Taster Descriptions

Our Irish Music Taster workshops are based on our renowned Irish Music Tasters, which have been running since 1999 and have introduced thousands of people from all over the world to the beautiful melodies and infectious rhythms of Irish traditional music. We offer Bodhrán Tasters, Tin Whistle Tasters, a fascinating one-hour Introduction to Irish Music and combined versions of these.

On-Site & Online Versions

Irish Music Tasters can take place either on-site at your school or centre or online. The online version can take place either with participants together on-site or with participants at home. If participants are together on-site, the screen displaying or projecting the facilitator should be large enough for the facilitator to be seen clearly by all participants. (An interactive whiteboard is ideal.) The room or hall should also have a sound system adequate for the facilitator to be heard clearly by all participants.

Bodhrán Taster

The bodhrán, a wood and goatskin drum beaten with a wooden stick or ‘beater’, is the heartbeat of traditional Irish music. We will learn about this great instrument and the two most important rhythms of Irish music – reels and jigs – in this fun and engaging Taster. Teachers, who are asked to participate, will also be provided with suggested follow-up activities for classroom use.

Bodhráns and beaters will be provided for all participants in the on-site version of this Taster. For the online version, participants can either use body percussion and classroom instruments and other materials to learn the rhythms, or we can, through our association with Waltons Music, supply bodhráns at discounted prices.

Tin Whistle Taster

A simple tube of metal with six finger-holes, the tin whistle has an expressive range that can encompass everything from the speed and excitement of dance music to the haunting and emotionally-charged expression of slow airs. Participants will learn the basics of tin whistle playing – as well as some great Irish tunes – in this fun and engaging Taster. Teachers, who are asked to participate, will also be provided with suggested follow-up activities for classroom use.

If participants do not already have tin whistles in the key of D to participate in this Taster, we can provide high-quality Waltons Tin Whistles (regular price €5.99) for participants for just €4 per whistle.

An Introduction to Irish Music

What’s the difference between a reel and a hornpipe? Why did Queen Elizabeth I give orders to ‘hang the harpers, wherever found, and destroy their instruments’? What did the earliest fiddles look like? How do uilleann pipes actually work? What is sean-nós singing? These and other questions will be answered in this brief survey of Irish traditional music, which also includes demonstrations of different Irish instruments and recordings of great traditional musicians.

Irish music has evolved over hundreds, even thousands, of years. It can encompass everything from slow airs to céilí dances, from sean-nós to slip jigs. It is above all the music of a fluid, living tradition, handed down from one generation to the next, or passed from one performer to another, and changing every time it is performed. Culminating in the trad explosion of the last forty years – from the rise of the 1970s supergroups (Planxty, The Bothy Band, Dé Danann) to the phenomenon of Riverdance to the best musicians on the contemporary scene – An Introduction to Irish Music makes it clear that Irish music today, however radically it may depart from the older forms, is all part of the same, living tradition.

DEIS schools and registered charities receive a 10% discount off the fees for Irish Music Tasters.

Taster Details

Bodhrán & Tin Whistle Tasters

On-Site Version

• Day/Date
  • By arrangement
• Lengths
  • Primary: 45 minutes
  • Post-Primary: 60 minutes
  • 2-4 Workshops (minimum 2)
  • 15-minute break between each workshop
• Facilities/Equipment Needed
  • Large classroom or hall
  • Whiteboard/markers or blackboard/chalk
  • Tin whistles for all Tin Whistle Taster participants

Bodhrán & Tin Whistle Tasters

Online Version

• Day/Date
  • By arrangement
• Lengths
  • Primary: 45 minutes
  • Post-Primary: 60 minutes
  • 1-4 Workshops
  • 15-minute break between each workshop
• Facilities/Equipment Needed • Participants On-Site
  • Large screen and adequate sound system
  • Ideally, internet speed at least 1.5Mb per second. (You can test your speed using Measurement Lab’s Speed Test.)
  • Tin whistles for all Tin Whistle Taster participants
• Equipment Needed • Participants at Home
  • All participants will need to have internet-connected laptop, computer, tablet or smartphone.
  • Ideally, internet speed at least 1.5Mb per second. (You can test your speed using Measurement Lab’s Speed Test.)
  • Free Zoom software or app.
  • Tin whistles for all Tin Whistle Taster participants

An Introduction to Irish Music

On-Site Version

• Day/Date
  • By arrangement
• Length
  • 60 minutes
  • 2-3 Tasters (minimum 2)
  • 15-minute break between each Taster
• Facilities/Equipment Needed
  • Large classroom or hall
  • Whiteboard/markers or blackboard/chalk
  • MP3 player with with sufficient volume

An Introduction to Irish Music

Online Version

• Day/Date
  • By arrangement
• Lengths
  • 60 minutes
  • 1-3 Workshops
  • 15-minute break between each Workshop
• Facilities/Equipment Needed • Participants On-Site
  • Large screen and adequate sound system
  • Ideally, internet speed at least 1.5Mb per second. (You can test your speed using Measurement Lab’s Speed Test.)
• Equipment Needed • Participants at Home
  • All participants will need to have internet-connected laptop, computer, tablet or smartphone.
  • Ideally, internet speed at least 1.5Mb per second. (You can test your speed using Measurement Lab’s Speed Test.)
  • Free Zoom software or app.

