Irish Music & Song Books

Learn To Play 'Irish Tenor Banjo' one of the best and simplest Irish tenor banjo tutor books ever written...by all Ireland champion Owen Hackett.

Musick’s Delight on the Modern Cittern is intended for the beginner seeking a collection of simple yet attractive tunes that are enjoyable to play; the more intermediate player desirous of widening their repertoire; and any player in want of a collection of tunes upon which they can build further. All tunes are presented in both notation and tablature, together with chords for an accompaniment, in GDGDG for cittern and GDAE for mandolin and octave mandola, plus two hundred and fifty chords each for GDGDG and GDAE. Bouzouki and tenor mandola players can also play these tunes via the tablature. From the age of knights, castles and courtly love; from the palaces and gardens of Renaissance Europe; and from the assemblies, playhouses and noisy streets of seventeenth and eighteenth-century London: Musick’s Delight on the Modern Cittern presents a repertoire spanning 600 years – as delightfully playable and addictive now as it was then.

A collection of irish jogs in melodic style for the 5 string banjo by Ron Hughes

Contains what are arguably the hundred most often played and widely known Irish jigs and reels.

These tunes form the very corner stone of Irish music sessions.They crop up with such regularity that it's vital that you are able to play them.

All the tracks from the album arranged for piano, voice and guitar. Full piano/vocal arrangements of each track from the hit album complete with lyrics and guitar chord boxes.

On taking up a musical instrument, it is only natural for the beginner to want to reap some rewards as quickly as possible. After all, music is for the enjoyment of the player, as well as the listener.

The Banjo Play-Along Series will help you play your favorite songs quickly and easily with incredible backing tracks to help you sound like a bona fide pro! Just follow the banjo tab, listen to the demo track on the CD to hear how the banjo should sound, and then play along with the separate backing tracks. The CD is playable on any CD player and also is enhanced so Mac and PC users can adjust the recording to any tempo without changing the pitch! Each Banjo Play-Along pack features eight cream of the crop songs. This volume includes: Ain't It Enough · The Cave · Forget the Flowers · Ho Hey · Little Lion Man · Live and Die · Switzerland · Wagon Wheel.

This fingerstyle guitar collection features 20 engaging lyrical tunes from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales plus three original pieces by accomplished guitarist, trumpeter and composer William A. Bay, president, and editor-in-chief at Mel Bay Publications. Tasked with writing intermediate-level arrangements in either standard or dropped-D tuning, guitarist/arranger Raymond Gonzalez displays uncommon music rethinking skills while preserving the plaintive and lilting nature of these enduring melodies. Unique to these settings, you will find sparse, open-chord harmonies accentuated by double hammer-ons and pull-offs, and the odd harmonic mixed with normal tones within a melodic line— all reminiscent of gentle waves washing up against a rocky island shore. Conceived to be played on either steel or nylon-string guitar, these pieces are written in both standard notation and tablature. Includes online access to the author’s own audio recordings.

The Hal Leonard Irish Bouzouki Method is designed for anyone just learning to play the Irish bouzouki. This comprehensive and easy-to-use beginner's guide focuses on teaching the basics of the instrument as well as accompaniment techniques for a variety of Irish song forms. The accompanying audio includes demonstrations of all the examples in the book and can be accessed online via streaming or download. Includes: purchasing an instrument; playing position; tuning; picking and strumming patterns; learning the fretboard; accompaniment styles; double jigs, slip jigs, and reels; drones; counterpoint; arpeggios; playing with a capo; traditional Irish songs; basic music reading; standard notation and tablature. Online audio is accessed at halleonard.com/mylibrary.

Musick’s Delight on the Modern Cittern is intended for the beginner seeking a collection of simple yet attractive tunes that are enjoyable to play; the more intermediate player desirous of widening their repertoire; and any player in want of a collection of tunes upon which they can build further. 

All tunes are presented in both notation and tablature, together with chords for an accompaniment, in GDGDG for cittern and GDAE for mandolin and octave mandola, plus two hundred and fifty chords each for GDGDG and GDAE. Bouzouki and tenor mandola players can also play these tunes via the tablature. 

From the age of knights, castles and courtly love; from the palaces and gardens of Renaissance Europe; and from the assemblies, playhouses and noisy streets of seventeenth and eighteenth-century London: Musick’s Delight on the Modern Cittern presents a repertoire spanning 600 years – as delightfully playable and addictive now as it was then.

A collection of the dance music of Ireland: jigs, reels, hornpipes, long dances and marches. An introduction on the history of Irish music. Tips on playing with an authentic feeling. New settings from the playing of Michael Coleman and the Sligo fiddle masters.

