Michael McCague: “There’s great freedom in Irish music.”
Michael McCague is a guitar and bouzouki player from County Monaghan. He’s played with a variety of outstanding traditional musicians over the years, including as part of both At First Light and At The Racket. He plays a weekly session in Tigh Coili in Galway and has just finished recording an album with Hugh Healy,…
Conor O’Loughlin: “You form friendships very easily through music.”
Conor O’Loughlin is a concertina player from Corofin in County Clare. He has been playing since he was 8 years old and has won a host of prizes both individually and with bands at All-Ireland Fleadhs over the years. Born into a musical family in Ireland’s musical heartlands, Conor also has a passion for passing…
Study in the fast lane
Darren is a young man to watch out for – he’s 20 years old, intelligent, and immensely driven. His dream is to become signed to a record label, and he wants to start pursuing it now. With skills in singing, piano, guitar and saxophone, Darren’s got the artistry behind him, but it’s the marketing skills…
Lesson of the Day: ‘That Music You’re Dancing To? It’s Code’
Find all our Lessons of the Day here. Lesson Overview Featured Article: “That Music You’re Dancing To? It’s Code” Collectives in cities around the world are bringing computer languages to the club. Students learn about this new approach to music-making and make predictions about how it might shape the future. Warm Up Watch the following…
Lesson of the Day: ‘How Pop Music Fandom Became Sports, Politics, Religion and All-Out...
Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.Lesson OverviewFeatured Article: “How Pop Music Fandom Became Sports, Politics, Religion and All-Out War” by Joe CoscarelliOn social media in 2020, “the stan was ascendant,” reports Joe Coscarelli, a Times culture reporter. How did music fan culture…
Making an Argument Via Descriptive Detail: Music Reviews
Now read something written by a student. In her 2018 winning entry, Isabella Levine reviews “Anthem of the Peaceful Army,” the debut album by the rock band Greta Van Fleet. Here’s the sentence at the end of the first paragraph that best captures her opinion of the album: The seeds of a potential rock revival…
Music Notes
What is this image saying? How does it relate to or comment on society or current events? Can you relate to it personally? What is your opinion of its message?Tell us in the comments, then read the related Opinion essay to find out what it means.Find many more ways to use our Picture Prompt feature…
Dermot Sheedy: “In my course, I teach that you can apply the beats that...
Dermot Sheedy is a bodhrán player, percussionist and drummer from County Clare. Dermot started playing the bodhrán aged 6 and has 25 years experience of the instrument. A professional musician for the last ten years, he is a member of the Limerick band Hermitage Green, as part of which he has toured the world and…
Film Club: ‘Music and Clowns’
Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.“Music and Clowns” is an eight-minute animated film that touches on themes of family, disability and love. In the Op-Doc, the filmmaker, Alex Widdowson, searches for insights into his brother Jaime, who has Down syndrome and is…
Launching Alison’s Irish Traditional Music Courses!
Alison is delighted to announce the publication of our free online Irish Traditional Music courses, produced by some of Ireland’s most talented musicians. As an Irish company, Alison is proud of Ireland’s rich musical heritage and is excited to offer these free courses to our growing community of over 20 million Learners worldwide. The project…