Combined Bodhrán or Tin Whistle Tasters + Introduction

On-Site Version

• Day/Date
  • By arrangement
• Lengths
  • Primary: 45-minute Tasters + 60-minute Introductions
  • Post-Primary: 60-minute Tasters + 60-minute Introductions
  • 2-4 Tasters + 1-2 Introductions (minimum of 2 Tasters + 1 Introduction)
• Facilities/Equipment Needed
  • Large classroom or hall
  • Whiteboard/markers or blackboard/chalk
  • Tin whistles for all Tin Whistle Taster participants

Combined Bodhrán or Tin Whistle Tasters + Introduction

Online Version

• Day/Date
  • By arrangement
• Lengths
  • Primary: 45-minute Tasters + 60-minute Introductions
  • Post-Primary: 60-minute Tasters + 60-minute Introductions
  • 1-4 Tasters + 1-2 Introductions
• Facilities/Equipment Needed • Participants On-Site
  • Large screen and adequate sound system
  • Ideally, internet speed at least 1.5Mb per second. (You can test your speed using Measurement Lab’s Speed Test.)
  • Tin whistles for all Tin Whistle Taster participants
• Equipment Needed • Participants at Home
  • All participants will need to have internet-connected laptop, computer, tablet or smartphone.
  • Ideally, internet speed at least 1.5Mb per second. (You can test your speed using Measurement Lab’s Speed Test.)
  • Free Zoom software or app.
  • Tin whistles for all Tin Whistle Taster participants

Facilitators

Éamonn Galldubh

On-Site & Online Bodhrán and Tin Whistle Tasters, An Introduction to Irish Music

An All-Ireland champion with a teaching diploma from Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, as well as Masters degree in Music Performance with First Class Honours, Éamonn began playing traditional music on the tin whistle at the age of eight, moving on to uilleann pipes (he learned traditional piping technique from Dublin piper Ivan Goff and Mick O’Brien), flute and guitar. While Irish music is his first love, he has pursued an interest in other music forms, for example playing saxophone while studying jazz performance. Éamonn has performed and recorded with a wide range of prominent artists and groups, including Clannad, Riverdance, Moya Brennan, Cara Dillon, Damien Dempsey, Ragus, Niamh Ní Charra, Celtic Woman, Hazel O’Connor, Rua, Druid Theatre and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, as well as writing and recording his own material. He is passionate about music education and takes a practical approach that encourages pupils to learn by engaging with the music of their favourite artists. Playing along with recordings is used as a means to illustrate theoretical concepts and to learn about structure and rhythm. He has taught both at the New School and for our outreach programme since 1999.

Harry Long

On-Site & Online Bodhrán and Tin Whistle Tasters, An Introduction to Irish Music

Coming from a family steeped in Irish music, with a PhD in Irish History and author of The Waltons Guide to Irish Music and the Leaving Cert. Music coursebook Soundscapes: Irish Music & Aural Awareness, Harry has devoted a lifetime to the study and teaching of Irish history and traditional music, in all its forms. He has played tin whistle, low whistle and bodhrán for over three decades and has performed with the Irish National Folk Company at St. Enda’s National Historic Park and both solo and in sessions at music and dance festivals throughout Ireland and internationally. He currently performs with the trad/folk band Coscán and has released three albums with the group, most recently Firedance (2019). Harry has composed and recorded music for RTÉ radio and television documentaries, including Head Waters (1991), on the area where Turlough O’Carolan was born, and A Change of Heart (1997). His solo whistle playing can be heard on the album Rinka (2002), as well as the Waltons double CDs, Ireland’s Best Tin Whistle Tunes, Volumes 1 and 2 and Ireland’s Best Tin Whistle Tunes for Children. As a teacher, he has guided hundreds of students at both private and national schools in Dublin, Meath and Wicklow. Harry has taught tin whistle, low whistle, bodhrán and Irish Music Tasters, as well as directing the Rig-a-Jig traditional music group, with the New School since 2000.

John Sweeney

On-Site Bodhrán and Tin Whistle Tasters

John comes from a musical family and has been studying, playing and teaching guitar, bodhrán, tin whistle and a range of Irish traditional instruments, for over thirty years. He works in many different styles, including blues, rock, jazz, traditional and flamenco, and he has performed and recorded with a number of Irish groups, gigging extensively throughout Ireland, Canada, the UK, the US and Spain. He began teaching in 1988 at the Scarborough School of Guitar in Toronto, Canada, where he also studied composition and flatpick technique. He has also studied flamenco guitar with Miguel Escudero Lopez in Seville, Spain and traditional music at St. Enda’s Folk Park & Museum, and he continues to develop techniques in a range of guitar styles. John was the only guitar player selected by the renowned vocal innovator and improviser Bobby McFerrin to perform with him in the National Concert Hall for Bobby McFerrin Meets Ireland (2013), a unique collaboration for the Waltons World Masters Series between Bobby and a small, select group of Irish performers – chosen to represent the creativity, tradition and spirit of Ireland and selected through an Ireland-wide audition process. He has taught both at the New School and for our Outreach Programme since 2003.

Fees

Bodhrán or Tin Whistle Tasters

Primary • On-Site *

1. For Bodhrán Tasters, a €30 charge is added to the total fee for instrument transport.
2. If you wish to include Waltons Tin Whistles with Tin Whistle Tasters, there is an additional charge of €4 per participant.

Bodhrán or Tin Whistle Tasters

Post-Primary & Youth • On-Site *