The Online Academy of Irish Music: A great way to learn traditional Irish music that saves you time and money.
Tutors in the The Online Academy of Irish Music are professionals and sought-after session musicians. Apart from teaching music online, they are also touring and recording with their respective bands. Do you like the idea of being taught by the masters in the field of trad music? Of course! I will tell you more but first there is something you should know.
Traditional Irish music is growing, thanks to the internet as well as the local and international venues supporting traditional Irish acts. Learning centers have expanded to include the web.Many are taking advantage of this new way of learning music. It saves you time and money. You can just study in the comfort of your home without the hassles of beating the traffic or being worried what to wear. And yes, some of the instruments are heavy to carry around.
The Online Academy of Irish Music (OAIM) is a new and unique platform for providing quality Irish musical tuition on a global scale. The teaching is transmitted directly from some of Ireland’s most experienced performers and tutors to any location in the world.
I checked the profiles of the tutors and they are big names in the trad music community. I even wrote about some of them in this site. I think their involvement in this online school is really wonderful. For those who want to check The Online Academy of Irish Music (OAIM) then the best place to go first is the ABOUT tab. It tells you how did the site came to be and other important information including contact info and FAQs. The site’s interface is user friendly. You can see the list of supported traditional Irish instruments in the Instrument & Courses tab. Each course has materials in the form of PDF and mp3s. Once you are registered then you can access the training materials found in the Tune Bank and other links. For those who would like to sample materials before signing up, there’s the Free Lessons tab.
Enjoy unlimited, 24/7 access to hundreds of Irish music lessons on your computer, ipad, or iphone from the comfort of your own home or on the go!
Joining the The Online Academy of Irish Music will also get you to OAIM Irish music retreats in Liscannor. Signing up to this online music school improves your musical skills.You are helping spread the beauty of traditional Irish music.There’s nothing sweeter than the tune of traditional Irish music.
With laughter comes inspiration. This is the essence of Shamus and Steve’s Crazy Celtic Journey to Glasgow Vol. 2
Life is hard. I’ve been reflecting on that for the past few weeks now that reality has started to sink in. Three things continue to save me: Humor, curiosity and sweetness from friends who never fail to see the good in me. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I put humor above all. That capacity to laugh at ourselves and others clear the air of disagreements and awkwardness.
I’ve been visited upon by the funny muse when I started following the Shamus and Steve’s Crazy Celtic Journey to Glasgow series by musician and linguist Steven Hawson. The more I listen to his series, the more I realize the depth of creativity that he has put in these recordings. I see them as part documentary, part comedy adventure. It is also a love letter to the lovers of the Celtic culture. It recognizes the three things about people like us:
The love and appreciation of all things Celtic
The love for diversity and respect of other cultures
The celebration of learning history and its importance to the present.
Shamus and Steve’s Crazy Celtic Journey to Glasgow, Vol. 2 is an exciting follow-up to Volume 1. It is also longer with more characters and punch lines that will tickle your inner clown. I admire Steven Hawson’s ability to create many colorful characters and events with convincing candor. Think of this as a combination of On the Road/Even Cowgirls Get The Blues/Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle but with a Celtic treatment.
There are 13 tracks representing 13 chapters of a novel.
In Vol.1, we were left with Shamus and Steve stopping for a night halfway through their trip. Remember, this story is about the twins going on the road to see the first annual Glasgow Celtic music festival in Montana. The album opens with Steve waking up to discover a spider bite on his left cheek.
Steve: You mean I’m going to have a swollen face at the festival?!
Shamus: Well, only on the left side. You’ll just …have to put your best face forward I guess(snicker).
You see, the hapless optimism of Shamus always gets Steve(or both of them ) into trouble. They meet a handful of colorful characters along to way: The Hari Krishna Cowboys in Cheyenne.The Turkish carpet store owner who explains the relationship between the Celts and Anatolia. There’s also an exciting police car chase which makes Steve throw his accordion out the window. There is also a hilarious encounter with a fake Druid (who talks like Yoda). There are many interesting encounters that you will enjoy as you listen along but it is for you to find out. I don’t want to spoil the fun.
