Introduction to Celtic Music

[dessery]

Hi All

I have just joined here. I have been playing Mandolin now for about a month now on a Kentucky KM162 and am loving everything about it!! I have been playing guitar for 12 years though.

I am massively into my blues and originally I actually wanted to learn after hearing the great Bert Deivert who I know is a member of these forums. Since getting a mandolin I have been working my way through Steve James DVD's. However since starting to learn, and watching lots of videos (and eyeing up my next instrument, a bouzouki) I have started hearing lots of Celtic music and really love it. It is something i know next to nothing about though and don't really know where to start.

So i guess I have two questions really:

1. Can you recommend some bands for me to start listening to in order to get into the style?
2. What can you recommend to start learning this style? I am generally more suited to video so DVD's/YouTube links etc is great but open to any suggestions

Many many thanks in advance!! In the mean time i look forward to reading a lot more of the wonderful content on this site!!

All the best
David

[Beanzy]

Just as a quick response;
The original Planxty album " Planxty" is well worth buying.
The Bully Wee Band "Silvermines" is actually a gold mine for a musician looking for inspiration.
More modern bands such as Shooglenifty are a great listen too.

In terms of fiddle check out John Doherty, Tommy Peoples, Kevin Burke and Martin Hayes.

There are very different styles under the Celtic umbrella so it would depend on how you roll really.

[Gary Alter]

For some very fine Celtic mandolin picking you should check out Marla Fibish, I recently picked up her CD 'Morning Star' w/Jimmy Crowley and its exceptional.

[jmp]

Second on "Martin Hayes", also add "Altan" and "Cherish the Ladies" to the list IMHO.

Also recommend this program http://thistleradio.com/

[oldwave]

mick moloney is a wonderful celtic mandolin/banjo player

[dessery]

Hi all

Thank you so much for your responses!! I have added a ton of stuff to my spotify so I will get stuck in at work tomorrow!!

Any recommendations on DVDs or anything?

Thank you all so much!!
David

[Perry]

Listening to Celtic mandolin players mentioned above would be cool but I would also listen to Irish fiddle players just as much if not more


here's a great solo fiddle album

http://www.amazon.com/Sweeneys-Dream..._mus_ep_dpi_10

Also learning how to read music is really handy as there are many free Celtic tune books out there....

here's one such book

www.braccio.me/session/KingStreetTunebook.pdf

[BJ O'Day]

For some very fine Celtic mandolin picking you should check out Marla Fibish, I recently picked up her CD 'Morning Star' w/Jimmy Crowley and its exceptional.

I just bought 2 Marla Fibish albums. Like them very much.
You may also look for Syncopaths, (Ashley Broder on mandolin). She also recorded with Jamie Laval, a talented fiddler.
BJ

[foldedpath]

Listening to Celtic mandolin players mentioned above would be cool but I would also listen to Irish fiddle players just as much if not more

Second that. As much as I admire mandolin players who have made a mark in this music, you'll probably learn more by listening to the wealth of this music played by fiddlers, flute players, and pipers if you really want to get into it. At least on the instrumental/dance music side of the tradition.

To repeat something I heard in another context, this is all about what you can bring to the music by playing mandolin, not bringing the music to the mandolin.

And that starts with a deep study of the music, on any instrument playing it. Most of them are not mandolins, for historical and other reasons... including the focus on articulations on a sustained note, which the mandolin isn't ideal for.

Develop an ear for the music, and the mandolin will follow.

[catmandu2]

1. Can you recommend some bands for me to start listening to in order to get into the style?
2. What can you recommend to start learning this style? I am generally more suited to video so DVD's/YouTube links etc is great but open to any suggestions

I would recommend generally t hat you listen to the "roots" of the form a great deal. There's lots of great old collections on youtube, etc. -

As been said - learn the idiom, study, assimilate

[Bertram Henze]

As has been said, listen to the music first and get a feel for it, then see what you can do on the mandolin (or its bigger siblings) that would fit in.
For that second step, take a look into the Song-a-Week group here on the Cafe. About a third of the stuff played there is Irish/Scottish/Manx/Brittany etc, collectively known as Celtic.

[Randi Gormley]

You may find, as you delve into the music, that there are soloists and bands recording wonderful music, and there are the guys who drop by the pub session once a week to chat, drink and play music. There are differences. I can never approach one tenth of the expertise of so many wonderful musicians, from Liz Carroll to Frankie Gavin, but I'm perfectly capable of playing in session along with everybody else. Just thought I'd put that out there ... because the best part of ITM is playing with everybody else, and you don't have to reach the top of the tree just to join in, provided you have a feel for the music and a basic repertoire.

[crisscross]

A nice collection of jigs,reels and hornpipes is "The Mandolin Player's Pastime" http://elderly.com/books/items/604-2.htm
Though not a traditional celtic player, I relly like Simon Mayor and his book "The new celtic Mandolin" (also as DVD)http://www.mandolin.co.uk/books.html

[Darren Bailey]

Last week I picked up an album called "Rough Guide To Celtic Music" which is a compilation that has introduced me to a lot of stuff I wasn't aware of. There are a few of these type of compilation albums out there which give a good sweep of different styles and types of celtic music and so are more likely to have something that suits you. By the way, you can't go wrong with a Kentucky!

[dessery]

Hi again all

I cant thank you enough for all your pointers and music recommendations. I have been listening to Celtic music pretty much non stop for the last 2 days and have thoroughly enjoyed everything that everyone has recommended here!! I have also added Govannen to the list as well who I already had an album of from a long time back and have been listening to again and really enjoying.

