The Sound of Music

Noel Egan on the trials and tribulations of learning a musical instrument, and how a Galway-based group were the answer to his musical prayers. Photos: Ray Ryan.   I always had a hankerin' to play music.  Driven by youthful enthusiasm, my first attempt took the traditional route of piano lessons. Unfortunately, my teacher was of the old school variety. Bum notes were reprimanded by a ruler across the knuckles.  Equally unfortunately, in my case, there were many bum notes. After certain lessons, I felt I had gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson, without the gloves. Life, as it does, threw in a few distractions like discos and girls (or lack of) and the piano lessons took a back seat. Richard Clayderman breathed a sigh of relief. Bloodied but unbowed by my first attempt, my next foray into the world of music involved drumming. Eat your heart out Cozy Powell! Bashing a few skins would definitely get the girls.  But while I waited for the groupies to line up outside my door, my drumming became a source of division (or was that derision) amongst some of the neighbours in my home place of Rusheens. Apparently, while practising in my dad's shed, surrounded by an audience of suck calves, hay bales and a broken down Massey Ferguson, I could be heard all over the village. Some thought I was a godsend in that I scared crows and blackbirds from the barley, while others thought I was as useful as a one-legged man in an arse-kicking competition in that all I was good for was frightening cattle and sheep. Not very rock â€Ëœn' roll. You can't imagine the  following conversation in the Rolling Stones camp: Mick: I'm fed up trashing hotel rooms and throwing tellies out the window, what will we do today, Keith? Keith: I know Mick: let's go and scare some crows and frighten some sheep! With my lack of success, I was beginning to feel that life truly is a dog of the female gender when it comes to learning music. It was the most ignominious of starts. The years passed, but I still held onto my dream. Then, I took a fancy to the concert flute or silver flute or classical flute or whatever you're having yourself. Move outta the way James Galway, or Seamusín Gaillimh as he is known in the trad world. I took lessons and did quite a few grades. And found I was pretty OK at it. The problem was I had no outlet to play music. If the greyhound is a poor man's racehorse, a yacht a poor man's ocean liner, then the bedsit is the poor learner musician's auditorium. Playing  on your own is akin to jivin' with yourself. It's also a distraction to the neighbours. I had a neighbour who said he would pay me to stop practising. My playing wasn't that bad but there is only such much Radetsky March or Turkish Rondo  a man can take. There are ample opportunities for children to learn and perform music. And schools and groups like Comhaltas need to be applauded for that. What they are giving  children is a gift for life. Music is something that never leaves you. Ask my poor neighbour from above. I hope the counselling worked, Mick! Sadly, there aren't as many opportunities for adult learners. Then I happened upon Dusty Banjos. Dusty Banjos are a student session group  started ten years ago in 2002 in Galway city by Mary Lovett and Community Music Crew. The group was set up for adults who were learning Irish traditional music. Over the years, there have been Dusty Banjos groups in Oranmore, Ennis, and Clifden â€â€œ and many of those who participated in those groups still come along to Dustys events, and are very welcome. Dusty Banjos literature explains why such a group is needed: 'Adult learners can face numerous challenges not encountered by children and younger people such as feeling â€Ëœtoo old', lack of confidence, isolation, and difficulty and guilt in setting aside time and money for lessons and practising and personal and family problems. Dusty Banjos aimed to address some of these difficulties and provide a supportive atmosphere for all adult learners, regardless of ability.' I couldn't have put it better myself. The unvarnished truth is that when a child is playing and mistakes are made they are still applauded and the usual response is: 'Isn't little Johnny or Mary wonderful!' But place an adult in the same situation  and they are generally met with scorn and the morale-sapping line â€â€œ 'What a feckin' eejit!' For folk's sake, what's a man to do! I have what you would call an eclectic taste in music, but ever since my hedonistic days at The Willie Clancy Summer School and my lost weekends in Doolin I have observed the world of music with green-tinted glasses and developed an auld grá for the trad music. 