Five easy Irish tunes for tenor banjo, in learning order
Begin with a repeated phrase, then add jig rhythm, string crossings and longer runs. Each tune below links to one specific setting, with a skill to practise and a phrase to watch.
By TradTabPublished
- Start with
- The Rakes of Mallow, first eight bars
- You need
- A tenor banjo tuned GDAE
- Work in
- One- or two-bar phrases
- Your next challenge
- Drowsy Maggie
How to use this learning order
This is TradTab’s suggested progression through five settings already in the library. “Easy” means approachable in short phrases at a comfortable speed. The last two add longer runs and higher notes, and the archived settings include details you can learn later.
If the lines and numbers are new, begin with the playable tab-reading lesson. Then listen to your chosen tune before picking it out. Learn one phrase, repeat it, and connect it to the next.
Use the player’s speed control as a starting point and lower it when necessary. A useful checkpoint is two steady attempts with the phrase ending intact. This is a practice suggestion, not a deadline or a promise about how quickly you will learn.
1. The Rakes of Mallow: repeat a short phrase
Start with the first eight bars of this G-major setting. The opening alternates G and B, giving you a repeated shape to find before the moving notes arrive. The printed setting continues with variations, so learn the opening passage first.
Watch the phrase ending: C, B, A, G followed by F-sharp, G, A, C. Keep the descending notes even and leave space for the written rest at the end.
Practice task: play the opening eight bars twice at a comfortable speed. Add the later variations when you can return to the start without hunting for the first note.
2. Out on the ocean: feel two jig beats
This G-major jig introduces two groups of three in each bar. After the pickup, its first group descends D, C, B. The next three main notes are B, A, G.
Watch the grace notes: the small notes decorate the main melody. For a first pass, play the main notes without them. The player includes the printed ornaments, so use a slow speed to hear where each one fits.
Practice task: say “1 and a 2 and a” while playing the first complete bar. Then learn the first two bars together, keeping the held A in bar two for its full length. Work through the two parts in short phrases.
3. Saddle the pony: cross strings cleanly
This setting is in A Mixolydian. Its opening F-sharp, E, D leads to C-sharp and two repeated A notes. The repeated As let you settle the picking hand between moving phrases.
Watch the key: this setting uses G-natural. Do not assume every printed G is G-sharp because the tune centres on A. Other settings of a tune can differ.
Practice task: isolate the opening two bars, especially the jump back to E before the repeated As. Play them slowly enough that the crossing sounds as clear as the notes on one string. Then add the next two bars.
4. The boys of Bluehill: connect longer runs
Move on to this D-major hornpipe when the jig phrases feel comfortable. Its opening B, A, F-sharp, A returns to a held D, giving the running notes a clear place to land.
Watch the upper part: the second part reaches high B. On the top E string that is fret 7. Move your hand as needed instead of forcing the reach from one fixed position.
Practice task: play the opening two bars, then practise the first two bars of the second part separately. Listen to a played rendition for the hornpipe’s lilt; the archived notation and synthesised playback are a guide to the setting.
5. Drowsy Maggie: keep a reel moving
Use this as the next challenge after the first four. Its repeated low E gives the opening a recognisable anchor while the melody crosses between strings. The second part moves higher and needs its own practice time.
Watch the first E: it lasts two quavers. Count through the held note before the following B, E, D, E, B, E. Avoid shortening the E to make the crossing easier.
Practice task: repeat the first two bars slowly, then practise the join into bars three and four. Learn the higher second part separately before playing both parts together. Leave ornaments until the main phrase is reliable.
When you are ready to add more tunes
Choose the next tune from the musicians you want to play with. Ask for its name, key and a recording of their setting. Shared titles do not guarantee identical versions.
The 20 session tunes guide gives a broader repertoire list. The picking exercises help if a rhythm or crossing is holding you up.
The source labels above identify the settings used here. Open a tune to see its full notation and ABC source. Mandolin and octave mandola in GDAE can follow the same fret numbers; regenerate the tab for GDAD bouzouki in the converter.
Questions
Try the first eight bars of The Rakes of Mallow in the linked G-major setting. Its repeated G and B notes give you a short shape to practise before adding the moving phrases.
No fixed number makes you ready. Ask what the group plays and learn a few of their tunes and settings steadily. A beginner or slow session can offer a suitable place to start.
You can learn the main notes first, then add grace notes and other ornaments. Listen to the printed setting at a slow speed and keep its rhythm intact.
No. Each link selects one setting from the library. Keys, notes and ornamentation may differ from versions played locally.
Keep reading
Read the guidePicking patterns for reels, jigs and hornpipes
Start with a short group of notes and keep the pulse steady. These direction diagrams give you a starting pattern for reels and jigs, then show how to carry it into a tune.
Read the guideThe 20 tunes you'll actually hear at a session
Every session has its own repertoire, but a core of tunes turns up night after night, in Ireland and everywhere the music travels. Here are twenty of them, grouped by type, with free GDAE tab for each. Ten of these played steadily is enough to take part.
Read the guideIs the Irish tenor banjo hard to learn?
Easier than the fiddle, harder than it looks on YouTube. The notes come quickly and the right hand takes years. Here is an honest account of what is actually difficult, what is easier than people expect, and how long it takes to be useful at a session.