The tune is associated with the playing of Galway accordionist Joe Burke , and perhaps because of Burke, it is very popular and widely played.

The first and third parts of the tune are almost pure mixolydian, whilst the second part of the tune is almost pure G Major, although Tony didn’t alter the key signature for the second part, despite there being an argument for doing so. Overall he just felt it was more convenient to leave t

A distinguishing feature of the Mixolydian mode is that the chord progression typically consists of G chords and F chords.

With the small exception of the C chord in bar 20, the entire tune is a three-chord wonder, but the chords are G, D, and F (not G, D, and C).

In the first part of the tune a time signature change occurs in bar 7 from the standard 6/8 to a 9/8, just for one bar, before reverting back to 6/8. In effect you play an extra half a bar.

Also the first part consists of 12 bars rather than the standard eight.

The A part is in D Major, but changes to D Minor for the second part, and then back to D Major for the third part. Both the second and third parts have 8 bars.

The chords are D, A, G, Dm, A7 and Gm.

Sonny’s Mazurka is arguably the most well known of the mazurkas played in Ireland.

As mazurkas are written in 3/4 time the rules that you use for waltzes also apply to mazurkas. In this tune most of the bars have a crotchet on the first beat followed by two groups of quavers over the next two beats.

As an accompaniment, a basic strum consisting of a bass note on the first beat followed by full or partial chord strums for each of the next two beats in each bar would be quite sufficient. In other words treat your accompaniment the same way you would a standard waltz.

Note the B Minor chord in Bar 3 of the second part of the tune. D would be quite acceptable but B Minor just sounds a bit nicer to Tony’s ear.

Chords are D, G, A and Bm.

You may experience some difficulty in the first bar when going from the first D triplet then having to immediately cross over the third string to hit the F# on the fourth string. If you do have trouble with this phrase then Tony suggests you practice the phrase in isolation.

The same applies to the triplet in the second bar of the second part of the tune, where you have a triplet containing three different notes.

Chords are D, A and G.

Tony has set this arrangement in 4/4 rather than 2/2 or “cut” time, that is 4 groups of 2 quavers rather than 2 groups of 4. This is a subtle difference although with a tune played at the somewhat slower tempo than a reel, or even a hornpipe, the difference is barely noticeable. On reflection this tune could be written as 4/4 or 2/2.

In the first part of the tune there is one high B (6th bar). And the second part of the tune has some tricky left hand work so we’ve included in the transcription the left hand fingering Tony uses for playing the tune. Note that your local Classical Guitar Club members will probably be horrified by some of the fingerings but they work for Tony!

The finger number is notated directly under the relevant note. Where there is no fingering markings you can assume that normal open position fingering applies.

There's a rather busy chord progression in the accompaniment, and Tony suggests you will need to spend longer than usual learning it. The chords are G, D, Em, C, A7 and D/F#.

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.

It's played in C, with a capo on the 2nd fret. The second part is higher than the first.

The “normal” speed recording is the first track off Tony’s CD “An Sliabh Glas” and includes “Shores of Lough Gowna”, followed by “Jim Connolly’s Jig”. By the way you can purchase the CD, or tracks from it, on Amazon and iTunes and various online outlets. See the CDs page on this site for links.

Note the D Minor chord at the end of the third line. Tony could have just used a G chord for the whole bar (Bar 12) but the inclusion of a D Minor just adds a little bit extra to the tune.

Chords are C, F and G.

Although this is a D tune, Tony plays it in C with a capo on the second fret. This tune has a wide range of just over 2 octaves, but if your left hand is positioned correctly you should need very little, if any, lateral movement to reach all the notes.

Chords are C, F, G and Am.

A delightful jig with a strong underlying rhythm, which is probably why it is quite often used for playing at céilithe (social dances).

In the second bars of both the third and fourth lines you will note that Tony uses the same finger for the first two notes of those bars (G and F#), plays the high B with his fourth finger and the high A with his third finger.

In the booklet (Book 4), we’ve included a separate accompaniment sheet for this tune. Note that Tony uses a D Chord with an F# in the bass, a chord we’ve used as a stock chord for tunes not only in D but in other keys as well, where appropriate.

Chords are D, G, A and Em.

Just for something a bit different Tony ends the tune with two dotted crotchet chords in the very last bar. This is a little trick just to accentuate the end of the section. Don’t do it every tune but once in a while is OK.

Normally played in A Dorian, but Tony has arranged it for gutar in E Dorian.

You can capo up to the 5th fret, but on the podcast there's no capo.

Tony has also brought the first part in some places so it can be played in one octave, giving it a more dynamic sound.

In some places there are triplets using three different notes. If these are problematic, you can isolate them and practice them on their own.

In the tablature, you'll notice that Tony plays the B on the 4th fret of the 3rd string in places, to make picking easier.

For the accompaniment, there are only two chords - Em and D.

It is an ideal tune to play if a hornpipe is requested by a step dancer.

Unusually for such a melodic tune the whole tune is played within one octave excepting the three F# notes that occur near the end of both sections.

In the last two bars of each section multiple note triplets occur. It is important that you pick each triplet rather than slurring or tying them. In Irish music, when played on a fretted instrument such as guitar or banjo, all the notes of triplets are picked individually.

