Category: Tune Tutorials

Lucy Farr’s barndance is a well-known session tune, and a great tune to learn. Though the melody is fairly straightforward, it is a lovely tune to play, and you can really concentrate on playing with a light touch, and the sort of rhythmic lift that a barndance should have.

This simplicity of the tune means that you will hear many small variations on the melodic theme from different musicians. The setting that I’m teaching as the ‘basic’ melody in the tutorial is a fairly standard one, but there is lots of room for variation.

In this tutorial, I’ll teach you how to play Lucy Farr’s barndance on the fiddle. This lovely Irish tune, is named after Lucy Farr, a fiddle player from East Galway, but whose player is most associated with the London Irish scene of the 1950s and 1960s.

This barndance has become associated with Lucy Farr’s name, though she would have called it The Kilnamona.

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My online fiddle course — The COMPLETE IRISH FIDDLER – Essentials — is now launched.

Fiddle players, if you are looking to take your fiddle playing to the next level, come and see how I can help you transform your playing.

With modules on fiddle bowing technique and bowing patterns, ornamentation and where to use it, pulse and rhythm, the core Irish tune types, plus all my best exercises and practice tips. This course is guaranteed to take your fiddle playing further.

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Here’s a beautiful waltz written by Swedish guitarist Roger Tallroth. Normally it is known as Josephine’s Waltz here in England; or I’ve seen it called Josefin’s Waltz in many places.

But it’s name as given by Roger himself is “Johsefins dopvals”. It’s a lovely but simple melody. I believe it was written for his niece’s christening.

Roger is an amazing guitar player, who plays in some unusual – even unique – tunings. This is by far his most well known composition, and is a popular tune in sessions.

I will be making a full video tutorial on Josephine’s Waltz, so do sign up to my newsletter to hear when I post new tutorials.

Josephine’s Waltz (Josefin’s waltz) Sheet Music

I have transcribed the sheet music for Josephine’s (or Josefin’s) waltz – you can see it below. This is how I play the tune, but without any of the drones, chords or ornamentation I would use.

There are different ways that you could write out the sheet music for this tune, since it has a slightly unusual structure. The third and fourth lines on the sheet music are identical – so I could have used a repeat sign. In which case you can think of the tune as having an A part that repeats, a B part that repeats, and a C part that doesn’t (or a kind of ‘coda’). This is how I think of the tune; but it is easier to read on the page when the B part is written out I believe. So that is how I have done it.

This slip jig, called The Swaggering Jig, (also called ‘Give us a drink of water’) is often one of the first Irish slipjigs that I teach students. I have heard it said that the slipjig and the hopjig are the ‘true’ indigenous musical forms of Ireland; but I’ve not been able to confirm this, and in fact jigs (normal jigs that is, as in ‘double jigs) are referenced in ancient Ireland.

This slipjig, The Swaggering jig, is a fairly straightforward tune to play, once you wrap your head around the 9/8 rhythm. In other words, if we think of ‘bacon and sauceages’ (1-2-3 4-5-6) for jigs, we can think of ‘rashers of bacon and sauceages) (1-2-3 4-5-6 7-8-9) for slipjigs.

This tune, is also connected to a song, which uses a simplified version of the melody. The words can really help with understanding the rhythm and swing of this tune. The song is called Bellaghy Fair, (or sometime Bonlaghy Fair) and was collected in the 1930s in Derry by the song collector Sam Henry. It goes like this:

I went to the fair at Bonlaghy,
I bought a little wee pig,
I rolled it up in my pocket,
And it danced a swaggering jig.
Then it’s hi for the top o’ the heather,
And hi for the root of the sprig,
And hi for the bonny wee lassie,
That danced the Swaggering Jig.

I went to the fair at Bonlaghy,
I bought a wee slip of a pig,
And as I was passing the poorhouse,
I whistled the Swaggering Jig.
Then it’s hi for the cups and the saucers,
And hi for the butter and bread,
And hi for the bonny wee lassie,
That danced the Swaggering Jig.

As I being down by the poorhouse,
I whistled so loud and so shrill,
I made all the fairies to tremble,
That lived near McLoughrim Hill.
Then it’s Hi! for the cups and the saucers,
And hi for the butter and bread,
And hi for the bonny wee lassie,
That danced the Swaggering Jig.

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My online fiddle course — The COMPLETE IRISH FIDDLER – Essentials — is now launched.

Fiddle players, if you are looking to take your fiddle playing to the next level, come and see how I can help you transform your playing.

