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Irish music and Quebec Folk Music [Busking Thread]
Hey Ashtray
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey guys, my friend and I want to hit the streets and play some traditional Irish music to make a little money and have a lot of fun. I'm a decent whistle player and he's a great guitar player. I've found hundreds of Irish jigs online, but my problem is I don't know this genre, so I don't know which ones are well known if any.
Also, I live in Montreal, so the opportunity to play some traditional French music would probably go over well, but again I'm not from here and I don't know what tunes in this genre people would know. Any suggestions would be great.
And the third question is: I know busking is a 30 second audience, but what I want is to have enough variation in my set with waltzes, 4/4, 6/8, jigs, slower tunes etc. In irish music what are the different names of styles that denote tempo and time signature, like jigs or reels? I am unlearned and want to have a varied set, because god knows all these tunes sound the same after a while.
Thanks a lot, and if you're in Montreal hopefully I'll see you on the street soon enough, haha.
Edit: Also, as a fourth option, you can suggest some great modern celtic tunes that people will know, like anything by Great Big Sea or what have you. We probably need to do some of those, as our goal is to make money by playing tunes people recognize.
Also, I live in Montreal, so the opportunity to play some traditional French music would probably go over well, but again I'm not from here and I don't know what tunes in this genre people would know. Any suggestions would be great.
And the third question is: I know busking is a 30 second audience, but what I want is to have enough variation in my set with waltzes, 4/4, 6/8, jigs, slower tunes etc. In irish music what are the different names of styles that denote tempo and time signature, like jigs or reels? I am unlearned and want to have a varied set, because god knows all these tunes sound the same after a while.
Thanks a lot, and if you're in Montreal hopefully I'll see you on the street soon enough, haha.
Edit: Also, as a fourth option, you can suggest some great modern celtic tunes that people will know, like anything by Great Big Sea or what have you. We probably need to do some of those, as our goal is to make money by playing tunes people recognize.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Hey Ashtray on
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I've been doing Irish music for a while now and one thing I can definitely tell you is the vast majority of people don't keep a working knowledge of popular Irish tunes, especially instrumentals. We do very well-known things like Rights of Man, the Kesh Jig, Star of the County Down, Wild Mountain Thyme, etc. People are always asking us if they're original compositions. The only song that never prompts that question is Danny Boy (yeah, you need to know it but only on request).
So basically just do whatever you like and whatever sounds good. As long as it's catchy and sounds Irish, people pay attention, especially to upbeat things like Wild Rover, Black Velvet Band, Whiskey in the Jar, etc.
The important thing is that you sound good and look like friendly music makers, rather than a pair of beggars that happen to have a guitar.
You may even want to throw in a pop tune once in a while. A girl I know got her best response when playing acoustic versions of Madonna songs, of all things, but that might not work if your singer is a guy.
I always get more tips when I sing Hit Me Baby One More Time. Any night I sing that song, there's a noticeable increase in the amount of money in the jar.
I'm a tenor, though, so YMMV.
For now, it's just acoustic guitar and whistle.