The Boys of Ballycastle

Here's a hornpipe I learned from Kevin Burke's playing.

Breaking Up Christmas

So I've enjoyed a week or so of a break from learning a new tune everyday.  It's been very nice.  So now, to break up my Christmas Break, a very fitting tune.

Killavil Fancy

Today, a reel off of Frankie Gavin and Alec Finn's duo album.  The track is called Ryan's, and it's a set of two reels.  I learned the second of the two, Killavil Fancy or Ryan's No. 1.  I tuned my fiddle up a half-step (sort of) to play along with the recording and keep it that way for my video.

Johnny McGreevy's (By Golly)

According to my sleuthing (mostly on thesession.org) this tune was recorded by Johnny McGreevy, who I guess says, "By Golly!" a lot, hence its other name.  He likely learned it from Jimmy Neary, a Chicago-fiddler who maybe wrote it (?) and brought it back to Ireland.

Folding Down the Sheets

I learned another old time tune from Rayna Gellert's album today!  This is an old one, and everyone's
version is a little different.

Seamus Cooley's

Here's a jig in G.  I learned it from Martin Hayes' album Under the Moon.  It also goes by "Cooley's Jig," "Bohola," and "Joe Cooley's Delight" and is often played in D instead of G.  (Just move the whole thing over a string.)

Fine Times at Our House

So I just finished finals week of the semester, and I'm very happy to have a break so I can learn more tunes!  Today I learned a really cool old-time tune.

Dennehy Dancers

Another Liz Carroll to brighten your day.  She recorded this tune with John Doyle on their album In Play which is definitely worth purchasing.

I had a somewhat frustrating day so a Liz Carroll tune was a good way of cheering myself up.

When Joy Kills Sorrow

Today I learned an old tune with a really cool name.  It might be one of the coolest names ever in my opinion.  It's so cool that it is the inspiration for the band Joy Kills Sorrow, which is a very good band.  Also, it's the name of one of Bela Fleck's recordings, and some people think he wrote the tune, but he just Bela Flecktified it beyond recognition as is his way.  I was just informed that Bela Fleck did in fact write this tune!  My bad!  Stupid internet, with all its internal dissonance.

The Banks of the Lough Gowna

Today I returned to Ronan Browne and Peter O'Loughlin's recording A South West Wind to learn a tune. That CD is pure gold. This is jig on the album.

Jenny Ran Away in the Mud in the Night

I learned this cool old time tune off of Rayna Gellert's album, which I utterly love.  She plays tunes in a majestic, yet stripped down way that I can't get enough of.  You can find notier versions of this tune, but I tried to focus more on the bounce. The tuning for this tune is Open F (FCFC).

The Potato on the Door

Here's another Liz Carroll tune. She's seriously my favorite tune-smith of all time.

Donal A' Phumpa

Today, I have returned to the source of all that is wonderful and good: Mick O'Brien & Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh's recordings.

The Lark's March

Today I searched for a tune to learn by going through some of my favorite trad albums, and decided upon a track from Noel Hill & Tony Linnane which they called "Geese in the Bog."

West Fork Girls

Here's an old time tune I'm learning in time for a gig I'm doing this afternoon with my friend Joe who asked me to learn it.