Results 1 to 23 of 23

Thread: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

  1. #1
    Registered User Elliot Luber's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Long Island, NY, USA
    Posts
    4,157

    Default New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    Who are the better Celtic mandolin players these days that I should be listening to?

  2. #2

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    Marla Fibish. David Surette. Seamus Egan. You might also listen to tenor banjo players like Gerry O’Conner, John Carty. There’s also Simon Mayor, Andy Irvine, and fiddlers like Kevin Burke, Liz Carroll, Liz Knowles, Martin Hayes, etc. I missed a ton of influential players, but it will give you a start.
    Last edited by Mandobar; Jan-25-2020 at 8:10pm.
    "your posts ... very VERY opinionated ...basing your opinion/recommendations ... pot calling ...kettle... black...sarcasm...comment ...unwarranted...unnecessary...."

  3. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Mandobar For This Useful Post:


  4. #3
    Registered User Jill McAuley's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Co. Mayo, Ireland
    Posts
    3,569

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    If you're listening to tenor banjo players add these folks to the list: Angela Usher, Angelina Carberry, Theresa O'Grady, Pauline Conneely, Shane Mulchrone, Páraic MacDonnchadha, oh, and Mick Moloney plays tenor banjo and mandolin.

    Marla Fibish has a Peghead Nation course that is good value for money and and a great way to get started learning jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, ornamentation etc.
    2018 Girouard Concert oval A
    2015 JP "Whitechapel" tenor banjo
    2018 Frank Tate tenor guitar
    1969 Martin 00-18




    my Youtube channel

  5. #4
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Llanidloes, Wales
    Posts
    696

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    I must apologise in advance for not directly answering the question asked - and I certainly do not mean to be negative about the mandolin (a forum dedicated to the mandolin would be the worst place to do so). However, if you want to get right to the heart of Irish (Scottish etc....) traditional music, I would strongly recommend listening to players of other instruments. There are some very fine interpreters of the music on mandolin and other plectrum instruments (such as all those listed so far), and there is plenty you can learn from them in terms of style and technique (not to mention the enjoyment of listening to them) but I would wager that they all learned their art through listening to and playing with fiddlers, pipers, flute players, concertina players etc.

  6. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to whistler For This Useful Post:


  7. #5

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    Don’t leave out Brona Graham. She is a fantastic tenor banjo player from Ireland.

  8. The following members say thank you to Ancient for this post:


  9. #6

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    Technique is very different between fiddle, accordion, and mandolin/banjo. The approach to triplets and other mechanics needs to be learned from those who play plucked instruments. It’s very hard to perform rolls on a mandolin, and on fiddle picking down-up, down-up on jigs is the wrong approach, so yes, you can learn how the music sounds listening to all kinds of players, the mechanics need to be learned by listening to folks “picking techniques”. Mandolin is relative new in Celtic music, compared to fiddle, accordion, concertina, etc. But you there are some really good players out there these days, and technology makes it easier to gain exposure to them via You Tube, Spotify, etc.
    "your posts ... very VERY opinionated ...basing your opinion/recommendations ... pot calling ...kettle... black...sarcasm...comment ...unwarranted...unnecessary...."

  10. #7
    Registered User foldedpath's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Posts
    5,293

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    Ditto what Whistler said above. Don't listen to just mandolin or tenor banjo players. You can pick up some ideas about technique that way, but there is really no established technique for playing Irish or Scottish trad on mandolin in this music. We're all sort of making things up as we go along.

    The "precursor instruments" like pipes, whistles, flutes and fiddles laid the groundwork for Irish and Scottish instrumental dance tunes. They're all sustaining instruments, which means you have to figure out how you'll approach the music on a non-sustaining instrument like mandolin. The "treble" ornament used by tenor banjo players is a good thing to have under your fingers, but there are many more things you can do with hammer-on, pull-off, slides, and partial chords within the melody line. I've spent the vast majority of my time listening to Irish fiddlers, flute players and pipers. Not just to learn the tunes, but to figure out the rhythm pulse and how to translate or simulate the articulations on mandolin.

    To be clear, I greatly value the contributions of mandolin players like Simon Mayor and Marla Fibish, but there is so much more to listen to from the fiddlers, fluters, and pipers that can inform your playing.

  11. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to foldedpath For This Useful Post:


  12. #8

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    There is a very nice irish trad album by Michael Kerry called The Rocky Road with some fine mandolin playing.

  13. #9

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    There is a very nice irish trad album by Michael Kerry called The Rocky Road with some fine mandolin playing.