Shamus and Steve’s Crazy Celtic Journey to Glasgow Vol.2 establishes Steven Hawson as an excellent story-teller with a comedic spirit. This is really a must for those who want to take a Celtic history shortcut. As for me, it’s a cure for sadness. Laughter is the best medicine courtesy of my two heroes Shamus and Steve!
Steven Hawson has been described as the “Weird Al Yankovic” of Celtic music. Now, with Shamus and Steve’s Crazy Celtic Journey to Glasgow, the Albuquerque-based musical gagman has taken his deft (and daft) talents where no Celtic laddie has gone before! A multi-faceted musician and gifted voice actor, Hawson breaks new creative ground in this two-volume comic misadventure with an array of off-beat characters, “Monty Pythonesque” sketches, unorthodox settings of Irish and Scottish melodies, and an intricate story line replete with egg-headed non-sequiturs and side-splitting banter. Destined to become an instant classic, Shamus and Steve’s Crazy Celtic Journey to Glasgow is a must have for everyone who enjoys the Celtic genre…and a good clean laugh.
Here’s a video os Steve Hawson (banjo) by the way when not doing comedy, Harlow Pinson plays the fiddle.:
***
Huzzah!
More exciting things going on in the Celtic music scene and here they are:
The Court of Equity is the acoustic alter-ego of Scottish folk rockers The Picts. The song Killiecrankie is the first track on their album ‘Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect’ The Songs and Poems of Robert Burns, Volume 1.
Sounds like: Dub reggae drum and based mixed with fiddle, pipes, whistles, mandolin, banjo and accordion.
Album notes: Groundbreaking Celtic Dub album mixing Reggae Drum and Bass. Pipes, Fiddle, Box, Banjo, Low Whistle, Tin Whistle fused with heavy delay/echo, re-verb and Drum and Bass. A MUST for Ambient Dub lovers. Nicely mixed and mastered by U2’s engineer Pete Maher.
If you followed my previous post about The Celtic Reggae Revolution, then I know you already have an idea what kind of sound to expect from their new release Celtic Dub Vol. 1. Sounds from this album will appeal to those who have eclectic tastes. And I have to say this, the production quality is excellent. Whither you are using headphones of large speakers, the tracks have this seamless connection to each other. There are various effects present: loops, fade outs, echo and sampling bits thrown in the mix. All of these made possible by the genius of U2’s engineer Pete Maher who mixed and mastered this album .
I find myself tapping my feat to the beat and it is the kind of album I can take and play anywhere because it will also appeal to those who like dance, rnb and rap music. But if you are into traditional Irish music then this is also for you. It’s something you can just chill out to if you want something not so trad-ish or hip hop-ish. A kind of music that is in between if you know what I mean.
Celtic Dub Volume 1 sees the band growing their sound into a more radio friendly style without sacrificing their exotic sound. St. Brendan’s Dub is the opening track that introduces you to the sounds that will come as you listen along. The fiddles and other Celtic instruments blossom in and out of the field of sound that’s groovy and lush. The reggae beats are there to support the instruments, complimenting the musical ideas instead of drowning them which usually happens in a lot of fusion albums.
I have my personal favorite and that’s Celtic Truth Dub because it simply moves you. It has that easy breezy feeling in the midst of the sunny tune. Dub music is a sub-genre of reggae that became popular in the 60s and branched out on its own. With Celtic Dub Vol.1, new listeners will come to appreciate the beauty of Reggae and Celtic music and I am sure they will definitely love these specific genres. It’s what happened to me. I discovered traditional Irish music because of Celtic fusion. So Celtic Reggae Revolution are doing a great thing to the music world: they are getting people to listen to different musical cultures through fusion.
It’s been confirmed that the new album by the million-selling Irish group Clannad is called “Nádúr” (pronounced as Ned-dur). This is the Irish Gaelic word for Nature. Wow the last album that they released was Landmarks and that’s like fifteen years ago! But though Clannad were in a long hiatus, lead singer Moya Brennan has been busy with Voices and Harps. It’s a collaborative work with harpist Cormac de Barra. Yes I will wait for that album. More here: http://www.clannad.nl/2013/07/new-clannad-album-titled-nadur.html
For those who love harp music here’s a link to the wonderful documentary that you will love: The Harp
A very inspiring and informative documentary about the history of the harp, its relation to middle-eastern tunes, to its status as a Celtic symbol for Wales,Ireland and Scotland..how Handel wrote a harp concerto for a Welshman, Robert Ap Huw (the introduction of binary system in musical notation during the 16th century)and its evolution as an instrument spanning genres. It’s hosted by harpist Catrin Finch Really worth watching.
Gavin Friday: I probably saw 70% of the films that he wrote music to(In The Name of the Father, The Boxer etc)and just saw Breakfast on Pluto(which he appeared as an actor). In the spirit of Irish post-punk (he was the lead singer of The Virgin Prunes)Gavin was the hero. Another youtube video worth checking out:
Thanks to my blogger friend Christi. She posted this link on her facebook page and tagged me. This will help determine which Celtic Tree Sign you belojg to. I am Birch. Want to find out your own?
WHAT CELTIC STAR SIGN ARE YOU?
Celtic Astrology had been around since about 1000BC and it’s based on 3 basic strands of belief … remembering your ancestors and the past … having an understanding of nature so you can work with it, not against it … and exploring the connection of everyday reality with that of the spiritual realm.
In Celtic astrology, the zodiac was based on trees and vines, each being connected to a lunar month and so, unlike the zodiac we’re familiar with, the Celtic calendar has 13 astrological signs. Here they are …
January 22 – February 18 … THE ROWAN (the thinker)
February 19 – March 17 … THE ASH (the enchanter)
March 18 – April 143 … THE ALDER (the trailblazer)
April 15 – May 12 … THE WILLOW (the observer)
May 13 – June 9 … THE HAWTHORN (the illusionist)
June 10 – July 7 … THE OAK (the stabiliser)
July 8 – August 4 … THE HOLLY (the ruler)
August 5 – Sept. 1 … THE HAZEL (the knower)
Sept. 2 – Sept. 29 … THE VINE (the equaliser)
Sept. 30 – October 27 … THE IVY (the survivor) … me!
October 28 – November 24 … THE REED (the leader)
November 25 – December 23 – THE ELDER (the scholar)
December 24 – January 21 … THE BIRCH (the achiever)
She helped to push Anúna and Celtic Woman to global prominence. Now Méav talks about her music (also, how she takes care of that wonderful voice) and the new album The Calling to be released this Autumn under Warner Music.
Millions already heard her crystal clear soprano. It is the voice associated with Anúna and Celtic Woman: acts with whom she shared both the stage and studio with. For someone who sold millions of albums and possesses sheer musical talent (she sings in multiple languages: English, Gaelic, French and Latin) , it is not surprising that listeners want to know more about the person behind the name. What is the source of the musical inspiration after releasing a string of best-selling albums(she has 7). How does she keep it going? It is an honor to welcome Méav into the fold of our featured artists.
Méav, to be in a major label and selling millions with your vocal signature style in Celtic Woman, Anúna , plus solo albums, how do you imagine the listeners’ reaction to The Calling?
It feels great to be sharing new music with you. I think that listeners who know my previous recordings will find plenty that’s familiar, but there are a few surprises in there too. The album brings me back to my folk roots in a contemporary setting. There is guitar and acoustic bass at the heart of the arrangements, which are simpler than the big orchestral sound of Celtic Woman, but with plenty of percussion and traditional instrumentation. We wanted to keep an almost 70’s recording sound in homage to the great folk recordings of that period. My fantastic producer and co-writer Craig Leon encouraged me to write more original material – that is probably the biggest change from my previous recordings.
