Books | Videos | Encouragement
Learn Irish Tunes
We really do learn best from one another. It’s how Irish music is passed on. It’s how I learned.
When I started playing Irish flute, there were no online resources for traditional musicians. I travelled around Chicago, Boston, New York, and Ireland. The players and singers I met became my guides: they showed me stuff, loaned me recordings, pointed me to music sessions, gave me a hard time. It was a challenging, sometimes discouraging, and slow process. But it was (mostly) a pretty great way to learn.
It’s easier to find everything now. With online tunes, resources, and information, learners today can probably go a lot faster than I did. Which is kind of amazing. And maybe also a bit overwhelming!
To find a little calm and clarity, I email music tips, podcast news, and session/gig news to my HEATON LIST.
And here are a few BITE-SIZED OFFERINGS from my heart to yours:
Hi, fellow Irish music lover! There are lots of us who enjoy playing and sharing Irish tunes.
- Find fellow musicians at our Saturday Virtual Guided Session on YouTube. We meet on the THIRD SATURDAY of the MONTH, 2-3pm Eastern U.S. Time.
- Join the VirtualGuidedSession Facebook Page where members share information, practice videos, encouragement, and more. A little gentle accountability with a great community.
(All Irish music lovers welcome; but to keep the page safe and private for musicians, please make sure to answer the membership questions!)
All are welcome to the Virtual Guided Session. We play standard tunes (and just a few unusual gems) and try to keep it to a moderate pace. The chat window can be lively, and it’s exciting to connect with participants all over the globe!
Matt Heaton and I are now running these live on the THIRD SATURDAY of each month, 2pm Eastern.
Come on over to the ShannonHeatonMusic YouTube Page
For folks hungry for more, I’m also doing a monthly TUNE ZOOM. We meet over Zoom on the FIRST SATURDAY of the month, 11am Eastern time, and we spend the hour learning one good tune. All instruments, and a wide variety of levels welcome. Even though participants are muted for most of the hour (except for beginning hellos and any questions), there is real connection in these sessions. I love doing them. Just get in touch to sign up!
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Established March 28th, 2020, Matt and I have been playing session-style tunes at a moderate pace for people learning instruments, OR for advanced players who just want to savor tunes at a moderate pace in the company of other trad music lovers. It’s good fun, and it’s been built and shaped by all who show up. Which is pretty cool.
We try to rotate COMMON CORE tunes (many of those are included in Matt & Shannon’s tune ‘cookbook’: IN HARMONY (For more tunes and info, check out the “Tunes to Know”).
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History:
Back In 2018, fiddle player Ellery Klein and I started an in-person “guided” session. We met monthly in the cafe of an old Armory. All ages and all levels were welcome. Instead of asking people to take turns starting tunes, Ellery and I led every set, with a consistent rhythmic feel. We encouraged players to learn whatever bits of tunes they could … by ear.
It was great. A big, fun group of people. Month after month, folks knew more and more tunes. There was coffee, and beer, and fresh-baked cookies for kids. And then Covid closed everything down.
Out of desperation, my husband Matt and I tried a livestream session in March 2020. To our surprise, people tuned in, made requests, and asked to do it again.
Over the months our online community has grown. We’ve chosen tunes to learn together; started a Facebook group; organized a few Zoom classes and events (including the “VGS Retreat” concert with Jean-Michel Veillon, Louise Mulcahy, Conal Ó Gráda, Hatao & Nami, Ivan Goff. People have created tools, shared practice videos to stay accountable, and collaborated with one another, including a group video produced by VGS member Elise Kress, a tribute to this sweet island of music, friendship, and encouragement.
As in-person events have mostly resumed, we are continuing these sessions. The VGS may have started as a temporary fix, but it’s grown into its own enduring project. And it is our privilege and pleasure to keep it going!
* to make a donation to this free offering, here’s our PAYPAL VIRTUAL TIP JAR.
For the Saturday Virtual Guided Sessions on YouTube, we rotate common core tunes (many of which appear in my In Harmony tune “cookbook”). We also include selections from our #nameyertune series, tunes from my instructional books and videos, and a few requests. Yes, there are a lot of tunes–but we really do try to cycle through our community hits frequently. To help navigate, here are a few TUNE LISTS & RESOURCES BELOW, compiled by the VGS community.
But before you pore over these lists of tunes, here’s a little pep talk that my son assembled with me. We broach the topic of how to approach the vast sea of info out there. And unlike my typical unedited style, this vid has a wee bit of YT Gamer-style editing (courtesy of son).
Tunes played for the VGS
When the Guided Session began (in person), we had a list of tunes we’d try to rotate regularly. We’ve continued that practice with the Virtual Guided Session. Updated COMMON CORE list here... and Lauri Brandenburg’s Playlist Log details tunes we’ve played with the VGS since the start.
And to help folks navigate Saturday session tunes, Clayton Cook has created this index of all the YouTube recordings of individual tunes. With his VGSDB tool, he also indicates which tunes are in the COMMON CORE (the ones we try to rotate more frequently).
Many thanks to Clayton for creating and maintaining this free tool for everybody!
Where to Learn trad Tunes
- My free Tune of the Month Videos feature standard traditional tunes, taught phrase by phrase. (This series began as a free podcast in 2012, and I expanded to videos in 2015–so there’s plenty of content!)
