Tune Teaching Sessions

In our tune teaching session, the leader spends the first hour teaching a common session tune phrase by phrase. To facilitate learning, we distribute a CD to everyone who comes to session with recordings of all the tunes for the year. We also provide sheet music to help people who are more visually oriented, but our goal is to play without sheet music and, if possible, learn by ear. In the second hour of the session, we go around the room letting people pick tunes to play. We will play as slowly as desired, and this is a great time to practice tunes that you are still mastering. The teaching session is open to anyone with basic mastery of their instrument -- including children.

Our tune teaching sessions meet the first Saturday of every month (except during the summer) from 10-12 AM at Green Acres School.

The planned tunes for 2008-2009 are:

Date	Teacher	Tune	ABC	Sheet Music	MP3
Oct 4	Scott Volles	Tomorrow Morning (Hornpipe)
Nov 1	Mike Schaeffer	Green Fields of Rossbeigh / Kerry Reel This old Kerry reel was recorded by County Sligo fiddler Michael Coleman in the 1920s in New York. Mike's version comes from Geraldine Cotter's Tinwhistle Tutor. The recording is from the Foinn Seisiún, Vol. 1.		Kerry Reel	Foin Seisiun
Dec 6	Maddy O'Neill-Dean	Fanny Power (Waltz) This lovely tune was composed by blind Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1732) for Fanny (Frances) Power, the daughter and heiress of David and Elizabeth Power of County Galway. It is played now as a waltz, but was originally a "Planxty" -- a song of tribute to O'Carolan's patrons, the Powers. The lyrics begin: Is mian liom labhairt ar óg-mhaol shuairc. Is uaisle geanúla gnaol agus cáil, Do bhios insa mbaile tá ag cuan Loch Riabhach... I wish to speak of a gracious young lady, A loveable lady of beauty and reputation, Who lives in the town near the bay of Loch Riabhach... Yeats later wrote another set of lyrics to the same tune.	ABC	Fanny Power	Slow Version Foin Seisiun
Jan 3	Howard Rhile	Morpeth Rant (Rant) The town of Morpeth is in Northumberland in the sparsely settled north of England. It evolved around a Norman fortress called Morpeth Castle, one of several guarding the east coast routes to Scotland. The "rant" referenced in the title of the tune is a type of Scottish dance similar to the Irish polka. The recording of the tune is by Howard's band, Sior Og.		Morpeth Rant	Sior Og
Feb 7	Claudette Sikora	Man of the House (Reel) This traditional reel is a popular accordion piece, re-popularized in modern times by Galway accordion player Joe Burke, so it should be no surprise that it is our local box player who offers it up. Claudette learned her version from local accordion master, Sean McComiskey, whose father Billy McComiskey plays a slightly different version on his newest CD, Outside the Box. Our recording comes from Claudette, who provides both a slow and fast version.		Man of the House	Claudette
Mar 7	Terry Johnson	Good Natured Man (Hornpipe) This hornpipe appears in O'Neill's and is sometimes called "The Steamboat." The first recording is from the Foin Sesiun and pairs this tune with The Fairy Queen and the Belfast Hornpipe. (The sheet music also comes from Foin Sesiun.) The second recording comes from Michael Clarkson's wonderful flute tune site.	ABC	Good Natured	Foin Sesiun Michael Clarkson
Apr 4	Steve Wilson	Christy Barry's Jig Christy Barry is a flute player from Munster who lived for some time in New York, then Chicago, before returning to Ireland. There is some controversy over whether Barry wrote this tune or if it was written by Sean Coughlan.		Christy Barry's Jig	Foin Sesiun Tradlessons
May 2	Scott Turner	Galway Hornpipe This is a flute and whistle-friendly version of the Galway Hornpipe, which is also known as "The Baldheaded Bachelor" for some reason.	ABC	Galway	Merry Blacksmiths
Jun 6	Bill Johnson	Foxhunter's Jig (Slip Jig) This tune is from County Donegal and dates back to the late 1700s. It was probably originally a piping tune. Like Fanny Power, it also has Gaelic lyrics: Nead na lachan sa mhúta (3x) 's cuirfidh mé amach ar an guan tú Chorus: Haigh dí didil dí didil dí haigh dí dí dí déro haighdildí aighdildí aighdildí haigh dí didil dí déro Take care not to confuse this tune with the Foxhunter's Reel!	ABC	Foxhunter	Violin