  14. The following members say thank you to Tim Griffin for this post:


  15. #10
    Registered User dulcillini's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Central Illinois
    Posts
    346

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    All of the above! The Cafe colleagues covered it. Nothing more to add!
    Michael A. Harris
    the dulcILLINI
    Collings MF5 Mandolin
    Collings MT2 Mandola
    McSpadden Custom Mountain Dulcimer
    KLOS Carbon Fiber Travel Guitar
    "Home is the place we grow up wanting to leave and die trying to get back to." Nash

  16. #11
    Registered User lowtone2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    lower alabama
    Posts
    893

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    Anyone with an interest in Irish trad should have this one, I think.


  17. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to lowtone2 For This Useful Post:


  18. #12
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    So Oregon
    Posts
    1,010

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    Who are the better Celtic mandolin players"

    "Celtic'' or Irish Traditional?

  19. #13
    Registered User Simon DS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Peace and Love
    Posts
    2,416

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    I’d add diatonic accordion and concertina to the list of musicians to listen to.
    The metronome or drum machine can be pretty good too.

    Also check out the Song A Week Social group here on the Cafe.
    -you can learn a lot by listening to the people you are learning with.

  20. #14
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    So Oregon
    Posts
    1,010

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    "I’d add diatonic accordion"

    B/C and C#/D accordeon players and perhaps some one row melodeon players.
    This would be for IRTRAD or modern interpretations of IRTRAD.

    List on request.

  21. #15
    Registered User seankeegan's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    East Coast of Ireland
    Posts
    246

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    A few online resources worth checking out:

    TG4 website has quite a few videos of their music shows online, but only for a limited time. Here's the recent TG4 awards (which features quite a bit of mandolin!)

    https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/home/?p...l&pcode=062520

    The Irish Traditional Music Archive has a lot of material in their digital library:

    https://www.itma.ie/digital-library

    NPU's site has a massive amount of videos and audio recordings. Their monthly concert 'Session with the Pipers' is video'd and available online

    http://pipers.ie/source/media/?galle...&mediaId=30658

    A couple of channels on youtube with lots of good music:

    https://www.youtube.com/user/clarebannerman

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgf...V1qX8YVFj8N4TQ

    https://www.youtube.com/user/TCZ60/videos

    https://www.youtube.com/user/k4hx1/videos

    https://www.youtube.com/user/GravelWalks/videos

    There's a lot of good music here as well....

    https://ceolalainn.breqwas.net/

  22. The following members say thank you to seankeegan for this post:


  23. #16
    Registered User Jill McAuley's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Co. Mayo, Ireland
    Posts
    3,569

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    GREAT music here as well, TG4's "Hup" programme:

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl2...Njm3MiSAYTxFTA
    2018 Girouard Concert oval A
    2015 JP "Whitechapel" tenor banjo
    2018 Frank Tate tenor guitar
    1969 Martin 00-18




    my Youtube channel

  24. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Jill McAuley For This Useful Post:


  25. #17
    Registered User MikeyG's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Grand Forks, North Dakota
    Posts
    106

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    THANK YOU SO MUCH for that, Jill!! Holy cow! Not only is it great music (as you said) but the list of videos seems to go on endlessly. Hours and hours of really fine Irish trad.

    MikeyG

  26. The following members say thank you to MikeyG for this post:


  27. #18

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    Keep in mind too, that mandolin in Celtic/Irish settings is relatively new compared to other instruments. But as learning any genre, you'll have a better base if you use a variety of sources.
    Zachary Graft
    Celtic and Christian fiddle and mandolin music
    zacharygraft.com
    facebook.com/zacharygraftmusic
    youtube.com/c/zacharygraft

  28. #19
    Registered User Simon DS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Peace and Love
    Posts
    2,416

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    Thanks again for the links above.

  29. #20
    Registered User
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Halifax, Yorkshire, England
    Posts
    233

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    And there are some very good Scottish and English 'celtic' mandolin players. for instance Ian Stephenson and Tom Kimber, here
    Anglocelt
    mainly Irish & Scottish but open to all dance-oriented melodic music.
    Mandos: Gibson A2, Janish A5, Krishot F5, Taran Springwell, Shippey, Weber Elite A5; TM and OM by Dave Gregory, J E Dallas, Tobin & Davidson.

  30. #21

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally

    This website is also very useful for Irish traditional music: https://thesession.org/

    You can look up tunes, check out events and recordings or engage in discussions.

  31. #22
    Registered User seankeegan's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    East Coast of Ireland
    Posts
    246

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally


  32. #23
    Registered User seankeegan's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    East Coast of Ireland
    Posts
    246

    Default Re: New to playing Celtic music but I see its big locally


Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •