ethical blend’s six thousand, nine hundred and four comments

Hear hear. more…

I don't agree with Steve T: it's not a lack of technique that's the problem. You really don't need all that much technique for this music. What you do need is the music itself, and that's harder than one might think. more…

Jim implies that advice to learner fiddlers from people who don't play fiddle but do play trad on other instruments is not worth having. I strongly disagree with this. In my opinion, the best advice for learners of Irish trad comes from people who unders... more…

Oh very funny. 🙂 more…

A small point about the Oak Tree (apologies if someone has already mentioned it) but I've only heard the third part played doubled *outside* of Ireland. In Ireland the third part (only the third part) is played single. more…

I only play really well when I'm intensely focused. more…

I guess I'd be with Cheeky Elf on this. Eileen Ivers is a fantastic player. However, I have never been able to make myself listen to what she does. To my ears, the cloying richness of it overpowers the music and destroys it in the process. more…

Ah OK. So it's not trad and it's not Irish. Yeah, you should probably pick something else. East of the River Shannon is also not Irish or trad. It's recently composed - by the same person, Arlene Faith (or Arlene Kortright?) more…

What is Ravens' Danse? I Googled it and came up with something by Arlene Faith which has nothing to do with trad. Can't find anything that does have anything to do with trad ... ? more…

An old 8-key, simple system would seem like the best choice, given your parameters. Try getting hold of Jem Hammond, who'll give you good advice on such things. He's "jemtheflute" over on Chiff and Fipple. If you can't get his details from there, give ... more…