Section 3 - Guide to Tunings and Styles

This is the main section and opens with an introduction to the structure of some popular types of tunes -  reels, jigs and hornpipes, the main repertoire of Irish music.  Next, Frank has devised some definitions of right-hand styles in order to classify them in some way.  In his own experience, certain right-hand approaches suit some tunings better than others and some suit some types of tunes better than others and so on.
Four tunings are presented with strengths and weaknesses of each - they range from standard tuning to DADGAD, dropping one string at a time, like this:
The remainder of the section is organised in lessons covering a wide variety of styles, each with its own track on the accompanying CD.  Background information for each lesson contains everything you need to know to learn the accompaniment as it appears on the CD - the tuning, the type of tune (eg jig, reel), the key on the recording, the capo position and information on the right hand style.  The accompaniment is then described with useful tips drawn from personal experience.  A chord chart is given along with chord windows for every chord used - all on the same page for easy reference.
Each track on the CD appears with and without accompaniment so that the student can try out their newly learned skills after each lesson.

Click here for an example of a tune from the book.

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