I thought some members would be interested to know that a new expanded edition of "Irish Traditional Fiddle Music" has just been published. It was originally released in 1977 (the little blue book) and it consisted of the 3 volumes of tunes we brought out between '73-'75. A larger edition with the green cover appeared in 1980. This is the first truly revised edition and it now has 235 tunes (up from 221), all based on recordings and live performances of some of the great Irish fiddlers of the 20th century: Andy McGann, Paddy Cronin, Paddy Reynolds, Denis Murphy, Julia Clifford, Sean McGuire, Paddy Canny, Sean Ryan and others. I have gone through each tune to insure accurate transcriptions. Caoimhin Mac Aoidh of Co. Donegal has kindly provided extensive notes on the tunes and sources. Musical Traditions, the web e-zine, has just posted an excellent review: http://mustrad.org.uk/reviews/itfm.htm
Space limits further points, but I would be happy to answer any questions. The book is available through my website, http://www.randymillerprints.com
Cheers -- Randy Miller
Great to hear it. I learned a lot from your book. Mine has faded to a point that it isn't blue anymore. I'll look forward to looking over the new edition. Have you changed the beaming on the reels? I always found the four groups of two a little disconcerting--not that it stopped me from learning the tunes by any means.
dwdeacon, thanks for the kind words. Yes, the beams are changed to groups of 4. The book is also larger (8.5"x7") and the music quite a bit easier to read (magnifying glass no longer needed), and I have added more of my decorative wood engravings. BTW, I used Barfly and Adobe InDesign to lay out the new book.
Do you know Henry Jankiewicz, fiddler from Syracuse? I met him a couple of years ago and enjoyed playing some tunes with him. Also, Tom Hodgson, one of the best guitar players in the US in my opinion, and I are playing at the Phylla Mae Dance Weekend in upstate NY in October '06.
Hi Randy. I know those people you're talking about (I play in the Syracuse area as well). Wonderful people. I've gotten a chance to play with Tom a handful of times and he indeed one of the best guitar players around. Small world!
Yes, Tom is one of the best guitar players anywhere. I'm always amazed at his sense of harmony. Henry too--Crysania and I, and Tom played at his wedding. Great musician too.
To Crysania & dwdeacon - glad to hear that you have played with Tom too, and at Henry's wedding no less! Small world indeed.
To Ken - Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the book. It will go out to you early next week as I will be out of town this weekend. I took a few minutes to look at the Riley School of Irish Music website and enjoyed it very much, including the mp3s.
I received my copy yesterday from Eldery Instruments (I didn't know I could order it directly). I haven't had time to dig into it, but it looks like a great design, especially for a tune book.
I liked your book so much I went to the trouble of creating a Master Index for the thing, quite a headache! Congrats with the new printing, is it true you were so taken with one of Jerry Holland's tunes so much you built a music box to play it?
New edition of ITFM tune book just released
New edition of ITFM tune book just released
I thought some members would be interested to know that a new expanded edition of "Irish Traditional Fiddle Music" has just been published. It was originally released in 1977 (the little blue book) and it consisted of the 3 volumes of tunes we brought out between '73-'75. A larger edition with the green cover appeared in 1980. This is the first truly revised edition and it now has 235 tunes (up from 221), all based on recordings and live performances of some of the great Irish fiddlers of the 20th century: Andy McGann, Paddy Cronin, Paddy Reynolds, Denis Murphy, Julia Clifford, Sean McGuire, Paddy Canny, Sean Ryan and others. I have gone through each tune to insure accurate transcriptions. Caoimhin Mac Aoidh of Co. Donegal has kindly provided extensive notes on the tunes and sources. Musical Traditions, the web e-zine, has just posted an excellent review:
http://mustrad.org.uk/reviews/itfm.htm
Space limits further points, but I would be happy to answer any questions. The book is available through my website,
http://www.randymillerprints.com
Cheers -- Randy Miller
# Posted on April 14th 2006 by celticladda
Re: New edition of ITFM tune book just released
Randy,
Great to hear it. I learned a lot from your book. Mine has faded to a point that it isn't blue anymore. I'll look forward to looking over the new edition. Have you changed the beaming on the reels? I always found the four groups of two a little disconcerting--not that it stopped me from learning the tunes by any means.
Your woodblocks enhanced the book greatly.
# Posted on April 14th 2006 by dwdeacon
Re: New edition of ITFM tune book just released
dwdeacon, thanks for the kind words. Yes, the beams are changed to groups of 4. The book is also larger (8.5"x7") and the music quite a bit easier to read (magnifying glass no longer needed), and I have added more of my decorative wood engravings. BTW, I used Barfly and Adobe InDesign to lay out the new book.
Do you know Henry Jankiewicz, fiddler from Syracuse? I met him a couple of years ago and enjoyed playing some tunes with him. Also, Tom Hodgson, one of the best guitar players in the US in my opinion, and I are playing at the Phylla Mae Dance Weekend in upstate NY in October '06.
# Posted on April 14th 2006 by celticladda
Re: New edition of ITFM tune book just released
Hi Randy. I know those people you're talking about (I play in the Syracuse area as well). Wonderful people. I've gotten a chance to play with Tom a handful of times and he indeed one of the best guitar players around. Small world!
# Posted on April 14th 2006 by Crysania
Re: New edition of ITFM tune book just released
Yes, Tom is one of the best guitar players anywhere. I'm always amazed at his sense of harmony. Henry too--Crysania and I, and Tom played at his wedding. Great musician too.
# Posted on April 14th 2006 by dwdeacon
Re: New edition of ITFM tune book just released
Randy,
Looks like a great edition. Just placed my order.
Ken
# Posted on April 14th 2006 by RogueFiddler
Re: New edition of ITFM tune book just released
To Crysania & dwdeacon - glad to hear that you have played with Tom too, and at Henry's wedding no less! Small world indeed.
To Ken - Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the book. It will go out to you early next week as I will be out of town this weekend. I took a few minutes to look at the Riley School of Irish Music website and enjoyed it very much, including the mp3s.
# Posted on April 14th 2006 by celticladda
Re: New edition of ITFM tune book just released
I received my copy yesterday from Eldery Instruments (I didn't know I could order it directly). I haven't had time to dig into it, but it looks like a great design, especially for a tune book.
# Posted on April 14th 2006 by Bob himself
Re: New edition of ITFM tune book just released
Hi Randy,
I liked your book so much I went to the trouble of creating a Master Index for the thing, quite a headache! Congrats with the new printing, is it true you were so taken with one of Jerry Holland's tunes so much you built a music box to play it?
# Posted on April 15th 2006 by Kevin Rietmann
Re: New edition of ITFM tune book just released
I just got mine. It looks great – what a nice, compact book. can't wait to really start digging into it. Thanks, Randy.
# Posted on May 3rd 2006 by fidkid