Also thank you crisscross for your recommendations, they both look good, I will definitely see if I can get them at some point soon. I had looked at that DVD by Simon Mayor so it is good to get a recommendation for it.

I have also been looking OAIM as well and am thinking of signing up with them for a month to see how I get on.

Fun times ahead indeed!! I am loving my Mandolin so far, have barely picked up my Guitars since I have had it which is always a good sign. I also have a Tenor Banjo sitting in my shed that belongs to my mum that I may well dust off and tune to GDAE too and have a play!!

Many thanks once again to all of you!!
Kind regards
David

[jwynia]

Something that I rarely see mentioned in discussions of starting with Irish/Scottish music is which *kinds* of tunes to start with. Personally (I can only speak for myself), different tune types are easier/harder to play up to speed. Here's my ranking from easiest to hardest. Obviously others will probably have a slightly different list, but it's a starting point.

1. Polkas (not sure why, but these were easy for me from the beginning and fun for me. They also get you learning the distorted rhythm that's not in any notation you're reading.)
2. Single/Double Jigs (picking pattern DUD DUD is all over Celtic music and foundational, plus many popular jigs are relatively simple to play.)
3. Slides (These are often short melodies played multiple times and fun in a similar way to polkas)
4. Hop Jigs (The rhythm in these is often a bit trickier than "standard" jigs)
5. Strathspeys (the Scottish "snap" takes a bit of getting used to)
6. Reels (even after several years of playing Irish music on mandolin, I still find reels to be the most challenging to play at the speed others tend to want to play)

I know for me, a list like this would have helped give me early "wins" in learning tunes rather than struggling with reels right away like I did because I asked for people's favorite tunes as a starting point and got lots of those.

[Bertram Henze]

...Reels (even after several years of playing Irish music on mandolin, I still find reels to be the most challenging to play at the speed others tend to want to play)

The trick is to play less notes. Watch the fiddlers and make shortcuts and simplifications like they do. Don't try to follow the wind instruments round every tiny corner.

[crisscross]

6. Reels (even after several years of playing Irish music on mandolin, I still find reels to be the most challenging to play at the speed others tend to want to play)

If reels are to fast yet, you might consider playing hornpipes.
The swing eighths and the slower tempo make them a little easier. all you need is a Sobell mandolin for the celtic vibes.

[Eddie Sheehy]

Start with slower tempos like Mazurkas, Waltzes, Marches, O'Carolan Tunes...

[Bren]

My "lazy mandolinist's justification" for not doing every pipe and whistle ornament is this:
Wind instruments need these to impose rhythm and phrasing on what would otherwise be undifferentiated warble.

The percussive attack and short sustain of the mandolin means you don't have this problem so you can think of the nature of mandolin picking as much of an asset as a liability.

It's good if you can find a couple of albums of tunes that you can manage to play along with. Either because you know the tunes well or the speed is manageable. Sharon Shannon albums would be great but she plays D tunes in Eb so a bit awkward without a capo.

My practising standbys back in the day were The Bushwackers "Dance Album" and Hom Bru's "Obadeeah".

" Many Happy Returns " by Arcady is another good playalong album - well-known tunes in lively but approachable settings.

"Take the Bull by the Horns" by accordionist Tom Doherty is an absolute cracker of an album to play along with, many familiar tunes at good steady rhythm and terrific uncomplicated banjo playing by Mary Coogan and Mick Moloney that is easy to follow on mandolin.


https://www.irishtune.info/album/TDrty/

[jwynia]

If reels are to fast yet, you might consider playing hornpipes.
The swing eighths and the slower tempo make them a little easier. all you need is a Sobell mandolin for the celtic vibes.

I forgot to include hornpipes and waltzes in my list and, you're right, both are quite a bit easier to play than reels. In fact, lots of reels, if you slow them down a bit and change the rhythm, sound pretty good as hornpipes.

Nice Sobell, though I'm pretty happy with my Weber oval hole at this point.

[jwynia]

Start with slower tempos like Mazurkas, Waltzes, Marches, O'Carolan Tunes...

Agree on the waltzes, marches and O'Carolan. Can't say I've heard a single mazurka played at any Irish music events/gatherings I've been at in the last few years, but mazurkas are fun anyway.

Waltzes are probably my favorite thing to play on the mandocello.

[Randi Gormley]

We played Sonny's Mazurka at our groupa ceoil competition last month, fwiw. Great tune.

We must be aberrations here in the wilds of Connecticut -- everybody plays hornpipes as fast or faster than reels.

[Beanzy]

The things I have found with all the fast tunes of matter which type you can always play them up to speed if you leave out enough notes. So get your ears in for which notes the tune is stepping up or down the stairs on. They're those important notes where you mark the steps. If you do that then the rest is just adding the fill-in notes in one of a fairly few manners that are typical of the idiom. Often done as triplets, or quadruplets and centre on the lower note or alternatively a simple rise or fall in sequence. In your practice if you do the main notes first and practice the 'diddles' separately then you can add them when you're ready. Until then hardly anyone would notice that they're not there if you're accurately marking the progression. I found that was a really quick way to get the tunes down with proficient players.

[Bertram Henze]

get your ears in for which notes the tune is stepping up or down the stairs on. They're those important notes where you mark the steps. If you do that then the rest is just adding the fill-in notes in one of a fairly few manners that are typical of the idiom.

Yep, nicely detailing my point. For example, compare this "full" and that "reduced" version of Cregg's Pipes.