"Music often takes me like a sea!" I love music. I love to listen; I love to play. It sweeps me into somewhere else, somewhere wonderful. Music speaks.

I've learned so much about music since I've been here at Swarthmore. Both about what I like to do with it and how I look at it. I am a classically trained violinist, and have been participating in various and sundry orchestras and groups and individual lessoning for nearly a decade. I wasn't much into vocal music -- give me the pure, unadulterated sound! -- until a few years ago (thank you, Steph!), and I discovered that I love to sing. I also discovered, at least according to my friends, that I have a lovely voice. So they say. :-)

So here at Swat, I do mostly folk and Celtic, with a good dash of dance mixed in. I tried orchestra for a semester and dreaded it (for what happened with me and classical, see "Fiddling"). So I play for our English Country Dance class and for our rather unique Sword Dance group, and occasionally mess around with Scottish Country dance, and I have taught myself plenty of wonderful Irish/Scottish ballads that I like to periodically inflict on my friends.

Enough about me! Following, anecdotally, is what I've learned about The Good Stuff. Enjoy!

Fiddling

We consider that any man who can fiddle all through one of those Virginia Reels without losing his grip may be depended upon in any kind of musical emergency. -- Mark Twain

Once upon a time, many years ago, I learned a whole bunch of American fiddle tunes, and thought, Wow, this is fun stuff! Of course, I learned them in the classical style, which placed a huge non-creative stricture on my playing of them. I didn't know you play them any other way than as they were written down on that page.

Then I went to Ireland.

And I discovered fiddling. The real stuff. Pub sessions. Pub music.The incredible life and energy that flowed from that music. Needless to say, I was hooked. I'd been playing classical for nearly eight years and was frustrated with it. I threw away it all away and started over, from the ground. I listened. I imitated. I read. I researched. I was in love.

So it's a fiddler I've become, and a fiddler I'll remain!

A few of my favorite fiddlers:

Kevin Burke: one of Ireland's best fiddlers. From Co. Sligo, he playing is lively and strong and heavily traditional. He has formed a key part of many Irish groups, such as Patrick Street and Open House. And what a great personality!

Martin Hayes: hailing from Co. Clare, he has a sweet, slow, smooth sound that makes you want to relax. But he can also play like nobody's busuness!

Eileen Ivers: American born of Irish parents, she does amazing things with Irish tunes. Was an original member of the great women's Irish band Cherish the Ladies.

Liz Carroll: Chicago Irish fiddler. Also a member of the original Cherish the Ladies, and current member of the group Trian.

Alasdair Fraser: Whee! Scottish, and just incredible. Quirky. Lots of fun in concert. Although firmly rooted in traditional Scottish music, he tends to hang with the New Age types.

Bonnie Rideout: Sweet, sweet, sweet Scottish fiddler. Has a deep, rich tone that I love. You can tell she's having fun with the fast tunes, and rolls out the laments like you wouldn't believe. Her best album by far is Soft May Morn.

Johnny Cunningham: Another Scot. Often seen paired with Kevin Burke and Christian LeMaitre as part of Celtic Fiddle Festival, but he stands perfectly well on his own. Founding member of the great Scottish band Silly Wizard (you just have to have an album by them just for their name! :-)

Natalie MacMaster: Cape Breton's premier fiddler. Amazing energy. Can step-dance and fiddle at the same time. She sometimes goes off the deep end with playing with traditional tunes (see her album No Boundaries), but always fun.

Aly Bain: Shetland fiddler, usually plays with The Boys of the Lough, although he does have several solo albums. Very lively and dancable. LOVE his waltzes!!

Jay Ungar: American fiddler, the one who wrote the now-immensely popular Scottish lament "Ashokan Farewell." Beautiful and soulful tone, with yet more fabulous waltzes (see his album The Lover's Waltz.

Eugene O'Donnell: Irish fiddler reknowned for his playing of airs

Fiddle-L page

Celtic music

You know, there's an awful lot to be said for this Irish traditional folk music and folklore, because first of all you have to learn it, and first you must learn the Talk, and then you must learn the Grip, and after that you must learn the Truckly-How, and then you have the whole lot, only just to keep on practising it.
-- Seamus Ennis

I'm not sure that I so much fell in love with the art of fiddling so much as I fell in love with Celtic music as a whole. There's simply something about the quality of the music that catches at me.

I know, I know, when you think of Celtic music, you think weird, dreamy, New Age-y stuff with lots of synthesizer. Either that or lots of harps and James Galway.

You're listening to the wrong thing.

Real Celtic music is about life. It's full of energy and lots of genuine musicianship, the kind of ability that can't be learned. Playing real Celtic music is exhausting, both physically and mentally. Listening can be exhausting. But it's also exhilerating -- and mostly just a lot of fun.

Some people say that this isn't what they used to play, that it's not really "traditional" -- that it's not at all historically accurate. But I say that this is irrelevant, because this is what is alive today, this is what is being played and loved by thousands of musicians. Music is about life, and this music is life.

