Yesterday morning I got to host a fiddle panel through my friends at the Irish Music Institute interviewing Kevin Burke, James Kelly, Patrick Ourceau and Liz Kane -- it was definitely one of those "pinch me" moments and a Saturday I will long remember!!
I had meant to ask Kevin Burke to pull this stunt at the end of the call, but forgot... so I'm going to share it with you instead!
Before the Zoom call, we were in a breakout room to test sound levels, and Kevin and I were the first ones there. I mentioned that I was in a hotel room and using a mute for any playing on the call since it was still fairly early in the morning for my neighbors.
Kevin pulls out a comb and starts to tell me a story...
About a time when he and John Faulkner were returning home late from a session, and Kevin's younger siblings were all asleep. John wanted to hear a tune, and so Kevin takes a comb out of his pocket and sticks it over the bridge of his fiddle and plays away.
Instant mute ๐ .
Liz Kane also mentioned using a clothespin as a mute, and it got me thinking about how caught up we can get with having the right tool, the right mute (hotel, concert, practice...?)
That gives the phrase "going over the tune with a fine tooth comb" a whole new meaning!
I took more away from our conversation than just the comb to be sure, but that was a fantastic way to calm the pre-call jitters and learn something new.
Registered attendees will get access to the replay call right away, but eventually I do believe it will be available for the public to watch. Once it is, I'll be sure to share that link here via email! It was great to see a few of you on the call!
Weekly Tune Library Update
I haven't posted new tunes in the library this month, though I do have a few inspirations from CUAS's new album to add in October (think more hop jigs, slip jigs, slides and polkas). As always, I am happy to take your requests for new tunes to learn -- and also know that you have a lot of tunes already to pick from in the library so I don't want to overwhelm you with new tunes all the time!
For your viewing and listening pleasure this week...
I've been a fan of Liz Kane's playing for awhile, but hadn't ever met her until yesterday morning. She is SUCH a scream! Fun to be around and a joy to listen to!
Earlier this week I had a few moments of playful fun playing through a slip jig between students, which inspired a bit of back and forth about spinny chairs.
There was indeed a spinny chair in the hotel room where I was hosting the panel, but I managed to restrain myself for a couple of hours. After we signed off Zoom though...
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead finding the joy in spinny chairs, simple tools at hand to make your playing experience more comfortable, and hopefully a good tune or two!
~Hannah
Hannah Harris
I help aspiring Irish fiddlers find their lilt and get the real feel for the music.
โ