Tunes Class Cranks Up Again!

Tonight is the first Maleny Tunes Class for 2012. There will be carrot cake and a slow reel!

This Wednesday, 1 February, 7pm - 9pm, we're back with our friendly combination of Irish tunes and supper. Bring your instrument, learn tunes by ear, and join in a growing community of musicians enjoying tunes together.

This year the class will be taught by class founder Nicole Murray, with excellent local musicians Steve Cook, Jeremy Dunlop and Tania Owens, to cater for slower players as well as more experienced players.

This week, Feb 1, Nicole will be starting up the year with a new tune, taught at quite a slow pace with lots of repetition of phrases. After supper we'll speed our new tune up a bit, and play a couple of tunes we've done before.

On Feb 8, Nicole will run Tunes From the Vault, where we revise tunes that have previously been taught. We'll work in longer phrases, still with repetition, and Tania will be available to work with slower players and those who have never met the tunes before.

Jeremy will teach a new tune on Feb 15, at a slow pace, with lots of repetition. After supper the tune will go a bit faster and he might visit a couple of other tunes too.

And on Feb 22, Steve will run the Ceili practice. This is a chance to put the tunes together into sets suitable for playing in sessions and for dancing. Steve will move a bit faster, but Tania will be available to coach slower players before supper.

There are 5 Wednesdays this February, so Nicole will finish the month with Tunes From the Vault.

Our planning has moved as far as March! So in March:

7 March - Nicole teaches a new tune.

14 March - Nicole visits Tunes from the Vault, with Tania helping out slower players

21 March - Jem teaches a new tune.

28 March - Steve runs Ceili practice, with Tania coaching slow players before supper.

The cost of tuition has not changed, its still $12 per class including supper. Please invite your musical friends who would like to play Irish tunes to come to the class. Its a tunes class, rather than an instrument class, so they will need to be able to play a few tunes on their instrument and know the names of the notes to get the most out of the class.

All of the teachers may be available for private and small group lessons if you and your friends would like to improve on your instrument.

See you on Wednesday!

Cheers,

Nicole

Great Céili, and now an Accompaniment Workshop!

Huge thanks to everyone who came, played, danced and ate cake at last night's Christmas Céili! It was a joyful night and raised just over $500 towards the 2012 Maleny Celtic Winter School, a resounding success!

I especially want to thank those people who made cakes for the night, and gave their time and equipment to make it all work. Huge thanks to Davydd McDonald (our Irish caller) and Mary Davidson (our Scottish caller), without whom the dancing wouldn't have happened. Even though I brought party tooters, I totally forgot to announce its Davydd's birthday tomorrow (Monday), so HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVYDD!!!

Great news for Tunes Class - Jem Dunlop will run a workshop on accompanying Irish tunes at the Tunes Class on Wednesday 14 December, so if you would like to integrate some good ideas about accompaniment into your playing, DON'T MISS IT! We will be working from chord charts which Steve prepared for the ceili last night, and our sets will really blossom. There will be copies of the chord charts available this Wednesday for you to take away and play with. We will combine melodies and accompaniment by the end of the night. Tell all your strumming friends this workshop is on - of course everyone is welcome.

And wasn't it wonderful when we played for dancers last night, and the rhythm of their feet helped us find the groove and the tempo? That's what its all about!

The Christmas Céili!

Its Christmas Ceili Time!

Its Christmas, the time for dancing! And for all of us who meet each week to craft these beautiful tunes, its time to take them out and swing them around some real dancers.

The Christmas Ceili is on December 3, at the Maleny Primary School Hall, 13 Bunya Street, just as you enter town from the coast.

There'll be live traditional music played by the class and lots of our auspicious tune-playing friends, experienced dance callers, and a cafe for refreshments.

Everyone in the class is welcome to participate in the band. But don't forget to get down there and have a dance - its so much fun and it makes perfect sense out of all these tunes!

These are the sets we'll be looking at, with a special Ceili Practice tonight guided by Tania.