- Matt Heaton offers a Backer Corner on my YT channel, breaking down accompaniment for Irish tunes
I also have instructional books to help demystify Irish music and empower players. They all include recordings and sheet music. And I always invite musicians to start with the audio, because just “reading” tunes isn’t the same as knowing them and playing them from the heart! - First 50: simple, beautiful tunes that prioritize smart flute breathing and fiddle bowing choices over ornamentation
- Oil for the Chain: tips and tunes to help players practice effectively and participate in sessions comfortably
- In Harmony: a quality selection of popular reels, jigs, slip jigs, and hornpipes with mid-tempo panned recordings (so you can play with JUST flute or JUST guitar).
DELVE DEEPER:
Irish music is a second language for me, and I enjoy learning tunes, techniques, and elements of style. And it’s also been rewarding and important for me to take in the music as a form of cultural expression. It’s social and communal thing, not just a collection of tunes!
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IRISH MUSIC STORIES Oral History Project
The Irish Music Stories podcast explores the bigger stories behind traditional tunes.
Tune in to hear entertaining conversations with luminaries of the Irish world! You needn’t know anything about jigs and reels to listen–but the show has plenty of interest for trad music devotees.
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SESSION 101
Most of you already know about Irish sessions. They’re probably why you’re on this part of my site in the first place. Are are a few thoughts on session playing, for the new and seasoned players.
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FURTHER READING
There are some great books that situate Irish tunes and songs in society, and in the landscape of Ireland.
My favorite of all time is a book of essays by Belfast flute player Ciaran Carson. He takes us “in and out of time” with his incredible snapshots of Irish sessions and tunes:
Carson, Ciaran. Last Night’s Fun. New York: North Point Press, 1996.
ISBN 0-86547-511-3
Other favorites:
Bradburd, Rus. Paddy on the Hardwood. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006.
ISBN-13:978-0-8263-4027-6
And hear Rus speak in IMS Episode 48 about his time coaching basketball and learning fiddle in Ireland.
Breathnach, Breandán. Folk Music and Dances of Ireland. Dublin & Cork: The Mercier Press, 1971.
ISBN 0 85342 509 4
Vallely, Fintan. The Companion to Irish Traditional Music. Cork: Cork University Press, 1999.
ISBN 1 85918 148 1
And hear Brian Vallely speak in IMS Episode 29 about the cover painting on the encyclopedia.
Tunney, Paddy. The Stone Fiddle: My Way to Traditional Song. Dublin: Gilbert Dalton Ltd., 1979.
ISBN 0 86233 028 9
There’s learning, and there’s practicing:
For learning, I think it’s imperative to LEARN BY EAR. And for that I’ve made many videos where I break tunes down phrase by phrase, and encourage folks to learn to SING tunes before trying to play them. For practicing, here are a few ideas:
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ACCOUNTABILITY
Folks in the Virtual Guided Session community have been sharing practice videos. This is a small, private, supportive community. And I think just recording something to share is a brave and instructive act.
Keeping a log can also help: on my December Tune Learner digest, I mentioned that I’d be trying daily “goal-less” practice all month. I wanted 10 uninterrupted “personal” minutes each day. No recording, no rehearsing with Matt, no tune research rabbit holes, no student follow-ups–just one long set of tunes, whatever came to mind in the moment.
I send tips and encouragement straight to your inbox, on the first Monday of each month. This is a regular chance for me to offer new ideas… and for you to share some of your developments (if you wish to!)
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DRONE TOOLS
I find it helpful to occasionally play along with a drone — it helps me find more tonal depth, if I play with a drone for a while, and then turn it off (and still try to imagine that tone underneath me). And it also helps me check my relative pitch i.e. how well I am playing in tune across the instrument. I’ll put on a D drone, for example, and play a tune in D, noticing how the A, B, etc sound against that D.
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SLOW DOWN TOOLS
It can help to slow tunes down as you’re learning them. (I did that when I was first learning: I’d slow down 33 RPM albums to 78… which was hilarious.)
It can also be great to practice along with a slower recording, to pick up details of ornamentation, breathing, etc. You can do slow down playback YouTube playbacks. Or you can get a tool like the Amazing Slowdowner.
And Clayton Cook who created the VGS Database made an app for practicing Comhaltas tunes. There’s a bar to slow tunes down, to loop sections.
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METRONOMES
Sometimes it’s a good idea to check yourself, to make sure you’re holding a steady pace. Jon Antonsson in Sweden has made a “bodhran metronome” to practice with—it’s not just a click, click, click. It’s a loop with a rhythmic feel appropriate for Irish music. There’s nice lift on the 3rd and 6th eighth notes of the jigs… and the 2nd and 4th quarter notes of a reel.
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MORE THOUGHTS for LEARNING
REMOTE FLUTE LESSONS
Looking to tune up skills, learn tunes efficiently, and check in on practice habits? I teach on Zoom on Weds & Thursday afternoons (Boston time). One-time lessons, somewhat regular, whatever is helpful… I keep lessons to 40-minutes and send mp3s/notes to follow up ($75 for a session).
ACCOMPANIMENT INSTRUCTION
Matt Heaton also teaches occasional lessons (guitar and bouzouki lessons) on Mondays.