Hannah Harris

Hi Reader! Earlier this week I recorded a tutorial of Ed Reavy's reel, Maudabawn Chapel, for my Tune Library members. If you've never seen an example of one of these videos, the structure is fairly straightforward: I record the tune up to speed so you know where we're going with it, and then break the tune down into about 2 bar phrases each to teach on repeat. Then we play the tune at a slow and medium pace. As I was going through the B part for Maudabawn Chapel, I made a remark that "this...

Hi Reader! We have two weekly sessions in the southeast Michigan area that I like to attend fairly regularly. One of them tends to be more fiddle-heavy than the other (cue all the G minor tunes before the flutes and pipes arrive). Last weekend, we had three fiddles at the start and broke into a bit of 3-part harmony for one of our opening jig sets. It was super fun, but it also got me thinking... this doesn't always work in the Irish traditional scene. I remember taking a workshop with Liz...

Hi Reader! At the risk of sounding cheeky, music and the brain has been... well, on my brain this week! I'm borrowing a book from my parents (Reversing Alzheimers by Dr. Heather Sandison) partly for ideas on how to be supportive for people experiencing cognitive decline, and partly for preventative measure and ways to keep my brain healthy even "early" here in my 30s. My family has a history of Alzheimer's or similar forms of dementia on both sides, which I've witnessed personally in some of...

Hi Reader! Long time readers of these Sunday letters will know that I like to throw in an occasional book reference or recommendation that usually has nothing to do with Irish fiddling... ...and yet our human capacity for making connections and seeing patterns between seemingly unrelated things means that it has everything to do with Irish fiddling! Like how the world needs many versions of the kindness and community and connection that is so prevalent in this style of music. Or how we...

I took myself out to a concert on Monday, Reader, and it was probably the best way I could have possibly started the week. Friend, family and romantic partner dates are all great too, but I think sometimes we don't give enough credit to solo dates! You don't wait for anybody's approval, you just see that something in your community is happening that you want to be a part of and you go. In this particular case, I saw Le Vent du Nord was going to be playing at The Ark, which is a wonderful...

Hi Reader! I can't quite put my finger on it, but every session I've been to after St. Patrick's day has just been more... fun. And I remember that being the case last year too! Maybe we're all de-stressing and enjoying the fact that we still love to come together to play this music when the rest of the public has moved on to the next thing. Maybe it's the warmer weather and longer days putting us in better moods. Whatever it is, I can't say I'm complaining! We all need reasons to laugh,...

Hi Reader! Another St. Patrick's Day come and gone! Bear and I were lucky this year to have two pretty tame and enjoyable gigs the day of and avoided the more drunken crowd. Even so, we're closing out a busier gig season and looking at a fairly light Spring ahead. For me that means turning more of my focus to working with students, Tune Library members, and sitting down to record a few new podcast episodes after about a year's hiatus from Find Your Lilt. I love seasonal living -- eating food...