Im on a vacation to Ireland next week and I thought I'd might brush up and learn some Irish music. I tuned in to a couple tutorials was fun but you two game me so much information I think I understand now. I'm going to learn a few DADGAD songs and then tell my wife I have to buy another guitar. Good job guys
Really good analysis and insightful comments. As a committed DADGAD player, I'd suggest finding alternative voicings for your chords, if your capo playing is sounding too samey 😊 but DADGAD is far and away my favourite tuning for Irish Traditional music, so if you haven't already - try it! ☘️
A couple of days ago I watched a short video by Matt Heaton where he demonstrates various chord shapes based on standard tuning. Half a minute in he does a full G chord and quickly adds he’d never use it, because it “crowds the tune”. I felt he somehow expressed essentially why I’m such a fan of DADGAD myself, for trad Irish backing. Anyway, I greatly enjoyed your discussion, and you’ve got a new subscriber. Great to see such devotion for Irish music - sånn fra én Nordmann til en annen ;-)
Hi, Petter. Thanks for subscribing! Backing Irish music is indeed a tricky balance between adding to the overall groove and feel of the tune, without stealing too much attention. I'm no expert on the subject myself, but I love learning about it! Alltid hyggelig å møte andre med interesse for irsk musikk her til lands :)
Hi Peter! I really like Matt and his lovely wife Shannon. And their Lives I don't miss every Dé Sathairn. Can you copy past the link to that video with Matt? He does some cool flatpicking too :)
@@Melvorgazh I'm not sure exactly which video Matt speaks about the G chord but here is a playlist of all of Matt's videos on Shannon's RU-vid channel. Matt and Shannon Heaton are wonderful people! ru-vid.com/group/PLNBgNicF6tU2bTa9HJwU7DX7KgWlZTFIJ
@@jsimes1 What G chord are you talking about? I remember him saying about not to make the backing too crowded indeed. I was asking for a video of him where he plays the melody flatpicking whith Shannon. It was at the beginning of a set. I forgot the name if the tune. But I remember his flatpicking was as good as Flynn Cohen’s and I like it as much as John Doyle’s. A pity he doesn’t do it at all during the Live Saturday sessions. 🤷🏻
Great video. I am over 70, and feel I've so much still to learn. I really wish I'd been able to study a folk course in the North East, but these courses just weren't available then. Given that most of us don't use our degrees in any relevant way in any case, learning a life skill like music at university is a no brainer whether you use it directly 😀or not. I studied classics and ended up being an accountant! I play in both DADGAD and standard, but I find that in sessions I favour standard because I don't like to change capo. Actually, in sessions I tend to back myself both ways, since I use a repurposed baritone guitar with a 740mm scale tuned down two semitones (DGCFAD) with a Kyser K-lever drop D (green) capo at the second fret (equivalent to a 660mm scale at the second fret). This gives me a low D in the bass (which can be fretted to E with the K lever), and leaves me free to move between keys without changing capo position. I also use a Kyser K-lever (blue) DADGAD capo at the second fret (fretting only the 3rd, 4th and 5th strings), which again enables me to fret the bottom string to E with the lever while leaving the top two strings open (to ring A and D), and maintaining the facility to access standard tuning too. Sadly, these Kyser K-lever capos are no longer made, which is often the way with good ideas. I've also experimented with Scruggs-Keith tuners (on strings 6, 2 and 1), Tronical tuners and Roadie tuners over the years with Scruggs-Keith tuners being the quickest, Roadie tuners the more accurate and Tronical not great. If I had a decent ear, I'd be able to switch tunings quickly and without tuners, but in sessions and live this process can take a while, although if your fiddle or box player tells a good story (and they usually do) that helps! Thanks you again for your excellent video.😃
Well seen! I am a guitarist from Brittany in France. I play in standard and DADGAD. I prefer the DADGAD for modal music because of the drones and harmonic resonances and plays as standard for music like bossa-nova, jazz, rock...