Barn Dances

Thadelo's/ Campbell's/ Terry Tehan's

Jigs

Tatterjack Walsh/ Pipe on the Hob/ Nora Crionna

Willie Coleman's/ Black Road/ My Darling Asleep

Reels

Peelers Jacket/ Miss Monaghan/ Banshee

Musical Priest/ Monaghan Twig/ Star of Munster

Plough and the Stars/ Bank of Ireland/ Wind that Shakes the Barley

Dick Gossip/ St Anne's/ Masons Apron in G

Polkas

Rakes of Mallow/ Egan's/ Finnish/ Bill Sullivan's in D then A

Waltz

Josefin's

Extra homework if you're keen

Polkas: Walsh's/ Ballyvourney/ Johnny Leary's

Reels: Brenda/ Scholar/ Dinkies

Jigs: Kerfunten/ Eddie Kelly's/ Give Us a Drink of Water

And its GOLD in the Ring! Plus the Colliers Reel.

The Gold Ring in all its seven part glory has been thoroughly played by Maleny Tunes Class last Wednesday night. If you weren't there and want to catch up, all the parts are below, with the usual instructions on how to listen to a horrid midi file of them as well!!

The other great achievement of the night was the Collier's Reel. By special request and most unusually, the dots are attached as a gif below. The versio

n is based on the playing of Joe Fitzgerald, a Clare box player from Melbourne.

Regular super-slow-paced classes are now a feature of Maleny Tunes Class, and run simultaneously with the intermediate class. There will definitely be a Slow and Supportive Class on Tunes From the Vault night (the second Wednesday of the month, this week) and on Céili Practice Night (the fourth Wednesday of the month), and there may be a slow class every week if there is the demand. The patient and encouraging Tania Owens will be teaching regularly, ensuring more and more people start to enjoy playing Irish tunes.

If you would like to hear the melody, copy and past the text including the header into http://www.folkinfo.org/songs/abcconvert.php, select abc2mi

di and click on "submit".

X: 1
T: Gold Ring, The
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Gmaj
|:BAG A2d|cAF G2A|BAG A2d|cAG FGA|
BAG A2d|cAF GBd|~g3 afd|cAF G3:|

|:~B3 Bdc|A2A dcA|~G3 GFG|Add cAG|
B2B Bdc|A2A dcA|FDE F2d|[1 cAF G2A:|[2 cAF ~g3 |

|:fdd edd|fdd edd|fdd ed=c|dcA Geg|
fdd edd|fdd edd|dfa gfd|[1 cAF G2g:|[2 cAF G3 |

|:~g3 f2d|cAG GBd|~g3 f2d|cAG FGA|
~g3 f2d|~g3 f2d|[1 ~g3 afd|cAF GBd:|[2 gab afd|cAF GFE|

|:DBB DBB|DAA DAA|~G3 GBd|cAG FGA|
DBB DBB|DAA DAA|G2G GBd|cAF G3:|

|:~B3 ~D3|~A3 ~D3|~G3 GBd|cAG FGA|
~B3 ~D3|~A3 ~D3|~G3 GBd|cAF G3:|

|:B2G A2G|d2G G2A|B2G A2G|cAG FGA|

BAG AGF|GFD FAd|~f3 fed|cAF G3:|

New Ceili Reels and Six Parts of Gold Ring.

At Ceili practice last night we put together a fab new set of reels:

Dick Gossip (D)/ St Anne's Reel (D)/ The Mason's Apron (G).

Loads of fun, especially that run up from d to g to begin the Mason's Apron.

And we visited the sixth part of the Gold Ring, which required a look at crans on D for the flute and whistle players, and rolls on B, A, and G for everyone.

Here is the Gold Ring right up to part six. Next week - the long awaited finish to this well loved epic saga....

If you would like to hear the melody, copy and past the text including the header into http://www.folkinfo.org/songs/abcconvert.php, select abc2midi and click on "submit".