In the accompaniment, Tony has included A7 in the fourth bar of the third line. It creates a nice addition to the “standard” chords found in G Major tunes, and is sometimes referred to as a “passing” chord. You can leave it out and play the succeeding D chord for the whole bar but the accompaniment is enhanced by the A7.

Chords are G, D, Em and A7.

In fact by keeping your left hand at a right angle to the fretboard you should not have any lateral movement in your left hand at all.

Make sure to play the tune at a speed that allows you to include ornamentation.

The half moon markings over certain notes in the sheet music are suggested points in the tune at which you can add your ornaments but feel free to place them somewhere else if you so desire.

The main point is to include some ornamentation.

For the accompaniment, Tony has included only two chords in this tune; D Minor and C.

Sometimes simplicity works best. An uncomplicated accompaniment can be enough for such an expressive tune.

A most unusual feature of this tune is the order in which the parts of the tune are played. There are only two parts to the tune but they are played:

AA BA BA.

This would be a sequence required by someone stepping the tune.

Tony says a humorous sidelight to this tune is that quite often when he’s heard it played at a session, after about 1 minute and 20 seconds people start to look at each other to see what the other musicians are playing in regard to the sequence of parts. From Tony’s observations they are often played in the wrong order!

When playing slow set pieces it is quite easy to unintentionally increase the speed. Dancers will tell you that this is not a good thing! Pay particular attention to your tempo making sure that you don’t speed up. Remember that this tune is played in jig time but not at jig tempo.

Chords are G, C, D and Am.

Jack and Charlie Coen recorded this tune on their classic “The Branch Line” recording from 1977.

The tune itself is in the key of G Major but, unusually, the most common chord in this tune is in fact the D chord, not the more expected G chord.

The melody in this tune goes no higher than the G on the third fret of the first string so the whole tune can be played in open position.

One of the features that make this tune ideal for guitar is that there are many open string notes within the melody and by letting these open notes “ring” you create a certain feel to the tune that cannot be achieved on other instruments.

Also for those of you who use the tab, you’ll notice in both the first and fifth bars of the third part of the tune Tony fingers the B note on the fourth fret of the third string rather than open B. This saves jumping between strings, and really just makes it a little bit easier to pick. Also note that this tune does not resolve at the end.

As you will see from the sheet music the tune begins on D for two bars before going to G, and in the second line the same thing occurs. This proliferation of D chords has nothing to do with key changes or being in a different key, it is merely that at this point in the tune a D chord occurs. It just happens to be the start of the tune. There are a number of Irish tunes that begin on a chord other than the tonic chord – Jack Coughlan’s Reel, The Green Fields of America, and Killabeg House to name but a few.

The third part of the tune has an identical chord progression to the first part. Chords are D, G and C.

Tony learned this tune from the playing of John G. Walsh from near the town of Clifden, in the west of Connemara.

You'll gather from the notes in the accompanying booklet that Tony is a huge fan of John G's music, and of the town of Clifden.

The Baltimore in this tune probably refers to the town on the southern coast of Ireland, south west of Skibereen, Co. Cork. In Irish it is called Dún na Séad (Fort of Jewels).

The first part of the tune can be played entirely in open position.

For the first five bars in the second part of the tune Tony plays notes on the third fret with his first finger, notes on the fourth fret with his second finger, notes on the fifth fret with his third finger , and the high B on the seventh fret with his fourth finger.

There are four A notes on the second fret of the third string in these first five bars of Part B, and these can be fingered with the first finger as they are preceded and followed by notes occurring on open strings. These open string notes will give you enough time to move your fingers to the next sequence of notes. The last three bars of the tune can be played in open position.

Knowing your fretting before you being to play will improve your fluidity.

Tony reminds us in this lesson that accuracy is more important than speed. Be accurate; speed can come later.

The chord progression is identical in both the first and second parts. In the booklet we’ve included a separate accompaniment chart.

Accompaniment for tunes needs to be studied in the same way that the melody is, even though backing up a tune is less complicated.

The accompaniment is fairly standard. Note that in the 4th and 12th bars a D chord occurs with an F# as a bass note – that is, the second fret of the sixth string.

As a music teacher of some credibility, it would be grossly improper for Tony to tell you to use your thumb to fret this note, as he does. So use your discretion.

The F# in a D Major chord as a bass note can be quite effective. Piano players do it all the time. Note the E minor chord in bars 6 and 14, added in just for a bit of melancholic flavour. Also at the very end of each section there’s a crotchet chord followed by a crotchet rest, just to break the rhythm a touch.

The chords in this tune are G, C, Am, D, and Em.

Many thanks to John G Walsh for permission to use his recording of this tune from his CD “Magpie's Nest”.

Tony's arrangement is in G Major, capo 2, thus the "real" key is A Major.

Listen to the lesson (TimorTheTartar.mp3, 8 minutes 23 seconds. 2.87 MB)

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.

File size is 2.43MB.

Duration is 7 minutes 4 seconds.

Because it has a total duration of 64 bars, it can be very handy for set dancers who may occasionally ask for a tune of that length.

Normally it's played in D Major, but Tony's version is in C Major, with a capo on the 2nd fret.

It's also a good one to start with because it is played entirely in the open position - which means you don't have to move your hand up and down along the neck of the guitar as you are playing.