Craig Leon and NASA. These were interesting events that led the way for The Calling. How was the working experience with the Grammy winning producer so far?
I was invited to record Don Mc Clean’s Vincent (Starry, starry night) for the NASA project. This was part of a soundtrack which incorporated sounds recorded in space by NASA with existing songs that had an astral connection. Given the song, the history of the Abbey Road studios and Craig’s own reputation, it could have been a very intimidating experience, but Craig immediately put me at ease. It was amazing to have the opportunity to record in the same room as the Beatles and Maria Callas. Working with Craig is fantastic. We are already plotting our next joint project.
Why did you choose The Calling as the album’s title?
Many of the songs on the album are about searching for whatever is missing in our lives. I wanted to find a title that captured that sense of yearning. The Calling is also a phrase that appears in the album version of the title track.
The title track is my personal favorite because of the way you sing and the choral arrangement. I am curious about this inclusion in the album.
Thanks! I loved the shape of the melody the moment Craig introduced me to it, and immediately felt that it had a haunting quality that I wanted to reflect in the lyrics we wrote. That reflective mood sets the overall tone of the whole album. With regard to the choral arrangement, I love choral music and toured a lot with the National Chamber choir of Ireland and with Anúna, so layering vocals is in my blood.
I shared my favorite track (and more in the album review), now it is your turn to share your favorite tracks in The Calling.
It’s hard to choose a favourite song – it’s almost like being forced to choose a favourite child! I am very fond of the Calling. I also particularly enjoyed recording Poor Wayfaring Stranger because it was quite different in style from anything I have recorded before. I loved creating the swampy, mysterious atmosphere of the arrangement and the spooky harmonies with Craig and our great musicians. It was also great to have Craig there to encourage me to write more new music such as Glimmering Girl.
Will you ever reprise your role as the main member of Celtic Woman?
Publicity photograph of singer Méav Ní Mhaolchatha
I am proud of my work with Celtic Woman and we had a great time touring and recording together. I think one of the core strengths of Celtic Woman is that each member is effectively a lead performer, rather than there being one lead. I left because I wanted to work on solo projects and raise my young family, but we have always kept the door open. It was great to guest with the group on their latest Christmas release, Home for Christmas, which went straight to Number 1 in the Billboard World Music Charts. I will be collaborating with them on another project very soon – watch this space!
What are the promotional plans for the album upon its release?
The response to the album has been fantastic, even at the pre-release stage, the moment the title track video was posted online.I am really looking forward to performing the material live and sharing it with a wider audience.
How do you preserve that crystal clear voice? Do you have a work related exercise that you follow?
Whisky, cigars and late nights work for me! Actually I have been very fortunate – I think my voice is tougher than it sounds, so I don’t have to be too precious about minding it. However I do try to avoid wine and chocolate before singing. Apparently lots of rest helps too, but usually before a big gig or recording I survive on very little sleep in the scramble to get everything ready. I do vocal warm-ups when I’m stuck in traffic, resulting in funny looks all round. The smoking ban is great for singers as singing in smoky environments was very hard on the voice.
Going back to your career history, it is rare to hear about an artist who was trying to break into the classical crossover scene while studying Law at the same time. How did you carry out this?
I didn’t really plan to become a full-time musician. I fell into studying law because my brother had enjoyed it ahead of me. The weekly timetable of law lectures at Trinity College Dublin was quite short, which gave me plenty of time to spend on music projects. Of course technically you were meant to spend your free time studying in the library, but we’ll gloss over that part! I was really enjoying gigging in the evenings, and gradually realised that I could make a living from singing. I sang in Riverdance and toured the US as a guest soloist with the National Irish Orchestra (RTECO) and got bitten by the performing bug. To paraphrase the singer Liam O Maonlaoi, sometimes music chooses you and you have no choice in the matter!
