Dan Meyers July 2026

Description

The tin whistle or pennywhistle became popular in Irish music in the 19th century, when industrial production transformed a bit of rolled sheet metal and a simple wooden block into a cheap and widely accessible instrument. But as we recorder players know, another fipple flute had already been popular for centuries before that--and it's suitable for traditional Irish music as well! As with many kinds of folk music, when it comes to traditional Irish tunes, the most important element is not the instrument but the style. Articulation in Irish music is largely done with the fingers rather than the tongue, and the Irish tradition has a rich and complex lexicon of ornamentation that is both similar to and different from techniques you may have encountered in Baroque music. We'll have a look at how all of this makes the music sound uniquely Irish; we'll also explore phrasing, how and where to breathe, and some approaches for learning tunes by ear in the traditional way, rather than from sheet music (though never fear, we'll have sheet music for the tunes in this workshop). For Upper Intermediate to Advanced players NB: Most traditional Irish tunes fit best on a C instrument and that's what we'll be working with, so plan to play soprano or tenor for this class. This is a NAVRS members only event. NOTE: After you register, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to the music for the session, which will be available at least one week before the event. The session begins at 7:00 PM, Eastern. The Zoom link will be live 15 minutes prior.