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Pros: Teaching Style & Format; General Content; Good Tunes, Sheet Music Included; Overall Presentation & Filming; Kevin Burke! Cons: None, really. This excellent tutorial bundle is like having the incomparable Kevin Burke in your family room for a session and a lesson. In his layed-back, good humored, and interestingly articulate fashion, Burke clearly & simply teaches authentic Irish session dance tunes, progressing from the simplist polkas to the complexities of rollicking reels, and provides the student with a mini repetoire. Tunes are particularly well chosen for appeal, playing satisfaction, and ordered for progression of skills. He first speaks to the particular dance form: structure, meter, & rhythm, and regional popularity. Each tune is played several times; slowly, part by part, moderate initial play along pace, then up to speed. He demonstrates & explains each selection note by note, phrase by phrase, including techniques of bowing and traditional ornamentation - grace notes, rolls, slides, cuts, double stops, and more. Notation booklet is included, so there is no onscreen cropping for music to detract from superb filming. Camera angles allow not only excellent views of the fingerboard, but expanded and full views for maximum appreciation of bowing and posture. A pleasure for the intermediate to advanced player interested in learning the Irish fiddle, even an advanced beginner can handle the polkas and basic jigs, and all can benefit from the wealth of information presented on the genre. Tunes: Vol. 1: Bill Sullivan's Polka/Britches Full of Stiches, Saddle the Pony/The Connaughtman's Rambles (jigs), John Leary's Slide/Micko Russell's Slide, The King of the Fairies (4/4 set dance). Vol. 2: The Man From Bundoran/The Miller of Droghan, Connie O'Connels/ The Cottage Groves, Breton Gavottes 1&2, Dan Collin's Father's Jig/Off To The Races, Bonnie Kate (reel). Vol. 2 is considerably more advanced, and in Burke's own words, tunes are "more complex."Read full review
These videos are perfect for beginers who have the basic knowledge of how to play a fiddle or violin. The songs are catchy, easy and fun. Kevin Burke is a good teacher, and does good at explaining the tunes and showing how to play them. I'm quite satisfied with this DVD set.