Multiple opportunities to play Irish Music!
Every Thursday at 7pm at Fenian’s Pub for Moderate to Fast tempo. *No Session July 4th
Last Saturday of the Month at The Bean in Fondren at 11am for Slow-ish Sessions.
They are graciously not charging for the space so it’s very important to support them by purchasing drinks and/or food!
TUNES FOR BOTH SESSIONS HERE.
The tradition in Irish Music is AURAL. Budding musicians would learn by listening, watching and being present with the music masters. So while in a traditional session you would NEVER see sheet music, we are okay with it. You should however find a recording of the tunes before you ever attempt to play it! If you can hum it you’ll have a much easier time committing it to memory. The cadence (and soul!) of Irish Tunes doesn’t come through in the sheet music. LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN!
RESOURCES
The Session has an archive of tunes, sets and audio, with scores in standard and ABC notation. Includes electronic audio of most tunes which includes a slider to adjust the tempo. There are also listings of active sessions around the world for when you’re traveling!
Tune Supply/ Session Tunes – Started during the pandemic when all musicians lost their livelihoods overnight. Trad musicians based in New York Caitlin Warbelow and Chris Ranney created Tune Supply as a way to help other musicians via online concerts & teaching and started a virtual session on Youtube with some of the best Trad musicians! Check out their website, which has a fantastic searchable database of tunes played on youtube during those sessions.
The Academy is a great way to start to learn tunes and pick up tips for various instruments.
YouTube: No introduction needed – seek and ye will find. Be selective!
Irish Traditional Music Archive ITMA
A hugely important source of tunes and collections
Comhaltas promote traditional Irish Music and culture across the world. They sell tune sets books that are nearly mandatory learning!
(Many of their sets can be found on YouTube. Don’t forget- you can turn the speed down on YouTube)
