When Mick Moloney told me that Enda Scahill, the prominent Irish tenor banjo player, had a banjo tutor coming out I was excited. Mick stated categorically that this was going to be the best book/CD combination of its type so my expectations were high, to say the least.
I probably have every Irish banjo tutorial including Gerry O'Connor's tapes/CDs/books/CD-ROM and Sully's tapes/books, have read everything that there is on the Net in the way of “how-to” and have taken classes with a number of prominent players after which I have tried to find the essence of the class and write about it at http://www.banjosessions.com. When “Enda Scahill's Irish Banjo Tutor” arrived yesterday, I eagerly dove into it to see if it lived up to the hype.
I received two books, the tutor and an accompanying TAB version of the tunes. While I don't use TAB at all, I knew that this addendum was specifically written for the overseas market so I felt that I could not review it for North American readers unless I looked at that part too. (By the way, the postage was USD13 from Ireland which is included in the price, maybe Enda can work out a distribution deal with Mel Bay.)
The tutor is 76 pages and two CDs of exercises and tunes. A lot of thought went into the design of the book and you can tell that this is a labor of love and teaching experience. The TAB book is in black and white and designed to substitute TAB for notation.
Churchill once observed that the United States and Great Britain were “two countries divided by a common language.” North American users might find some of the usage a little different, but once you change your vocabulary the meaning becomes quite clear. Here are a few translations: pluck = to pick; plectrum = pick; velum = head; quaver = eighth note; crochet = quarter note. Most of the rest is the same.
It is a little strange at first to find a long section on “Correct Plucking” and not think about chickens, but you get used to it. And as you will see, “correct plucking” is the essence of the book.
The tutor starts out with very basic technique including holding the banjo, good posture and alignment and the admonition to RELAX. Don't skip over this part, relaxation is the key to good technique and later on to both speed and precision. I suspect that this is the least understood aspect of banjo playing yet there is no performance skill in any field that does not require relaxation in order to be quick and efficient. If you are relaxed then only those muscles needed to perform are working. Any use of other muscle groups will only slow you down or change your posture leading to poor performance. Next comes correct alignment, right and left hand placement and how to hold the pick/plectrum.
A lot of this is already familiar to many of you, but don't overlook it. The pick hold was especially important to me since I hold my pick exactly the same way Enda does while Mick Moloney told me he held it “the wrong way” but was too far along to change. The main point of holding the pick is written in all capitals: “DO NOT SQUEEZE!” which is very good advice and goes along with the relaxation meme.
If you go to the web site (http://endascahill.com/Enda_Scahill...ll_Home.html) you will see that one of the main selling points is a “structured set of rules for plucking” that is the heart of his system. Once you are automatically using the system, you can advance fairly quickly to more interesting things. In any performance field basic technique has to be learned and internalized before the more sophisticated techniques can happen. Otherwise you are just going through the motions and will never achieve the consistency and efficiency that hallmarks master level players. In addition you will never achieve any kind of style. It is clear that Enda understands this concept because he is very adamant that you always play this way. (“Always means Always” he says although there is one exception.) From this base he builds the rest of ideas all the way into very advanced playing.
This is what I really like about the tutorial. It is comprehensive and complete built around a logical system of right hand use. He calls the right hand the engine of the music. This is an insight shared by almost every teacher I have come across (Andy Statman, Peter Ostroushko, Gerry O'Connor, Roland White all said exactly the same thing) and it is my experience that right hand technique has to be learned before you can improve. The entire book is mostly about developing right hand technique.
He does touch on left hand techniques, but only to show how he does it. In the back of the book there is a fretboard map and fingering chart which uses mandolin fingering, the most popular method around. But he refers you to the map when he discusses left hand and only when he talks about reaching the high B (and at one point a high C#) does he become more specific.
I play a different system of left hand, the cello method learned from Gerry O'Connor, but the differences regarding the problem of second and third position are so little that I found his ideas helpful. The main point is that left hand technique is not anywhere as important as right hand technique. Andy Statman says that the differential is 90/10 in favor of the right hand.
More advanced players may find the CDs a little boring as Enda plays the majority of tunes slowly and clearly. Don't be fooled by this. If you skip over these tunes you are missing out on the basic technique and later on you may find yourself in trouble if you try some of the more advanced stuff. In addition the advanced material is very good, especially the part on variation.
Those of you who grew up with bluegrass or old time music will appreciate the part about variation. I find that I have no problems at all using variation in American styles of music. It seems to come naturally and most likely is the product of years of listening to the music. Variation in Irish music is more difficult for me because I am not thinking in those terms yet. I can understand them when I hear them but I don't incorporate the “Irish” changes automatically. The section on variation was very valuable to me and is one I will have to go over time and again. When I coupled it with listening to my Enda Scahill CDs, it makes even more sense.
