Podcasts by Irish Guitar Podcast

Lesson 71. Swedish Jig (or Arthur Darley's) from 2012-02-05T04:20

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Lesson 70. Sonny's Mazurka from 2012-01-29T23:06:31

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Lesson 69. Old Blackthorn from 2012-01-23T03:08:06

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This tune is one of those lovely 16-bar reels in the key of...

Lesson 68. O'Carolan's Draught from 2012-01-15T05:34

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Lesson 67. Nell Fee's from 2012-01-08T03:00

Tony learned this lovely 3-part polka from the playing of New York button accordionist Patty Furlong.

48-bar polkas are not common in Irish music and are not used much for sets...

Lesson 66. Maggie in the Woods from 2012-01-01T10:29:23

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Lesson 65. Jim Connolly's Jig from 2011-12-25T02:33:53

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Lesson 64. Gold Ring from 2011-12-18T10:27:23

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Lesson 63. Frost is All Over from 2011-12-10T23:41:40

A delightful jig with a strong underlying rhythm, which is probably why it is quite often used for playing at céilithe (social dances).

In the second bars of both th...

Lesson 62. First Clan March of the O'Sullivans from 2011-12-04T07:11:13

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Lesson 61. Farewell to Erin from 2011-11-27T01:00

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Lesson 60. Fairies' Hornpipe from 2011-11-20T03:18:42

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Lesson 59. Dunmore Lassies from 2011-11-13T05:27

As the highest note in this tune is the F on the first string you will not have to concern yourself with left hand positioning.

In fact by keeping your left hand at a right angle to the f...

Lesson 58. The Drunken Gauger from 2011-11-04T06:26

Lesson 57. Devaney's Goat from 2011-10-29T07:40

Lesson 56-and-a-half. Cripple Creek from 2011-10-23T04:17:12

A bonus lesson - an Appalachian tune

Lesson 56. The Blarney Pilgrim from 2011-10-16T07:51:46

Lesson 55. The Baltimore Salute from 2011-10-09T06:34

Lesson 54 - Timor the Tartar from 2009-06-29T05:30

This tune is Scottish in origin, and is an example of how closely related the Scottish and Irish traditions are, and yet both music forms are quite different.

Tony's...

Lesson 53 - Three Sea Captains from 2009-06-21T10:06

This tune is written in jig time (6/8) but is in fact a set piece, or set dance.

During the podcast. Tony comments that, sadly, such set pieces don't often an airing at sessions.
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Lesson 52 - Paddy's Polka (No. 2) from 2009-06-15T08:49

This polka is in G Major, so when coupled Paddy's Polka (no. 1), there's an interesting key change from D Minor to G Major.

In this tune, the B part can begin on either a G Major or E...

Lesson 51 - Paddy's Polka (No. 1) from 2009-06-09T09:24

This tune is played in D Minor.

This is an ideal tune for music teachers to teach their students as it is uncomplicated, and from an accompaniment viewpoint, is very ba...

Lesson 50 - Manorhamilton Jig from 2009-05-31T08:51

This lesson is one of Tony's own compositions.

On his regular trips to Ireland Tony spends time in the North Leitrim region, which is the ancestral home of the O'Rourkes. Manorh...

Lesson 49 - McDermott's from 2009-05-24T04:24

This reel is normally played in D, but Tony's arrangement is in C, with a capo on the second fret.

File size is 3.61MB.

Duration is 10 minutes 32 seconds.

Lesson 48 - Joe Bane's from 2009-05-17T02:07

Joe Bane was a tin whistle and flute player from the Magherabaun area near Feakle in East Clare. Musicians such as Mary McNamara and Martin Hayes picked up a lot of tunes from him.

Th...

Lesson 47 - Glass O'Beer from 2009-05-10T02:29

Another 16-bar reel, the first part is in B Minor, and the second in D Major.

File size is 2.7MB.

Duration is 7 minutes 53 seconds.

Lesson 46 - Flower of the Flock (in open D) from 2009-05-03T08:36

This tune is a 16 bar reel, normally played in the Key of G.

Tony's arrangement is played in an Open D tuning, so to play in G you'll need to capo the 5th fret.

Details on th...

Lesson 45 - Fisherman's Jig from 2009-04-26T23:29

The Fisherman's Jig is in fact a slip jig.

Slip jigs comprise only a small percentage of the Irish Music repertoire and you can attend session after session and not hear them at all. ...

Lesson 44 - Echoes of Killarney from 2009-04-19T23:43

We return to our 'normal' program with a slide.

Lesson 43-and-a-half - Danny Boy from 2009-04-13T01:46

This is a bonus lesson, since it's not within the genre that we're studying. Rather, it's Tony's arrangement of Danny Boy, also know as The Londonderry Air.

It may be a bit daunting for th...

Lesson 43 - Crib of Perches from 2009-04-05T08:33

Tony picked this tune up from the late Billy Moran. Billy was a button accordionist from Galway who migrated to Australia in the late 1940's and made an enormous contribution to the musical he...

Lesson 42 - Cliffs of Moher from 2009-03-29T01:09

This week we have a lovely jig.

Tony talks about the use of overtones to enhance your playing, and which can be used to good effect in this tune.

File size is 4.01MB.
Dur...

Lesson 41 - Charles O'Conor from 2009-03-22T06:25

This week we have another piece by the famous blind harper, Turlough O'Carolan.

(Note that we've migrated the web content for the podcast to www.irishguitarpod.com; there you'll find more ...

