This instructional CD ROM is designed to make the learning experience as easy as possible for you the student. If you don't read music you can learn how to in the ‘Reading Music’ section. Irish traditional music isn't too difficult to read because the rhythms of the tunes tend to be similar, and bars and phrases tend to be repeated.

We suggest that when you move onto the dance tunes (the jigs, reels and hornpipes) you firstly read the text that deals with how the tune is played. Then go to the video clips and learn from them. You will see that there are separate video clips for each part of the tune. So, you learn the first part of the tune and then move onto the second part (and third etc. when that is the case). Then, when you know the parts of the tune, you can play the full tune along with the tutor.

The normal structure of traditional dance tunes is AABB which means you play the first part (A) and then play it again before moving onto the second part (B) and repeating that. The notation represents what is played in the video clips of each separate part. When you're unsure of something simply check the musical notation to verify. Irish music is an oral tradition and the best way to learn is to listen to (and watch) the great players.

You will notice that sometimes there are small variations between what you have learnt and what the tutor plays in the full version of the tune. This is one of the most important features of Irish music and, once you are comfortable playing the tune, you might like to check out the variations.

The Beginners’ section firstly presents the tunes without ornaments so that it is easy to learn the melody. Then ornaments are added to the same tunes, building in difficulty in a gradual manner. The Advanced section presents the tunes to you with ornamentation included from the start. These tunes are expectedto be more challenging. In this section you will begin hear how the great players interpret tunes.