Well, here we are in 2015 and I haven't been in here in a very long time.  As a class, we are currently working on slip jigs. I will be posting a video on here soon.  In addition, we are once again gearing up for the annual St. Patrick's Day festivities in Danbury.



Here is a little video clip from last weeks class with some of my whistle students practicing the slipjig, Boys of Ballysodare.  However, because of interruptions in the room (including people rudely talking while the clip was being filmed and somebody else trying to play something ) it got off to a murky start.

We are still working on this tune. But, next class we will begin the next slipjig and also touch on a march for the upcoming St.Patrick's Day Parade in Danbury.


By the way, I don't know why the clip goes directly to the next one on utube.  This guy playing the accordian doesn't have the tune right at all.  So, if by chance you happen to be in here and see/hear the guy.....PLEASE DON'T COPY  the way he's playing it.  Not only does he not play the right notes, it's a lousy version of it.  This is a lovely tune and it should be respected as such.

 

HERE ARE SOME OF MY STUDENTS  PRACTICING, "THE SILVER SPEAR" REEL. THIS IS A NEW TUNE FOR SOME OF THE STUDENTS.    IT'S A WELL-KNOWN REEL AND WE'RE PLAYING IT VERY SLOW SO THAT THOSE THAT HAVEN'T PLAYED IT BEFORE CAN KEEP UP.  WE WILL BE PUTTING ANOTHER REEL BEHIND THIS ONE TO MAKE  A SET.

WE'RE MOVING ON TO A NEW TUNE THIS SATURDAY FOR OUR UPCOMING
ST. PATRICK'S DAY EVENT.   WE WILL CERTAINLY BE REVISITING THIS TUNE IN THE CLASS SO THAT WE CAN MOVE THE TEMPO ALONG AND MAYBE EVEN ADD AN ORNAMENTATION OR TWO.


                                                 THE SILVER SPEAR-PRACTICE 

We had our  Little Christmas Concert last Saturday, January 4th.  I'd like to thank everyone that came out and supported us.  The students did a terrific job! 

We had music, literature and language to the delight of the audience. We won't be having any upcoming events again until the "Danbury St. Patrick's Day Parade". .....which by the way, is just around the corner.

CELTIC LITTLE CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2013

I have been able to add a couple of video clips from our concert. 

Update......Unfortunately, I had to cancel our Christmas Concert which was scheduled for December 14th due to inclement weather.  The concert is now known as: 
The Little Christmas Celtic Concert. It has been rescheduled for January 4th. 

The Irish Cultural Center is located at 6 Lake Ave, Danbury, Ct. 06810. 

**THIS IS A FREE CONCERT**

Students on Tinwhistle, Flute and Tenor Banjo will perform Christmas Carol arrangements as well as Traditional Irish music.  Two of my students will be singing a mix of Carols and Irish Folk songs . The playlist will be mostly the same, with a couple of livelier songs added on. In addition, our Cultural Director, John Feeney, will recite some poems in Gaeilge translated into English. 


We will also have the pleasure of an appearance by a famed Irish author, Walter Keady.    Walter is a humanist, philosopher and novelist.  Walter has to date had five novels published.  He will be doing a reading from his novel, The Agitator, which introduces us to an important figure, Michael Davitt, in late 19th century Ireland who led tenant farmers in a valiant, peaceful demonstration against the oppression of the English Landlords.

Little Christmas, is celebrated in Ireland on January 6th (this is the closest we could get to that date). It's also known as, Women's Christmas in that the women who have worked so hard to prepare for the holiday can take it easy and have the men step in and do the housework on that day. Historically, a group of women were able to even go to a local pub and sit together in the snug (a special, quiet spot) and discuss all the gossip and hardships.  They would then take those painful experiences and go outside the door and name them and leave them outside.  Nowadays, the women meet up with friends  to go shopping or out to lunch.








The current semester just happens to end on December 14th and new students are welcome to contact me regarding signing up for the next session which will get underway on January 11th, 2014. 

**STUDENTS OF ALL AGES ARE WELCOME**


I will be running a separate class for children ages 7+ in Tinwhistle, Banjo, Flute and Mandolin next semester. The session consists of six 45 minute lessons.  We begin with scales and good tone and then move on to a simple tune.  I break the tune down into the phrases and offer both sheet music as well as ABC notation (for those not yet able to read the music) I also provide an mp3 to the student of the lesson.

Feel free to contact me for further details by going to my blog address below.

You can also check the website for updates and contact info.

