8 weeks beginning January 7, 8 & 9
Sign up for classes here (be sure and specify which day)
A good session is like a conversation, there's
nothing like it. But if you want to play in a good session you
need to know a fair number of tunes... in your head, not on a
sheet of paper. I've been teaching these tune learning classes
for the last twelve years in Seattle and Olympia, and now
online. They're a good way to
build your Irish repertoire in a group setting and have some
fun while doing it. The class learns one traditional Irish
tune per week, puts them in medleys and plays them together a
lot, so by the end everyone has at least eight good session
tunes in common... jigs, reels, hornpipes, etc.
Besides building a repertoire, the goal of the class is to improve at learning by ear. I try to find interesting tunes that you'll actually encounter in a good Irish session; not the most common tunes, but also not the very rare outliers, although there are great tunes in both those categories.
Here's a video of me teaching Garrett Barry's jig.
These classes are all given on Zoom according to the schedule below.
WEST COAST
Tuesdays, starting January
7, 2025, 7 to 8:30pm Pacific Time (8 weeks)
Wednesdays, starting January 8, 2025, 7 to 8:30pm Pacific Time
(8 weeks)
EAST COAST
Thursdays,starting ,
January 9, 2025, 7 to 8:30pm Eastern Time (8 weeks)
In addition to the online classes you'll get access to the class web page to learn the tunes and access my archive of hundreds of tunes I've taught in this class over the years, including slow recordings, links to other musicians' settings, lots of background on the music, etc. (See below)
- All instruments welcome (but remember we're doing melody only, not accompaniment)
- All levels (but see note below)
- Email if you have questions or to sign up for the class (please note Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday session)
We have all levels of musicians in the class, but if you're just starting on an instrument you might find it challenging. More advanced musicians are definitely welcome but you'll need to be OK with learning slowly and with lots of repetition... it's traditional. :-)
The traditional tunes are taught by ear... we won't be using written music in the class.
Cost: $140 for all eight classes, including website access, archives, etc.
If you'd like to take the class but money is tight, please don't hesitate to let me know and we can work something out... I really want everyone who's interested in Irish music to be able to take these classes.
Please send me an email to register or for more information. You can pay via PayPal, Venmo, or check. Thanks!
PayPal: rsb@randalbays.com
Venmo: @Randal-Bays
Many thanks for the generous support of:
Ceol Cascadia Irish Music Association