Lesson 40 - Caisleán an Óir from 2009-03-15T02:54

Caisleán an Óir is a hornpipe.

This arrangement is in D Dorian, a type of D Minor, but without a Bb in the key signature.

The D Dorian has the same notes as the C Major Scale.
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Lesson 39 - Bernie Cunnion's from 2009-03-07T23:15

Technically not too demanding, this is a lovely tune, quite typical of the beautiful music that emanates from the hills and valleys of North Leitrim.

The recording on this podcast episode ...

Lesson 38 - The Ash Plant from 2009-03-01T01:46

This is a short reel, with 16 bars. It's in the key of E Minor, with two sharps in the key signature, which means it's in the E Dorian mode.

Tony sometimes refers to this as the "Irish Min...

Lesson 37 - Andy McGann's from 2009-02-22T05:27

Not to be confused with "Andy McGann's Jig" (which we had in Lesson 19), this is a completely different tune.

It's one of the many compositions of the late New York fiddler Andy McGann. It...

Lesson 36 - Swallow's Nest from 2008-05-11T07:49

This tune is a composition of the late Paddy O'Brien from Nenagh in Co. Tipperary.

Paddy O'Brien’s tunes are often very challenging, but are also very musical.

You will need...

Lesson 35 - Silver Spire from 2008-05-04T09:58

This reel is in D, so there are no notes that are played on the first fret.

Also the highest note in the tune is the F# on the 1st string, 2nd fret, so you won’t have to move yo...

Lesson 34 - Sunny Banks from 2008-04-26T11:29

A 16-bar reel consisting of two four-bar sections, each repeated once.

File size is 1.3MB.

Duration is 5 minutes 41 seconds.

Lesson 33 - Star of Munster from 2008-04-20T07:29

Originally in A minor, this tune is sometimes played in G minor - for example by both Martin Hayes and Kathleen Collins have recorded in G minor.

Martin pointed out to Tony that many ...

Lesson 32 - Padraig O'Keefe's from 2008-04-13T06:29

This tune is a slide.

The time signature is 12/8, which means basically 12 quavers per bar, but more correctly 4 groups of either quavers or crotchet/quaver combinations.

A t...

Lesson 31 - Old Joe's Jig from 2008-04-07T05:16

Normally played in D, Tony’s arrangement is in C, with a capo on the second fret.

The highest note is an A (5th fret, 1st string), and so the whole tune can be played from the open po...

Lesson 30 - Miss McCloud's from 2008-03-30T03:12

Probably originally a Scottish tune, this is a very widely played reel.

The last two bars of both sections are identical.

Tony reminds us not to try to play too fast.
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Lesson 29 - Maid at the Well from 2008-03-23T09:12

A favourite of Tony's, he plays this jig in F, although it's normally played in G.

The key of F is not very common on guitar - and this is our first tune in F. Practicing the F scale ...

Lesson 28 - Lord Inchiquin from 2008-03-16T00:41

Another tune by the highly influential Turlough O'Carolan.

Planxty Irwin (which we had in Lesson 14, in Book 1) was another O'Carolan tune.

This is in 3/4 time, with emphasis...

Lesson 27 - The Kesh Jig from 2008-03-09T06:39

A nice simple jig.

The tune is mostly played in the open position, so you don’t have to move your hand until the last two bars.

For the last two bars, you use the first finge...

Lesson 26 - Green Fields of America (in Open D) from 2008-03-02T03:37

In episode 9, we had this reel in the 'normal' tuning.

In this episode, it's in Open D tuning. The tuning (from lowest pitched string to highest) is  D A D F# A D, .

As the t...

Lesson 25 - Forty Pound Float from 2008-02-24T10:50

A common polka, which Tony tells us has received some rough treatment.

Make it easier to learn by using shortcuts: the first bar is identical to the third and fifth bars, the last two...

Lesson 24 - Crowley's 2 from 2008-02-17T00:00

Often played with last week's tune - Crowley's 1.

The tune is in D; the sheet music in the booklet shows it in C, with the capo on the second fret (to bring it into D).

In th...

Lesson 23 - Crowley's 1 from 2008-02-10T07:47

Two tunes that are often played together are Crowley’s 1 and 2.

The legendary Connemara single row melodeon player Johnny Connolly plays these two on his first recording 'Listen

Lesson 22 - Calliope House from 2008-02-03T02:59

This is a nice lively tune in the key of D.

Tony plays this tune with the high part first and the low part second, although it may have originally been played the other way around. Listen

Lesson 21 - Britches Full of Stitches from 2008-01-27T08:46

This is a very common polka, and because of its simplicity is ideal for learners.

This tune is often used when playing for dancers but it is a lovely but simple 'stand alone' tune. Listen

Lesson 20 - The Banshee (McMahon's) from 2008-01-20T00:16

The Banshee is a reel that's sometimes know as McMahon's.

The first part is in G Major; it changes to E Minor in the second part.

The last two bars in the first and second pa...

Lesson 19 - Andy McGann's Jig from 2008-01-11T10:49

The first of the Book 2 lessons is Andy McGann's jig.

Andy McGann was born in West Harlem and composed very many tunes.

There was an Listen

Lesson 18 - The Wise Maid from 2007-07-29T10:03

The final lesson in the series is a reel. As we are in the key of D left hand fingering is to use the first finger for the second fret, second for the third fret, third finger for the fourth f...

Lesson 17 - Mist Covered Mountain from 2007-07-23T00:52