If you play guitar and love traditional music of the British Isles, then Traditional Music of the British Isles for Electric Guitar is for you. With this book, you get to play the tunes themselves, rather than being stuck on chord duty.
These arrangements work particularly well for electric guitar, but there’s no reason you can’t play them on acoustic.
This book is ideal for the intermediate-level guitarist, with 17 traditional tunes, arranged to be played with your electric guitar plugged-in. The transformation that occurs in switching from acoustic to electric instruments adds an unmistakable Celtic rock element to the author’s companion recording.
The tunes are all played twice through on the recording and transcribed note-for-note in the book. The recording features backup from both electric bass and a second electric guitar, often played with a slide and a little “dirt” thrown into the mix. Skilful bodhrán and djembe playing on many of the tracks adds to the dynamic nature of the recording.
Many of these tunes can be played in lower positions but a few venture as high as the 14th fret.
When you purchase the book, you get access to online audio for each tune. In the book, each tune is written out, exactly as heard, in standard notation and guitar tablature.
Listen to a couple of examples here, to get a feel for what the book is about.
This is the Rights of Man, an Irish Hornpipe
And this is the Irish reel, Toss the Feathers
These are the tunes you’ll find in this collection:
- Old John’s Jig
- Hunt the Squirrel
- Arthur Darley’s Jig
- The Rose in the Heather
- The Cliffs of Moher
- The Peacock Follow the Hen
- The Boys of Bluehill
- The Rights of Man
- The Dashing White Sergeant
- Davy Davy Knick Knack
- Jenny Lind
- Reel in A
- The Horses Branle
- The Gravel Walks
- The Humours of Tulla
- The Morning Dew
- Toss the Feathers
- The Star of Munster