Banjo Songs For Irish Music
The banjo is an invaluable instrument to learn for playing Irish music. With its wide range and great melodic potential, the banjo provides an ideal opportunity to become acquainted with traditional tunes.
The tenor banjo has become one of the most widely used instruments in Irish music today, being tuned to match that of a fiddle (G, D, A and E) making it easy to play melodies from Irish jigs and reels.
Bag of Spuds
Bag of Spuds is an iconic Irish banjo songs and part of the 50 Solos for Irish Tenor Banjo Book & CD, the most comprehensive compilation available of Irish banjo tunes currently.
Gerry O’Connor and David McNevin, two of the finest tenor banjo players in Irish music, have hand-selected and arranged this extraordinary collection of tunes for this book/CD set. With traditional as well as modal keys covered and notation for both CGDA and GDAE tunings available here.
Bag of Spuds is an ideal selection for budding tenor banjo players and sure to become a crowd pleaser whether played by itself or with a band. Whether played solo or alongside others, Bag of Spuds will surely delight.
Cherish the Ladies
Cherish the Ladies Band is a unique American-based, all female Celtic music group founded in 1985 through concerts. Since then, their performances have delighted audiences around the globe and earned them acclaim for their enthusiastic musicianship and energy.
Cherish the Ladies features Aoife Clancy (daughter of Bobby Clancy of Clancy Brothers fame) as lead vocalist, alongside pianist Donna Long. Their latest CD New Day Dawning further establishes their position among top Irish musicians.
Cherish the Ladies is an album filled with traditional and instrumental songs and instrumentals from its repertoire, along with several tracks composed by members of Cherish the Ladies themselves. One particularly captivating track on the record is “Glenties,” an image-rich reflection on small town Ireland that highlights Cherish the Ladies’ distinctive blend of modern and traditional sounds.
Farewell to Whiskey
Farewell to Whisky is an emotive folk song lamenting the perils of excessive drinking. The song has been performed by folk singers such as Lizzie Higgins (daughter of Jeannie Robertson) and Norman Kennedy of Aberdeenshire.
This slow air dates from 1850. It first appeared in Robert Ford’s Vagabond Songs and Ballads of Scotland and later collected by Ord in Bothy Songs and Ballads.
This tune can be played without capo in standard G tuning. It is an ideal tune for beginners and an excellent way to develop banjo playing skills. A tenor banjo will be required in order to properly execute this tune; we provide easy-to-read tablature with chord names and large diagrams as well as audio tracks with pitch/speed controls for learning/listening and practicing purposes.
Lark in the Morning
The Lark in the Morning is one of my favourite songs ever written and has long been part of my repertoire. The tune boasts an Arcadian charm which I appreciate; Vaughan Williams himself appreciated this style as well.
This song has been collected from various sources and recorded by traditional singers worldwide. It’s a timeless folk tune celebrating ploughmen.
It has also been heard in Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as many states of the US. Here is a version compiled using lyrics collected from Sam Gilbert of Pydar Cornwall while Baring-Gould heard its tune from Robert Hard in South Brent.
Peter Cooper relates the story that this song originated with two fiddlers competing to see who could produce the sweetest music, and not either one won but instead “The Lark in the Morning”. While its exact source remains elusive, this tune certainly lends itself well to tenor banjo playing.