Overall and in particular this book is worth the money and the wait. It is, as Mick Moloney stated, the most comprehensive book on the subject, but more important it is a book with a logical system and clear goals for the student. In addition it teaches a large number of tunes that you will enjoy. Each tune is played on the CDs and each tune has a lesson to teach.
Are there problems with the book? Yes, sort of, mostly very little things. For example when discussing his string choices he puts them in mm sizes that have to be wrong (I think he meant inches instead and then off by a power – his string range is .040 in to .011 in., not .40 mm which would be .015 in.) On the other hand his advice about a wound A string is great.
Initially I objected to the term “velum” thinking it was a misspelling. However he is correct. “Vellum” is a calf skin, “velum” is any membrane. Of course we know it as a “head.”
My advice is to get this book, read it through many times and listen to the CDs over and over. If you are able to, go to a workshop or tutorial featuring Enda Scahill, he obviously knows what he is doing.
MJ Keyes
13 December 2008
The banjo (-> FW#32) had been developed in North America from instruments brought by African slaves. It became the dominant instrument in black-face minstrel shows, many musicians being Irish-Americans. The five-string banjo was introduced as an accompanying instrument for songs (e.g. the travelling Dunne family -> FW#32); the four-string tenor banjo was taken up for playing dance music (e.g. Gerry O'Connor -> FW#30). According to Mick Moloney in the foreword of Enda Scahill's Irish Banjo Tutor, Enda Scahill (-> FW#34) is a gifted banjo player blessed with extraordinary technique, yet he never allows himself to get carried away by his technical abilities. Enda has taught the banjo from Willie Clancy School in the west of Ireland to all over Europe and North America, including a number of subsequent All-Ireland champions. There is no definitive way of playing the banjo. So Enda did develop a set of rules, focussing on a proper right hand technique. (Fingering with the left hand his less important, and differences are only slight.) Most of the problems that occur around rhythm, dropped notes, missed trebles etc can be attributed to incorrect plucking and of course, tension. After the instruments' basics, he quickly gets into plucking and is quite fussy. The first tune is "Crowley's Reel" followed by some more 4/4 reels and hornpipes (if reel playing is good, jig playing will be simple) to practise and perfect the rules of plucking and develop skills. Enda introduces ornamentation (treble, triplet, slides, hammering, pullings), variation, and two and three string melodic chords for rhythmical effects. He also includes a tune to practise the little finger to reach the High B on the 7th fret. Hints include plectrums and gauge strings (he prefers an unusual wound A string instead of the usual plain steel A string which he feels is too twangy). The tutor is probably the most comprehensive to date, useful for both beginners and more experienced players -- especially if you can't make it to one of his workshops.
Folks, this work, a scrupulous labour of love, is a no-nonsense tutor and treasure trove of tunes, beautifully presented, and I like having a first edition copy, complete with an insert noting some very minor publishing errors. Just the fact that it has such an insert is indicative of the exacting detail to which Enda has gone to present these materials. Such conscientiousness is to be commended.
Enda’s tutor is a major effort, a great musical outpouring, with clean stock tunes and some interesting (fun) tune choices. This is one every tenor (or 5-string) banjo player needs to have out on the music stand. The two CDs are an added bonus, extremely well recorded, and once again, reveal a thoroughly logical and patient approach to teaching. The tunes are lovely and none of it is too fast, though intermediate and more advance players will probably want to start on the second CD. Take Mike’s advice and go through all the exercises and the timing and separation between the notes. And relax. Remember to breathe. The first CD is almost meditative and will surely calm down and/or discipline an overanxious beginner who would tend to rush into things.
I was delighted to see such a clear explanation of the stuttered trebles and triplets, (where the first two notes are dampened), and hearing them on the CD brought it all to life. I love the high quality glossy paper, the fact that I can read the notation without my reading glasses, and I’ll you what, this book even smells good!
"As a professional musician, music educator, and mulit-instrumentalist, I have always been interested in discovering and learning from informative tutorials. Enda Scahill’s well conceived and inspiring Banjo Tutor ranks amongst the very best of tutorials available in the world of Irish traditional music instruction.
With not an obscure tune amongst the 50 tunes included, the student can be confident that the music learned, might also be played with other traditional instrumentalists. Along with a straight forward and easy to practice standard on how to play triplets and trebles, Enda also teaches a variety of important left hand techniques that will add colour and interest to any tune. Enda’s settings for the more advanced tunes are always fun, challenging, and serve to bring the student to higher level, both technically and musically.
This tutorial is a must have, and I am looking forward to Volume II!"
