Polkas

Lesson 7. Jimmy Doyle's

Submitted by gerry.gaffney on Sun, 04/01/2007 - 22:22

Our first polka. This is in the key of G.

Polkas, like slides, are common in south-west Ireland.

They are in 2/4 time.

Listen to the lesson (Jimmy_Doyles.mp3, 8 minutes 26 seconds. 3.86 MB)

Lesson 13. The Kerry Polka

Submitted by gerry.gaffney on Sun, 06/24/2007 - 22:22

This lively tune is not just a Kerry polka, Tony says, but *the* Kerry polka.

Tony refers to a nice recording of this by a Connemara accordion player, Sonaí Choilm Learaí (on CIC Records).

This is a tune that fits very well with the guitar.

It's in the key of G.

Chords for the accompaniment are G, C, A7, and D. For variation, you can play an Em in the sixth bar, and can substitute A7 for Am in the fourth bar.

Listen to the lesson (Kerry_Polka.mp3, 7 minutes 57 seconds. 936 KB)

Lesson 21. Britches Full of Stitches

Submitted by gerry.gaffney on Sun, 01/27/2008 - 21:48

This is a very common polka, and because of its simplicity is ideal for learners.

This tune is often used when playing for dancers but it is a lovely but simple 'stand alone' tune.

The left hand doesn't need to move at all; the notes are all in the first three sets on the four highest-pitched strings. Also, the last 3 bars of both parts are identical.

Listen to the lesson (Britches_Full_of_Stitches.mp3, 8 minutes 5 seconds. 1.85 MB)

Lesson 25. Forty Pound Float

Submitted by gerry.gaffney on Sun, 02/24/2008 - 21:48

A common polka, which Tony tells us has received some rough treatment.

Make it easier to learn by using shortcuts: the first bar is identical to the third and fifth bars, the last two bars of the first section are the same as the last two of the second section, and bars 9 and 10 are the same as bars 13 and 14.

Listen to the lesson (Forty_Pound_Float.mp3, 11 minutes 21 seconds. 2.95 MB)

Lesson 51. Paddy's Polka (No. 1)

Submitted by gerry.gaffney on Tue, 06/09/2009 - 09:24

This tune is played in D Minor.

This is an ideal tune for music teachers to teach their students as it is uncomplicated, and from an accompaniment viewpoint, is very basic - only two chords, D Minor and C.

Listen to the lesson (PaddysPolka1.mp3, 7 minutes 4 seconds. 2.43 MB)

Lesson 52. Paddy's Polka (No. 2)

Submitted by gerry.gaffney on Mon, 06/15/2009 - 08:49

This polka is in G Major, so when coupled Paddy's Polka (no. 1), there's an interesting key change from D Minor to G Major..

In this tune, the B part can begin on either a G Major or E Minor. Tony's preference is for the E Minor, so that's how it's notated in the booklet (Book 3).

Listen to the lesson (PaddysPolka2.mp3, 7 minutes 37 seconds. xx MB)

Lesson 66. Maggie in the Woods

Submitted by gerry.gaffney on Sun, 01/01/2012 - 20:21

This is an often-played polka, normally in the key of G.

Polkas, like marches, are in 2/4 time. That is, there are two groups of quavers, or the equivalent. Where you have two groups of four quavers, you should play:

down on the first quaver
down on the next quaver.

In this tune the only time you play an up stroke is on the last semiquaver (or sixteenth note) of a group of what would be two eighth notes if there were no sixteenth notes.

In this tune you will only be picking up on the last notes of Bars 1, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 14, 17, 18, and 20.

There are only ten up strokes in the whole tune. Also note that the last 5 bars of part A are identical to the second time ending in Part B of the tune. In fact a lot of people just play the B part through twice without the second time ending. But Tony learnt it off P.J. Hernon and if it’s good enough for Mr Hernon...

If you're using the booklet (book 4), you will see that there are differences between the sheet music chords above the melody and the separate guitar accompaniment sheet. For the purposes of the recording we’ve used the guitar accompaniment sheet, but this will show you that there is more than one way to back up a tune. Tony loves that Em to begin the second part of the tune, but G Major is just as valid.

Chords are G, C, D and Em.

Listen to the lesson (MaggieInTheWoods.mp3, 8:18, 3.78MB).

Lesson 67. Nell Fee's

Submitted by gerry.gaffney on Sun, 01/08/2012 - 17:30

Tony learned this lovely 3-part polka from the playing of New York button accordionist Patty Furlong.

48-bar polkas are not common in Irish music and are not used much for sets. Tony consulted Marie Brouder here in Melbourne about this. Marie is the number one person on set dancing in Melbourne and she could only find one dance that was of 48 bars duration. That is the first figure of The Kilkenny Set.

the lowest note is the open D string and the highest is the F# on the first string so the tune is fairly compact. You can play the whole tune from open position. In the first part Tony has notated the B notes as being on the open 2nd string, but you can play them on the 4th fret/3rd string if you find it easier to pick. Contrary to popular “lay” thought, part of the art of playing guitar is finding the easiest way to do things.

In this tune there is an example of how one well chosen chord can make a big difference to the tune and that chord can be found in the 2nd bar of the 3rd part of the tune. It is a B minor chord.

You could just as easily use a D chord but the Bm adds a wonderful melancholic tone to the tune.

Chords are D, G, Em, A and Bm.

Listen to the lesson (NellFees.mp3, 8:54, 4.1MB).

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