O'Carolan's best-loved harp tunes are notated in a contemporary style that makesthem accessible to all instrumentalists. This ideal collection with accompanyingaudio lays bare 20 classic Irish compositions for melody and backing players using standard notation and chords. For all 5-string banjo players, fretting and picking- hand fingerings are included in the transcriptions which match the play-along tracks. This is Hanway's fourth collection demonstrating Celtic fingerstyle banjo in G tuning. It is part of a Celtic 5-string series that includes Mel Bay's Easy Irish and Celtic Tunes for 5-String Banjo: Best-Loved Jigs and Reels (2012) and Mel Bay's Easy Irish and Celtic Melodies for 5-String Banjo: Best-Loved Airs and Session Tunes (2013). Tom Hanway's pioneering work, Mel Bay's Complete Book of Irish & Celtic 5-String Banjo (1998), was acclaimed by Bluegrass Unlimited magazine (1999) as 'the bible' for any 5-string player with an interest in this joyous music. The current collection breathes life into the Gaelic classical melodies of Ireland. Access to online audio download

An important anthology of Irish and Celtic solos for the 5-string banjo featuring a comprehensive, scholarly treatise on the history, techniques, and etiquette of playing the banjo in the Celtic tradition. Includes segments on tuning, pick preferences, and tablature reading followed by 101 jigs, slides, polkas, slip jigs, reels, hornpipes, strathspeys, O'Carolan tunes, plus a special section of North American Celtic tunes. A generous collection of photos of Irish folk musicians, street scenes, and archaeological sites further enhances this fabulous book. All of the solos included here are written in 5-string banjo tablature only with a few tunes set in unusual banjo tunings. the appendices provide a sizable glossary and a wealth of information regarding soloists and groups playing Celtic music, Irish festivals, music publications, on-line computer resources, cultural organizations, and more. If you are serious about playing Celtic music on the 5-string banjo, or if you don't play the banjo but simply want to expand your knowledge of the Celtic music tradition-you owe yourself this book. the first-ever CD collection of Irish and Celtic music for 5-string banjo provides 68 lovely melodies and demonstrates revolutionary techniques for playing highly ornamented tunes and rolling back-up. Recorded in stereo with virtuosos Gabriel Donohue (steel- and nylon-string guitar and piano) and Robbie Walsh (bodhran- frame drum played with a stick), the five-string banjo is out front and plays through each melody in real-life tempo with authentic Celtic chordal and rhythmic backing. the recording features the music of all Six Celtic Nations and includes jigs, reels, hornpipes, slides, polkas, marches, country dances, larides, andros, slipjigs, strathspeys, airs and O'Carolan tunes. 35 songs in the book are not on the CD.

This collection includes intermediate to advanced arrangements of 17 Early American carols for the 5-string banjo in 3-finger style. These melody/chord arrangements are in tablature only in gDGBD tuning using common chord shapes for the most part. The author’s experience with the classic guitar shines through in these tasteful settings, which include imaginative introductions, occasional key modulations and even a carol attributed to the Huron tribe. Fingering and interpretation are left up to the player’s discretion, trusting that along with the author’s online audio recordings, you will make some meaningful discoveries of your own. Includes access to online audio.

If you’ve ever felt compelled to play Flight of the Bumblebee on the 5-string banjo, this is the book for you! Challenging banjo transcriptions of classical masterpieces may seem like a humorous anachronism to some, but not for Italian master Claudio Parravicini, a conservatory graduate who, while majoring in French horn, always believed that the banjo was “a virtuoso instrument capable of enriching any musical genre.” In the author’s words, “I chose the classical pieces in this book on the basis of how they might advance right and left-hand banjo technique and even refine the player’s musical sensibility… Some pieces, like Flight of the Bumblebee will challenge your ability to play rapidly, while others like Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, are much slower, but will test your musical abilities in other ways.” The other pieces in the book are: Prelude No. 2 in C minor and Inventions No. 4 and No. 6 by J. S. Bach, Flight of the Bumblebee by Korsakov, Perpetual Motion and Carnival of Venice by Paganini, and Toccata for Piano or Harpsichord by Paradisi. Classical Masterpieces for Banjo is written in tablature only in standard G tuning [gDGBD] using three- finger banjo technique in the traditional, melodic and single-string style. Each selection is guaranteed to further your technique and delight your audience, or simply expand your vision of what is possible on the 5-string banjo.