'People can take lessons and maybe do workshops but they are still on their own. The real  buzz of music comes from playing with and for other people. That's what we provide for adult learners,' Mary Lovett told me. Dusty Banjo classes are divided into two groups: those starting to learn a few tunes and the more advanced who have a good few tunes under their belt. The first group is not suited to complete beginners but if you can play one or two simple tunes, or even just a scale, this group could be for you. A few years ago, Mary's partner, Heather Greer, got involved and took over the running of the beginners' sessions while Mary led the more advanced learners. The success of Dustys is very much grounded in its relaxed atmosphere. Rather than grab the learner musicians by the scruff of the neck and throw them at an audience, they let them grow and hone their skills by experience in the class and then introduce them to sessions in the pubs. 'No matter what level you are starting off at, when you are playing  in a friendly, non-judgmental setting, your confidence can grow surprisingly quickly. Many people have had bad experiences when learning instruments as children or don't have  belief in themselves. One of our aims is to give people their confidence back,' Heather said. Obviously, my piano teacher had got around. 'We organise mini-sessions downstairs in The Western Hotel so people can get a feel for what it's like to play in front of an audience. it's really gratifying to see how people develop. Many musicians who started out in Dustys are now playing in regular sessions in Galway. We had a woman from Israel who used to come to the classes and she started sessions in her home country. There are also some groups in France and Germany that were formed by ex-Dusty students.  People have brought the music with them. And a Canadian woman formed a group in Canada, following contact with Mary, who provided her with the Dustys materials (CDs, tunebook, etc),' says Heather. There are those who subscribe to the idea that unless trad tunes are played at such a  furious pace that the instruments are smokin' they simply don't work, but Mary and Heather are guilty of no such excesses. 'A good principle is slow it down, the speed will come,' Heather told me. 'Some musicians, starting out, compensate for bad playing by playing at speed. If you can't slow down you either don't know your instrument or the tune. We keep it slow so players can appreciate their instruments and learn the tunes well. With speed you may be glossing over things,'  Mary said. Dusty Banjos, under the leadership of Mary and Heather, have gone from strength to strength and have become a vibrant pulse of music performance and interaction within the city. They have established a reputation as a group which welcomes musicians of widely diverse backgrounds and ages and invites them in to discover the joys of trad music. Even hopefuls like myself! 'I reckon we have had at least 1,500 musicians,  Irish and foreign, pass through our doors.  Some of our members may be taking up or returning to traditional music and some may be learning a second instrument,' Mary told me. 'What makes the group so special is the broad spectrum of people we get. We've had musicians from all over Europe and the world. A lot of college students from abroad want to experience Irish music and learn a few tunes.  Over the years we've had a lot of people from Japan, many of whom are very good musicians, classically trained, and really want both to learn the Irish way of learning and playing music, and to meet Irish musicians,' Mary said. What sage advice would they give to someone who would love to learn a few tunes but don't think they have what it takes or are too old? 'To paraphrase President Obama â€â€œ â€ËœYes, you can.' You are not aiming to be Frankie Gavin or Sharon Shannon. You can learn to play to your own level. Some adults are really shy about making a mistakes. So with The Dusty Banjos bum notes, mistakes and squeaks are all par for the course, and everyone gets a go at making them. At the end of the day playing music is about enjoying yourself and not trying to be perfect every time you play,' said Heather. 'Almost anybody can pick up a tune. The thing is do you want to, the second important factor is putting in a little bit of regular practice.  But the most critical element is if you are going to play with people you need cop-on and sensitivity. Don't play over other people or interrupt. Remember you are part of a group and have respect for that group. That's important as anything else. 'When it comes to age we don't believe you are ever too old. We have people coming in ranging from their 20s to their 80s. Age is no barrier, if you don't want it be. We often have people calling us and saying â€ËœI'm not a young wan any more'.  But sure neither are we and we are both still learning,' Heather laughs. Trad music is very much an aural tradition. In past generations, and maybe still in rural areas especially, the music was passed down by people playing and learning by ear. This has added an air of mystique to the genre, but sometimes a type of elitism in that learning by ear can be a difficult process. Some of the Dustys do learn this way but Heather and Mary help students overcome this difficulty by providing sheet music.  