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Friday, May 1, 2026

Trying to Sound Irish and Authentic


Fiddlers who play Irish tunes are oftentimes intentionally trying to sound Irish. Maybe you were a classically trained violinist or are coming from a bluegrass background, and now you're trying to get that other sound out of your playing and more of an Irish accent into your fiddling. 

I sometimes wonder if the same applies to Irish tenor banjo or if tenor banjo melody pluckers have more leeway? 

If you play basic versions of Irish tunes on tenor banjo, enough to get by in sessions, but you're not really adding typical banjo ornamentation like triplets, are you still playing Irish tenor banjo? 

Or let's say you do all the right things and have a 19-fret resonator tenor banjo tuned GDAE, play with a pick and make generous use of the characteristic triplets of Irish tenor banjo playing, but your repertoire focuses on American old-time, Québécois, and contra dance tunes instead of Irish trad. Are you still playing Irish tenor banjo? 

I also wonder where the line is between trying to sound authentic - as in trying to play with the ornamentation and other tropes that define "Irish" music, and trying to sound authentic - as in trying to sound like yourself even if that self happens to be an American who didn't grow up listening to Irish trad. 

Ultimately, the answer is probably to do whatever you want, as long as it sounds good to you. 


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