St. Patty's Musical Musings

And a happy St. Patty's to ye!

I figured I'd take this time to talk a bit about my favorite aspect of Irish culture--no, not Guinness, although that's probably a close second!

Whether it's potently mournful ballads, raucous and raunchy drinking songs, or cheerfully brisk traditional jigs and reels, Ireland's music always holds a powerful emotional sway. It resonates with me in a way none of the many other music genres which I greatly enjoy ever have.

I've mentioned before that some of my very earliest memories are of listening to Makem & Clancy records. While I wouldn't say that was a constant presence throughout my growing up, they were always back there as a foundational memory. I remember when we first got those black, plastic "song flutes" in fifth grade music class, proudly learning to play one of my favorite Clancy songs, "The Mermaid".

Later, during my college years, a love for the pub and drinking songs was re-ignited after going to see Michael O'Brein, a local singer/guitar player at The Old Shillelagh in Detroit. We began to frequent his performances there, and later making the trek across the border to Patrick O'Ryan's in Windsor after he reportedly got banned from The Shillelagh for his abusive and off-color renditions of some of the songs. The energy in the crowd, however, was always great. The drink, the music, and the camaraderie among friends, spiced with a dash of nostalgia of my first trip to Ireland created some of my most vividly enjoyable times of my early adulthood. Later still, I would learn that the Irish have a word for that sense: Craic. The craic, as they say, was mighty.

In the summer of 2001, while on a sailing trip with my dad in northern Lake Huron, I stopped in a gift shop in Killarney, Ontario and bought a harmonica. It was a simple and fun diversion to get me back in touch with playing music, which I had all but stopped since abandoning my trumpet after a few brief stints in the Campus Band my first few semesters. Naturally, I found the simple melodies of those fun Irish songs took very well to the mouth harp and they formed a large chunk of my early harmonica repertoire.

After arriving in Chicago, I decided to pursue a bit of formal instruction (as if anything related to the harmonica could be considered formal!) and took up a harmonica class at The Old Town School of Folk Music. Through this course, I found that I had no problems playing the melodies, but my rhythm at times, was lacking. I thought pursuing a percussion course at the school might help me to remedy that. I looked over the available offerings, and the one that peaked my interest, of course, was the bodhran--the traditional Irish frame drum. The timing of the start of that class happened to coincide well with my last trip to Ireland.

That started me down the path of learning what is considered to be "true" Irish traditional music.

What constitutes "traditional" varies a great deal from one listener to the next, but a near consensus among those who consider themselves traditional musicians is that it revolves primarily around fast-paced, instrumental dance tunes. Jigs and reels are the two most popular types of these tunes, although other rhythms and time signatures, such as slipjigs, hornpipes, slides and polkas are also fairly prevalent, depending on the regional influences.

The lifeblood of Irish traditional music (often abbreviated as ITM, IrTrad, or simply 'trad'), is the seisiun, or, in its anglicized form, session. Sessions are typically informal, open gatherings of anywhere from about 3 or 4 musicians, up to sometimes 20 or more. Some sessions are fairly selective groups of highly skilled musicians, while others are open to nearly all levels of ability and experience. Regardless, there is a certain etiquette that participants are expected to adhere to. The specifics and strictness of session etiquette--like everything else--is open to interpretation somewhat. But as a general rule, good manners and consideration and a respect towards other musicians will get you pretty far.

There are a wide number of melody instruments that may be considered acceptable for traditional sessions, although again, many instruments may be more or less welcome depending on the view of the other musicians and, most importantly, the level of musicianship with which they are played. The instruments that are probably the least debatable as to their place in a session would be the fiddle, tin whistle, concertina, button accordion, wooden flute and uilleann pipes. Many other instruments are fairly widely accepted, including tenor (4 string) banjo, mandolin and guitar. Guitar players, however, should take note of a fairly strict viewpoint of the guitar's role in ITM as an accompaniment instrument. Many fine guitar players have been shunned at sessions for trying to play a more individualistic style, that in the eyes of more traditional players, spoilt the feel of the tunes.

Many instruments, particularly those that are similar 'cousins' of some of the instruments mentioned above, may not be considered particularly traditional, but many fine musicians have made a great name for themselves playing traditional music on them. The piano accordion and silver--or boehm system--flute would be two great examples. The harmonica would probably also fit into this category as well.

No contemporary, symphonic band brass instruments are typically considered to be 'traditional', despite the fact that I've heard two separate accounts of a person showing up at a session with a trombone!

Like guitar players, percussionists should also be particularly careful in approaching a session. While some debate the "traditional" value of the bodhran, many musicians take issue with its use and its players. There is a perception by some that percussion is easy, and the result has been that many unskilled players have picked up a bodhran and sat in on sessions, banging along dumb and happy, completely unaware that they were trampling the rhythm, or confusing the feel of the tune with too much tone. Of course, that particularly drum invites many, many different styles of playing and tastes in style, even when played very well, differ greatly.

I've spent much of the past two years, carefully approaching sessions with my bodhran, trying to not be one of those bodhran players. I've had the fortunate benefit of some quality formal instruction on the instrument, and have taken great pains to try to adhere to session etiquette and to learn what those that I play with want and expect out of a percussionist. Only recently have I begun to feel like I'm really getting it.

Of course, I've also always had the desire to play melodies, as solo playing can be much more fulfilling. Towards that end, I started casually teaching myself the tin whistle around the same time I started learning the bodhran. I started to focus on it more about a year ago and in recent months, have developed to a solid 'advanced-beginner' or 'lower-intermediate' skill level. I've currently got a repertoire of nearly 40 tunes that I can play with some semblance of speed and accuracy, with some appropriate ornamentation (although mistakes and pauses are still far too frequent).

While I feel my whistle playing and my bodhran playing have both helped to improve each other, both have been a means towards a bigger end: the uilleann pipes.

The pipes are a complicated and daunting beast of an instrument, worthy of an entire post on their own, so I won't go into it more, other than to say that it is my hope and intention to get my first formal training on the pipes during my time in Ireland. I've owned what's called a 'practice set', consisting only of the bag, bellows and chanter, for a little over a year, though my practice time on them has been limited.

So, as you rove out to the pub this weekend, keep in mind the differences between the different types of Irish music, and the mentalities of the different musicians. If you come across a pub offering lively instrumental dance tunes, listen, enjoy and respect the music. But do not expect them to play 'Danny Boy', 'Fields of Athenry', or 'Whiskey in the Jar' for you.

If that's what you're looking for, move on down to the next pub in the line, or the next after that, until you find some folks amped up with guitars and a plastic green bowler on their head, belting out the lyrics to 'Black Velvet Band' or the like. There is nothing wrong with partaking in this type of fun pub song atmosphere, just be aware that not all Irish music is the same, nor are all Irish musicians' tastes or temperaments. Asking the wrong folks for the wrong type of music can get you ill-thought-of very quickly.

Oh, and whatever else you enjoy this weekend, please do it safely. Don't drink and drive and for feck's sake.... stay away from the green beer.

Have a Guinness instead.