Mandolin Irish Songbook: Learn 5 Classic Tunes

In this course, we’ll build on your existing mandolin skills by exploring the rich world of traditional Irish music. You’ll develop your sense of rhythm and technique through learning a selection of beautiful Irish tunes.

Traditional Irish music offers a wonderful variety of styles—from the lively, rhythmic speed of jigs to the emotive, expressive playing needed for slower ballads. This course lets you experience both, helping you to advance your playing in a fun and rewarding way.

This course is aimed slightly above beginner level. If you’re comfortable reading basic tablature, you’ll be fine. I provide plenty of detailed, close-up video demonstrations of finger placement, so don’t be intimidated if the word “intermediate” feels daunting. I’ve carefully chosen five well-known and friendly tunes that I think you’ll love to play.

Here’s what you’ll get:

• A brief refresher on reading tablature — just enough to help if you’re feeling rusty, without covering basics in depth (there’s a separate beginner course for that!). Downloadable resources are included.

  
  

• Five Irish songs to learn and enjoy. Each song includes chord accompaniment sections at the end of the lessons so you can practice playing along. PDF tabs and MIDI/MP3 backing tracks are also provided to help you learn at your own pace.

  
  

• An introduction to combining chords with melody to create fuller, richer arrangements. I touch on this towards the end of the course, and I’m planning to make a separate, more in-depth course on this topic in the future. Even adding just a few chord notes to your accompaniment can bring your playing to life.

My hope is that this course will help you pour everything you’ve learned so far into these songs, so you can get the most out of them and build skills to carry forward into your future mandolin journey.