Matt Heaton plays mainly in standard with great effect. He plays every Saturday with his lovely flute player wife and acolyte on a Live guided session on YT, Shannon Heaton
Thank you for the presentation, and the thoughtfully intelligent discussion and demonstrations, hitting on the points and nuances of the standard and DADGAD tuning choices. I like the concept expressed as "movement between the chords." While I love DADGAD, especially on 12-string guitar for its massive sound in solo playing, it is a challenge to not immerse every Irish song in a Dsus4 tsunami of drone strings that approximates a bagpipe regiment, even in fingerstyle.🤗 One only needs to hear players such as Pierre Bensusan and Tony McManus to appreciate the possibility of subtleties within that alternative tuning. Drop D and DADGAD certainly lend themselves to Celtic music, but James shows the more accessible versatility of standard. It all depends what a song needs, really.
I loved your video and brief examples between Dadgad & Standard tunings. I play mostly in drop D now for many years but do enjoy Dadgad. Thanks for your insights and taking the time to share your passion of Irish music and guitar.
@@AndersLillebomusic I play in a Celtic band here in Victoria BC, Canada and was pleased to come across your videos as well as the videos with James. I'm always looking for inspiration from others who play with passion and sensitivity to the music. Thank you Anders👍
Thanks for watching! So happy you enjoyed it. The wall clock has now been retired, and the whole room has been renovated. Looking forward to show you the result in future videos!
This video is great, I am just getting into playing folk/celtic music and.. I was wondering if it would be possible for you could to send me a tab of the chords you normally play in the different keys of a Standard Tuned guitar. I would really appreciate it!
Thanks so much for the sub! I'm still playing around with different ideas for this channel, but it was great fun having my mate James on as a guest in this one. If you ever have ideas or suggestions for video topics you would want to see from me, please let me know!
Hi! Dia dhaoibh! Anyone tried the sitar-tuning for Celtic trad? I would say it depends if you play alone or in bigger bands(where you can stop the backing and allow yerself to move the capo arround. For flatpicking definitely standard! because it suits key change without the capo better. ps: excellent video! Diolch! Trugarez! Grma!
Personnaly I prefer Drop-D. Only when you play tunes in E dorion you gota put the capo and fine tune the strings again. Donough Henessy plays in Double Drop-D :) I must try the sitar-tuning
@@AndersLillebomusic Indeed. I tried DADAGAD and it's not easy and when playing tunes in different keys like E Dorian it wasn't so great. I suppose for backing only it's fine. Finally subscribed. Where are you from? Me from Brussels 🙂
@@Melvorgazh DADGAD is one of the most versatile tunings for Irish/Celtic music because the majority of songs are in D or a relative key. Backing or fingerstyle it's a lovely tuning but it needs practice if you're not used to playing open tunings. I've danced back and forth with it, DD, DDD and standard and I eventually stuck with drop D. It's easier to tune back up to E for when I play the standard strumming tunes in the band and drop it down for doing some backing.
@@derrickdoiron4421 Interesting. But If I play in Drop-D I have no bass in E (which I love) especially for E-dorian tunes. I also play in G and A dorian a bit.
I know Julia and Tony McManus and the both play in many different tunings. Julia plays in standard more than open tunings because she plays more jazz and pop songs.
@@jsimes1 Thanks. I asked her too. I didn’t see your response before, sorry. She said she played mostly in standard. Ans she also said she had a special plectrum made by a friend. By the way. I am looking for a plectrum that is slightly tougher than a Nylon Dunlop 0.60mm, something like 0.63-065mm. Would you by any chance know a brand that makes something like that? Thanks a lot! Greetings from Brussels Belgium. Have a good day! Thomas
Look up Arty McGlynn, he was probably the most influential. Also Daithi Sproule, Dennis Cahill, John Doyle, Garry O'Briain, Paul De Grae, Tommy O'Sullivan, etc.
@@elcono1000 You're welcome. Take the time to watch this documentary about Arty, it's really worth it: www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/irish-music-series/play/?pid=5855558975001&title=Arty%20McGlynn