Fifty new tunes of Irish dance music composed by Tomás O Canainn, suitable for all traditional players. Many of the tunes in this book have already entered the repertoire of musicians in Ireland and further afield.

In four volumes, each book contains fifty popular Irish songs with music, words and guitar chords plus useful notes on each song.

In four volumes, each book contains fifty popular Irish songs with music, words and guitar chords plus useful notes on each song.

Contains over forty songs in the versions made famous by this world renowned Irish group. Includes fascinating profiles of the members of the group, plus photographs. Complete with lyrics, music and guitar chords.

Gaelic songs are beautiful to listen to and to sing, but until now it has been extremely difficult for anyone without knowledge of the Irish language (Gaelic) to sing the songs of that tradition. A must for anyone who has always longed to sing the old songs of Ireland, this book and CD decodes the Irish language for those who aspire to sing these songs without them having to undertake an Irish language course.

This collection presents 55 tunes by the great Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan arranged for guitar, keyboard, or instrumental duet. The basic layout for each tune is an easy to intermediate guitar version in standard notation only, designed to also be usable for keyboard, instrumental duet or larger groups. The chord names above the music give simplified accompaniments that can be played instead of or in addition to the full bass lines. The chords can be used for second guitar parts, for keyboar

Easy Irish And Celtic Melodies and accompanying audio present Irish, Celtic and British Isles folk melodies for the 5-string banjo.

The book demonstrates contemporary Celtic fingerstyle banjo in G tuning using modern techniques. 32 airs and song melodies are presented, with chords written in standard notation and tablature.

The Banjo Play-Along Series will help you play your favorite songs quickly and easily. Just follow the banjo tab, listen to the audio to hear how the banjo should sound, and then play along using the separate backing tracks. The book includes access to audio tracks online for download or streaming featuring Playback+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down the audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right. This volume includes: Billy in the Low Ground · Cluck Old Hen · Devil's Dream · Fisher's Hornpipe · Little Maggie · Over the Waterfall · The Red Haired Boy · Soldier's Joy.

O'Carolan's best-loved harp tunes are notated in a contemporary style that makes them accessible to all instrumentalists. This ideal collection with accompanying audio lays bare 20 classic Irish compositions for melody and backing players using standard notation and chords. For all 5-string banjo players, fretting and picking-hand fingerings are included in the transcriptions which match the play-along tracks. This is Hanway's fourth collection demonstrating Celtic fingerstyle banjo in G tuning. It is part of a Celtic 5-string series that includes Mel Bay's Easy Irish and Celtic Tunes for 5-String Banjo: Best-Loved Jigs and Reels (2012) and Mel Bay's Easy Irish andCeltic Melodies for 5-String Banjo: Best-Loved Airs and Session Tunes (2013). Tom Hanway's pioneering work, Mel Bay's Complete Book of Irish & Celtic 5-String Banjo (1998), was acclaimed by Bluegrass Unlimited magazine (1999) "as 'the bible' for any 5-string player with an interest in this joyous music." The current collection breathes life into the Gaelic classical melodies of Ireland. Access to online audio download.

Rob MacKillop presents 20 wonderful fingerstyle blues arrangements and compositions in DADGAD tuning. The styles covered in this book include country blues, boogie woogie left-hand piano blues, early jazz blues, gut-bucket blues and modal blues. Great traditional songs are included such as St. James Infirmary Blues, St. Louis Blues, C. C. Rider and more, alongside 15 full-length studies. The book begins with easy arrangements, progressing to intermediate and more advanced ones - in short, these blues studies will improve your technique through playable 12-bar tunes. A wide array of chord and scale fingerings are also provided, including pentatonic minor and major scales, bluesscales, diminished arpeggios and scales, 7th chords, whole-tone scales and the super Locrian mode and much more! All the tunes presented have accompanying audio recorded by Rob MacKillop and are available to download.

Although the cittern has a history spanning 500 years and several countries, like its cousin the Irish bouzouki, it is a relative newcomer to contemporary traditional music. Doc Rossi, a well-known citternist in both traditional and early music, has created this book for intermediate to advanced players who want to improve their technique, develop ideas and learn new repertoire. Guitarists can play all of the tunes in this book on the guitar by tuning C F C G C F, low to high, and putting a capo at the second fret. The lowest line in the tablature then corresponds to the fifth string. The CD features all the tunes played at a medium tempo.

It's now over 30 years since Shaskeen first formed and are still going strong. Over the years they have made many albums; more session tunes from 2 of them can be found in this book. With chords, photographs, copious notes etc..