Sheet music in various forms â€â€œ musical notation, 'ABC', 'Do-Re-Mi', banjo tablature is relied upon by most as a learning tool within the classes. 'There is no doubt the best way to learn a tune is by ear.  People think it is a gift but I believe anyone can do it with practice. People say they could never learn by ear and yet they can sing a song or hum a tune from memory which is another form of learning by ear,' Heather said. 'We encourage people to at least try to pick up some of the tunes without  using the sheet music. People can become dependent on it.  The mini sessions are a great start to move away from the written music.' There haven't been any alpine horns or musical saws but the group has encountered some unusual instruments down through the years. 'We had a Frenchman who played sax. Not an instrument you would usually associate with trad. We've had traditional Spanish and French instruments and even an autoharp which is a country music multi-stringed instrument. A Japanese guy came along with his banjo which had a snakeskin head. It was not like an Irish banjo but it added a unique sound to the class. We try to cater for all instruments as it is a great learning experience for all involved' said Mary. Mary and Heather pool their musical resources very successfully but their musical paths to Dusty Banjos have been very different. It is this melting pot of differing influences and skills that makes Dustys such a success. Mary brings a wealth of experience to the group and is a by-product of both the trad and rock culture. 'In national school I played the whistle, box and mouth organ.  At twenty, I started to play bass in a few rock bands. I love bass. But in 1999 I decided to return to trad and started on strings. I always regretted not continuing with the box when I was a child. So, I am back learning it again in Heather's class. I was one of the graduates of the Access Music Project course, run by FAS and Galway City Partnership. I got lots of practice time with them and it really helped develop my musicianship,' said Mary. Heather's musical journey is an inspiration to those who think they are too old or have left it too late and indeed her experiences encapsulate the essence of what the Dustys are about: 'Both my parents were involved in the Salvation Army. When they were young, Dad played trombone in the â€ËœSally Ann' band, and my mother sang in the choir. When I was about one we moved to Ireland. Neither were interested in Irish music. Hymn music and songs from West End musicals was what I was subjected to when I was a kid. I played harmonica from about 8 to 16. Iâ€Ë†got little encouragement and never played trad. Eventually, Iâ€Ë†stopped playing altogether but the desire to play music never left me. When Iâ€Ë†met Mary I didn't think I could play but loved to listen. Mary encouraged me to get involved and so after a 45-year gap, at age 60, I took out the harmonica and started playing music again. Over two years ago Iâ€Ë†started concertina. I'll never be Noel Hill but I really enjoy it.' Dusty Banjos is more than just a place where people play music, It is also about having the craic, making new friends, sharing tunes,  and supporting each other with difficulties people may be having with the music. It's a also a great way to meet like- minded people from abroad and hear other kinds of music. 'Dustys is very much a social occasion and meeting people is a vital element of the group. Indeed, some relationships have been formed down through the years. We also think it's a great way for couples to spend time together. They are getting out and it doesn't cost a fortune,' said Heather. 'Groups like Dusty Banjos are a fantastic means of escape from all the doom and gloom that people have to endure in the current climate. People have told us that the classes are the highlight of their week.â€Ë†Playing music certainly makes you happier.' Outside the class sessions Dusty Banjos have been involved in a plethora of projects including the release of a number of learner and live session CDs, a tunebook which provides the tunes in musical notation, ABC and banjo tablature,  and the making of a documentary which was screened at the 20th Galway Film Fleadh in 2008. The documentary can be found on their website at dustybanjos.com Throughout the past decade Dustys musicians have gone down a storm at many festivals and musical weekends, not just in Galway but in places like Inishbofin, Achill and Ennis and as afar afield as Hamburg, Lubeck and Mannheim in Germany, and Prague. Events such as the Cleggan Music Weekend, organised by Heather and Mary, have become an established feature of  County Galway's â€Ëœlive' calendar. 