Walls of Liscarroll Set
These were the first three jigs I learned on the fiddle as an adult, well into my 40s: The Walls of Liscarroll, Old Joe’s Jig, and Gillian’s Apples. A YouTube link is below. I started playing the fiddle when I was about 12, but I didn’t make much of an effort back then, and by the age of 16 or so I had abandoned the instrument altogether. Still, no matter how rudely you do that, music doesn’t abandon you back. Fast-forward just shy of three decades, and there the instrument still was, not mad at me or anything. I had the opportunity to pick it back up, along with the Scottish highland bagpipes and smallpipes, and nine years later, I’m still at it.
I used an entry-level desktop area microphone to record the fiddle, bodhrán, tenor banjo, and octave mandolin tracks, one after the other. (I started playing the latter three instruments about four years ago.) All the tracks were first-take, and I used a compressor in post-production.
Recording yourself is the truth, right? It’s the sonic equivalent of looking at yourself in one of those magnifying mirrors with the lights around the edge. You hear absolutely everything when you listen to yourself on a recording: the “I’m pleased with that,” as well as the, “Good grief, that could stand some improvement.” For example, in these three jigs, I can hear I’m out of tune on the fiddle here and there, and there … and there … and there. I also lose the groove on all the instruments from time to time, which in spots makes the ensemble sound like a laddered stocking looks. There are other peccadilloes and all. But it’s still fun and fulfilling. I’ll keep practicing.
I took all the photos in the back garden over the course of two days. I’ve let the place grow somewhat wild, so the plants have made their own ways. Some of the animals are residents back there; some are passing through. They’re all very welcome.
