2 questions about Celtic guitar (and 1 about a whistle)

Whistle
1

Hi all,

I’m just getting back to C&F after nearly a year-long disappearance (I’m just finishing up my first year as a FT faculty person, which has been so all-consuming that I’ve had no real play time since last summer). I’m going to be in northern DE for the summer and I want to reward myself for surviving this year by doing something I’ve long wanted to do – start learning Celtic guitar. Does anyone know of a good teacher within reasonable traveling distance of the Wilmington DE area? I’m not new to the guitar so I don’t need basics of chords or alternate tunings. I can do all that. I’m looking for something at an intermediate or advanced level.

Along the same lines, I’ve read many notes about Celtic guitar on and off here over the years. Does anyone know if there’s a Celtic guitar equivalent of C&F? If there is, I’d love to join it. If there’s not but there’s interest, I might try setting something up.

I haven’t abandoned my whistles completely, though. After a couple of years of trying things, I have a bunch of inexpensive whistles and a very small collection of whistles I truly love (ah – the cure for WhOA!) There’s only one whistle I think I might want to add – a Burke narrow-bore D, preferably aluminum. If anyone has one they’re interested in parting with, drop me a message and we could talk trade or sale.

Tery

2

Sure! If you have already learned the basics on the guitar the rest is fairly simple, ie you don’t need to be a genius to use it.

As far as I know there are no official Guitar forums but the gauberloo who runs thesession fancies himself as a zook/guitar expert.

The way to start is with a metronome - even IF you are a good flat picker.

Tools.

Box of flat picks, nail clippers - you cannot play well with uncut nails- a metronome, some simple tunes to start off with, a riff book or make your own - training lefthand fingerings-see below.

I always use standard tuning and if my pickhand is not cooperating I leave the tune until later, but I always make certain my tempo is slow and steady. I do all my triplets - if any - the same as I would on a Tenor Banjo - UDU.

Reels are a lot easier than it appears IF you slow down and stay at that tempo - ie use the metronome.

Modal methods - it is possible to incorporate modal phrases with chords into Itrad tunes. Don’t be afraid to experiment!

Simple leftie riffs, all chromatic to develop timings and coordination.
Select a place where your hand is comfortable reaching the adjacent 4 frets beneath your fingertips. Using the flatpick and pressing down ALL 4 fingers on the frets play - 4321 -

Now do the opposite. You can then do what ever order you like - eg 2431 and so on.

Next you learn to do these with all UP picks then DOWN and so on.

Next crawl across the 6 strings with one of these riffs - make your own if you like - eg 4321

Next you have to learn to cross the strings but jumping over every other string, IE you only do 3 out of 6 to get from the high to the low e string.

Next you do these with only UP pick strokes - because that movement is the hardest to do consistently well.

Metronome settings should always be lower than 120 BPM at two 1/8s per cli

3

Two things to remember about Celtic guitar:

  1. Rhythm is king.
  2. Keep it simple.

Slan,
Jim

4

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=19419 shows some DADGAD books for sale.

The March/April issue of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine ( http://www.flatpick.com/ ) is a “Special Celtic Issue”, so that might interest you.

I’m curious about DADGAD, myself. I flatpick Bluegrass, and find that that style works fine with the tunes I’m learning on the whistle. I read on some Web site that guitar is used mostly for accompaniment in ITM. Is that what DADGAD is supposed to be good for? This seems at odds with the idea of everyone playing in unison.

I haven’t abandoned my whistles completely, though. After a couple of years of trying things, I have a bunch of inexpensive whistles and a very small collection of whistles I truly love (ah – the cure for WhOA!) There’s only one whistle I think I might want to add – a Burke narrow-bore D, preferably aluminum. If anyone has one they’re interested in parting with, drop me a message and we could talk trade or sale.

I have one, but I don’t want to trade or sell it–it’s my favorite. :wink:

5

Thanks for the magazine reference, Mike, and thanks to others, too.

I think that, in a session, guitar is mostly a rhythm instrument, Mike. That’s fine with me; I don’t mind sitting back playing quietly (as opposed to the 3-chord bangers we’ve all had the misfortune to hear). I think that would be fun, but for hanging out at home I’m primarily interested in fingerstyle. When I wandered away from guitar years ago, what I was mostly playing was things like Mississippi John Hurt. I can flatpick, but I like the sound and feel of skin better.

I think people use alternate tunings frequently in Celtic, both for backup and fingerstyle. I’ll know more about all of this soon :slight_smile:.

Tery

6

I would have to agree with you there. I keep the nails cut off on both hands, and use the pads of my fingers. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but that is probably one of the things that describes the fingerpicking style as Celtic.

Start here, and follow the links:

http://home.hccnet.nl/h.speek/dadgad/

Slan,
Jim

7

One of my “pet peeves” is guitarists who use very thin guage picks. It sounds like someone is playing a plastic washboard along with the guitar.

