Books | Videos | Encouragement
Learn Irish Tunes
We 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, and Ireland. The players and singers I met 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. Which is great. And which is also a bit overwhelming! To find a little calm and clarity, I email music tips and news once a month, if you’d like to JOIN the HEATON EMAIL LIST
And here are BITE-SIZED OFFERINGS from my heart to yours:
If you enjoy playing and sharing Irish tunes, you’re in good company! Find fellow musicians at:
- VIRTUAL GUIDED SESSION aka VGS
(2-3pm Eastern, Third Saturdays on the ShannonHeatonMusic YouTube Page)
Since March 28th, 2020, Matt Heaton and I have been hosting online sessions. We play “common core” tunes at a moderate pace for people learning instruments AND advanced players who just want to enjoy tunes with other trad music lovers. And we also mix in some unusual gems. (Many of the common tunes in our tune ‘cookbook’: IN HARMONY ) - TUNE ZOOMS
I run occasional group classes over Zoom, usually 11am-noon. We log on and say hi (it’s so sweet!), and then learn one great tune together. Participants are muted for the music part. But there is real connection in these sessions. I love doing these. All instruments, all levels.
Get in touch for info and to register! - VGS FACEBOOK GROUP
Members of the VGS Facebook Group ask questions, share ideas, and post practice videos. It’s gentle accountability with an encouraging community. (Make sure to answer membership questions, to keep this safe and private for musicians!)
Guided Session History:
Since March 28th, 2020, Matt Heaton and I have been running the Virtual Guided Session. We play session tunes at a moderate pace for people learning instruments AND for advanced players who just want to enjoy music at a moderate pace in the company of other trad music lovers.
We called it this after the “Guided Session” that fiddle player Ellery Klein and I started in 2018. It was a monthly session in the cafe of an old Armory, open to all ages and all levels. Instead of asking people to take turns starting tunes, Ellery and I (and other seasoned players like George Keith and Dan Accardi) would lead 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 years our online community has grown. We’ve chosen tunes to learn together; started a Facebook group; organized 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.
It has been a comfort and a joy to continue these sessions. The VGS may have started as a temporary fix, but it’s grown into its own enduring project.
* to make a donation to this free offering, here’s our PAYPAL VIRTUAL TIP JAR.
For the third Saturday Virtual Guided Sessions (VGS) on YouTube, Matt Heaton and I rotate common core tunes. Many of these appear in the In Harmony tune “cookbook”). We also include selections from our #nameyertune series, tunes from my instructional books and videos, and a few requests.
Before you pore over all these tune lists, here’s a little pep talk my son assembled. We broach the topic of how to approach the vast sea of info out there.
VGS SESSION TUNES:
Like all sessions, we tend to cycle through a variety of tunes. But we really do try to cycle through hit parade tunes frequently.
Lauri Brandenburg’s Playlist Log details tunes we’ve played with the VGS since the start.
Clayton Cook created an index to help folks navigate Saturday session tunes. His VGSdb organizes individual tunes with links to videos. It’s comprehensive and easy to navigate. Many thanks to Clayton for creating and maintaining this free tool for everybody!
Where to Learn trad Tunes
- 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’s Backer Corner on YT breaks down accompaniment techniques and concepts for Irish tunes.
- My instructional books all include recordings and sheet music. I invite musicians to start with the audio, as a way of knowing the music and playing 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. It’s also a cultural, social, and communal thing, not just a collection of tunes!
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SESSION 101
Most of you already know about Irish sessions. That’s probably why you’re on this part of my site in the first place. Here are a few session posts and projects I’ve assembled, for new and seasoned players, including some treasurable Irish Music Stories podcast episodes.
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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
Another touchstone for me is Paddy Tunney. His books, The Stone Fiddle and Where Songs Do Thunder have deepened my appreciation of origin and place. I love learning about the three townlands he developed his music and his imagination.
Tunney, Paddy. The Stone Fiddle: My Way to Traditional Song. Dublin: Gilbert Dalton Ltd., 1979.
ISBN 0 86233 028 9
Tommy Peoples’s very rich and unique tune and story collection is 382 pages of personality and care. He talks about how to hold the fiddle, and how he held Irish music during his life. Seeing his original tunes in his own neat handwriting is special.
Peoples, Tommy. Ó Am Go hAm. Donegal: T.P. Publishing (self), 2015.
ISBN:978-0-9932571-0-0
And Rus Bradburd’s highly entertaining novel about his time coaching basketball and learning fiddle in Kerry is a delight.
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 days in Ireland.
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LEARNING from MISSTEPS
There’s learning, and there’s practicing:
Irish music is a social thing. Just like telling jokes, tunes are usually shared directly. You hear, learn, and pass tunes on BY EAR. For LEARNING, I’ve made videos where I break tunes down phrase by phrase, to make aural learning approachable.
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Honing skills and finding more fluency with your instrument and Irish music is about spending time in your little PRACTICE room.
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MORE THOUGHTS for LEARNING
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