Writing

Travels

I count myself fortunate to have traveled as much as I have: some of these are short tours, other experiences have been longer voyages. On two such longer journeys—to Zimbabwe in 2011 and living in Ireland in 2004 and 2005—I wrote a series of letters to share the experience with friends. Writing also gave me a lens to focus and interpret what I was experiencing. In Zimbabwe, I was studying mbira and collecting makwayera songs. In Ireland, I studied fiddle and guitar and completed a master's degree. If you read this and would like to receive my erratic 'words from the field', please send me an e-mail.

• 2/26/2011 — meat with bones
• 3/02/2011 — tsambakonzi
• 3/06/2011 — give forward the blessing
• 3/09/2011 — so i could sing and pray
• 3/12/2011 — a list
• 3/16/2011 — only the honeycomb
• 3/28/2011 — home

The Ireland Journals

10/7/2004 – week one 10/13/2004 – 53°20', 6°15' 10/14/2004 – language 10/20/2004 – in Boherbui 10/27/2004 – patience 11/4/2004 – pure drop 11/11/2004 – oh, sarangi 11/21/2004 – new digs 11/27/2004 – an irish thanksgiving 12/1/2004 – smelt fishing 12/20/2004 – twenty years 1/1/2005 – bold

1/6/2005 – an ocean of music 1/19/2005 – flyin' it 2/18/2005 – home 3/6/2005 – the gold ring 3/15/2005 – lift me up 3/21/2005 – the hole in the hedge 3/24/2005 – greatness 4/24/2005 – heavy lifting 4/26/2005 – adventures 6/1/2005 – turning 6/3/2005 – discovery 6/17/2005 – done

Music Writing

Since 2001, I have been a regular contributor to Fiddler Magazine, a great publication that covers all styles of traditional fiddling. Recently, many of the articles I had written for the magazine were compiled in to book called Handy with the Stick, published by Mel Bay (purchase this book). Writing for the magazine has been a great opportunity for me to spend time with some great Irish fiddlers; the links below share those visits and some of the bits of information I've gathered up. Also below are some of the how-to columns that I’ve written for the magazine. The Ireland Journals are an erratic account of the time I spent in Limerick, learning how to play the fiddle.

Interviews

• Caoimhin O Raghallaigh
• Judy Hyman
• Tommy Peoples
• Séamus Connolly
• Junior Crehan
• Brendan McGlinchey
• Paddy Glackin
• Matt Cranitch
• Pete Sutherland
• Siobhán Peoples
• John Carty
• Séan Ryan: the Quiet Corner
• Aeroplanes out of Scrapheaps: Patrick Kelly from Cree
  (This is a 2.53 MB Word document, a thesis project from my master's degree in Limerick.)

Up your knees in sand: Practical hints on Irish fiddling

• Bow Exercises
• Figure Eight
• Jig Bowing
• Ornamentation in Irish Music
• Whelan's Bowing

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biography

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contact

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© Brendan Taaffe, 2005, 2009, 2011. All Rights Reserved.