8

Two things to remember about Celtic guitar:

  1. Rhythm is king.
  2. Keep it simple.

I agree! Simplicity is a great gimmick, especially when used in moderation.

9

Dear CTW,

If you are interested in Celtic fingerstyle, there are two videos by Tony McManus that will become essential to your collection. I’ve grown to think that Tony is by far the utmost best in this style and his videos are fantastic. They are geared towards the intermediate to advanced player and come with regular notation and tabs.

I took a two-day workshop with Tony last year and he literally blew my guitar world apart. I had never seen or heard anything quite like him. Still haven’t.

Here is a link to where you can get the videos:
http://guitarvideos.com/video/00mcmanus.htm

And one to Tony’s website:
http://www.tonymcmanus.com/

Happy stumming and picking!

10

:laughing:

I guess it’s sorta like abstinence, eh? :smiley:

11

3 words. Learn DADGAD tuning.

The first thing Paddy Keennan asks a guitarist is “Do you play open?” which I figured out he means DADGAD.

The answer better be yes if you have any hope of playing guitar with him.

I am string impaired, but our current bouzouki player was our former main guitarist and I made him learn DADGAD before I would let him play anything but whistle with me.

He was dubious, but after he took a class at Elkins, WV, he really took to it and gets some amazing voicings of the “no thirds” chords and he kicks some serious @$$ with both rhythm and flatpicking. O’Carolan and slow airs, he fingerpicks as he started as a classical guitarist.

I was amazed at the ease of transition he had…

My son is starting to see the light, finally. He is our main guitarist/mandolinist/concertina player. Just now, he spends a lot of time changing tuning, so we need to arrange for all his standard tuning stuff either before or after the break. Eventually, I think he will go all the way DADGAD except for his rock stuff.

12

Why should he leave out his rock stuff? You can make some monster power chords in DADGAD. :smiley: :wink: :smiley:

13

I should have been more precise about the nail clippers and their use -.!

You have to keep the fretting hand fingernails short NOT the picking hand. It is not at all obvious why until you have to pick a lot of fretted notes which will A/ wear out your hand and B/ dig holes in the fingerboard which is expensive to repair.

14

You have to work in DADGAD to get the thirds in a chord, so just about all the chordal work in DADGAD is power chords, I think.

Why the name power chord when you leave out the third, I wonder?

Isn’t E the most popular rock key? It was when I had an electric guitar?

I can make him stop playing the guitar. Put sheet music in front of him without chords written above something. :slight_smile:

He played mostly lead guitar with his rock bands (about a dozen of them, IIRC in around 6 years. Naomi’s Fancy is in it’s 7th year now) and I guess that might throw his licks off. You know how the young are so fixed in their ways and it is hard to get them to change until they pass the age of around 35..

I haven’t seen many rockers use any open tunings and I have always wondered why.

15

Now that you mention DADGAD tuning I can’t see it as being the only way to do that. I played a great number of years, and here and there worked my own twist to few tunes in standard tuning but for accompanament it apprears today as if Irtrad is moving away from modal backing towards a tried a proven method

16

Now that you mention DADGAD tuning I can’t see it as being the only way to do that. I played a great number of years, and here and there worked my own twist to few tunes in standard tuning but for accompanament it apprears today as if Irtrad is moving away from modal backing towards a tried a proven method.

Not wanting to spoil a good joke for those who have been getting a great milage out of it for the last few years, I leave it to the intrepid netsters and knowalls to find.

17

This may be useful for those starting on DADGAD… my techniques and chord shapes for DADGAD backup:

http://members.cox.net/eskin/DADGAD.html

Please let me know if its useful to you…

Cheers,

Michael

18

Tery,
Common](http://www.commongroundonthehill.com/html/homepage.html%3ECommon) Ground on the Hill has both Zan McLeod and Robin Bullock teaching this year. The courses are in-expensive and only a couple hours drive from Wilmington, DE if you can spare the first couple of weeks of July. I’ve seen Zan Play at a couple of sessions, and was amazed by his ability and energy. Robin is also and excellent player and teacher. I don’t know about the tradition weeks themselves. I was considering going this year and checking them out because they are so close, but several weddings and the birth of my grand-daughter are going to eat up all my vacation this this year. If you go, drop me a message and let me know how it turns out.

Second I’d recommend the book by Chris Smith Celtic](http://www.thewhistleshop.com/catalog/tutorials/irishmusicsongbooks/celticbackup/celticba.htm%3ECeltic) Backup for the Instrumentalist available from The Whistle shop.

Hope this helps you …

19

Robin Bullock is a fantastic player and teacher!

20

Along with drummers/boners (we are breaking in a percussionist) guitar as backup is best used sparingly.

It is so hard to get it in our drummer’s head that one of the things neat about the music are changes in texture in tunes. He tends to want to keep banging on in all the tunes all the way through a set.

A lot of the neatness of Irish Traditional music is what isn’t stuck into the tune.