'It's great to take the music outside the classroom and outside the city,' said Mary. 'Our Cleggan weekend music festival is important to our students but it's also an opportunity to welcome back past members, not just from Ireland, but from all over the world. We also get great local support from pubs like Oliver's, Newman's and the B&Bs.  In return, we try to use the weekend to promote the beautiful Aughrus Peninsula, and to attract visitors to the area, so they can experience not only the music and craic but also the great welcome and the fantastic amenities in this part of West Connemara.' It's obvious that Mary and Heather are fired by a passionate love of music. The time and energy they put in is a reflection of their own commitment to all things trad. They make the 120-mile round trip from Cleggan to Galway often two or three times a week. And they certainly aren't in it for the money. They charge €5 for the beginners, or €8 for the more advanced group, or a mere €10 to those coming to both. That's just a tenner for nearly three hours of music learning and practice. It's hardly going to break the poor defenceless piggy bank, or make them millionaires! Through their earnest endeavour they have found and fostered a very welcome addition to the buoyant trad scene in Galway.  And it's still going strong, with lots of ongoing interest, and always a welcome for newcomers, at any time of the term. 'The numbers we have at class sessions are extremely encouraging. We've had waiting lists in the past number of years, and maybe the present hard times in Ireland are a stimulus for hard-pressed adults to engage their more creative, expressive side,' said Mary. Dusty Banjos has changed trad in Galway. If Dustys stopped tomorrow the music and influence would continue. So many people have learned the Dustys sets that they will be played for many years to come;  in a sense, they've become an integral part of the Galway trad scene. The group relies on grants from the VEC and Galway City Council and also the support of places like The Western Hotel on Prospect Hill, Galway which is now home to The Dusty Banjos learner sessions. And also to venues like Lohans in Salthill where the group hold their monthly sessions. 'We started out in the Crane and had a few homes since then. The Western Hotel and its staff are very good to us, as are Lohans, and as have been many other venues over the years. You need that kind of support to keep the whole thing going,' said Mary. To celebrate their 10th birthday Dusty Banjos will be cranking up the momentum and  running various events throughout the year including a big birthday bash on October 22nd in The Western Hotel, open to all musicians and singers. Mary and Heather are also working on a comprehensive book of all of the many tunes and sets the Dustys have played over the ten years.  It will contain over 400 tunes, many of them organised into â€Ëœsets' that have been found to play well together;  and it will also contain lots of illustrations and photos capturing key Dusty moments â€â€œ and Dusty musicians from the past ten years.  They hope it will be a great resource for musicians to use in discovering and learning new tunes and sets. Watch out for its launch, later in the year! â€Â¢Ã¢€â€šÃ¢€Â¢Ã¢€â€šÃ¢€Â¢ I would heartily encourage anyone who has harboured an ambition to play trad music to get involved with Dusty Banjos â€â€œ whatever your age or experience. Forget the voice in your head that says you can't do it or that you left it too late. You mightn't make it to Carnegie Hall but at least you'll enjoy the spin. Personally, it is a wonderful if sometimes nerve-racking experience. I remember well my first public session. A bit like jumping off the Cliffs of Moher with a half-packed parachute and a Honda 50 helmet! But, through the Dustys I have got  my mojo workin' or whatever it's called in trad circles.What I have learnt has been through practice, not through any God-given talent. The 'blood, sweat and tears method' as I like to call it. James Galway or Matt Molloy are hardly losing any sleep over me, but I am quietly  happy with my progress since I joined the group.  And, I don't worry sheep anymore. You can play trad music perfectly on the silver flute or the typewriter as it is euphemistically called by some trad players because of the clacking of the keys. Exponents like Joanie Madden  have paved the way in this regard. But to avoid the typewriter jibes in the future I have gone over to the dark side and purchased an Irish keyless flute. The fingering is very similar but it certainly takes a lot more wind. So, shake off the cobwebs from that banjo you have in the attic or the tin whistle you have in the drawer, stop using that bodhran as an ornament and give it a lash or a shkelp! A musical instrument or a musical ambition gathering dust is a terrible waste. To find out more about Dusty Banjos visit their website at www.dustybanjos.com