It's not an antique that's in a glass case in a museum that we go to look at. It's something which lives in the hands, and on the lips of the people who grow up amongst the tradition, who inherit it in some way.
-- Fiona Ritchie, host of NPR's Thistle & Shamrock

Celtic music encompasses an incredibly wide span of styles and continents. It's not just the Irish that are Celts: Celtic music is played in Scotland, the Shetland Isles, Cape Breton (Nova Scotia), Galicia (Spain), and the United States. Each has its own distinctive qualities and feel.

Groups and Labels

So, you say, this sounds great! Now where do I go? For the best introduction to Celtic music, go the Ceolas site: they have tons of great information and links.

But before you go rambling all over the place on that site (it's huge), let me give you the lowdown on some of my favorite groups. I tend to be tradtionalist with a heavy emphasis on musicality. You can also get a good idea of the stuff I like by looking at my playlists for There Was a Lady, my radio show at Swarthmore College.

• Dervish: Young and energetic, with sweet female vocalist and just great instrumental power all around. My favorite album is At the End of the Day. Here's a good article.
• Open House: Crazy group! Founded by Kevin Burke, this group flies away with all kinds of music. They don't stay strictly traditional, but they're still fun. Their latest album, Hoof and Mouth, is decidedly less traditional than their first and self-titled first album.
• Patrick Street: All four founding members of this group -- Kevin Burke on fiddle, Jackie Daly on button accordian, Arty McGlynn on guitar, and Andy Irvine on bouzouki -- are living legends in traditional Irish music. Awesome talents, all of them. They play good driving melodies.
• Cherish the Ladies: An all-female group based in the US, they have over-turned a male-dominated field (for all you feminists out there; I'm not too particular about their origins as long as they make great music). Tight group sound, with a nice mixture of traditional tunes and contemporary arrangements and new songs, such as the gorgeous song "Broken Wings" on the New Day Dawning album.
• The Boys of the Lough: A less smooth and cultured sound than, say, Dervish, but strong musicians, all of them. They're a lot of fun, and they sound a little more like what a session would be. I like 'em because they do a lot of Shetland tunes: they lay claim to the great Shetland fiddler Aly Bain.
• Altan: Maybe I'm just weird or something, but I have to be in the right mood to listen to Altan. They are traditional, and they are good musicians, but I'm not terribly fond of their sound. They have a few good cuts, like "Donal agus Morag" and a wacky version of "Si do Mhaimeo" that has a digeridoo. Too New Age for me? Perhaps.
• Solas: Young and energetic, with a powerful session sound. "Solas is the rarest of all Irish bands -- able to play traditional music with the best of them and also perform original music with exceptional style and imagination. Solas has to be ranked among the most exciting Irish bands." -- Earle Hitchner, IRISH ECHO
• Full Moon Ensemble: Not truly Irish, nor Scottish, but that peculiar brand of American folk-mix. They lay claim to master fiddler Daniel Carwile, songwriter Scooter Muse, and the sweet young vocals of Alison King. Very upbeat sound.

• Tannahill Weavers: The best. If you listen to only one Scottish band, here's the one to listen to. Killer, powerful sound with some knock-you-out-of-your-seat Highland piping. Lots of Bobby (Robert) Burns songs, like "Wild Mountain Thyme." ("If Scottish folk music has an anthem, this is it." -- liner notes)
• Silly Wizard: Great name, great musicians.
• The Whistlebinkies: How can you not love a band with that name? Tight and traditional. A Wanton Fling is by far their best album.

Other Music Links

• NPR's The Thistle and Shamrock top-notch Celtic show with the wonderful Fiona Ritchie
• Dirty Linen magazine
• abc notation
• abc archive
• Music of the Shetland Islands
• Irish Music Box an excellent source for sessions and a place to post questions
• The Donegal Fiddle Homepage
• Celticmusic.com an online Celtic music mag
• Valley of the Moon Fiddle Camp good links page
• Tom Gillard's Fiddle Fingers
• Glasgow Fiddle Workshop
• Toby Rider's Music of Scotland and Cape Breton homepage: truly excellant and a good resource for all things relating to Scottish/Cape Breton music. Watch out for the pipes!
• Fiddle Net
• Swedish Fiddling
• Contradance and French Canadian music
• Dance manual page
• Jay and Molly
• Johnny Adams Folk Music pages

Song Lyrics

Irish ballads are wonderful. Listed below are the ones I know and are my favorites. For a more complete listing, try this Irish Folk Songs page. Or the International Lyrics Page. Cantaria extends beyond the folk, tending more towards ballads, but is still a good page.

All for Me Grog
Ashokan Farewell
The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomand
Broken Wings
Dirty Old Town
Early One Morning
The Fair Maid
Fiddler's Green
The Green Fields of France
Green Grow the Rushes Oh
I Courted a Wee Girl
I Never Will Marry
Lone Shanakyle
The Maid That Sold Her Barley
Pour Your Brother
The Queen of Argyll
Ramblin' Rover
Red is the Rose
The Rose of Allendale
Song for Ireland
The Star of the County Down
There Was a Lady
There Were Roses
Welcome Poor Paddy Home
Whiskey in the Jar
Wild Mountain Thyme