🎻 Read this if you've been told you should always end a tune on a down bow

Hi Reader!

When it comes to playing the fiddle, down bows have finality. They are weightier because you have gravity on your side, and they're the physical representation of resolving the tune on a strong note.

You may have been told by a teacher or helpful friend in past that you should try to end your tune on a down bow whenever possible (yep, I've said it)!

Well that's about to change...

Earlier this week I attended the first of a new online workshop series for the Patrick O'Keeffe Festival hosted by Aidan Connolly (and I believe I saw a familiar name or two on the Zoom screen 😊). Aidan has been curating different guests to come in and share their knowledge around what makes the Sliabh Luachra style, well the Sliabh Luachra style!

Meeting fellow Sliabh Luachra nerds + talking about super specific style tips + taking a peek at archived manuscripts on ITMA? You better believe I'm there!!

(In case you don't already know this, Sliabh Luachra refers to both geographical areas and a regional style of Irish traditional music in counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick.)

I have to give a huge shout out to Andrea Palandri and Aidan both for putting on a great workshop and giving me plenty to talk about in this next month for these weekly Sunday newsletters!

Andrea's main stylistic tip that he shared in this class was that many Sliabh Luachra players (ie Dennis Murphy, Paddy Cronin) would end their tunes on an up bow!

More specifically, they use two up bows to create a swell at the end of phrases.

Ending a tune on an up bow may be totally counterintuitive to what you've learned in past, Reader.

Then again, so is trying a different bowhold... finding out that there's no "one-size-fits-all" way to bow the middle of tunes... or knowing how to sight read and being told to ignore a lot of what's on the page in front of you.

Irish music is full of options! And in fairness, this is a "take it or leave it" tip. If you don't want to play with a Sliabh Luachra style, then end your tunes on a down bow! You can still make it sound fantastic.

I know I'll still be mixing and matching my bow patterns, and I won't get hung up on whether I end a tune up or down when I'm performing.

The practice room though is another story! It was a lot of fun to sit in the session this past week and see which tunes I could end on an up bow and add that swell to. It's something I'd like to sit down with and rework a bit on my own. Each time I do it, I suspect I'll start internalizing that particular style pattern more and more.

Whether you try the up-ups this week, or have something else you want to take a bit of extra time to work through in your practice, I hope you'll do it!

If anything, because it's fun! 🥳

Until next week, Reader!

~Hannah