easy tunes?

[belinejonq]

I am the only Uilleann piper in my region - the closest is about 250 km from here. I am learning on my own. Which easy and fun tunes do you recommend to start with? I have started with The New Approach to Uilleann Piping by H J Clarke. Thanks!

[myles]

I think Patsy Touhey's advice about working on scales before playing dance music still holds good, but one common beginners' tune is Jimmy Ward's - a fun little jig that stays in the lower octave.

[Zeildritch]

The Tutor section within The Source on the Na Píobairí Uilleann website has loads of step by step videos of tunes for beginners, intermediate and advance skill levels.

[dyersituations]

The early tunes in the Clarke book are great for starting on, such as Garret Barry's. Like myles mentioned, Jimmy Ward's is a great option too, because it stays in the lower octave. The first tune I was given at lessons was Song of the Chanter. A couple others I focused on in the beginning that were mostly in the lower octave were Mountain Road and The Humours Of Trim.

[CorneliusG]

I'm a beginner too (about 4 months) and am having fun with Return from Fingal and Down by the Sally Gardens. They poke their heads up into the second register only for a note or two - mostly in the bottom register.

[oleorezinator]

mo ghile mear

[bcullen]

Bonnie Doone, Rose of Aranmore, Very easy and nice tunes. For a start into the second octave I found South wind a satisfying
tune. I also would recommend picking a hard piece like Harvest Home as an attainable goal or a yardstick on progress You can get those nice pip pip sounds going. I hate exercises but I use diads and triads up and back legato and staccato "painful"



If you can meet with triumph and disaster........

[oleorezinator]

The first 3 tunes that Bill Ochs
taught me were mo ghile mear,
and 2 versions of the return from fingal.
This is not the version that Seamus Ennis played.


X: 4
T: Return From Fingal
R: hornpipe
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Edor
B/A/G/F/ E/F/G/A/|B/A/G/F/ EE|A/G/F/A/ dA|BA B/c/d|
B/A/G/F/ E/F/G/A/|B/A/G/F/ EE|A/G/F/A/ dA|FE E2:|
!|:fe ed/c/|BA d>A|BA dA|BA B/c/d/e/|
fe ed/c/|BA d>A|B/A/F/A/ dA|FE E2:|