*Lessons in Skype are available.* 


You can find out more about Walter at:
http://walterkeady.com


Here's the website for the Cultural Center:
www.gdicc.org


For John's website go to:
www.daltai.com


My blog:
http://irishflutewhistlelessons.blogspot.com



To pay for a lesson on Skype click on the paypal link below to make payment.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=668B6L7Z2VSU4

A new 6 week Semester in Tinwhistle, Irish concert Flute, Tenor Banjo and Mandolin will begin at the Greater Danbury Irish Cultural Center (GDICC)  www.gdicc.org on February 23rd, 2013. All levels are welcome. If you're 7 years of age, you are ready to take lessons.

If you don't have an instrument, the whistle is very inexpensive and you may be able to purchase one from Kate's Irish Gifts in Danbury. Here is the link:  www.katesirishgifts.com

The Irish Flute is different from the Silver Flute in many aspects.  Not least of which is  it's made of wood.  There are just too many types of wood to list here. As such, when the wood warms up from playing, it elicits a beautifully haunting, woodsy tone.  Most flute beginners start off on a keyless, simple system flute (trust me, that doesn't mean it's simple at all). If you're a beginner, you will start off by getting to know your instrument and how to achieve a good embouchure.....which will result in getting a good tone. It is of the utmost importance that you achieve this before moving on.  If you are just trying to learn new tunes, you won't be satisfied with the end result as you will be unable to progress to the next level. So, I promote different playing exercises to improve the quality of your tone and breath control from the beginning. 

If you don't have a flute, let me know. I have a couple of extra flutes myself, or, I can recommend other colleagues that can provide you with one. 

Regarding the Banjo, (I only work with the 4 string), which is defined as a Tenor.  This instrument is used primarily for playing entire melodies as opposed to a 5 string which is known for playing chords. If you don't have an instrument, you can take a look at some of the local music shops in the area.  There are a couple that carry both Banjos & Mandolins.  For a beginner instrument, you won't need to invest a lot of money, they are relatively inexpensive. 

*Please contact me for further details and to get your name on the waiting list for this upcoming session*  

Traditional Irish Flute and Tinwhistle lessons at the GDICC

Classes are well underway in the current Semester at the Greater Danbury Irish Cultural Center, www.gdicc.org.  Tomorrow, November 17th, we will be halfway though this Session.  It goes fast.  Lots of great tunes being taught.  My new students are currently working on the hornpipe, Off to California . Students that have been with me for awhile are learning the Wise Maid Reel and have just finished up with Tommy Mulhaire's jig.  Tomorrow, we will begin a new jig....don't have a name for it at this time.  It's a beauty though. 

We will be taking the Saturday after Thanksgiving off which means ,this Semester will run through December 15th.  Classes will resume after Christmas/New Years....date yet to be decided.  Each class is 45 minutes long and runs for 6 weeks. Speaking of Xmas, we are also preparing our Hymns and Christmas songs for our Christmas Concert. 

Will be accepting new students in the upcoming Session.  Ages 7 and up are welcomed. If you don't live in the Connecticut or Mid-Hudson region of New York, then Skype is an option. You need to know at least 1 tune well and have a good understanding of your instrument.  Skype is currently offered to my regular students as a make-up for absences or snow days.

Whistles are inexpensive instruments, costing somewhere between $10 and $15. Kate's Irish Gifts store in Danbury, Connecticut, www.katesirishgifts.com  would probably be a good place to look at one. The Flutes that I work with are usually simple system, keyless instruments.   If you don't  have one, ask me about it as I'm currently in possession of a few extras.

If you wish to sign up, just leave a comment on here for me, or email me at:  

irishflutewhistlelessons@gmail.com

Traditional Irish Music Lessons at the Greater Danbury Irish Cultural Center, Danbury, Connecticut

This Session ended October 27th. It ran a little longer because classes had to be cancelled a couple of times for reasons that were unavoidable.

A new Semester began in November and will end on December 15th, 2012. New students are now being accepted for the next Session in January.

***See new, updated blog above***


Tinwhistles are inexpensive instuments that can be found online for around $15.  If you don't want to buy online, I can provide one for you for about the same price if you let me know in time. 

The flute I use is a traditional, keyless wooden instrument.   Besides being keyless, it differs from a silver flute in many ways, not least of which, is the warm, woody and haunting tone that it elicits.  It also has quite a big sound in comparison to a silver flute.

Lessons are also taught on Skype once the beginner has some basic knowledge of the instrument and a couple of tunes down.  Or, if you already play and just need some pointers, Skype may be the way to go.  

**I am currently putting new students on a waiting list as the classes are full in Danbury**.


For further details please contact me at:  irishflutewhistlelessons@gmail.com 



http://www.gdicc.org

http://irishflutewhistlelessons.blogspot.com/



Click on paypal link below to pay for a lesson:


https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=668B6L7Z2VSU4