Improvization county by county

I have chosen a song to comment on. "New Medicines" by Dead Poetic. This song renders itself a good candidate to be improvised on, due to its straightforward melody and counter harmony. Hopefully soon I can include some samples and see if any would correspond to particular Irish County Musical Styles.

The Lonesome Touch

Today I want to review an album by Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill called 'The Lonesome Touch."
It is named after the phenomenon encountered by virtually all musicians of serious merit that dictates that one must be fairly alone in the world in order to communicate with the music being played. To hear a song is to be well and welcomed in the world. To play a song is a fairly isolating experience. I hope this is illuminating for those who would try their hand at the craft of telling a story with music.

Some key tracks of the Album include The Old Bush, My Love is in America, and Peggy's Waltz. There are other selections that aren't mentioned here that include a fair bit of improvisation. These songs characterize the high level of storycraft ingrained into Hayes playing. I am not quite sure what the Old Bush is supposed to be about though. If you want to get the latest rendition of this song and story (whatever it may be), I recommend you attend one of Hayes's concerts.

Dietrich (adringl's son)

County Clare

This large county has several different musical traditions. When I was in county Clare last September I remember stopping by an ice cream shop in the west part of the county. It seemed empty, and now I am getting an idea that the musical lyricism of that part of County Clare is oriented to the East, in Germany.
In the East of County Clare you encounter a very different scene characterized by short swings in the music. Fiddler Martin Hayes has carried on a tradition there that follows after his father and the Tulla Ceili band. It is an originally uptempo style of music that Martin has slowed down and made more accessible to a Western Audience (like people who live in Seattle, or Kansas City).

Martin Hayes has several albums. I haven't heard 'Under the Moon,' but his others are superb. Martin also plays in several collaborative groups, including Irish neo-traditional group The Gloaming.

Dietrich (adringl's son)

County Sligo

County Sligo felt a lot like home when I visited last summer. We didn't stop. The air smelled like smoke. There were emergency vehicles moving through so we pulled over (to the left). That's it.

Violinist Keving Burke is from County Sligo. He was born in Londen, England to parents from that county. He learned violin and later took to heart the styles of his parents home country.

I will add that Kevin Burke is one of the first fiddlers of any kind I heard in an Irish Music context. I am currently listening to one of his records, and I am very aware how my foot feels with regards to the floor. It's a passing phenomenon. Not real, ethereal.

Dietrich (adringl's son)

County by county.

I visited Ireland back in 2016. It was late summer, an Idyllic time to visit. We took some time while in County Galway to hear some musicians play some old and new favorites. A few of the names on the marquee that evening included the Marian Fahy and her sister Yvonne Fahy. This will take you down some nice musical paths if you are so inclined.

I want to stress that my approach to music is not the only way to go, but basically I listen for county styles of Irish Music. I like to make a little map in my head. This is probably my greatest contribution to Irish Music other than my own enjoyment of listening and sometimes playing songs and motifs.

Dietrich (adringl's son)

Intro to Irish Music

There is a wide range of Celtic Music available to the listener now that we have moved past the early part of the 21st century.

I want to share a bit of that here.

Stay tuned to the heartbeat of the earth Dietrich (adringl's son)