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The Banshee, Part 1: Melody

This lesson is part of the course Irish Fiddle with Dale Russ.
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About This Course
 
Learn traditional Irish fiddle, with an emphasis on playing the dance music of Ireland, including jigs, reels, polkas, slip jigs, hornpipes, and more, with an Irish feel and ornamentation.
 
 
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The Tar Road to Sligo
 
In this lesson, you’ll learn one of the most distinctive ornaments in Irish music, the “roll,” which combines grace notes and slurs. Dale explains the roll, and shows you a roll on different fingers and strings. He recommends practicing them slowly and repeatedly with a metronome so that the motion becomes natural, and he shows how you can use rolls in jigs whenever the first and third note of a three-note pattern are the same. You can also roll on the first notes of arpeggios, as in the last phrase of the B part of “The Tar Road to Sligo.”
 
 
 
The Irish Fiddle Subscription Includes:
  • Extensive lessons on playing 30 complete Irish dance tunes, including reels, jigs, polkas, hornpipes and more.
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  • Technique lessons on ornamentation for both hands
  • High-quality video with multiple camera angles so you can see closeups of both hands in action
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The Banshee  
 
The Banshee  
 
The Banshee, Part 1: Melody
The Banshee, Part 1: Melody
 
Written by flute player James McMahon, “The Banshee” has become a seisiún standard. It’s changed a bit since it was written, but you’ll learn the version that the Bothy Band recorded, which should fit in at any seisiún. It’s a good tune for working on three-note slurs, and in “The Banshee” the slurs are often combined with a single bow on the string below the slurs. Dale walks you through the melody phrase by phrase and shows you how you can make a bowing exercise out of the first phrase to practice the technique of playing three-note slurs followed by one bow stroke on the lower string.

  "The Banshee" Basic Melody (Available to subscribers)
 
 
 
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    ● Notation Guide
    ● For Beginners
 
 
    ● Vintage Vault
    ● New Gear
    ● Fine Lutherie
 
 
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