(Music Sales America). Originally published in 1958, Donal O'Sullivan's classic study of Turlough O'Carolan became a musical and historical beacon for all those interested in Ireland's past and present. It is an indispensable tool for Irish musicians, who through this remarkable volume of research can go beyond the music itself, and engross themselves in the colorful world of this unique musician travelling in a still largely feudal Ireland of the 17th and 18th centuries. This edition contains all of the original sections, with all 213 tunes, the annotations to the tunes, the memoirs of Arthur O'Neill, complete indexes and an important new appendix which features additional tunes and facts which have been unearthed since the original publication first appeared.

Swift is a shrewd and humorous observer of the changing artistic and cultural scene in both Ireland and England, and his views on these changes in public taste are an important, albeit neglected, part of his biography. His correspondence, especially his Journal to Stella, shows us someone very aware of the various arts and of their lively emergence from the enclosed world of the Puritan era. Many of Swift's friends and acquaintances were serious collectors of paintings, sculpture, coins, medals and Swift himself eventually enjoyed an interesting and revealing collection of artistic artifacts, as this study shows.

"The Companion to Irish Traditional Music is not just the ideal reference for the interested enthusiast and session player, it also provides a unique resource for every library, school and home with an interest in the distinctive rituals, qualities and history of Irish traditional music and song."--BOOK JACKET.

Continuing where Beginning Fingerstyle Guitar leaves off, this book is great for fingerstyle guitarists who know the basics and are ready to take the next step. Topics include alternate tunings, modes, fingerpicking patterns, barre chords, diatonic harmony, special techniques, bass lines, and an exploration of styles ranging from Celtic and country blues to contemporary new age. Also contains an essential chapter on arranging. All music is shown in standard notation and TAB, and the CD demonstrates all the examples in the book. 96 pages.

This book contains 15 Irish airs arranged as fiddle (violin) duets and trios from melodies composed by Turlough O'Carolan. Carolan was a blind Irish poet, composer, and traveling harper who lived from 1670 - 1738. Each song has a melody and two melodic harmonies to choose from. The songs can be played as duets repeated using the different harmonies, or all parts can be played at the same time to form a violin trio. The tunes are airs, and are therefore played at a slower tempo than a lot of traditional Irish fiddle music. All of these arrangements can be played in 1st position, making it an approachable book for beginner and intermediate violin players. The difficulty level varies for the different pieces. This book is great for musicians performing with a friend or small group. The arrangements are appropriate for weddings and formal acoustic performances. The harmonies can even be used by a soloist with a looper pedal. It is also helpful for teachers who want to accompany their students. Those who study classical violin repertoire, and are interested in Irish folk music, may notice some of these songs have a "Baroque" spirit to them. This book promotes listening closely to other players while performing a part, and learning how melodic harmonies can fit with a melody line. Happy Fiddling! CONTENTS: Introduction: - A Summary of Irish History that Influenced Carolan and His Music - A Brief Biography of Turlough O'Carolan Sheet Music: - Captain O'Kane - Fanny Power - Carolan's Welcome - Carolan's Receipt (Dr. John Stafford) - Colonel John Irwin - Morgan Megan - Eleanor Plunkett - Carolan's Quarrel with the Landlady - Sir Charles Coote - Si Bheag Si Mhor - George Brabazon's 2nd Air - Princess Royal (Miss MacDermott) - Planxty Hewlett - Denis O'Conor - Carolan's Concerto. If a song requires page turns using the book's primary note size, a second version is included using smaller notes so the song fits entirely on 2 pages. The lower harmony, "Harmony 2," was arranged keeping the common registers of the violin and viola in mind. All three parts are written in treble clef, but the second harmony only briefly goes onto the violin's "e-string" for two songs. The arrangements use familiar key signatures that have one or two sharps. Occasionally, a d-sharp is used as an accidental for e-harmonic minor songs. About the Arranger: Katy Adelson is an American fiddle player, composer, and arranger residing in Colorado. She has released digital music albums and singles, and has posted many free online fiddle tune sheet music arrangements on her website. She has created online fiddle lessons and music videos on YouTube. This book is published by Golden Aspen Music.