Brendan Taaffe: Review of Philip John Berthoud - Irish Fiddle Playing




Philip John Berthoud: Irish Fiddle Playing: A Guide for the Serious Player

(Mel Bay Publications, #4 Industrial Drive, Pacific, MO 63069, www.melbay.com)

This newest addition to the Mel Bay library is a book that doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. It declares itself a guide for the serious player and skips the normal introductory chapter about how to hold the bow and where to put your fingers, but doesn’t go into any great depth or complexity about bowing, ornamentation or style. The introductory text is an odd mix of pep talk (“Be proud of your own sound;” “If you learn one thing in a practice session, it has been worthwhile;” and one whole page devoted to the bold print words, “Slow Down.”) and a quick glossing over of the major subjects. The advice he gives is valid, telling the reader to hold the bow in a relaxed way, as one example, but not meaty enough to keep a serious, intermediate player sustained for long.

I consider Matt Cranitch’s Irish Fiddle Book the standard by which books on Irish fiddling should be judged, and where that text excels is in an in-depth look at ornamentation and bowing patterns, the very things that define the style of Irish music. Matt also presents a passel of common tunes, the kind you can learn in the book and be well served by in your next session. By contrast, Berthoud’s book glosses over bowing patterns and ornamentation and a number of the tunes presented are obscure, originals, or in different keys than you would normally find them played.

Not all is lost: as evidenced on the accompanying demo CD, Berthoud is a solid player with some interesting ideas, and the reader devoted enough to follow all of the written bowing directions and to work out the recorded variations will be rewarded with some new tricks. Playing The Mountain Road in the key of F is particularly nice, though you’ll get dirty looks from the flute players at your next session if you try it there. Not a text to base your instructional library on, but it may provide a compliment to other, more comprehensive tomes.

Philip John Berthoud: Irish Fiddle Playing: A Guide for the Serious Player