At Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy in Miltown Malbay in July of this year, a group of musicians gathered for my ‘Read Music the Trad Way’ class. As always, on a Monday morning at the start of a summer course, there was a particular buzz in the air — part excitement, part nervousness, part expectation. But in
Liz Doherty
If you’ve played Irish traditional music for any length of time, chances are you’re familiar with ABC notation — those handy little letters that spell out a tune. Maybe you’ve scribbled them under the dots, maybe you’ve copied them from thesession.org, maybe you’ve even learned loads of tunes from them. ABCs are everywhere in trad.
Liz Doherty
Imagine this: you’re at a session, the tunes are flowing and the place is hopping! At one point, someone plays a tune you’ve never heard before, and you love it. “It’s a Liz Carroll tune. I got it from her tune book,” you’re told when you ask the name of it. Now imagine being able
Liz Doherty
If you play traditional music, there’s a good chance you use ABC notation. It’s simple, quick, and brilliant for learning and sharing tunes. And if you can read ABCs, you’ve already taken the first big step into music literacy. You’ve cracked the hardest part – getting started. But here’s the thing: ABCs aren’t the finish line.
Liz Doherty
I was doing the annual clear-out of kids’ toys and games recently (how is it possible to gather so much stuff?!!) and I came across this little book that I’d forgotten about. It’s based on the ‘Would you Rather’ game. If you’ve not played this popular conversational game before, it’s super simple. Players are presented
Liz Doherty
I am excited to give you a sneak peek into my new course, Read Music the TRAD way. Discover how you can master music reading in a few easy steps using this proven method that I have created with Irish traditional musicians in mind. Maybe you have shied away from learning to read music, thinking
Liz Doherty
Traditional musicians are known for their deep-rooted skills, learned by ear and passed down through generations, yet many feel uncertain or even resistant about formal music literacy. This blog post explores the limiting beliefs that often hold traditional musicians back from learning to read music, why these beliefs exist, and practical ways to overcome them.
Liz Doherty
“I’d love to be able to read music – but it will take too long. I just haven’t the time.” I don’t know how many times I have heard that that objection from Irish traditional musicians. It’s a common refrain, isn’t it? And, of course, for musicians who have successfully learned to play by ear,
Liz Doherty
Yes, I know. We are traditional musicians. We do not need to be able to read staff notation in order to perform, or to learn. And, we can, of course, rhyme off a list of legendary musicians who never learned to read music, and managed just fine, thank you very much. So, why are we even having
Liz Doherty
Read Music the TRAD Way is part of the I Teach Trad family.
I Teach Trad offers courses and resources for teachers AND learners of Irish traditional music. Discover how we can help you on your traditional music journey today!
