Hannah Harris

Hi, Reader! How is your December looking? Does it feel more frenzied like you're trying to get everything done before the end of the year, or are you starting to relax and wind down for the holidays? For me, this year feels like a little bit of both. I've started taking the last two weeks of the year off in conjunction with my customer support job (conveniently through the company where I host my Tune Library and other fiddle courses -- don't you love how multiple interests can tie...

Hi, Reader! We had our first real snow of the season this past weekend in southeast Michigan. I've become accustomed to snow despite spending the majority of my life living in North Carolina and Georgia, but it still has a way of breaking up routine! Case in point... I was ten steps out of my car walking towards the gym when I promptly realized I had snow boots on my feet and the tennis shoes I had placed front and center by the door were right where I had left them. Mildly cursing myself at...

Hi, Reader! Today I'm inviting you to take a peek behind the scenes -- imagine you're fending a cat off of half your keyboard (which is currently happening as I write this to you). You may have heard me talk about the Tune Library a fair amount in this season, and that is because I've been shifting gears to only offer the Library as well as private lessons in the teaching side of my business. Between chatting with current members, adding a new bonus training section, and checking on the...

Hi, Reader! Last week I told you I would get this jig memorized, since it was going to be a harder one to get under my fingers. It was listed as a Gan Ainm (without a name) tune, and as far as I'm aware, I hadn't ever heard a recording of it. But I was playing it through as part of my project to revisit Breandán Breathnach's Ceol Rince na hÉireann collection, and it caught my ear -- so I gave it the extra star mark to let future me know I really like this tune (more on my star system in this...

Hi, Reader! One of the most frustrating things when it comes to learning Irish traditional tunes is showing up at a session and not being able to recall how any of the tunes you practiced that week are supposed to go. You had it at one point, but then you throw the pressure of playing in front of other people in the mix, and it all goes to pot. I know that I have truly learned a tune when I can lead it and play it through start to finish at my local session without any glaring mistakes. It's...

Hi, Reader! Last week's chat about modal tunes had some great replies! Here are a few more tunes for your radar if you want a "spooky-ish" feel to your playing this Halloween season without going totally overboard (unless you want to, of course): Rodney's Glory (set dance with a hornpipe feel that bends an F natural and F sharp throughout the tune) Blackberry Festival Footrace (3 part d minor jig) Halloween (a nice Scottish strathspey in F) I'll also add Chief O'Neill's hornpipe to the mix...

Halloween is approaching, Reader! I can't say I'm one of those people who puts out a lot of Halloween decorations, or starts drinking pumpkin spice lattes as soon as September 1st has hit. But I do love a good modal tune in Irish music with a couple of "spooky" notes that make your ears perk up! My private students can vouch that this is the time of year where I start assigning more of those spooky tunes. Liz Carroll has written some fun hornpipes that definitely fit the bill -- if you're...