An Irish Tune for Strings

A Smithsonian Folkways
Lesson Designed by: Anne
Daulton University of
Washington
Summary:
Orchestral students can experience traditional Irish culture through their involvement
in song analysis, improvisation, and instrument demonstrations. The listening
activities will allow students to practice meter detection and instrument identification.
The students will participate in discussions about traditional Irish dance music, the
Potato Famine, Irish immigration to the United States, and Irish cultural elements that
have been integrated into North American culture. They will practice playing an Irish
reel, playing it rhythmically straight and then in a swung style. Students will be offered
an opportunity to improvise ornamentation, and then work together to devise the
ornamentation for the whole ensemble.
Suggested Grade Level: 9-12
Country: Ireland
Region: Northern
Europe Culture
Group: Irish Genre:
Dance
Instruments: String Orchestra
Language: Gaelic
Co-curricular Areas: Social Studies
National Standards: 2, 3, 5, 6, 9
Prerequisites: None
Objectives:
Experience traditional Irish culture through their involvement in song
analysis, improvisation, and instrument demonstration
Participate in discussions about traditional Irish dance music, the Potato Famine,
Irish immigration to the United States, and Irish cultural elements that have
been integrated into North American culture
Practice playing an Irish reel with an opportunity for improvisation
Materials:
The Morningstar by Tom Byrne from Irish Music from Cleveland, Vol. 3: The
Continuing Tradition.
http://www.folkways.si.edu/irish-music-from-cleveland-vol-3-the-continuingtradition/celtic-world/album/smithsonian

The Greenfields of Rossbae by Jimmy Noonan and Mike Francis from Irish
Music from Cleveland, Vol. 3: The Continuing Tradition.
http://www.folkways.si.edu/irish-music-from-cleveland-vol-3-the-continuingtradition/celtic-world/album/smithsonian
Reels: The Blackberry Blossom/The Silver Spire/ The Dawn (medley) by Brian
Conway from First Through the Gate.
http://www.folkways.si.edu/brian-conway/first-through-the-gate/americanfolk-celtic-old-time/music/album/smithsonian
Blackberry Blossom score, string parts, melody without ornamentation markings
Bodhran, Irish whistle, Irish flute, maps of Ireland and the U.S.
Lamb, H. H. (1982) Climate, History, and the Modern World. New York.
Routledge. Larsen, Grey. (2003) The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin
Whistle. Missouri. Mel Bay Publications Inc.
McNevin, Paul. (1998) A Complete Guide to Learning the Irish Fiddle. Dublin,
Walton Manufacturing Ltd.
McCullough, Lawrence E. (1977) Style in Traditional Irish Music, from
Ethnomusicology
Vol. 21 number 1. Illinois, University of Illinois Press.
Ochs, Bill. (2000) The Clark Tin Whistle. New York. The Pennywhistlers
Press. OHara, Megan. (2002) Irish Immigrants 1840-1920. Minnesota,
Capstone Press. Wade, Bonnie C. (2008) Thinking Musically, 2nd Edition.
USA. Oxford University Press.

Lesson Segments:
1. The Greenfields of Rossbae (National Standards 6, 8, 9)
2. The Morningstar (National Standards 2, 6, 8, 9)
3. Blackberry Blossom: Listening (National Standards 2, 5, 6, 9)
4. Blackberry Blossom: Fiddlin Away (National Standards 2, 3, 5, 6, 9)
1. The Greenfields of Rossbae
a. Listen to The Greenfields of Rossbae.
b. Before Listening ask students to think about these questions as they listen.
i. What instruments do you hear? (pennywhistle)
ii. Can you identify what part of the world these instruments come
from? (Ireland)
iii. What do you think the audience would be doing during this music?
Watching a play or ballet, listening in a concert hall, telling a
story, dancing? (dancing)
c. Listen to the recording again, asking students to softly clap the beat
along with the music.
d. Discuss with the students the pennywhistle, using The Essential Guide to
Irish Flute and Tin Whistle, and The Clark Tin Whistle. If you have a
pennywhistle pass it around at this point.
i. The pennywhistle rose in popularity because of the affordability
of the instrument. It was sold for varying prices, from a half
penny to a little

