benhall.1 wrote:
Welcome. Two things straight off: ditch the sheet music; and ditch the set bowing patterns. Go to Ireland and really listen to good trad players, and watch them closely to see how they're producing the sounds they do.
Did you have a particular reason for wanting to make sure that our first-time poster wouldn't come back? Or did you just get out of the wrong side of bed on 30 January?
If you're still reading this, Mr/Ms Finetunes, well done, and keep it up. I quite enjoyed your performance, which I have only just seen. My main criticism is that the guitar and bodhran were too loud (much too loud), and I couldn't hear the piano at all. (That might not have been within your control in the concert setting of course.) For that number of accompanists, you might want another melody player or two - or the guitarist and drummer should learn to play more sympathetically.
Yes it would look better without the music stand, and not relying on music will help you to a) respond to each other's playing and b) enable your fiddler to explore not playing everything the same way every time. Use every opportunity you can to increase your understanding of Irish music - and keep at it.