Let’s face it, the banjo isn’t the first instrument one would associate with Irish music. Back in the day, a very limited number of early recordings of Irish music used the banjo, most notable among these were the recordings of Mike Flanagan who displayed a particular skill in adopting this instrument for Irish traditional tunes. It wasn’t until the early ‘60s that the banjo really found its own among the traditional music community when Barney McKenna, founding member of The Dubliners, took it to greater heights and across the globe. With the recent rise in popularity of bluegrass and folk bands, such as Mumford & Sons, the banjo has never been so cool.
OAIM provides two comprehensive courses on tenor banjo technique for new and aspiring banjo players. Paddy Cummins offers lessons for those already familiar with playing, focusing on ornaments in the context of the ‘musicality’; while Lisa Canny, teaches Banjo Basics for absolute beginners. Scroll down for the courses.
All of our tutors are Irish music professionals carefully selected for individual mastery in their instruments and proven ability in teaching their craft. All our courses follow the traditional way of learning Irish music, using the ‘phrase by phrase’ technique for teaching tunes while watching the tutor to learn good technique. Using this time-honoured, proven system of Irish musical tuition, combined with the latest technology (Virtual Reality anyone?!), we bring Irish music tuition to you, wherever you are in the world.
