Central Kentucky is blessed with a growing community of Irish traditional music players – both learners and professionals.
Have you been working up a tune (“choon”) or two? Want a place to grow in your Irish music practice and play with other players?
join us for a learners’ session
Our Learners’ Sessions are usually held from 10:00am - 12:00pm on the 4th Saturday of most months at the McTeggart studio.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, we are hosting our Learners’ Sessions virtually.
2020 Schedule:
February 29, 2020
March 28, 2020
April 25, 2020
May 30, 2020
June 27, 2020
July 25, 2020
August 29, 2020, 11:15am-12:45pm ET - sign up for virtual access information
September 26, 2020
October 24, 2020
There are no official Learners’ Sessions meet-ups in January, June, or December 2020.
how learners’ sessions work
For our virtual Learners’ Sessions, we all gather and together learn a tune by ear, phrase by phrase under the able guidance of a master musician. After the learn-by-ear tune, we tend to play through tunes from previous months - scroll below to see our library of tunes.
Here is how in-person Sessions work; we’ll get back to these as soon as it’s safe!
We let you know the tunes we’ll play. A few weeks in advance of a Session, we’ll publish the tunes we’re going to play, with links to sheet music, tabs, and Spotify and/or YouTube videos when we can. Tunes available below.
You practice! We recommend you acquaint yourself with the tunes before you come to the Session!
Grab your instrument and come to the session. Feel free to just drop in, but if you can, please let us know you’re coming. Suggested donation $5.
Help us create a welcoming, inclusive, fun session community. We want our Learners’ Sessions to be welcoming to beginner players, to enthusiasts who want to listen, as well as to more experienced musicians who want to encourage newer players. At each session, we’ll have a session leader who guides the session to keep the players involved and enjoying their experience. When possible, the leader will be a professional musician and educator who can also teach and coach players along the way.
Be the first to hear about Learners’ Sessions
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September 2020 Session Tunes
At our September 2020 Learners’ Session, our learn-by-ear tune was an as-yet-unnamed Mystery Slide! We learned additional slides to pair with it in a nice set.
AUGUST 2020 Session Tune
At our August 2020 Learners’ Session, our learn-by-ear tune was an as-yet-unnamed Mystery Slip Jig!
July 2020 Session Tunes
At our July 2020 Learners’ Session, our learn-by-ear tune was Din Tarrant’s (aka Scartaglen) Polka! We also learned the Polka called “I Looked East and I Looked West,” which pairs nicely with the Din Tarrant’s.
JUNE 2020 Session Tune
At our virtual Learners’ Session in June, our learn-by-ear tune was “Planxty Eleanor Plunkett.”
MAY 2020 Session Tune
At our virtual Learners’ Session in May, our learn-by-ear tune was “Kitty’s Wedding (hornpipe).”
APRIL 2020 Session Tune
At our virtual Learners’ Session in April, our learn-by-ear tune was “John McHugh’s” (also known as “Kevin McHugh’s” and “Adam and Eve’s”).
MARCH 2020 SESSION TUNE
At our first virtual Learners’ Session in March, our learn-by-ear tune was “The Maids of Mitchelstown.”
February 2020 Session Tunes
The tunes for February are “The Ships are Sailing” (reel) and “The Dark Girl in Blue” aka “Dennis Murphy’s” (slide).
The Ships are Sailing (Reel)
Here, we offer an audio slow practice track and a video. In the video, Tony MacMahon plays two reels; the first is “The Ships are Sailing.”
The Dark Girl in Blue (Slide)
Here, we have a slow practice track for The Dark Girl in Blue (aka Dennis Murphy’s). In the video, “The Dark Girl in Blue/Dennis Murphy’s” is the first tune that is played.
Tunes from Previous Sessions
October 2019
On October 26, we’ll continue playing tunes from August and September (scroll down), and we’ll play Kid on the Mountain (slip jig) and Shoe the Donkey (for the dancers!).
September 2019
On September 28, our Learn-By-Ear tunes are Cooley’s and The Wise Maid (slow learning tracks below). We’ll also review the tunes from August 24.
AUGUST 2019
For our first Learners’ Session, we have a selection of tunes you can prepare in advance using sheet music, recordings, and other resources. For August 24, those tunes are John Ryan’s (polka), The Butterfly (slip jig), Road to Lisdoonvarna (jig), and Harvest Home (hornpipe).
In addition to these tunes, each session we’ll have a special “learn by ear” tune! Traditional Irish music is learned almost entirely by ear; our Learners’ Sessions will give you the skills you need to become a good learner-by-ear.
August 24 Tunes with Sheet Music, Other Resources
John Ryan’s Polka
YouTube (John Ryan’s Polka starts at 1:30)
Butterfly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNAgHjsIGNw
https://thesession.org/tunes/10 (first setting)
Road to Lisdoonvarna
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWyTMHEhY0E
https://thesession.org/tunes/250 (first setting)
Harvest Home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc39GGHZ-wE
https://thesession.org/tunes/49 (first setting, more or less)
August 24 “Learn By Ear” Tune: The Rambling Pitchfork
Here are some recordings of the tune we’ll be learning by ear this month – The Rambling Pitchfork! The first recording is the entire tune at a slow play-along tempo, the others are each of the phrases of the tune played extra slow for learning purposes. If you have trouble playing from the embedded tracks, below, visit our SoundCloud page to find all the learning tracks for Rambling Pitchfork.
Here are some recordings of The Rambling Pitchfork for your listening and learning pleasure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LetKQ48NH4 (1:45 – different key!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLgIJ1ZuGTA (whole video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaAoU3yB_aQ (first tune)