Fleadh Tunes for the Fiddle Overview

  • 13 lessons teaching how to play 13 popular Irish tunes.
  • Progress at your own pace, pause & repeat videos.
  • Access on all your devices.
  • PDF sheet music & mp3’s to download & keep for each tune.
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BONUS:
  • Access our Entire Course Catalogue for Every Instrument.
  • Library of over 150 popular Irish tunes to practice along with.
  • Virtual Reality Sessions for the unique Irish Pub Session experience – a real treat for the Irish music lover.
  • Community Forum of students and teachers, all friends with a love of Irish music.
The Fleadh Cheoil (literally translates as “feast” of music) is an Irish music competition organised by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. There are county, provincial and ‘all-Ireland’ levels of competition that take place in Britain, North America and Ireland. These all lead to the grand final ‘The All-Ireland Fleadh’ which takes place in Ireland each August and is truly a feast of Irish music, both for musicians and audiences that flock to it in their thousands. Fleadh Tunes for the Fiddle teaches suitable tunes for competitors at the Fleadh, however, it is also for any fiddle player who wants to learn tunes best suited to the fiddle.

By the end of the course, you will have a great variety of Irish traditional tunes to add to your repertoire. The course has 13 lessons, broken into 3 to 4 tutorials each, where tunes are taught phrase by phrase.

Course Structure

Fleadh Tunes for the Fiddle begins with simple dance tunes and slow airs. A progressive study of ornamentation, variation, phrasing, tempo, rhythm and tone then follow. When dealing with Slow Airs the main focus is on the phrasing, momentum, appropriate ornamentation, the use of expression and most importantly the history and background to the airs and the accompanying songs, words and translations. The course also enables you to have an understanding of how to approach the topic of air playing.

Tunes taught in this course:

The Gallant Boys Of Tipperary
Sliabh Russell Jig
Cofra Donn
Roscommon Reel
Caoineadh Uí Dhomhnaill
Tumble The Tinker
Kitty’s Wedding
Palmers Gate
Sé Fáth Mo Bhuartha
The Castle Jig
McMahon’s Hornpipe
The New Policeman
McCahill’s Reel
Your Tutor
Majella BartleyAll Ireland champion flute player, Majella Bartley, hails from Corcaghan, Co. Monaghan. She is a respected flute and fiddle teacher, tutoring at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance as well as at national and international summer schools and workshops such as Scoil Eigse, Fiddle Festival of Wales, Kilkenny Celtic Festival and the British and North American Convention of Comhaltas. She holds the TTCT (Teastas i dTeagasc Ceolta Tíre) traditional music teaching diploma awarded by Comhaltas and is now a tutor and lecturer on that course. She is also a qualified adjudicator and has adjudicated many competitions including the All-Ireland Fleadh. Read more.

 

Detailed questions and discussion on the course can be found in the Community Forum, available to paying members only.

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Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lessons

Level

The Gallant Boys of Tipperary

Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lesson 1

  • D Major
  • Level 3
  • Melody
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Bowed Triplets and The Half Roll

Jig

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Sliabh Russell Jig

Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lesson 2

  • D Major
  • Level 3
  • Melody
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Bowing: Swing and Jig Rhythm

Jig

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Cofra Donn

Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lesson 3

  • D Major
  • Level 3
  • Melody
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Bowing: Swing and Hornpipe Rhythm. Ornamentation appropriate for Hornpipes

Hornpipe

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Roscommon Reel

Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lesson 4

  • E Minor
  • Level 3
  • Melody
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Ornamentation: Rolls and Bowed Triplets

Reel

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Caoineadh Uí Dhomhnaill

Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lesson 5

  • G Major
  • Level 3
  • Melody
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Ornamentation for Airs, The Use of Chords.

Slow Air

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Tumble the Tinker

Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lesson 6

  • D Major
  • Level 3
  • Melody
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Bowing: Swing and Jig Rhythm

Jig

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Kitty’s Wedding

Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lesson 7

  • D Major
  • Level 3
  • Melody
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Bowing: Hornpipe Rhythm, Ornamentation: For Hornpipes

Hornpipe

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Palmers Gate

Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lesson 8

  • E Minor
  • Level 3
  • Melody
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Ornamentation and Variation

Reel

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Sé Fáth Mo Bhuartha

Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lesson 9

  • G Major
  • Level 3
  • Melody
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Ornamentation for Airs, The Use of Chords

Slow Air

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The Castle Jig

Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lesson 10

  • A Minor
  • Level 3
  • Melody
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Bowing: Swing and Jig Rhythm. Ornamentation

Jig

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McMahon’s Hornpipe

Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lesson 11

  • G Major
  • Level 3
  • Melody
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Bowing: Hornpipe Rhythm and Swing, Ornamentation for Hornpipes

Hornpipe

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The New Policeman

Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lesson 12

  • D Major
  • Level 3
  • Melody
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Ornamentation and Melodic Variation

Reel

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McCahill’s Reel

Fleadh Tunes For The Fiddle Lesson 13

  • D Major
  • Level 3
  • Melody
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Ornamentation: Bowed Triplets, Cuts and Rolls. Bowing: Reel Rhythm and excercises

Reel

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