Friends, I have a small confession to make: my “Tune of the Week” has officially been bumped down the priority list by a bunch of green-clad, toe-tapping, St. Patrick’s Day gigs. And honestly? I have zero regrets. March is basically the musical equivalent of being swept up in a very joyful, very loud, very Irish-flavored … More Tune of the Week…on a Slightly Longer Coffee Break
Tune # 5: The Minor Slip I’m kicking off the new year with one of my favorite slip jigs — The Minor Slip (thanks for the suggestion, Harold!). Honestly, I don’t know why it took me so long to actually sit down and learn this one. It’s not a complicated tune; in fact, once it gets … More The Emotional Charm of The Minor Slip Tune
A Tune A Week: #1 Every now and then, you come across an Irish tune that just has attitude. The Drunken Landlady is one of those tunes. It’s a reel that practically dares you to keep up with it—full of twits, turns, and that kind of slightly unhinged energy that makes it so much fun … More The Drunken Landlady: A Tune with a Kick
Stay tuned for this year’s tune a week. … More Adopting a Puppy and Rediscovering My Fiddle: A Journey
Fiddlers love the keys of D and G but not so much the key of F. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because D and G are some of the first scales we learn early so we train our fingers and it sticks with us. Or maybe it’s because we just don’t like those damn … More What the F?
My whole life I wanted to play fiddle but there was always a reason not to. It’s too expensive to buy an instrument and take lessons. I’m too old. I don’t have a musical background, no one in my immediate family plays, and so on. There is no shortage of reasons why not to do … More It’s all about discipline
My trainer told me a story of how he was listening to his kids play Monopoly. One kid landed on one of those properties where rent was only $5. The other kid said “don’t bother paying me, it’s only $5.” As my trainer was listening to their conversation he thought “clearly this kid hasn’t worked … More Every little bit counts
We’ve made it to week ten! As a recovering procrastinator, I feel like getting to the double digits is quite the accomplishment. I not only added 10 more tunes to my repertoire but I have so much more confidence in my playing and it has forced me to practice, even on the days I would … More Tommy People’s Reel: Tune 10 of 52
This week’s tune is a Donegal tune called the Gravel Walks. I literally remember the first time I ever heard this tune. I was in a retail shop in Stowe, Vermont and they had some Celtic music CD playing in the background and this tune came on. I thought it was a cool tune so … More Gravel Walks: Tune 7 of 52
This is tune #3 out of 52 that I’m learning in 52 weeks. It’s a traditional Irish jig called Katy is Waiting. Enjoy! … More Katy is Waiting: Tune 3 of 52
Session Obsession 