Customer Reviews

Mel Bay presents Irish Fiddle Playing 2: Guide for the Serious Player

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Mostly well done. Shows lots of variations and in doing so, teaches you how to go about improvising on your own. Some of the tunes are not presented in the usual key, which can be viewed as either annoying or innovative, depending on your viewpoint. Althought his mantra is "SLOW DOWN", most tunes are played at a rip-roaring speed, which can be frustrating to the developing player, although he does include a selection played at slower speeds. Very similar to his Volume 1 in style; one should not assume Vol. 2 is more advanced. Neither is suitable for anyone below intermediate level, and if you can't read music, this is not for you. For more basic instruction, check out Pete Cooper's book. The similarities between these books are that both men came to fiddling later in life and so take a somewhat scholarly and outsider's view of what's going on, which is not to say that the material is less valuable. They both have some good advice on how to become a better player, which is after all, the goal.