Mary Coogan Mandolin Class

[mikeyes]

I had the pleasure of taking Mary Coogan's advanced mandolin class at the O'Flaherty irish Music Retreat last week and it was an eye opener.

To my mind there is no consensus on how the mandolin fits into ITM. I've taken Marla Fibish's class, one from Mick Moloney recently, also from Martin Howley and others. There has been some similarities, but mostly it is very individual and it depends on how banjo-centric the teacher is. (Incidentally i have video of most of them.). Mary presents another aspect.

Another coda before I discuss the class: i got to hear a recording of the recent All-Ireland mandolin contest (i don't know what level which may make a difference) and it was not only boring, but fairly slow in tempo. Does anyone know if there is a specific style they want at these contests? It was nothing like any of the above mentioned teachers.

Mary is an accomplished mandolin player. You don't hear much from her because she is mostly in the role of accompaniment with Cherish The Ladies (or "Cherish" as she calls it.). in that role she has used the mandolin to play the tune or to embellish singers. Her style is sparse but very tasteful and it is clear that she is a master of the instrument. She plays a Phoenix instrument (which is an "f" hole mandolin) that sounds terrific over a sound system if a little soft acoustically.

Her style uses triplets as ornaments but she relies on a lot of other mandolin ornaments too including the usual hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, double stops and she plays to the strengths of the instrument. She also teaches the instrument specifically as mandolin and not a tiny banjo. We learned accompaniment styles from her (to be used when you have to, but it was very effective) and we saw a much broader use of the instrument.

In class she was very prepared with all the tunes available as notation and tab. She taught the usual way of a phrase at a time but expected the class to keep up which it did for once. (Most prior classes were all comers which meant that advanced students lost out. This year and last year they started a novice/intermediate class with john leistman.). She also had her husband, Bruce Foley, present to show us how the pipes play the tunes and she asked the class to contribute ideas after we heard Bruce.

This was more of a master class in which the students contributed ideas and we explored the tunes for ideas rather than just learning another tune. Technique was explored more than any other class i had in the past but it was not dictated. Rather it was drawn from us and I think that this contributed more memorable ideas than the other way. I'll note that even in the last class, the one that often fizzles out, class interest was high right to the end.

None of this should surprise. Mary is a substitute teacher in addition to being a professional musician. It was the best of both worlds.

I recommend her class to anyone who is interested, especially at the advanced level. If you live near Yonkers, NY you can get classes directly from her and get an insight into Cherish while you are at it.

Mike Keyes

[Randi Gormley]

I've taken Mary's mandolin class probably a half-dozen times and she always has new tunes, great suggestions and an accepting way with her students and students' levels and foibles. She's a great teacher!

[Korwen]

Glad to hear the great review Mike!

At O'Flaherty's I went to her Informance and too realized much of what you stated about how she is a dynamic mandolin player, and as you said she does not treat it like a smaller banjo.

Hopefully once I "graduate" from the fundamentals class I will be lucky enough to have Mary come back and be able to take her class and will be able to keep up!

Also it was nice to meet you Mike! I was the first-timer along with my Concertina playing friend who drove with you on Friday! I had a wonderful time and I'm already looking forward to going back next year!

While we're at it, speaking of the fundamentals class taught by John Leistman, it was a wonderful class, and I feel it was exactly what I needed as someone who knew how to play the instrument, read music, etc, but was unfamiliar with how to make music with it.

His class was excellently laid out, so much so that he had what amounts to a handed out syllabus for the retreat!

The contents focused on everything from playing fundamentals and right hand technique, to what I found most exciting which was learning not only how to play various ornamentation, but how to dig in to a tune and put those ornamentation to work for you in a way that prevents monotony and elevates the musicality of the tune.

He had sheet music, but under each tune he had a variety of different "alternate" music broken down by well-numbered measures where you can play various different ornamentation, and then practice substituting these bits in to the tune above. I've never seen Irish Trad music laid out this way, and I found it both useful and exciting!

The class really hit all the right notes (pun intended) for what a player needs to get started with the fundamentals of Irish Trad music for both the Mandolin and Banjo. If he teaches this class again I'll be first in line to sign up, and I'm confident that I'll continue to learn and grow as a musician from it.

And one last plug for O'Flaherty's. If you want to learn Irish Traditional Music and you have the means to go, do it. Despite what may seem like a rigorous schedule for classes amid a busy day of walking around, it was one of the most relaxing, enjoyable, and ultimately enriching weekends I've had for several years. This was my first time going, and I can guarantee I'll be going back as many times as life permits.