Once again, I went back through my old session recordings to find another tune that I’ve put off learning for several years. It’s a reel called Sporting Paddy, and the recording I used to learn it is from March 2010. Check it:
Hey folks! This week’s tune is a jig called Trip to Athlone. This is another tune that has been hanging out in my “gotta learn” list for the past several years. The recording I used as my guide was made on February 25, 2010, so that should give you an idea of how long I’ve been neglecting to sit down and learn it. Anyway, here it is:
So, this week’s tune is a reel called The Mountain Top. It was fairly easy to pick up and is fun to play. Those who know me know that I get really nervous when performing in front of other people. You’d think that playing to a camera, with nobody standing there staring at me, would be easier. Somehow, it is not. I get the same nerves, the same inability to breathe properly, the same “oh, God, please just let me get through this without totally screwing it up.” I’m hoping that that nervousness will fade over the course of this project. I guess I’ll have to wait and see. Ah well, here’s the video. Enjoy the beach towel curtains in our spare room. We keep it classy.
The Home Ruler is a a tune that I’ve been meaning to learn for at least 3 years. I have a backlog of recordings that I’ve made at various sessions over the years, and The Home Ruler is one of the earliest recordings I have that I never actually got around to learning. The recording I’ve used to finally learn it is from 9/28/2009. It still needs work, but I could prob’ly bust it out at a slow session and keep up with the group (more or less).
I have been playing Irish music (flute & tin whistle) for almost five years. I dig it, but I tend to get lazy when it comes to practicing and learning new tunes. I came up with this little project as a way to practice more, build my tune repertoire and, I hope, become an all-around better player.
Let’s talk New Year’s resolutions. They say that to really stick to your resolutions, you need to set up specific, attainable goals, and have a plan to actually attain those goals. Yeahhhh, that’s not my strong suit, usually. Last year, I told myself that I was going to learn a new tune every week. In the end I learned, maybe, ten new tunes all year. D’oh! So, this year, I decided to make the same resolution, but this time, document my progress publicly in a blog. At the end of each week, I’ll post a video of me playing that week’s new tune. Constructive criticism is, of course, welcome. Nasty, unhelpful criticism is not. Seriously. Don’t be a jerk. I will hunt you down and hurt you. Or just say mean things to you. Whatever.
Anyway, for my first tune I went back through my old “need to learn these tunes” lists to see if there were any tunes on those 4-5 year old lists that I still haven’t learned. And I found some (tho’, surprisingly, not many). This week’s tune will be a hornpipe called The Home Ruler.