Easy Irish fiddle tunes for your first sessions

Easy depends on your bow

A good early tune has phrases you can remember and one technical problem you can work on at a time. Whether it's easy depends on your bow control, your intonation and how well you know the rhythm. A short polka played too fast is harder than a longer jig at a comfortable pace.

The five cover a mix of rhythms. Your local session may not play all of them, so listen for its version, and ask a fiddle teacher about bowings that suit you.

Start with a clear pulse

John Ryan's Polka is short phrases you'll recognise straight away. Play it at a pace where the bow can change direction without your hand tightening. Keep the long notes moving: they still belong to the dance.

Add The Kesh once you can hear a jig's two groups of three. Play the plain melody before any ornaments, and don't lean on every note just because you're playing slowly. Sing a phrase, then make the bow copy that shape.

A hornpipe for listening

The Boys of Bluehill gives you a different rhythm to work on. Take it in small sections and check each landing note against what you expect to hear. If a string crossing makes you tense up, practise the crossing alone with a relaxed bow, then put the phrase back together.

Learn the notes from the score and the swing from a traditional recording. Don't speed up until the phrase stays comfortable and still sounds like the tune.

Then reels, slowly

The Silver Spear and The Maid Behind the Bar are two reels you can learn at your own pace. Keep the bow travelling smoothly and listen for notes that vanish when you cross strings. Fix the smallest awkward movement instead of running the whole tune faster each time.

Learning the melody and reaching session tempo are separate jobs. A steady slow version is a real stage, but the session won't slow down for it. Find a learner session, or one other person to play with between visits.

Practise from memory

Play one phrase from memory, then check it against the score or recording. Join it to the next phrase, practise the change between parts, and finish by playing the whole tune without stopping. Spend your time on the awkward joins, not on the opening you already know.

Keep a short list: one tune you can play, one you're learning and one you want to hear at your session. When you go back, listen before joining so you can match their setting and speed. These five are a place to start, and nobody at a session will test you on them.

Listen and play

Open each score to play it and compare the melodies. Use the playback for the notes and real musicians for the phrasing.

Keep learning

Pick your next tunes from my 20 tunes for your first session, then look at the sets players save together. Every session plays its own versions, so check with the people you play with.