Purchase worthy Irish (Sheet) Music books?

[James_Alto]

Maybe the search engine isn't very good, but when I'm searching for Irish + Music + Books here, I'm getting 'Baa baa black sheep' links thrown up by the search engine!

I've not a great experience with the Mel Bay books. I know I should really fly to the west of Ireland and pick up some decent Irish music books there, but until then - what books are you using? Sheet music ones that is. I gather that a lot of the more vernacular Irish music is sounded, or played by ear, and then improvised, with permutations, maybe local variations, or variations due to the whistle/flute players skills mix.

Sadly, I'm not a great improviser - of jazz or classical. I find improvisation on any pentatonic folk scale more intuitive, rather than classical improvisation. Despite growing up in Ireland, Irish music was reduced to Johnny Logan winning the Eurovision Song Contest, or Sinead O'Connor getting a Grade -1 haircut, and Heidi Talbot breaking out of Dublin's premier music school to go solo sublime.

So what Irish music books are out there? I really haven't found anything that makes me bite. I could bin all the Mel Bay volumes I have and never miss them or a single ditty in them. Granted, that might sound extreme, but I'm not convinced that the Mel Bay versions are very authentic: the Irish Washerwoman is not my idea of Irish music! It is more Grade 1 stereotyping for primary school children trying to make out on the recorder!

I'd love to see your recommendations. If you aren't deriving your ITM from books - I'd love to know where you're getting yours from.

Many thanks.

[Denny]

http://www.google.com/search?q=Irish+Mu ... fipple.com&

[MTGuru]

If you aren't deriving your ITM from books ...

Bingo. The "T" in ITM should point you in the right direction.

the Irish Washerwoman is not my idea of Irish music!

And what's wrong with the poor old gal? She's #317 in O'Neill's 1001, and she's as challenging a double jig as any to play properly.

And yes, I'm being deliberately obtuse.

[James_Alto]

http://www.google.com/search?q=Irish+Mu ... fipple.com&

Thanks for the link.

However I don't think you've read my post.

I'm not interested in reams of lists of books, with no indication as to why people buy them. I know that there is a lot of 'Irish music' books out there.

I've written a little about what I'm looking for in Irish music - it's not that it doesn't exist - I hear it being played in Ireland (live), but never thought to ask or record what it is that I'm hearing (my failing).

What do you like about all the books you've listed under the google search? Why pick one book over another?

That's what I'd find really interesting. If I wanted a computer recommendation, I'd go to Amazon or a buyer's site, and get duped into buying the loads of Mel Bay books I ended up with

[James_Alto]

If you aren't deriving your ITM from books ...

Bingo. The "T" in ITM should point you in the right direction.

the Irish Washerwoman is not my idea of Irish music!

And what's wrong with the poor old gal? She's #317 in O'Neill's 1001, and she's as challenging a double jig as any to play properly.

And yes, I'm being deliberately obtuse.

Nothing's wrong. It's just after 317 times, it gets a little tiring lol

[MTGuru]

Nothing's wrong. It's just after 317 times, it gets a little tiring lol

Ironically, because The (Irish) Washerwoman is perceived as an overplayed warhorse, it's probably one of the least-played tunes in the session repertoire. Which in turn makes it a great choice to learn and introduce at a session. And because of the repetitive structure, it actually takes quite a bit of skill to make it flow properly. So there you go ... your first tune challenge.

[MTGuru]

However I don't think you've read my post.

Part of the problem is the framing of your question, with its underlying (classical?) assumption that books are primary, or even desirable at all*. The broader, more interesting question of how trad players go about acquiring their repertoire might lead you to a more interesting set of answers.

That said, it's likely that O'Neill's 1001 "bible" has a place in many ITMers' reference libraries, and maybe the Ceol Rince volumes. But the role played by books and notated tunes for experienced players may not be what you think it is. When first starting out I used the Mallinson Essential/Enduring/Evergreen series to jump start my repertoire - chosen for their good selection of tunes and settings actually played in sessions - but only in connnection with intensive listening and learning from other players; the books were soon put aside.

As for the role of books in suggesting repertoire, other internet resources may now serve as well. Take a look at the tune listings and recordings for the Comhaltas Foinn Seisiún 1-3. Or the Most Popular Tunes listing at thesession.org, under the Members link. Or the tune selection at WhistleThis.com. One could do worse than any of those as a starting point.

[plunk111]

A lot of what our group plays is in the "Smoke in Your Eyes" compilation, which you can purchase from the Sweets here. The phrasing of most of these tunes seems to match what most of us know as well. The O'Neills is, indeed, the "bible". It is available for free download from a few places, including here.

Hope this helps...

Pat

[EDIT] Forgot to mention, the Foinn Sesiun books (mentioned above) are great, too. I bought them from Comhaltas directly on PDF and had my local UPS store print them.

[Mr.Gumby]

What do you like about all the books you've listed under the google search? Why pick one book over another?

You didn't even look where the link would take you, did you?

[Denny]

[Mr.Gumby]

[Denny]

tank yew

[James_Alto]

A lot of what our group plays is in the "Smoke in Your Eyes" compilation, which you can purchase from the Sweets here. The phrasing of most of these tunes seems to match what most of us know as well. The O'Neills is, indeed, the "bible". It is available for free download from a few places, including here.

Hope this helps...

Pat

[EDIT] Forgot to mention, the Foinn Sesiun books (mentioned above) are great, too. I bought them from Comhaltas directly on PDF and had my local UPS store print them.

Pat - that's exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks for that. I'm going to see if I can get the Smoke in your Eyes compilation.

The O'Neills compilation is miles better than the Mel Bay books I have. What's incredible ... is that it's free too.

I've only played my way through 5 of the O'Neill's tracks but it's fantastic to see the breadth there.

[James_Alto]

Nothing's wrong. It's just after 317 times, it gets a little tiring lol

Ironically, because The (Irish) Washerwoman is perceived as an overplayed warhorse, it's probably one of the least-played tunes in the session repertoire. Which in turn makes it a great choice to learn and introduce at a session. And because of the repetitive structure, it actually takes quite a bit of skill to make it flow properly. So there you go ... your first tune challenge.

You ain't listened to my new washing machine have you

Well that's a good point.

What speed are you playing this at?

[MTGuru]

What speed are you playing this at?

Jig speed, of course.

Seriously, around 116 counted in 2 gives a nice easy pace. But I can also hear it as a slow treble jig.