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Comment by Paul Ivory on July 1, 2012 at 23:05

Hi Cathy, lovely steady stuff! Crystal clear. Keep it up! Paul

Comment by Kathy Barwick on July 1, 2012 at 6:18

ps, thanks much Maurice and Barney for the nice words. I'll be in Ireland next summer.... maybe Dublin again. We could play some tunes perhaps!

Comment by Kathy Barwick on July 1, 2012 at 6:16

No need to "like" Zeal... liking is just fine. Thanks much for the nice comments.

Played faster? yes, maybe. I was trying to do it as a hornpipe, which would be slower usually (I think) than a reel. I'm playing it about the same tempo as Kevin Burke, whose version is pretty much where I got it from. (Martin Hayes plays it MUCH slower, no surprise there.)

So there's your answer more or less, at least concerning MY interpretation. I only have the 2 versions of it, and, as I said, it's a hornpipe, so should swing. Too fast and that's hard to do.

Yes, traditional music at least used to be like the game of telephone. Nowadays we all have recordings of stuff so can slavishly copy note for note if we choose. I think the multitude of similar but slightly different tunes comes from memory, rather than dots.

How long does it take? This tune was easy for me, took a few hours to figure out where on the guitar I wanted to put it. It would have been better to record it later when I knew it better... but it's when I'm obsessed with learning something that such inspiration strikes.

Don't worry about how long something takes to learn. I'm sure folks observe me (seeming to) nail something right off the bat. It's usually just that the tune in question is very similar to stuff I already know. The more you learn, the easier the next one will be.

Comment by Zeal S. on June 24, 2012 at 1:45

Ok... and you probably wonder why I don't want to use my real name on this site  :) :)

I just found out that for one to "like" your videos, one must have a Facebook account.

Ok, well... I don't.

So I will just reiterate how wonderful I think your playing is!!

-Zeals

Comment by Zeal S. on June 24, 2012 at 1:39

Hello Kathy,

Nice, nice, nice...  I just now realized that I should "like" your videos.  (This social networking, or whatever this is, is obviously very new to me.)

This tune sounds like it should be played faster.  I know, "What do I know"  :)  I'm just thinking some speed might give it a little more life... again not a criticism just a thought.  Actually a question - is there something about the tune that dictates the speed?  (Other than the fact that you heard the originators playing of it.)   Or more specifically, is there a way of knowing that a personal interpretation is not offensive to the originator.  This question makes me think of the "Hooked On Classics" album.  Remember that jazzed up version of the classics?  I loved it!  But I bet the originators would be mashing their hands against their ears if they heard those versions of their masterpieces! :)  Well, I guess I wonder how badly I butcher the intended "feel" of traditional tunes.

I have wondered sometimes when we play the traditional tunes if the writer of tunes get subjected to some kind of musical telephone game.  You know, where the one person tells the first person a line of story, and by the time it gets around the room to the last person, the story is completely different.  Don't you think that happens to music also?

How long does it take you to learn new music?  I have listened to the Fast Session leader here in Dallas, and it seems like Ken Flemming listens to a tune about twice and he's got it pretty much down.

-Zeals

Comment by Maurice McGrath on June 22, 2012 at 16:19

Nice tune Kathy.

Comment by barney bowes on June 21, 2012 at 20:49

tks for your tunes , love your playin ,