Author: Folk_Friend

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Strumming patterns

The “Faith” funky reel strumming pattern

Welcome back to another Celtic guitar accompaniment tutorial from Folk Friend! This week I’ll be demonstrating the “Faith” strumming pattern which is mentioned in my first book, Backing Guitar Techniques For Traditional Celtic Music which you can buy here

Eagle eyed viewers will notice that my guitar is in DADGAD tuning- I’m currently working on a complete beginners guide book to accompanying folk music by ear using this tuning so watch this space ;).

The guitar I’m playing is an AWESOME Turner 75CE jumbo electro-acoustic with solid spruce top and rosewood back and sides… If you’re looking for an amazing sounding guitar for accompanying Irish music at only £550 brand new then I really can’t recommend this one enough! Find out more on the Finale Guitar online shop by clicking here.

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Protected: Irish session accompaniment workshop

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Celtic music theory Chord scales for modes

Inversions for Irish guitarists part 2: chords in A major for Ger The Rigger

Here’s another video from Folk Friend Celtic Guitar Tutorials, celebrating the release of my latest book (see below) with a guide to how to use inversion shapes for Irish and general Celtic guitar accompaniment in the key of A major / ionian! I’ll be using an Irish polka called Ger The Rigger which you can find in the Folk Friend tune playalongs pack with on-screen guitar chords and played on a loop at three different speeds- perfect for practicing your Irish guitar backing!

Guitarist’s Guide To Chord Inversions Book

Tune Playalongs

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Folky Fridays #55 – The wily mixolydian mode and its peculiarities

This week’s Folky Fridays free online guitar lesson live stream from Folk Friend will be all about the mixolydian mode. This mode has some peculiarities which can be exploited for lots of guitar accompaniment fun, so I’ll be running you through some fun things you can do in standard tuning (EADGBE), drop D (DADGBE) and DADGAD tuning.
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Folk Friend meets Frank Kilkelly, author of Accompanying Irish Music On Guitar

This week I was lucky enough to interview an absolute giant of the Irish guitar world, Frank Kilkelly! Known as a guitarist, singer and teacher, Frank has played with loads of amazing musicians from Brendan Power to Sharon Shannon, to Boys of The Lough. He is also the author of Accompanying Irish Music On Guitar, which presents a hands on “learn by playing” approach. In this clip we talk guitars, tunings, history and Tommy Peoples’ accordion lamps!

Huge thanks to Quentin for setting up this interview.

Get Frank’s book here: https://irishtradguitar.com/volume-1-2/

Here are Frank’s various social media:
Facebook Irish Guitar page.
Website
Video Courses
Patreon page
Youtube channel

Plus the accordion lamps

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Battle of the Irish guitar tunings: EADGBE (standard) VS Drop D VS DADGAD – Which is best?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHWUclFN9nU

By popular demand on Folk Friend: IT’S THE BATTLE OF THE TUNINGS! Folky heavyweight DADGAD will be defending its Irish guitar title belt against versatile veteran EADGBE and plucky underdog drop D as we determine once and for all: what is the ultimate Irish trad guitar tuning?!

Watch my John Doyle series here for more drop D chord shapes and tricks.

I recently finished writing a complete Beginner’s Guide To Celtic DADGAD Accompaniment! You can find it here.

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Folky Fridays #54 – A very slow session with chord ideas to practice!

This week’s Folky Fridays free online guitar lesson live stream from Folk Friend will be something of an experiment- I’m going to play some tunes very slowly and suggest some chord ideas for you to try at home. Hopefully this will be a nice way to practice some new ideas in context and swap thoughts with other guitarists!

If you’re looking for loads of slow Irish tunes to practice along with, with on-screen guitar chords, chord diagrams and lots more then become a Folk Friend member to take advantage of the playalongs series by clicking here.

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Fingerstyle Folky Fridays

Folky Fridays #53 – The easiest way to write fingerstyle arrangements for tunes in G and E minor

This week’s Folky Fridays free online guitar lesson live stream from Folk Friend will be covering a very simple way that you can write your own fingerstyle arrangements of tunes in G major or E minor. This technique can also be used to incorporate little segments from melodies into your chordal accompaniment.

My full jazzy arrangement of Tell Her I Am can be found in my first collection of fingerstyle guitar pieces, available here:

Irish Tunes For Fingerstyle Guitar – E-book edition

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Drop D Folky Fridays

Folky Fridays #52 – A short guide to drop D tuning, with power chords, triads and tetrads+!


This week’s Folky Fridays free online guitar lesson live stream from Folk Friend will be all about drop D tuning. This versatile tuning is hugely popular amongst Irish trad guitarists and can be used in a huge range of keys for super low bass notes.

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Folky Fridays

Folky Fridays #51 – Irish tunes from the Finale Guitar shop in Sheffield, with Theo Parmakis

This week’s Folky Fridays free online guitar lesson live stream from Folk Friend is something special in honour of 50 episodes in the series- I’ll be welcoming my friend Theo to Finale Guitar to live stream some tunes! Theo is a man of many talents- as well being a fantastic banjo player, programming various useful bits of musical software (see below) and being a veritable library of music theory knowledge he also builds exquisite cellos and violins.

As well as playing tunes and drinking tea we’ll also be discussing approaches to harmony, the theory of Celtic music and all sort of other useful tidbits so join us on Friday 30th April 2021 from 5:30GMT!

Here are Theo’s various websites and social media profiles: Parmakis instruments

Theo’s Chord Generator (as used in all my books and lessons)

Clawhammer Banjo Lessons

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