Press Releases
Traditional Irish Music Lessons are a Hit on YouTube
San Diego, California, 7 March, 2007
With St. Patrick’s Day just a week away anyone might enjoy a rousing reel, appreciate a slow air on the pipes, or feel like dancing a jig.
Even so, who would imagine that Irish traditional music, or “trad” could compete for attention against hip-hop, rock, and other forms of so-called “popular” music. But compete it does. San Diego area musician Michael Eskin blasted into the top-50 ranking for musicians on YouTube within weeks of launching his online lesson site TradLessons.com. Eskin’s site has experienced over 10,000 downloads of over 40 videos in just the first month.
Eskin, who plays professionally and runs several local Irish sessions, notes that San Diego is privileged to have an active trad music scene. “People often have a tough time finding teachers who specialize in Irish trad,” says Eskin, “especially those who live in remote areas, or cities where there is not a strong community of Irish session players.”
TradLessons.com provides videos from which students anywhere in the world can learn traditional music the traditional way - by watching and listening. Each video features a single tune played once at normal speed, then again slowly, so students can see and hear how it is played. Difficult or tricky passages are given special attention. Reading music is not required, indeed, no written music is provided.
Lessons are offered for a variety of instruments, including tin whistle, guitar, and flute. Students may request tunes for future videos. There is no charge for the lessons, but many students support the project with donations made via PayPal directly from the site. Anglo concertina and Uilleann bagpipes will be added over time. The site also includes links to additional resources.
“There’s tremendous enthusiasm for this music worldwide,” says Eskin, who has played in sessions from Ireland to Japan, “but resources for learning the tunes from live players have been scarce. I hope TradLessons.com can help more players enjoy participating in this great social and musical tradition.”
Booking and Media contact:
Michael Eskin
eskin@tradlessons.com
(619) 368-1854