Celtic Guitar Lessons

Celtic tunes are jaunty, jolly and uplifting musical jewels from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Often fast paced, tunefully modal and frantically absorbing; Celtic melodies are the ideal accompaniment to a pint of Guinness. Although these tunes would have originally be played on a fiddle, they work just as well on guitar. When it came to which tunes to pick, the first tune I have chose to arrange is The Flogging Reel (a reel is a dance tune). Why? – simply because I liked the sound of the name. However, once I started to play it I found it to be a most enjoyable piece of performance music. Here is the tune and the chords arranged with the guitarist in mind – enjoy!

The Flogging Reel (tune)

The Flogging Reel (chords)

Continuing on the theme of tunes with cool names, this one is another classic for pub gatherings that will have you dancing until the early hours of the morning with nothing but a Shamrock to cover your never regions. It’s another fast flatpicker and will need a fair amount of work on your picking hand but it’s immensely fun to play and extremely rewarding once you get it. Please do print out both parts so you can swap around strumming roles with a friend. Here it is – Drowsy Maggie!

Drowsy Maggie (tune)

Drowsy Maggie (chords)