Improvers Session

Download the 2009 Improvers Tunebook in pdf format from the link below

Beginners Session

This workshop came out of one of these conversations you have during a session - in particular the improvers session 2008, I think it was in the middle of a set of reels!. We noticed a few players who were looking frustrated at the tunes just running a bit too fast for them (bet they'll all be ready this year though!). So, here it is - less tunes, less speed, more repeats. Oh, and a fair selection of English and Irish tunes that are played at sessions up and down the country.

In the recordings, the tunes are played at around the speed they will be played at the workshop so aim to get them to this level. Listen to as many different versions of the tune as you can find - Napster and Spotify are good online tools for finding recorded versions of traditional tunes, and Folktunefinder has a 'listen' function - a good alternative to reading the dots. The recorded tunes don't always follow the tunebook note for note and neither should you - subtle changes and well judged ornamentation make the tune come alive! The chords, where noted, are a basic set to get you going but again it's those special runs and chords that make the rhythm something special.

Above all, this workshop is about having fun and getting some useful tunes under your fingers so we'll be using the time to repeat the tunes many times so you can feel what it's like playing them as part of a session. We're looking forward to it!

Izzy MacLachlan and Dan Hands

Click on the links below to download our tunebooks in Adoble PDF format. You can also listen to the practice tunes by downloading the mp3s below.