Can't get over how great this little jig is.  I keep listening to it!  Great track!

At a post-concert session, I had the enormous pleasure of playing with the great piper Paddy Keenan.  When it was my turn to kick off a tune, I launched into "The Yellow Wattle" in dead man's tuning playing it pretty much as I do here (actually did it a bit better that night).  I started out on just 2 strings, then added the high D the second time through, then finished by hitting the low D a good bit.  Each time I added a string, he glanced my way with a raised eyebrow.  At the end of the tune he turned to me and said, "How many strings you got on that thing, anyway?!"  I was later told that was a high compliment among old school Irish Trad players, and I got it from one of the greats.  It is a treasured memory.

The Yellow Wattle (DDAD)

I am an amateur multi-instrumentalist with a passion for playing Irish Traditional Music on anything with strings (mandolin, guitar, banjo, fiddle, octave mandolin, mandola).  I also enjoy performing folk and old time music.  I created this page mainly as a way of sharing tunes with people interested in learning to play Irish Trad.  I play all tracks here in a way that I hope makes them accessible.  I play them musically, but simply, avoiding a lot of the repetition, ornamentation, or variation I might use if performing them publicly.  
I include here 50 common session tunes played on mando.  These tracks, broken down into three playlists, are intended to help anyone new to Irish Trad to pick up some popular tunes to enjoy playing at home, or better yet, at a session.  I also have lists for Irish banjo, Celtic guitar, O'Carolan tunes, and selected mando tracks of tunes people have especially liked.
 
For those interested in knowing what instruments I use:  
Guitar tracks are recorded with a Martin D-28 Custom (1984),  a Larrivee OM-02 (2019), a Larrivee D-50 (2003), a Kalamazoo (Gibson) tenor (1936), or an Eastman AC 320 B (2007).
Banjo tracks are recorded with an Epiphone Recording A (1928) or a Bacon and Day Silver Bell No. 1 (1927).
Mando tracks are recorded with a Gibson A-1 (1916), a Collings MT (2011), a Collings MT2 (2019), or an Eastman 605 (2009). 
Octave mandolin tunes are recorded with a Petersen Level 1 (2012).
Mandola tunes are recorded with a Eugene Howard mandola (1890s).
I use a Zoom H2n, and edit tracks using Audacity (cuts, fade outs, noise removal, amplification, compression, equalization).

Comments

Don Jennings

Don Jennings

Don Jennings

Lack of Me

Alex Long