necessary to learn about it.
© Irish Traditional Music Archive / Taisce Cheol Duchais Eireann, 1991.
No 3 of a series of information leaflets.
Available from the Archive at 63 Merrion Square, Dublin 2
(tel. 01-619699, fax 01-686260).
Grant-aided by An Chomhairle Ealaion / The Arts Council.