With modules on fiddle bowing technique and bowing patterns, ornamentation and where to use it, pulse and rhythm, the core Irish tune types, plus all my best exercises and practice tips. This course is guaranteed to take your fiddle playing further.

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Cooley’s reel is a very well-known Irish reel associated with Joe Cooley, the great accordion player from Co. Galway.

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However, the history and attribution for Cooley’s reel are tricky to untangle. It would be natural to assume, given its title, that the reel was written by Joe Cooley himself. However, the most likely account is that this tune was composed by another Galway accordianist, Joe Mills, who played in the Aughrim Slopes Ceili Band with Joe Cooley in the 1930’s-40’s.

However, Joe Cooley was so taken by the reel, that he would play it often, and so it became most associated with his playing.

Apparently, Joe Mills original title for this tune was Luttrell’s Pass, which would refer to the Battle of Aughrim, fought in the early 17th century. But this reel also goes by the names The Tulla Reel, and Joe Cooley’s Fancy.

Either way, Cooley’s is a cracking tune and well worth learning. It is not, however, straightforward to play well. The string crossing sections are best played with either circle-bowing or cross-bowing techniques, and many of the phrases are crying out for cuts and joint short rolls. Even without ornamentation, the tune needs some care with the bowing not to end up sounding ‘jerky’ or ‘choppy’.

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My online fiddle course — The COMPLETE IRISH FIDDLER – Essentials — is now launched.

Fiddle players, if you are looking to take your fiddle playing to the next level, come and see how I can help you transform your playing.

With modules on fiddle bowing technique and bowing patterns, ornamentation and where to use it, pulse and rhythm, the core Irish tune types, plus all my best exercises and practice tips. This course is guaranteed to take your fiddle playing further.

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In this Irish fiddle tutorial we are going to learn a popular Irish session jig The Trip to Athlone, a great Irish session tune.

The full tutorial on this tune will be part of my Complete Irish Fiddler course (coming soon!). Find out more at Irish Fiddle Courses.

The Trip to Athlone jig, which also goes by the name of The Newport Lass (or Gearrchaile Bhaile Uí bhFiacháin in Irish), was first recorded in 1937, but is probably older than that. Athlone is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath. It is named in Irish Baile Átha Luain meaning ‘the Town of the ford of Luain’, the ford in this case being of the River Shannon, on which Athlone sits.

Newport, where the lass taking the trip to Athlone presumably came from, is on the West coast of Ireland, in County Mayo.

There are lots of tunes in the Irish traditional called “The Trip to….”. The Trip to Dingle, The Trip to Kinvara, The Trip to Sligo, The Trip to Dublin, Paddy’s Trip to Scotland, The Trip to Nenagh — that’s just off the top of head, I’m sure there are hundreds of otheres!

Which makes sense, since walking or riding the 80 miles between Newport and Athlone would have taken some time – plenty of time indeed to write an excellent little jig.

In this tutorial we are just learning the melody, but there is lots more that we can do with this fun Irish jig. As part of my Complete Irish Fiddler course, I also discuss

• how we can use ornaments, such as crans and bowed triplets, in this tune
• using chords and drones
• the interesting harmonic progression of the first phrase
• the possibilities for phrasing that distinctive second phrase
• bowing patterns and emphasis
• melodic variations

The Trip to Athlone is a popular tune in sessions, so it’s a good jig to know. I hope you enjoy learning it.

Farewell to Whalley Range is a popular slipjig by Michael McGoldrick, in F# minor. This is a slightly unusual key for fiddle tunes, so may take a little getting used to. But don’t worry – I’ll take you through the whole tune on the fiddle, phrase by phrase.

The name of this tune – Farewell to Whalley Range – comes from an area of Manchester, where McGoldrick had been living. He was moving away from the area, and wrote this tune as he was leaving, and so it got its name.

Although th

It’s a really fun tune to learn, and has become a very popular session tune.

I learned this beautiful lament — the Lament for MacGregor of Rora — from the fiddle playing of Lauren MacColl. Her version is of the melody is simpler than many other versions you will find out there.

I love this lower key too. It is much more common to hear this played in the mode of A Dorian, but I’m playing it here in E Dorian. This key would be too low to play this lament on the pipes, of course, but it works beautifully on the fiddle.

With laments, it is common to take a fluid approach to the rhythm and the tempo, and to ornament heavily with cuts, double cuts, grace notes, chords and drones.

I have transcribed Lament for MacGregor of Rora for fiddle in the sheet music below. However, it doesn’t do justice to the tune, since this is just the skeleton of the melody. When playing slow airs or laments, the player must choose how to, interpret, embellish and vary the melody to create expression and emotion in the music.

