Irish Fiddle Ornaments

When I started playing jigs, my default bowing pattern made a groove like Pop Goes the Weasel: "Long-short, long-short, muberry bush, the long-short, long-short weasel."

And that still works for me without having to think about it. The one rule to keep in mind is: Do not slur from one string to another. This is unlike Irish reels. There, you can and do slur from one string to another. But not in jigs. Getting the hang of ornaments

I think of the Irish fiddle ornaments as falling into melodic and percussive categories.

The three most common melodic moves are, the grace note, the triplet, the roll. These moves all use "neighbor notes." Any note within one step of the main melody note can be a neighbor note. In Irish fiddling, the neighbor note can be two steps away.

Grace notes are typically the upper neighbor, one whole step or half step higher. The grace note is usually played just before the beat.

In standard music notation it is shown as a very small note. In my tab charts I follow this convention by making the tab grace note much smaller than the main melody notes.

Triplets start with the melody note, go up to the neighbor note, and return to the melody note. The rhythm of this is a substitution of three internal beats for two.

Think of a shuffle pattern: dah-duh-duh. Now go: diddally-duh-duh. This ornament is very popular in Texas Contest style also.

The roll starts on the melody note, goes to the upper neighbor, back to the melody note, then to the lower neighbor, then back to the melody note. When the melodic note is played with the first finger, the upper neighbor is usually the third above, and is played with the third finger. In the roll, the neighbor notes are very light and quick, almost ghost notes.

Percussive finger and bow tricks

These next two moves are a lot of fun. They imitate the bodhran drum. I think of them as being rhythmic ornaments, not melodic.

The bow shake, (my term), is not intended to make three distinct notes. You should hear an interruption of the melodic sound when you do it. Yes, it is a triplet pattern, but done so quickly that you just hear the sound of the bow digging into the string.

Finally, the cut, which you execute by dragging your finger across the (usually) open string without changing the bow direction. This also creates an interruption of the melodic sound. The violin as a percussion instrument!

Slidin' and Squawkin'

The first collection I found of Irish and Celtic tunes, way back in the day,was English, Welsh, Scottish & Irish Fiddle Tunes by Robin Williamson.

This was published in 1976 and came with a vinyl recording of the author playing his tunes up to speed. I still play Carolan's Concerto and Off to California, which came from this book originally.

Williamson writes about slides as being squawks and smears. A squawk is a quick slide and a smear is a lazy slide. The lazy slide has become a favorite of mine, often replacing several notes of a melody.

In slides the object is to start the slide flat to the target note. It can be a half step low or, sometimes, even more. When you slide up the neck, be sure to stop at the desired pitch.

Many times in my studio I coach students to do this correctly. The common mistake is to start at the target pitch and slide up. Be very careful to avoid this error. It just doesn't sound right.

Quick slides, or squawks, can be done often. You will find some notes are better than others for a quick slide. The third note of the scale you are in, for example, is almost always good. The note attracts a slide, especially if it does not go by too fast.

The slower slide, the smear, will often take more time than the usual note allows. So you just steal time from another note. Then you take that note out back and shoot it. (Just kidding. You let the note back in later, when you don't play the smear.)

You can find more fiddle tab charts for Irish tunes in the archive at Fiddle Tunes in Tab. Included are: O'Keefe's Slide, Drowsey Maggie, Road to Lisdoonvarna and Tommy People's Reel.

Elan Chalford, MM.--Fiddle Coach
Learn to Play Fiddle without Reading Music

---

Beginner Guitar Lessons - Learn Guitar without Ever Leaving Your Home!

So, you think you'd like to learn to play guitar, but you're put off by the high cost of lessons? You don't want to put up with... Read More

How Piano Lessons Benefit Young Children

Piano lessons provide a wide range of benefits to young children. Here are my "Top Five."1. Piano lessons help preserve and develop children's natural creative abilities. The... Read More

How To Make a Fortune Teaching Piano (or Guitar, or Drums, or Singing, or?) To Beginners

"But I'm not in it for the money" you say.Me neither.I LOVE music and I LOVE to teach music. I feel sorry for people that go into... Read More

Creating Within Limits

When I first started playing the piano I wanted to learn how to compose. The idea that I could create something tangible really appealed to me.So much... Read More

The History Of Drums - A Journey Of Sound

Music and musical instruments are an extremely important part of human history. The use of rhythm and song has long been used to express meaning, and feeling... Read More

How Many Guitar Chords Do I Need To Know?