X: 1
T: Gold Ring, The
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Gmaj |:BAG A2d|cAF G2A|BAG A2d|cAG FGA|
BAG A2d|cAF GBd|~g3 afd|cAF G3:|
|:~B3 Bdc|A2A dcA|~G3 GFG|Add cAG|
B2B Bdc|A2A dcA|FDE F2d|[1 cAF G2A:|[2 cAF ~g3 ||:fdd edd|fdd edd|fdd ed=c|dcA G2g|
fdd edd|fdd edd|dfa gfd|[1 cAF G2g:|[2 cAF G3 ||:~g3 f2d|cAG GBd|~g3 f2d|cAG FGA|
~g3 f2d|~g3 f2d|[1 ~g3 afd|cAF GBd:|[2 gab afd|cAF GFE|
|:DBB DBB|DAA DAA|~G3 GBd|cAG FGA|DBB DBB|DAA DAA|G2G GBd|cAF G3:|

|:~B3 ~D3|~A3 ~D3|~G GBd|cAG FGA|~B3 ~D3|~A3 ~D3|~G3 GBd|cAF G3:|

Gold Ring gets to Part Five!

In Tunes from the Vault tonight we did manage to pull "Behind the Haystack" from the recesses of our minds, and we stood Leitrim Fancy back up on its legs too.

And we did Part Five of our epic journey through The Gold Ring.

Here is the whole tune up to part five:

If you would like to hear the melody, copy and past the text including the header into http://www.folkinfo.org/songs/abcconvert.php, select abc2midi and click on "submit".

X: 1
T: Gold Ring, The
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Gmaj |:BAG A2d|cAF G2A|BAG A2d|cAG FGA|
BAG A2d|cAF GBd|~g3 afd|cAF G3:|
|:~B3 Bdc|A2A dcA|~G3 GFG|Add cAG|
B2B Bdc|A2A dcA|FDE F2d|[1 cAF G2A:|[2 cAF ~g3 ||:fdd edd|fdd edd|fdd ed=c|dcA G2g|
fdd edd|fdd edd|dfa gfd|[1 cAF G2g:|[2 cAF G3 ||:~g3 f2d|cAG GBd|~g3 f2d|cAG FGA|
~g3 f2d|~g3 f2d|[1 ~g3 afd|cAF GBd:|[2 gab afd|cAF GFE|
|:DBB DBB|DAA DAA|~G3 GBd|cAG FGA|DBB DBB|DAA DAA|G2G GBd|cAF G3:|

Jigs from the Vault

Oh, dear, it took me all week to put up Part Four of The Gold Ring, but here it is, just in time to learn Part Five tonight!

Its Vault night, when we excavate long buried tunes under cover of darkness and fuelled by biscuits and tea. This week we are excavating a few jigs; yes, a whole night of the time signature that swings along to syllables that sound like "pineapple underpants".

We will revise Behind the Haystack (also known as Munster Buttermilk, though another jig shares that name), and probably Kalyama unless there is a request for another jig.

See you there!

The Gold Ring Project, Part Four (with all the other parts)

Here are parts one, two, three and four. As before, if you would like to hear them, copy and past the text including the header into http://www.folkinfo.org/songs/abcconvert.php, select abc2midi and click on "submit".

X: 1
T: Gold Ring, The
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Gmaj

|:BAG A2d|cAF G2A|BAG A2d|cAG FGA|
BAG A2d|cAF GBd|~g3 afd|cAF G3:|
|:~B3 Bdc|A2A dcA|~G3 GFG|Add cAG|
B2B Bdc|A2A dcA|FDE F2d|[1 cAF G2A:|[2 cAF ~g3 ||:fdd edd|fdd edd|fdd ed=c|dcA G2g|
fdd edd|fdd edd|dfa gfd|[1 cAF G2g:|[2 cAF G3 ||:~g3 f2d|cAG GBd|~g3 f2d|cAG FGA|
~g3 f2d|~g3 f2d|[1 ~g3 afd|cAF GBd:|[2 gab afd|cAF GFE|