Just playing the notes below won’t really bring out this beautiful lament. So listen to the recording — or find other players’ versions of this tune — so that you can start to work out your own interpretation of the Lament for MacGregor of Rora on the fiddle.

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My online fiddle course — The COMPLETE IRISH FIDDLER – Essentials — is now launched.

Fiddle players, if you are looking to take your fiddle playing to the next level, come and see how I can help you transform your playing.

With modules on fiddle bowing technique and bowing patterns, ornamentation and where to use it, pulse and rhythm, the core Irish tune types, plus all my best exercises and practice tips. This course is guaranteed to take your fiddle playing further.

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Here’s a really fun Irish polka, called Riding on a Bale of Hay.

Sometimes also called ‘Riding on a Load of Hay’, this is a West Kerry polka. The renowned West Kerry fiddler Denis Murphy (1910-1974) was known to play it.

Dennis Murphy was born in Lisheen, Gneeveguilla, County Kerry. Both he and his sister Julia Clifford were taught fiddle by the extremely influential fiddle and fiddle teacher Pádraig O’Keeffe.

Denis moved to the United States but visited Ireland often, and moved back to Lisheen in 1965. He played and recorded extensively with Johnny O’Leary and Julia Clifford, and recorded lots of music for the radio and reordings. His light but driving bowing style has influenced many fiddle players.

The Star above the Garter, recorded with Julia Clifford, is a classic album of the Sliabh Luachra style.

Like many Irish tunes, Riding on a Bale of Hay may be an adaptation of a Scottish tune, the strathspey ‘Miss Ramsay of Barnton’.

It’s not really a beginner’s tune, as it has a couple of slightly tricky phrases, and one note (D sharp) that doesn’t crop up in a lot of fiddle tunes, sothis is an intermediate tutorial.

Don’t let that put you off though – Riding on a Bale of Hay is a great polka, and excellent Irish fiddle tune. Plus, as with any slightly trickier tune, there are some really useful bits of fiddle technique that you can practice here.

I’ll take you through the whole polka phrase by phrase so you can learn the tune on the fiddle. Then we can talk about more advanced elements that you can add in.

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My online fiddle course — The COMPLETE IRISH FIDDLER – Essentials — is now launched.

Fiddle players, if you are looking to take your fiddle playing to the next level, come and see how I can help you transform your playing.

With modules on fiddle bowing technique and bowing patterns, ornamentation and where to use it, pulse and rhythm, the core Irish tune types, plus all my best exercises and practice tips. This course is guaranteed to take your fiddle playing further.

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My Darling Asleep is a really popular Irish tune to learn on the fiddle. In fact, it’s often one of the first Irish tunes that new fiddle players look to learn. If you’d like to learn My Darling Asleep on the fiddle, take a look at my video below.

My Darling Asleep in an Irish jig, which means it is in 6/8 time. Say, DA-di-dee DA-di-dee for the rhythm. Or BA-con-and SAUce-a-ges, BA-con-and SAUce-a-ges.

In Irish sessions, you will often here it jokingly referred to as “My Darling’s a Sheep”. But it is a little known fact that even the ‘real’ title was made up.

When Chief Francis O’Neill — the great collector of Irish immigrant music to the US — collected the tune from Abram Beamish he was told the tune was called “My Darling in Bed”. He changed the title to My Darling Asleep when he published it to make it less suggestive! O’Neill wrote to a friend that:

A rare tune unknown to all of us named “My darling in bed” was noted down from the playing of Abram S. Beamish (born within 5 miles of my birthplace in West Cork). For obvious reasons the title was modified to “My Darling Asleep.”

(https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:My_Darling_Asleep)

In this video I play through the tune My Darling Asleep. Fiddle players who have some experience learning tunes by ear will be able to pick out the melody and any variations or ornamentation. If would like to learn this tune with me, or if you would like me to make a tutorial video please do let me know.

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My online fiddle course — The COMPLETE IRISH FIDDLER – Essentials — is now launched.

Fiddle players, if you are looking to take your fiddle playing to the next level, come and see how I can help you transform your playing.

With modules on fiddle bowing technique and bowing patterns, ornamentation and where to use it, pulse and rhythm, the core Irish tune types, plus all my best exercises and practice tips. This course is guaranteed to take your fiddle playing further.

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My Darling Asleep is a tune that has been very widely played and recorded by Irish fiddle players, and by a whole host of bands.