Paddy O'Brien Irish Button Accordion Workshop

Monday , April 10, 2000
12:00 am
Location: Elderly Instruments
workshop ($40)

Button accordion icon Paddy O'Brien has accumulated a veritable hoard of rare versions of tunes and stories gleaned from more than forty years of patiently seeking out and spending time with older musicians throughout Ireland. A native of County Offaly in the Midlands of Ireland, he is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant to record and annotate 500 dance tunes (a small fraction of his repertoire), and is revered by aficionados worldwide. In this workshop, aimed at intermediate players of B/C, C#/D and D/D# button accordion, Paddy will offer students both encouragement and concrete tools for improving their understanding and interpretation of Irish traditional music. Technical instruction focuses knowledge of keyboard, bellows control, fingering, ornamentation, phrasing, dynamics. The workshop will also include a strong emphasis on listening, interpretation, and feeling, the thing called "blas" in Irish, which means taste or flavor. Students will also receive information and advice on good non-commercial recorded sources for learning tunes. Music will be learned by ear, so students are encouraged to bring tape recorders and notebooks. All students will receive individual attention. "A workshop should have an informal environment, an emphasis on trust and encouragement. I like my students to come away with the realization that they can enjoy the process of learning; and with the right tools, they can learn a lot by working on their own. I don’t teach flashy new compositions that show off a player’s technical ability. I like to focus on the older traditional tunes, particularly the old West Clare fiddle and concertina music that’s got real feeling and lift for dancing. I always place a clear emphasis on melody rather than speed, and talk a lot about the appreciation of melody and the importance of individual interpretation in Irish music." --Paddy O’Brien

Check out recordings we carry featuring Paddy O'Brien