Today is January 6, the final day of the 12 days Christmas. In Ireland, this day is known as Nollaig na mBan or women’s Chrismas. The day was intended to be a reward, a day off from all the housework the women did during the Christmas season. Traditionally men were supposed to take over the … More Nollaig na mBan – Women’s Christmas
Many years ago I was lucky enough to head to Cape Breton for a week with a group of musicians from Vermont and study with the late Jerry Holland. We were there with a mix of children and adult musicians and learned some great tunes from the master himself. I remember listening to one of … More One tune, one million ways to play it
I’ve never been much of a visual artist. Drawing, painting, and even coloring has never been my forte. I can appreciate the final product and even have an emotional connection with it but envisioning it from the start has always escaped me. Recently, I’ve been watching Blown Away, a reality TV show about glass blowers. … More Coloring outside the lines
As the new year quickly approaches, I feel myself getting sucked into making a few resolutions. I usually don’t make a new year’s resolution because well, they never last, and I beat myself up because of it. However, I do think with a new year coming and a fresh new start, I have two things … More New Year’s resolutions
Practicing an instrument is a daunting task. I mean who wants to sit home and practice their keys and intonation or learn harder tunes just for fun? Who does that? Most of the time when I take out my fiddle, I just want to sound good so I play what I already know. That isn’t … More What makes us practice
Happy birthday Mom. Today you would have been 74 years old and wearing purple, according to your favorite poem. I wanted to take the time, on your birthday, to let you know just how much influence you had on me when it comes to music. Though you weren’t a musician yourself, you introduced me to … More An open letter to my late mom, about music
As a musician, your worst nightmare is to physically hurt yourself rendering you unable to play your instrument, especially if that’s how you earn your living. This past fall, I broke my middle finger on my left hand (and before you ask it wasn’t from using it too much). My injury has forced me to … More How my broken finger will improve my playing
When I first started playing fiddle many years ago, my aunt sent me a poem by Irish poet, William Butler Yeats called The Fiddler of Dooney. I loved it because it is about a fiddler, because an Irish poet wrote it, and heck, because it rhymed and who doesn’t love that? I memorized the poem … More And dance like a wave of the sea…
Being a full time musician is one job you don’t do for the money. You do it for the love of music. You do it for the love of spreading your message. You do it so other people can enjoy the very thing you are so passionate about. Because after you pay for lessons, instruments, … More Music that helps heal the world
“What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” This famous line from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet implies that the names of things do not affect what they really are. Maybe that’s true. After all, love is love, it doesn’t matter if you’re a Montague or Capulet you can’t help … More What is in a name anyway?
