(no subject)
It's the Frank McGann weekend over in Strokestown, so I was there today for the concertina class. We were late for it, but nothing EVER starts on time in this country, and sure enough the class started an hour and fifteen minutes late. Michael O'Raghallaigh was teaching the class, and walked into the room looking like he'd spent the night on the street. He was probably up all last night playing in sessions.
Since there were so many of us (eighteen), the less experienced players were split into a different class. After Michael had heard us all play and was deciding who should go into the other class, I was literally shaking with fear. It's so stupid...I just love playing the concertina so much, and I know I'm not brilliant like the others who've been playing since they were small, but I want so badly to be good enough for a more experienced class. And I was, much to my relief.
Michael made us all learn a reel by ear. I've never really been able to learn anything by ear - unless the teacher is shouting, 'G! A! B! G!' - but I did okay. I much prefer having notes in front of me, but that's not the way you're supposed to learn Irish music.
After lunch he wrote the second reel on the board, though, maybe because it had taken all of us the full morning to learn the other one by ear.
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A funny link: Star Wars Toys that Never Made it: http://www.mcmorran.org/pages.php?page_id=15
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Speaking Irish to other IMDB users is fun and I'm sure will help me in the long run - oral exams, ick - yet it's also making me quite scared. When I try to think of Irish all I can think of is French.
Since there were so many of us (eighteen), the less experienced players were split into a different class. After Michael had heard us all play and was deciding who should go into the other class, I was literally shaking with fear. It's so stupid...I just love playing the concertina so much, and I know I'm not brilliant like the others who've been playing since they were small, but I want so badly to be good enough for a more experienced class. And I was, much to my relief.
Michael made us all learn a reel by ear. I've never really been able to learn anything by ear - unless the teacher is shouting, 'G! A! B! G!' - but I did okay. I much prefer having notes in front of me, but that's not the way you're supposed to learn Irish music.
After lunch he wrote the second reel on the board, though, maybe because it had taken all of us the full morning to learn the other one by ear.
----------
A funny link: Star Wars Toys that Never Made it: http://www.mcmorran.org/pages.php?page_id=15
---------
Speaking Irish to other IMDB users is fun and I'm sure will help me in the long run - oral exams, ick - yet it's also making me quite scared. When I try to think of Irish all I can think of is French.