Level 1 Content

Lesson 1 - Total Beginner

This lesson looks at how to get a sound from your instrument. It will show you how to grip the flute and where to place your fingers. It will teach you how to blow a high D note and progress to the D Major scale. The scale is your first introduction to pitch. You will practise your scale of D slowly both ascending and descending. You will also look at some higher notes and how to blow these notes.

Lesson 2 - Getting to know your notes - the fingerboard of your flute. You will learn your first tune: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. You will be taken through each section of the tune with the aid of a chart to help you with your note placement. During the lesson you will be given the notes live as you rehearse and play the tune.

Lesson 3 - Learning your first traditional tune – ‘The Dawning of the Day’. In each lesson you will hear the tune. It will then be broken into sections which you will rehearse and play through slowly. You will be given a scale chart to help with your note placing while learning. After you learn each part, you will play through what you have just learned with the help of live notes on screen. You will hear about the idea of structure or form in a tune. Toward the end of the lesson you can play through the tune with me. Then you will play the tune a little faster. You will also hear some tips about your tone (or lack of it at this stage) which is perfectly natural. You will also get tips on breath control.

Lesson 4 - Learning a traditional tune called Roddy Mc Corley (and a quick look at the G Major Scale - 3 ways of playing a C Natural note). You will hear the tune, break it into simple sections and rehearse each section to be able to play full parts. You will still have the aid of a chart to help you with note placing. You will be given live notes to follow as you play through each part. You will then play the full tune at a slow pace with live notes to follow. Then you will finish by playing the tune at a faster speed or tempo, more like a session-ready pace.

Lesson 5 - Learning a traditional dance tune called Shoe the Donkey. In each lesson you will hear the tune first to get familiar with the air (melody) of the tune. You will still have a note chart to help you with note placing. Each section will be broken into smaller sections which will be rehearsed twice before moving on. Each part will then be rehearsed with the aid of live notes. During each lesson you will be training your ear to hear different pitches that allow you to learn and play each tune. This is an essential ingredient for any traditional musician. Towards the end, you will play the tune slowly, then speed it up just like the dancers do when they dance this tune.

Lesson 6 - The Mountains of Pomeroy - You will hear the tune to get familiar with the air. The tune will be broken into sections and rehearsed with the aid of live notation on screen. After learning each part, you can play the part you have just learned with me and with the help of live notation. You will discover a similarity in parts which makes learning the tune a lot less daunting. Towards the end of the lesson you will play the tune at its normal tempo or pace, helped with live onscreen notation.

Lesson 7 - Introduction to the polka. You will learn “The Kerry Polka” which is really associated with the process of learning any instrument in Irish Traditional Music. It is played by all levels of players. You will hear the tune first and then each section will be broken down for you to learn in little blocks. In each section you will be guided by me and helped along with live onscreen notation. Towards the end of the lesson you will be able to play through the tune slowly, then be given a chance to speed it up if you feel ready. You will be encouraged to learn at your own pace.

Lesson 8 - Terry Teehans Polka - You will hear the tune first. The tune will be broken into short sections (usually 4 short sections per part) for you to learn slowly. You will be aided by live music notation. At the end of each part you will be able to play through what you have just learned. Towards the end of the lesson you can play the tune with me at a slow pace before you will be given a chance to test yourself by speeding it up to a pace which is close to session ready. You will also hear tips on how to rehearse difficult intervals (the distance between notes) and tone tips.

Lesson 9 - Maggie in the Woods (polka). The tune will be played first for you to grasp the melody. You will then rehearse and learn smaller sections until you are able to play through each part. You will be guided by live notation and the visual aid of my own finger movements. You will be introduced to the idea of glottal stops and how you create rhythm in your music. You will also receive tips on how to control your tone on higher pitched notes. Towards the end of the lesson you will play the tune slowly then be encouraged to add a few extra notes to create a more flowing version of the tune. The idea of this is to let you know that many versions exist of the same tune in Irish music.

Lesson 10 - The Britches full of Stitches (polka). The tune will be played first for you to have an idea of the melody. You will then learn the tune in smaller sections with live notation to help you with finger placing. When you have learned each part individually, you will then play through the tune once at a slow pace and then at a faster tempo. There will be live notation throughout.

Lesson 11 - O’Sullivan’s Polka - At this stage you will have learned 4 polkas. You will hear the tune first. Then each section/phrase of the tune will be broken down to make it easy to learn. You will hear more about glottal stops and how they create rhythm. At the end of each part you will play through what you have just learned with live notation. You will play the entire tune at the end. The 1st time will be slow and the 2nd time will be played at a faster tempo. I will discuss your progress with breath and tone and what is normal at this stage. Towards the end of the lesson I will challenge you to insert extra notes to make the melody sound better. I will ask you to prepare for your session in lesson 13.

Lesson 12 - Tripping to the Well (polka). In this lesson I will encourage you to wean yourself off the decency of notes once you learn the tune. I will give you an exercise to practice more difficult intervals on the flute and to be more confident playing your low D note. You will learn the tune as before and have an opportunity to play through the tune slowly and then at a livelier pace. You will be given an option of inserting extra notes to make the tune sound better also. All of your practice will be accompanied by live ABC notation.

This lesson will conclude the 1st section of the course. At lesson 13 you will perform a session with 4 tunes you have learned throughout this course.

Lesson 13 - Trad Session.