Let’s discuss The Calling some more. How was the recording experience and care to share the things you learned as a growing artist?
I loved the recording process. I had worked with the fantastic engineer Brian Masterson before, and I felt that he and Craig would really get along musically and personally. I got a real kick out of interacting with them and hearing them out-do one another with their tales of rock ’n roll excess! At one stage we were trying to match up the sound of two parts of a song that are in different vocal registers – one low, one high – which would usually require two different mic techniques. Craig solved the issue by pointing the mic at the ceiling with great results. We also borrowed from Blondie’s technique of layering up many backing vocals on each line to give a rich backdrop to the lead vocal. Many of the musicians who played on the album are old friends, so the atmosphere was very relaxed. We always made a point of taking a break for a good lunch each day – a simple way to keep everybody happy!
You have a total of seven albums in groups and solos. What’s your advice to young artists who are trying to break into the scene where you are now?
My advice to any musician, male or female, is to learn your trade – don’t try for world domination too fast or you may crash and burn. Learn to play an instrument or two – this will help you sight-read music. This is very useful if you want to pick up session work in studio, and will make you more flexible as a band member. It also helps you arranging and writing your own music. Sing with other people – there is always something new to learn in a choir, a show or a band. Experiment. Don’t specialize too soon – keep up your other studies so that other avenues remain open to you. Don’t be pressurized into presenting an image you are not comfortable with, and promote your work while guarding your privacy. Work hard and remember how great it is to do what you love!
Your message to the listeners?
It’s a privilege to sing for a living and I will never take it for granted. Thank you for listening and for supporting live music.
How do you get to know the kind of people who inhabit a place? The answers can be complex but I do know that the kind of lives they led are reflected in their songs. The kind of music we listen to might not really say everything but it says something about who we are and the kind of values we have As the background notes in the CD say: “…The album’s 10 tracks traverse parlour songs to country tunes and folk favorites, songs of land and sea that share the strength and the struggles, the heart-breaks and the humour of people.”
There are albums that focus more on the personal struggles of the singer/songwriter. But there are those that explore the encyclopedic aspect of songwriting and bringing the song history to the fore. This is where the work of Allison Crowe proves its importance to contemporary music. She has mapped the culture of Newfoundland and gave each song an up to date delivery that transcends time.
The style of Newfoundland Vinyl echoes the sound of old vinyl records. This can be heard in the opening track Black Velvet Band where her voice takes the nostalgia of parlour songs during the early part of the 20th century. Her strong voice and upfront delivery shine in Easy. The backing vocals owes much to the African-American gospel choir. The project was the result of her involvement with the Gros Morne Theatre Festival. She is now curating and arranging songs for the Summer fest. She expressed her happiness in this project saying “I get to work with extremely talented and fun people each Summer in a gorgeous setting.”
There are dark humorous moments in this album like Seven Old Ladies.
” And it’s-Oh dear, what can the matter be?
Seven old ladies locked in the lavat’ry
They were there from Saturday to Sunday
and nobody knew they were there.”
The variety of rhythms expressed in this album make Newfoundland Vinyl an exciting album to listen to. I found myself wrapping a blanket up, sipping tea while watching the rain outside. There is something about this album that makes the songs become the soundtrack of your life. The grace and subtlety in the instrumental and vocal arrangements make this a one of a kind must have album for 2013. There is that stripped down atmosphere in every track like it’s an unplugged concert. I am sure that you might have heard some of the songs and sometimes you wonder about their origins. Now you know.
Did you know?
In the movie “Man of Steel”, the Zack Snyder-directed Superman epic, she has a cameo – as a musician performing “Ring of Fire”, a song made famous by Johnny Cash.
Celtic Music Fan 