Guitar chords, (chords played specifically on a guitar,) differ only from other types of chords by virtue of instrument; they're simply a series of three or more... Read More

How to Get Past Creative Blocks

When I first began playing the piano and improvising, there were times when the music just wouldn't flow. No matter what I did, I couldn't make it... Read More

Creating Stark Atmospheres

One of the things New Age pianist George Winston is known for is what he can do with just a few notes. In fact, in his piece... Read More

Music Mini Course: Learn The Basics Of Reading Music On A Keyboard Instrument

Welcome to the wonderful world of music. As you begin reading this Music Mini Course it is fun to realize that you are also participating in a... Read More

Musical Improvisation Basics - Four Strategies For Playing Wrong Notes

While it probably doesn't seem like this would help - let's face it - if you are unwilling to play a lot of wrong notes, you're never... Read More

The Revolution of Electric Guitars

Sometime during the 1930's electric guitars were introduced onto the music scene, which began a revolution in sound and technology that continues to this day. After Rock... Read More

Home Run Gigs

Are you still playing your heart out to small audiences on gigs at unappreciative dives (excuse me, I meant to say nightclubs) that feel paying you a... Read More

Piano Music - How to Begin and End a Piece

How do you begin a piece of music? That's a question I'm often asked. The answer I usually give is that you begin as soon as you... Read More

Just 3 Chords? No Way!

A student wrote me an email about the lesson "Ocean Dreams." Here it is:"Dear Edward, I can't believe that you're using just 3 chords for this piece.... Read More

Thomas Jefferson and the Chinese Gong

While Richard Nixon's diplomatic visit to China may have created a minor thaw in Sino-US relations, he was not the first President to try to get in... Read More

If Setting The Gain Correctly is So Important, Why Dont Mic Preamplifiers Have Meters?

When you first learn how to use a mixing console, you will be shown how to set the gain. Your instructor - either in audio school or... Read More

The Dark Side of P2P File Sharing

P2P file sharing programs are free. Period. But there are P2P scam sites out there that want you to pay them instead. P2P scam sites are rogue... Read More

Suzuki Violin Vs Traditional Violin

The Suzuki violin method has come to dominate the way violin is taught in America and throughout much of the world. Mention the Suzuki violin method to... Read More

Downloading MP3s Made Easy

The MP3 movement started out with a huge audience of music enthusiasts on the internet. The MP3 digital music format has had, and will continue to have,... Read More

Is Your Child Struggling in School? Get Him (Or Her) Music Lessons

This is counterintuitive, I know. Our natural response to seeing our child struggle is to find a way to help, not to add to the burden. If... Read More

The Death-Defying Warehouse Party Life: An Interview by William of Orange

About an entire local music industry that's rarely heard from, briefly navigated by a remote being that coalesces, rarely, around music scenes and their absurd atrocities; published... Read More

Jealous Again - Jealousy Among Musicians

Jealousy ? do you feel it? Do you sense it in others? Does it hinder your relationships with other musicians? Does it sap your confidence? Does it... Read More

How to Improvise Using a Few Chords

When a painter is getting ready to paint, a color palette is usually chosen first. For example, if a forest is to be painted, the artist may... Read More

Discover The Perfect Place To Perform

Once you know what your Unique Selling Proposition is as a musician (we covered this in the last issue), it's time to ask yourself what kind of... Read More

George Winston and New Age Piano Playing

The first time I heard George Winston play back in the early 1980's I was blown away. I didn't know why I liked this music. All I... Read More

Formation of a Song (Recording)

As industry insiders, we sometimes forget that when discussing the recording process, the rest of the world really has no idea what we are talking about. Hopefully... Read More