MHL 149 Traditional Irish Music 3 credits

Irish Music Courses in Ireland 2007!!

July 6 - August 6, 2007

fiddle
photo credit: www.shannonregiontourism.ie

1. MHL 149--Traditional Irish Music

3 credits

Prerequisite: none

MHL149 is a music history appreciation course that will be fun and lively look at Irish music. It will be part classroom-based and also an immersion experience where you will listen to the music LIVE in venues such as sessiuns (sessions) in pubs, fairs, cultural centers, concerts, festivals and more. This course will be an engaging and interactive experience with guest artists, site visits, in-class demonstrations and interviews with traditional artists.

Within this format, we will explore the colorful history and culture of traditional Irish music: the history, instruments, styles, musical elements, performance venues, related arts and the principal artists and proponents of the music. For those also interested in playing or singing, you will want to also sign up for the Irish Music Ensemble, MUP181, see below. We will examine the musical culture in the context of contemporary world music issues and the preservation of the tradition. One of the issues we will look at is, how does Irish traditional music stay so vibrant and strong in light of its popularity--will it change now that it is becoming more commercialized? How were popular artists like Enya, the Cranberries and Coors, the Pogues and others influenced by traditional Irish music?

Athlone is in the center of the country and there is an active music scene there with many traditional musicians. July and August is the height of festival season in Ireland and Sean's Pub in Athlone, purported to be the oldest continuously operating pub in Ireland & England, has a regular session on Sunday afternoons. But best of all, we will get a chance to travel to Galway for several days where some of the most exciting traditional musicians in the country reside and play on a regular basis!

The trip to Galway is included in your program fee but optional concerts in Galway and extra weekend field trips to sessions, festivals and concerts will be extra. There is no course fee, but please count on bringing at least 150 Euros ($200) extra for optional listening adventures! You will be required to attend at least 2 local music sessions or events that will be within walking distance or a cab ride from the apartments on your own, but extra listening trips will be with our own funds.

You don't have to be a musician or a music major for this course, everyone is welcome--Irish music is very accessible and the people are
very open to sharing their culture with visitors. You will have an extraordinary opportunity to get up close with some fabulous musicians and learn about the music than you ever could in a lecture course back home.

There will be a required textbook for the course that includes a CD, and there will several assignments and listening exercises.

2. MHL 181--Irish Music Ensemble

1 credit

Prerequisite: none

This course will be a performance-based music ensemble to explore and play Irish music while in Ireland for both beginners and experienced players. Anyone can participate as long as you are motivated to play or sing—anyone can sing and its relatively easy to learn to play the penny whistle. This will be a fun, participatory overview of Irish traditional music. We will work on standard sessiun (sessions) tunes and songs played and sung throughout Ireland, plus some Irish-American tunes and songs.

Students will be able to earn ONE credit in this course for the time they spend playing music while in Ireland.

Note: students must enroll in at least 6 credits for the study abroad program—this course is up and beyond the basic requirement and will cost extra.

As part of the course, students will be able to play at sessions and festivals in public depending on the opportunities and schedules. For those just beginning, there will be regular practices of the ensemble just with MCC students--you can play within the time we have allotted for the ensemble and as your confidence builds you may try out a song or tune at a session. For those already able to play an instrument or sing, there will be opportunities to participate at sessions several days of the week.

After the course is over we hope to have at least one or more sessions or concerts back home for reunions or promotional events for the Study Abroad Program.

The course will complement the other 3 cr. music course being offered, MHL149 Irish Traditional Music, so you are strongly encouraged to enroll in both.

Please see the note above on the trip to Galway and optional evening and weekend music adventures!

There will be recommended tune books, songbooks and CDs for the course with standard tunes and songs you would hear in Ireland.

If you have questions please contact me, we look forward to you participating in this exciting experience!

Chas Moore

Faculty, MCC Library

480-461-7686

cmoore@mail.mc.maricopa.edu

Helpful links:

Irish Music-wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Ireland

The Irish Music Session

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_traditional_music_session