Below is a list of Celtic tunes (mostly Irish) with
sheet music and chords. These are JPG images, and you should be able
to display them in your browser and/or print them.
Just click on the name to see the page for that tune.
There are midi files, and a few mp3's, too.
The midis are pretty crude, of course, but will at least give you the general idea.
feel free to add a bit more lilt, backbeat, and other dynamics as you see fit.
Assume you've put any number of backup players, with their instruments, in a locked room and given them their own selection of pistols.
Ten seconds after piping in the first strains of any given Irish melody, you'll hear
a variety of different chords, then a volley of shots, and
then, maybe, one player continuing on, playing the "correct" chords.
These tunes are shown with my own choice of chords. They're kept on the simple side, so feel free to embellish them,
or flat-out change them wherever you like. They're starting ideas only.
But don't forget that opening 'A' in Providence Reel, or I'm coming after you.
for ALL the tunes, if you
want to make a cheat-sheet notebook. Okay, it may not have the very latest tunes,
but I refresh it once a month or so to add any new ones. It's sorted by tune name.
| Link | Description |
|---|
| The Session |
A great site for Celtic tunes. Sheet music, midis, great discussions. You have to join (free) to participate, and
it's well worth it.
|
| TradChords |
This is a wonderful resource for backup players. It shows chords for hundreds of tunes. It can even show different sets of chords, submitted by other players. You can display the sheet music with those chords, and listen to the tune (at whatever tempo you like) with those chords playing along with it. Excellent!
|
| The Old Music Project |
ALL of O'Neill's online! Plus all of O'Carolan, and much more. A fantastic resource. Sheet music, midis.
|
| TradNL |
TradNL is a small, curated collection of traditional music organized in an
online, searchable database. The focus is on Newfoundland and Irish tunes
that are played at their local sessions. |
| Chiff and Fipple |
An excellent resource for whistle players. Plus, it's just fun to say.
Chiff and Fipple. Chiff and Fipple...
|
| Alan Ng's site |
This has a lot of information about Irish tunes, including tune analysis,
tune search, discography, etc. Fun to browse.
|
| BBC Virtual Session |
This is a hoot. You're in a "virtual session" with some pretty good players in a pub.
You get to pick which 3-tune set you'll play, and you can play along with them.
It goes at a moderate pace, not too fast, not too slow.
It even shows the sheet music for whichever tune you're on.
|
| Breton Music |
A source for Breton music (Brittany). This site also has Irish, Scottish, etc., but this particular link takes
you directly to their Breton section.
|
| A Collection of Collections |
Mickey Koth's site is a large collection of other tune collections (like this one). Expand your horizons!
|
This section contains more technical issues, aimed at the musician who wants to play these tunes well
(as opposed to sites containing tune collections).
It's unashamedly focused more on the Celtic dance tune style, but I'm sure there will be a bit of other
styles showing up from time to time. Feel free to send more links that you find interesting.
| Link | Description |
|---|
| TradLessons |
These are some great online tutorials on whistle and flute (and some guitar).
He does a great job of slowing down the ornaments, and still does a good job of playing them clearly.
|
| Music Theory |
I love this site. It's maintained by Dolmetsch, a company known most for its
fine recorders (the "whistle" kind of recorder, not a recording device). This
is a link to their music theory section. It's VERY readable for people of
all levels of ability, and a great place to start.
And never buy music staff paper again! They have a gazillion different free
printable staff papers.
|
| A Guide to the Irish Flute |
A good starting point for the Irish flute.
|
| Paul Butler Music |
This is a wonderful collection of old tunes, mostly for English Country Dance, but there's a lot more, too.
Paul's taken the trouble to score out many of the Playford collection in 3-4 parts,
and has done an excellent job at harmonization. If you're into ECD, go here!
|
| Concertina.net |
Focuses on the Anglo concertina (most widely used kind for Irish music). It's probably every
rabid concertina player's home page.
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