Carolan’s Welcome is a traditional air (3/4), composed by Turlough O’Carolan. This fingerstyle arrangement on the guitar is in the key of Am, played out of standard tuning and is well suited to the advanced picker. All of O’Carolan’s melodies are beautiful and this is no exception. Played at a relatively fast tempo, there are some challenging positions to work through, but well worth the effort to get your fingers around the tune. Go to lesson...
Drops Of Brandy is a traditional Irish slip jig (9/8), in the key of D. This fingerstyle arrangement on the guitar is in open D tuning (DADF#AD) and is well suited to the advancing intermediate picker. It has a beautiful, driving melody, played at a brisk tempo and will be a great addition to your trad repertoire! Go to lesson...
The Cordal Jig is a traditional Irish jig in the key of D. This fingerstyle arrangement on the guitar is in open D tuning (DADF#AD), allowing for a really pretty way of approaching the melody and will be a great tune for the advanced picker. It is a fantastic melody to pick and will be a great addition to your trad fingerstyle repertoire! Go to lesson...
Fanny Power is a beautiful tune composed by Turlough O’Carolan. It is an Air, that has a sweet sounding melody, played in the key of G, in the 6/8 time signature. In this fingerstyle arrangement, the melody is supported by bass lines from the harmony, delivering a wonderful combination of movement between the melody. Go to lesson...
The Boys of Ballycastle is a traditional Irish hornpipe in the key of Em. In this lesson, we’ll look at a fingerstyle arrangement that has some great movement in the bass line, while supporting the intricate melody. You’ll need to have a solid technique in both hands to play this tune well, and is suited to the advanced picker. Go to lesson...
In this fingerstyle guitar lesson, we’ll take a look at O’Carolan #174, written by the blind Irish harpist Turlough O’Carolan in the 17th century. The title, devoid of a specific name, reflects the historical convention of cataloging O’Carolan’s vast repertoire by number. #174 captivates with its intricate harmonies and emotive nuances, and this arrangement takes the beautiful melody and develops the harmony and movement for the advancing fingerstyle guitarist. Go to lesson...
Eleanor Plunkett is an Air (3/4), composed by Turlough O’Carolan and in the key of G. It has a very sweet melody, moves along gently and very rewarding to play. In this arrangement, we’ll learn a fingerstyle version, well suited to the intermediate picker wanting a challenge and sounds great played solo or with accompaniment, take your pick! Go to lesson...
The Boys Of Bluehill is a popular traditional Irish hornpipe, in the key of D. In this arrangement, we’ll learn a finger style version that takes the tune and places it in DADGAD tuning, adding embellishments to the melody and mixes it with some really interesting harmony accompaniment. Often played at a fast tempo, I’d suggest this arrangement is suited to the advanced finger picker…but don’t be put off by the tempo; I think it also works beautifully at a slower tempo! Go to lesson...
Southwind is a traditional Irish waltz, played in the key of G. It has a very beautiful melody that we’ll learn in a fingerstyle arrangement, in 2 different variations. First, we’ll first learn it in its basic form, with minimal support from the bass notes found in the harmony. Then we’ll spice it up with a more advanced arrangement that features more support and embellishment around the melody. Go to lesson...
Away In A Manger is traditional Christmas Carol, played at a slow tempo in 3/4 time. This arrangement is in the key of G, has two variations and features the ‘Cradle Song’ melody, being the most popular setting outside of the United States. Both variations are suitable for the intermediate picker, and work equally well in duet with the mandolin or played solo. Go to lesson...