Mel Bay's Complete Irish Fiddle Player by Peter Cooper Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $18.74 You Save: $1.25 (6%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Mel Bay's Complete Irish Fiddle Player
Book Review: A favourite for many years
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this book in 1998 when I was just starting to learn to play violin at the age of 40. It's not a book for the complete beginner; I could already read music fairly well, but I was new to playing a stringed instrument and wanted to play Irish fiddle. It was very easy for me to understand. I was playing rolls and grace notes with ease in no time at all. It is still my most loved music book.Book Review: Excellent Intro to Irish Fiddle...Covers All the Essentials!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent intro to Irish fiddling, especially for total beginners to Irish Music. Pete Cooper's lesson plans methodically and skillfully walk you from the very beginning concepts of bowing through to the more advanced forms of ornamentation that are so critical to the "irish" style.Newbies like me are eager not only to learn the basics, but also to learn great tunes that are likely to come up during the Irish music sessions at the local pub, and all of the tunes Cooper uses in his lessons are core tunes that are session favorites. So when you've walked through his lessons, you're also ready to play a more than a few of the tunes that are likely to be played at a session.
Cooper does an excellent job explaining how to play jigs, reels, hornpipes, slides, mazurkas and polkas, each with their distinctive irish "feel". He also includes an excellent discography...suggested CDs for further study of tunes and playing style.
As an Irish tin whistle player, I can say that Cooper's book for the fiddle does a better job of conveying the basics of irish music than anything else I've seen, including numerous tutorials for other instruments such as tin whistle, and in fact its even helped me improve my style on the tin whistle.
I wish I knew how to get the CD that supposedly accompanies this book. The only other possible "down side" is that he assumes you know how to read music and how to play the notes on your violin...he's showing you how to play it Irish, so if you are a total and complete beginner to the violin you'll need a basic violin book too.
Book Review: Excellent introduction to Irish Music
Summary: 5 Stars
I have tried various "intro" to Irish fiddling books before. They have all only had the written music with no information about how to play with the style of Irish music. This book explains how to play in the Irish music tradition. I would suggest purchasing it with the accompanying CD so that you can hear it as well. The samples on the CD are played slow enough so that you can hear what is going on. The book is set up starting with a simple jig and then moves on to progressively more complex tunes. It is the Suzuki Method for the Irish Fiddling world...Highly Recommended.Book Review: From Classical Violinist to Irish Fiddler
Summary: 5 Stars
My hat's off to Peter Cooper! This book is masterfully organized for the experienced player or the novice - starting with the simple tunes to the more complex. As an experienced classical violinist, I've found this book (and CD) perfect to explain the different nuances between Irish fiddling and classical technique. Just a few quick pages of reading and you're off and running for hours of fulfilling Irish tunes!
And whether you're the type that likes a little background on the origin of the tunes or the theory of modal Irish music, it's all there! This is a must-have for all aspiring Irish fiddlers!
Book Review: Great place to start
Summary: 5 Stars
Peter Cooper has put together an excellent introduction to the world of Irish fiddling. The book progresses through levels of difficulty, introducing the reader to the different tune forms (jigs, reels, hornpipes etc) and the different forms of ornamentation. The first few sections introduce tunes that are fun to play and not too difficult; however, this book is not for absolute beginners. You should have a sound knowledge of the fingerboard to get the most from it.One great feature of this book is that the tunes are ones you are almost sure to hear in sessions in the United States. If you learn the tunes in this book you will have a good solid set of session tunes to play for those nights you get together with friends or go to a pub.