over a penny, but the most well know price gave it the name,
the pennywhistle. The penny is in reference to the British
penny or half penny, so in the American dollar a penny would
be about 1.6 cents
ii. Some musicians even made their own penny whistles out of
reeds and straws.
iii. The low price meant many whistles were produced and its
popularity grew. It was seen as a toy and was not widely
regarded as a serious instrument until the 1960s.
e. In this recording the pennywhistle is played in the Sligo style.
f. Point to County Sligo on a map.
i. Discuss the Sligo music tradition with the students. Referencing,
Style in
Traditional Irish Music.
g. Explain the counties of Ireland, their similarities and differences to states
in the
United States.
i. Point out other well known counties, Dublin, Cork, Tipperary on
the map of Ireland.
h. Listen to the song again listening for what type of music this is.
i. Discuss the different types of Irish Dance music.
i. Reel There are many forms of reels, identified by the number of
dancers, such as the threesome, foursome, sixsome and
eightsome. The reel has two basic dance elements, a setting step
danced on the spot and a traveling figure. The reel originated in
Scotland but gained popularity in Ireland, and is known for its brisk
tempo. In North America the reel is the staple for square-dances,
and is known by the name Breakdown or Hoedown. Oxford
Music Online
ii. Jigs derived from the Old French verb ginger (to leap) it is
characterized by lively jumping steps. It is danced solo or by a
couple to the accompaniment of the pipe and fiddle and usually in
compound duple time where there are four beats to the measure
but the pulse is felt in two. Oxford Music Online
iii. Slip Jigs danced in the same style as the jig, but written in
compound triple time nine beats to a measure with the pulse
felt in three.
iv. Hornpipe a dance written in 3/2, 2/4, or 4/4 this style of dance
was very popular in the 16th and 19th centuries. It was generally a

solo dance, and was accompanied by bagpipes and fiddles. Many

composers adapted this musical form and composed hornpipes to go
into their dance suites.
Some of the more well known examples of hornpipes are Handels
Water Music, no. 9 and 12, and the College or The Sailors
Hornpipe. Oxford Music Online

Assessment:
The students will listen and identify the instruments in the recordings, tap the pulse of
the piece, and participate in discussions of the pennywhistle, Sligo music tradition, and
Irish dance forms.

2. Morningstar
a. Listen to The Morning Star.
i. Before listening prompt students to think of these questions.
1. What instruments are playing? (fiddle, Bodhran, and flute)
2. How are they different from the instruments in
Greenfields of Rossbae? (Instead of the pennywhistle in
the Greenfields of Rossbae, the Morningstar has the Irish
flute and the addition of percussion the Bodhran.)
3. How many musicians are there in the recording? (there are
two)
b. If you have a Bodhran and Irish flute, pass them around or show
pictures of them.
i. Discuss with the students the differences and similarities of the
instruments in a traditional orchestra. (The Bodhran is a handheld
drum, played with a small stick called a tipper. The tipper has two
knobs on both ends, is held loosely in one hand and is used to beat
out patterns. It is similar to the percussion instruments played with
mallets, like the timpani but the tipper is just wood and so creates a
sound more similar
to drums played with sticks like the snare drum. The Irish flute is
typically made from wood unlike the symphonic metal flute.
Oxford Music
Online)
c. Listen to the piece again. Ask students to tap the beat that the Bodhran is
playing at the beginning, and then the pulse. Switch back and forth
between the pulse and subdivision.
d. Reveal to the students that this piece is played by Irish-Americans from
Cleveland.
e. Discuss the Potato Famine and Immigration into the United States using
Climate, History, and the Modern World, and Irish Immigrants 18401920.
i.
One of the main reasons for immigration was the potato crop
failure, due to the potato blight fungus brought by trade ships.
Multiple years of crop failures devastated the Irish markets, as
potatoes were the staple crop of the country.
ii. As the famine continued many Irish youths immigrated to the
United States to make money to send back to their families. As
they went through the immigration offices in cities like New York
they faced new cultures, and prejudices. These factors caused
many Irish immigrants to live close to each other, making small
neighborhoods that had restaurants, stores, and pubs that
reminded them of the traditions in Ireland. See Additional
Experiences for a recipe for making Irish Soda Bread, and how to
grow potatoes in a pot.
f. On a map point out U.S. cities that large numbers of Irish immigrants
settled in.
i. Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and
New
Orleans
g. Brainstorm all of the different Irish traditions, foods, and cultural
experiences have become popular in the United States.

i. Riverdance, St. Patricks Day, Shamrocks, Leprechauns, Corned Beef

and
Cabbage,
Potatoes.
Extension:
a. Learn the basic steps to a reel. How to videos, and information are widely
available on the web.
b. Play the Bodhran part on the string instruments using pizzicato technique.
c. Using your finger as an imaginary marker, draw the phrases in the air.
d. In the following book find information on how to grow a potato in a pot, and for a
recipe to make Irish Soda Bread. OHara, Megan. (2002) Irish Immigrants
1840-1920. Minnesota, Capstone Press.
Assessment: Students will be able to identify, through active listening, the
instruments of the Greenfields of Rossbae, and The Morningstar, comparing them to
modern orchestral instruments, discuss the Irish Potato Famine, and identify Irish
cultural elements common in the United States brought by Irish immigrants.

