New Tunes

Here are some new tunes I’ve learned and recorded:
Palmers Gate (reel)
Seamus Ennis’ / Whelan’s Old Sow (jigs)

Tune of the Month by Shannon Heaton

For a couple of months, Shannon Heaton* has been producing a monthly podcast of her teaching one tune at a time. She does it at a relaxed pace which not only conveys the tune well, but also showcases her own playing style. Hop on over here for the goodness. Make sure to see Matt and her live when you get a chance. They’re awesome.

* famous for being my former flute teacher

The Sunnyside

My son and I had a spare minute and decided to try recording a tune on my new multitrack recorder. The heavy reverb wasn’t meant to be there, I only discovered it when all was done. We’ll do better next time. This is how it turned out: The Sunnyside

Tunes I’m working on

Trying to boost my repertoire of sessionable tunes, I’ve been working on a few new ones. Basically, I just listen to albums and whenever I hear one that sounds familiar, I figure out what it is and make a mental note of it.

Toss the Feathers (reel)
Sliabh Russell’s Jig
West Clare Reel
Dublin Reel
Tom Busby’s Jig
Mayor Harrison’s Fedora (reel)
The Limestone Rock (reel)
Dowd’s No. 9 (reel)
Patsy Touhey’s Reel
Palmers Gate (reel)
Road to Cashel (reel)
Siobhan O’Donnell’s (reel)

I’m not dead … yet

I know, I know, it’s been many months since my last post. Some of it has to do with the fact that I was travelling the US before relocating back to the country traditionally associated with cows, chocolate and secretive banks. Although I’m a lot closer to the green shores of Eireland, there isn’t much of an ITM scene here. Bits and pieces here and (way over) there. I hope that I will find folks to play together. Either that, or I’ll beat it into my kids. Anyway, stay tuned and watch this space. Slán!

Lark in the Morning

One of my favorite tunes, played on my favorite ‘tina.

The way music is meant to be played

Yours truly with a few friends playing at Larz Anderson Park. A leisurely Sunday afternoon, plenty of food, kids running around, and tunes.

House Concert

On a Thursday night in March, much of Boston’s ITM scene descended upon George’s for a house concert. Cillian Vallely (pipes), Kevin Crawford (flute) and Dónal Clancy (guit) played tunes from their album, Common Ground.

watch my concertina being made

A while ago, I’ve ordered a “Zephyr” concertina from Bob Tedrow. Like everyone else doing quality work, he has a waiting list of several months. Last week however, Bob started to work on my ‘tina, and is putting up pictures of the work in progress:

Trad Lesson Website

Another website with flute / whistle lessons. But this one has material for concertina as well. Yay!

http://tradlessons.com