Happy St. Patrick's Day! =)
Here is a set that I usually play whenever I go to a new session and I am asked to play something. A "set" in a session setting is considered to be a group of tunes that go together well and can be played one after the other. Usually, sessions tend to gravitate towards playing certain sets that the members have come up with, and it's fun to see which tunes people tend to put together.
This set consists of Rights of Man (hornpipe), Road to Lisdoonvarna (slide), Swallowtail (jig), and Kesh (jig). Sometimes I substitute Irish Washerwoman (another jig) for Kesh (or I play it after Swallowtail, but before Kesh), and sometimes I only play two or three of the songs instead of all four -- it depends on if the session seems like it might welcome a "weird mixed set" - meaning a set where the timings change between the songs (hornpipe to slide to two jigs). Changing the timings in sets seems to be something that is done fairly often in Scottish sessions, but it is not so common in Irish sessions for some reason. I like to do it because I think it often gives the set a kind of development that often happens in many other musical genres. The tempo stays fairly constant between the main beats of the tunes, but because of the timing differences, it feels like the speed increases by about 30 BPM.
I really like this set of tunes because they are pretty common, and every Irish session I've been to has been able to play along with them. The trickiest parts would be making sure you can play a similar "Rights of Man" with the group (everyone has their own version, especially for the B part), and if Irish Washerwoman is being substituted for Kesh, I've ran into several different "B part" variations. Generally, it's a session, so most musicians tend to play whatever version they know, but I like trying to adapt the version I'm familiar with to fit with whatever is happening in the moment. As a result, I think I've learned about 8 different B parts for Rights of Man, lol! I've included 3 different B parts in this video, but there seem to be endless variations of the tune.
Another neat thing about this set is that because it starts as a slow-ish hornpipe and the tempo stays fairly consistent, it helps prevent starting the jigs too fast. Playing jigs super fast sometimes works when you are playing a concert with folks who are prepared for the speed, but it usually isn't appreciated in a session setting. Even still, I usually try to think of the jig tempo first before I even start playing Rights of Man just to make sure it's not going to end up being too crazy and fast for people to keep up with. Then, I go back to thinking about the first hornpipe tune with the jig tempo, and if the hornpipe sounds too fast in my head, then it means the jig tempo I had thought of was too fast and I can adjust before I start playing. I think ultra-fast songs are easier to play with a bowed instrument than a picked instrument, like mandolin, and I think it's better to err on the slower side of things in a session. I think I played the set in this video faster than I would in a session, but I like playing tunes fast when I'm by myself. It's kind of like an energy release for me.
I hope you all have a great St. Patrick's day, and a good week! Spring is almost here! :D
Thank you for watching and listening!
~ Katy
P.S. My Irish music book is coming soon! I wanted to post this first. =) This time of year is always intense for folks who play Irish music.
P.S.S. This was filmed right before the "bomb cyclone" blizzard we had in Colorado. :o All the snow is melting now, but it looks quite different outside now, lol! It was funny to edit this while the blizzard was happening and to think it had been such a beautiful day a few days before...
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Download/stream my "Tune Collection" album:
fanlink.to/TuneCollection
Download/stream my "Ghost Ship" single:
fanlink.to/GhostShip
Hashtags:
#Fiddle #StPatricksDay #IrishMusic #Violin #KatyAdelson #Music #TraditionalMusic #FolkMusic
Software and equipment used:
Full list of all my basic violin equipment:
www.katyadelson.com/about/viol...
Violin gear:
Violin: 1899 Ernst Kreusler “Copy of Antonius Stradivarius” violin from Germany
Bow: CodaBow Luma
Strings: Evah Pirazzi Violin Strings (with a ball E)
Rosin: Salchow Rosin
Shoulder Rest: Bonmusica Shoulder Rest
Software used (for Macintosh):
Garageband for attempted sound mixing
Final Cut Pro for video editing
PicMonkey.com for the ending cards
Plugins for sound effects (I have A LOT to learn in this department!):
East West plugins - Goliath Virtual Instrument, Stormdrum II
Best Service Forest Kingdom II by Eduardo Tarilonte (See: bestservice.de)
Camera:
Canon 70D + 18-135 mm kit lens
Sony RX100 V
Microphone for audio recording:
Blue Woodpecker