3. Blackberry Blossom: Listening

a. Listen to the recording of Blackberry Blossom on Smithsonian Folkways.
b. Play through the parts included in the lesson.
c. Listen to the recording again, asking students to read their parts and
compare the rhythms of the piece.
i. Explain the idea of swinging the rhythm, by putting an emphasis
on beats 1 & 3. In the reel, the eighth notes are also swung, with
more emphasis placed on the first eighth note in groups of two.
The resulting rhythm will sound more like a dotted eighth
sixteenth pattern.
ii. Ask the students to clap the rhythm straight, and then try to clap it
with
the emphasis on beats 1 & 3, and the swung eighth notes.
d. Play the Blackberry Blossom again, with the new swung rhythms
that the students have practiced clapping.
e. Tell the students about the Donegal Fiddle Style that is characterized by:
i. Fast aggressive bows
ii. No slurs
iii. Fast triplet ornamentation
iv. Demonstrate these techniques, if possible, on a violin playing the
melodic line from the Blackberry Blossom. Reference A Complete
Guide to Learning the Irish Fiddle
f. Ask the students who is playing the melodic part played by the fiddle in
the recording, and who is playing the guitar chords. (melody is played by
the violins and violas, while the cellos and stringed bass play the guitar
chords)
g. When the low strings are playing ask them to think of themselves as
guitarists
instead of cellists.

i.

To help get the style help the students feel the separation
between notes, and the overall lightness.
ii. Direct the students to imagine they are strumming as they bow.
h. Listen to the recording of Blackberry Blossom again, and ask the students
to count how many times each section is played. (The A section is played 6
times, and the B section is played 6 times with a slight variation when it
leads back into the A section.)
Extensio
n:
a. Find an Irish Fiddler in the community who can demonstrate for the class.
b. Bring in an Irish dancer who can teach the class a few basic steps, and
dance while they perform Blackberry Blossom
Assessment: The students will be able to play the piece, both alone and with the
group. Students will be able to sing the rhythm and read the notation. Students
will be able to correctly identify the form of the piece.
4. Blackberry Blossom: Fiddlin Away
a. Hand out copies of the melody line of Blackberry Blossom to the orchestra.
b. Lead the students in play through the melody.
i. When playing through the melodic line ask the students to
remember the techniques they used in playing the arrangement.
Recall the swung rhythms, beat emphasis, bowing techniques, and
style they learned in the previous lesson.
ii. Demonstrate the melody on the violin, or ask one of the students
who
played the melody previously to demonstrate.
c. Listen to the recording of the Blackberry Blossom from Smithsonian
Folkways, listening for the ornamentation.
i. With the students reading along in the music while the music is
playing ask them to mark where the violin adds ornamentation.
Have them circle the measure that contains ornamentation, and
then in another listening have them circle the individual note
that is ornamented.
d. Explain improvisation to the class and its tradition in Irish music.
i. The traditional staples of an Irish musicians repertoire all have
the same basic structure. The melodies of individual songs are
played the same by different musicians, but the performance of
each piece is slightly different. The performance of these pieces
will change slightly from one night to the next and from one
musician to the next. Each musician takes the piece and plays
their own interpretation, adding
their own ornamentation. Thinking Musically, sections on Tar
Road to
Sligo

e. Give the students time to write their own ornamentation for the notes
they marked. Let them play the melody, and try adding grace notes,
appoggiaturas, and short runs.
i. The ornamentation changes from county to county in Ireland, so
for a challenge ask students to try creating ornaments in the
Donegal style.
1. The Donegal ornamentation played in the recording
features a fast run circling around the main note.
f. Lead the students in playing their interpretation of the melody
with ornamentation for the class.
i. Ask the class to anonymously vote on their top 3 favorite ornaments,
and
then have those students teach their ornaments to the class.
Extensio
n:
a. Listen to the recording of Blackberry Blossom on Smithsonian Folkways,
asking the students to listen to the guitar rhythms under the melody.
i. Demonstrate different rhythmic patterns that can be played under
the melody. (swung eighth notes, half notes, dotted half note
eighth note, sixteenth notes)
ii. Once the students see the different possibilities for the rhythms let
them experiment with rhythmic patterns on the D string.
b. Listen to the recording of Blackberry Blossom on Smithsonian Folkways,
asking the students to listen to the guitar rhythms under the melody.
i. Ask the students to clap the rhythm along with the recording.
ii. Demonstrate different rhythmic patterns, as in the above example.
iii. Let the students experiment with clapping their own rhythmic
pattern, and then ask for volunteers to show the class their
patterns.

Assessment: Students will be able to improvise on the melody, and

notate their ornamentations. They will be able to play their
improvisation for the group, and teach the ensemble their own individual
ornamentations.

Blackberry Blossom
Violin 1

Blackberry Blossom
Violin 2

Blackberry Blossom
Viola

Blackberry Blossom
Cello

Blackberry Blossom
Stringed Bass

Blackberry Blossom Melody

Violin

Blackberry Blossom Melody

Viola

Blackberry Blossom Melody

Cellos and Stringed Basses