Description

Grade 1
Duration: 2:00

With something for everyone in the ensemble, this folk setting of two traditional Irish tunes is sure to engage your students. Starting with “Peg Ryan’s Polka,” this Grade 1 piece for concert band moves the melody around the ensemble using accessible rhythm and ranges for each instrument. As we move into “Stitches in My Britches,” the speed intensifies, the percussion gets to play spoons and tambourine, and the students’ air and fingers move like the feet of an Irish dancer–fast!

Program Notes:

Our family is deep into Irish dancing. My oldest daughter dances five days per week and we have seen Riverdance more times than I can count. She jigs through the house, plans performances with her dolls, and blasts traditional Irish music—trad, for those in the know—through the portable speaker several times per day.

An Irish dance competition is called a feis, pronounced “fesh” and they happen all over the world. At the feis, the dancers leap and kick to an accordion player and often a pianist or guitarist, but the music is always live. This concert band work features two polkas, Peg Ryan’s Polka and Stitches in My Britches, which are often danced to. As a beginning Irish whistle player, these were two of the first pieces that I learned.

Technical Considerations:

This piece has accessible rhythm and range throughout the ensemble and it’s more fun to go fast, so really push tempo and subdivision in this piece. It works at a variety of tempi, so it isn’t a race, but it’s worth trying to push the ensemble to keep their air, fingers, and tongues moving like the feet of an Irish dancer: fast!

Many percussionists also play double roles, with the Timpani player also playing tambourine and the glockenspiel player doubling on spoons, bringing the total parts down to four. If you have more players, feel free to double glockenspiel on vibes and spoons. Doubling the snare drum parts also works well in this piece—the more, the merrier!