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« Previous EntriesIrish Music for a Week
Thursday, September 25th, 2008I’ll be on holiday in County Kerry for a week from Saturday 27th, so there will be no posts during that time. I’ll be too busy meandering around lakes and mountains and joining in pub music sessions. We have some good friends in Killarney who play a regular spot several nights a week in one [...]
Quick Tip: Online Gig Calendar
Thursday, September 18th, 2008In an earlier article on gigging, I mentioned the benefit of a gig/commitment diary: either a book which one band member undertakes to maintain by listing booked gigs and dates when the band is not available to take bookings (members away on holiday etc), or an online calendar which all members can refer to. At the [...]
Choosing What Instrument to Learn #5: Violin/Fiddle (part 2)
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008If you missed the first part of this article, click the following link for learning Fiddle/Violin part 1
The Good News!
Last time, when I wrote this post, it must have seemed that I was actually trying to convince you all that fiddle was a nightmare of an instrument and that you should avoid it at all costs. [...]
Choosing What Instrument to Learn #5: Violin/Fiddle (part 1)
Thursday, September 11th, 2008First off: fiddle and violin are the same thing. Just different words for the same instrument.
So, as I may have mentioned, this is my new obsession. It’s also the hardest thing I’ve tried to play so far. That said, there are loads of reasons to learn to play fiddle…In my case, fiddle is appropriate because it [...]
New Instrument!
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008Well, new to me, that is.I recently started learning fiddle. I figured that, as I have now spent several years sucking at guitar, bass, mandolin, bodhran and tin whistle, I might as well be useless at something really different and interesting. And it is really interesting. This is an instrument that manages to be fun [...]
Guitar: Absolute Beginners’/Bluffers’ Lesson #1
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007Ok, you want to play guitar. You want to play well - eventually - but for now you just want to be able to play a few songs and maybe jam a bit with other people. No problem!
One word of warning. Your early progress will be limited by how much you practice. Sorry, but [...]
More Gigging Tips
Monday, September 3rd, 2007This article by Chris Officer complements our earlier ‘Gig Check List‘ and ‘Quick Tips for Getting More Gigs‘ articles.
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Right first off this is not going to be a definitive list. I expect to miss things out (it’s been a while since I played a gig after all and the memory [...]